# The most 80s song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804 "2014-10-08T22:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/1 "2014-10-08T22:40:59Z")
Here’s one for you music buffs, inspired by the [best single of 1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) thread. I’m not talking about the \*best \*song of the 1980s, but the one that is most… evocative of the decade - say if you played it to 1000 people, the percentage of people who got that it was recorded in the '80s determines it’s '80s-ness. So ladies and gentlemen, I challenge you to top my suggestion - [Tiffany’s _I Think We’re Alone Now_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Q3mHyzn78). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/2 "2014-10-08T22:45:16Z")
I didn’t think I’ve ever even heard that song. I looked it up and its something I recognized as ‘filler’ on the radio. What’s 80’s about it??? Some blithering teenybopper girl, could be any era. Nothing about the 80’s IMO. I nominate “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. Anything by Duran Duran, too. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/3 "2014-10-08T22:51:05Z")
I nominate “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” by Culture Club ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/4 "2014-10-08T22:51:16Z")
It’s cheating to say WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE, right? (Ronald Reagan! Wheel of Fortune! AIDS! Crack! Bernie Goetz!) ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/5 "2014-10-08T22:51:39Z")
Total Eclipse of the Heart. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/6 "2014-10-08T22:55:00Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I didn’t think I’ve ever even heard that song. I looked it up and its something I recognized as ‘filler’ on the radio. What’s 80’s about it??? Some blithering teenybopper girl, could be any era. Nothing about the 80’s IMO. > > I nominate “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. Anything by Duran Duran, too. Ah, you can’t tell from the first few seconds of that synth that it bleeds '80s from every pore? Might be just me. I offer as an alternative; [Cyndi Lauper’s _Girls Just Want To Have Fun_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A) from a bit earlier in the decade. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/7 "2014-10-08T22:55:13Z")
First one that came to mind was “Take On Me” by a-ha. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/8 "2014-10-08T22:57:48Z")
Another vote for “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds (first thing that came to mind when I saw the thread title). (Personally, for me it would be R.E.M.'s “Fall on Me,” but this isn’t about me.) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/9 "2014-10-08T22:59:25Z")
Either _Like A Virgin_ by Madonna, or _Beat It_ by Michael Jackson. They pretty much ruled the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/10 "2014-10-08T23:11:11Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Either _Like A Virgin_ by Madonna, or _Beat It_ by Michael Jackson. They pretty much ruled the 80s. Wikipedia agrees with you, using the totally scientific measure that _Like A Virgin_ is the first song mentioned and Jackson the first artist mentioned in the article on the 1980s in music. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/11 "2014-10-08T23:14:07Z")
The first thing I thought of was “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/12 "2014-10-08T23:15:56Z")
The first song I thought of was “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/13 "2014-10-08T23:18:53Z")
Wouldn’t It Be Good - Nik Kershaw ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/14 "2014-10-08T23:21:54Z")
The first I thought of were, “[Don’t You Want Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPudE8nDog0)?”, by the Human League and “[Relax](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w61JLpw_qU),” from Frankie Goes to Hollywood. But really, anything with synthesizers, 808s and mousse will do. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/15 "2014-10-08T23:25:02Z")
[Axel F](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dASqLXiuomY) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/16 "2014-10-08T23:25:28Z")
You can’t get more 80s than [Shakedown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_A4dMxFE4w) by Bob Seger. It’s got synths, horns, squealing guitars, dopey macho lyrics, and was the theme for a Tony Scott film (though it would have worked just as well for a good old skiing/surfing montage or beer commercial.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/17 "2014-10-08T23:28:03Z")
Almost any of the ones mentioned in this thread would be better than the one in the OP, sorry. Especially since the Tiffany song is a cover of a 60’s song. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/18 "2014-10-08T23:28:22Z")
Tim Capello’s version of “I Still Believe”. Or Mick Smiley’s “I Believe It’s Magic”. Or Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best”. Or anything from Tahnee Cain & Tryanglz. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/19 "2014-10-08T23:29:56Z")
“Rio” by Duran Duran. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804/20 "2014-10-08T23:30:44Z")
Paging Doctor Loggins, Doctor Kenny Loggins, because you are headed to the [Danger Zone!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwBbrngafl0) But the real one has got to be this classic by [Billy Joel. (not we didn’t start the fire)](http://www.vevo.com/watch/rick-astley/Never-Gonna-Give-You-Up/GB1108700010) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-80s-song/700804.md?page=2)