# Can Anyone Identify this 80's Band? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815 "2005-10-11T22:57:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/1 "2005-10-11T22:57:01Z")
I was in my twenties in the 80’s so the music holds a special place in my heart. Unfortunately the “look” is cringeworthy and I submit [this pic](http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4479/80talet4pp.jpg) as proof positive. I howl everytime I see this pic, does anyone know who they are? Surely they are a band and not just some buddies on the beach. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/2 "2005-10-11T23:56:47Z")
Oh, man. That dude in yellow is gonna give me nightmares. Thanks a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/3 "2005-10-12T00:03:13Z")
The Fey City Rollers? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/4 "2005-10-12T00:04:53Z")
Is it just me, or does that yellow guy look fake somehow? Like he isn’t really part of the picture. I have no idea who they are, but they’re pretty horrifying. And I love 80’s music. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/5 "2005-10-12T00:07:20Z")
[Men At Work?](http://www.legacyrecordings.com/menatwork/bottom_ao.html) Whoever they are, I’d guess that they’re from Australia. Sheesh… and they used to say that us punkers looked wierd… ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/6 "2005-10-12T00:08:55Z")
I’d bet my skinny tie collection that they’re European. Just a gut feeling, though. The short-shorts are the tipoff. If they are a band, they had a synth player who could barely play but owned the PA, some bad Japanese guitars in “cool” shapes and too many bad effects pedals, and the drummer’s kit had octapads. Their 5-song cassette demo (featuring a Roxy Music cover with the wrong words learned phonetically) failed to get any label attention but did get all but the synth player laid. The singer (bands like this always had a non-musician singer) eventually left the band to write a song cycle based on Balinese shadow puppets but ended up using his small advance from an up-and-coming American label to deviate his septum. But that’s just a hunch. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/7 "2005-10-12T00:38:24Z")
Are you sure it is a band and not just a gathering of guys with really bad taste? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/8 "2005-10-12T00:51:53Z")
It’s not Men At Work. Even in the 80’s these guys would have looked ridiculous! The one guy on the far left in the white pants would almost look normal except for the silly jacket. He seems to be edging away from the rest of the group, I think he may be planning to make a break for it. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/9 "2005-10-12T00:54:38Z")
**Ichbin Dubist** nailed my sentiments. The short shorts on the dude at the far right are tres Euro and waaaay TMI. _Flock of Seagulls_ got **nothing** on these guys. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/10 "2005-10-12T01:06:26Z")
It’s a Patrick Swayze convention. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/11 "2005-10-12T01:27:42Z")
Men Without Work 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/12 "2005-10-12T01:31:01Z")
Jahksson Funf 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/13 "2005-10-12T01:33:03Z")
If I knew who they were, I wouldn’t admit it. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/14 "2005-10-12T01:44:54Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > If I knew who they were, I wouldn’t admit it. European - probably Scandanavian - the id of the pic as “talet” might be (I think) a Swedish or Norwegian term. The diagonal lettering on the leftmost guy’s jacket says “New York”. It unlikely Americans would think that was cool. Of course we do have [these Americans from the late 70’s.](http://www.lp-cd.de/1/A3093_01.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/15 "2005-10-12T01:53:18Z")
It isn’t the band Europe, is it? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/16 "2005-10-12T02:02:43Z")
The answer may lie, somewhere, in [this archive](http://www.newwavephotos.com/index.htm). Happy hunting, folks! ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/17 "2005-10-12T02:04:35Z")
Duran Duran. They had a “hit” entitled _Rio_ in 1982. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/18 "2005-10-12T02:11:57Z")
> [@SleepyDuck](#): > > Duran Duran. They had a “hit” entitled _Rio_ in 1982. For about 20 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/19 "2005-10-12T02:13:40Z")
For some reason **Aha** jumped into my mind. Weren’t they from scandinavia or thereabouts? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815/20 "2005-10-12T02:17:13Z")
It’s not Aha. They aren’t pretty enough. This is going to drive me nuts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-80s-band/325815.md?page=2)