# What's the "Eighties-est" song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 28, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247 "2020-08-28T14:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/21 "2020-08-28T16:35:13Z")
“I Melt With You” by Modern English is about as Eighties as it gets. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LuN6gs0AJls/maxresdefault.jpg "Modern English - I Melt With You (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuN6gs0AJls) ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/22 "2020-08-28T16:40:35Z")
He’s even called Corey FFS: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X2LTL8KgKv8/maxresdefault.jpg "Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2LTL8KgKv8) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/23 "2020-08-28T16:40:38Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > After giving it some thought, it seems like “Oh Yeah” by Yello was everywhere in the latter half of the 1980s. Funnily enough as a kid I never realized there was a voice in the song saying “oh yeah”; I always thought of it as the “Dooo Bow Bow” song. Side note: The Swiss duo know as Yello has been consistently active for the past 40 years and actually just released their 14th studio album today. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/24 "2020-08-28T16:45:47Z")
[# Bowling For Soup - 1985](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI) 😉 More seriously I go for the historical “ark” or “time capsule” musical events like “[We are the world](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9BNoNFKCBI)” (1985) but for sheer energy and one of the best protest songs with a big cast of 80’s singers I go for “Sun City” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aopKk56jM-I/hqdefault.jpg "Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aopKk56jM-I) > Not long after Band Aid and We Are The World focused musical attention on poverty and famine, a collection of artists took a similar approach in the struggle against apartheid. The initiator was Steven van Zandt - erstwhile guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band - who whipped up dozens of musicians to work on the project. They included Peter Gabriel, members of U2, Springsteen himself, Hall and Oates, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Run DMC, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne and Keith Richards. Van Zandt wrote and produced the song and it reached the top 40 in several European nations, though not in the US. > > Sun City is a large casino resort in the north-west of South Africa. During the apartheid years it was located in ‘independent’ state of Bophuthatswana, a phoney political entity that enabled white South Africans to visit a casino, gamble and attend strip shows, even though these activities were illegal within South Africa itself. The United Nations placed a cultural ban on artists touring or performing in South Africa - however many notable American and European acts ignored this In a sign of things to come, many radio stations in the USA banned the song. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/25 "2020-08-28T16:45:58Z")
It’s clearly this: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNi8aW8Nf6s) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/26 "2020-08-28T16:59:37Z")
**Born in the USA.** Big, synthy, and bombastic, with massive drums and equally massive vocals. Goes on probably a minute more than it needs to. Everything about it is excessive, and everything about it is great. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/27 "2020-08-28T17:05:14Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “Beat It” by Michael Jackson has Eddie Van Halen on guitar, represents one of the unquestioned biggest albums of the 80s I’ve have to agree with this analysis. Although there might be a song that also incorporates the synth side of New Wave as well, it can’t have been as iconic as this or we’d have thought of it already. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/28 "2020-08-28T17:12:29Z")
Blasphemous Rumors Depeche Mode [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o3EAzf5fDpY/hqdefault.jpg "Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3EAzf5fDpY) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/29 "2020-08-28T17:14:31Z")
Oh, and Welcome to the Pleasuredome but Frankie Hoes to Hollywood [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SVDC6kPCkWA/maxresdefault.jpg "Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome to the pleasuredome") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVDC6kPCkWA) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/30 "2020-08-28T17:14:32Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > “I Melt With You” by Modern English is about as Eighties as it gets. Good one. It was released in '82, and it was still getting a lot of airplay when I started seriously dating a girl in late '87-- I remember us goofily singing it to each other in the car whenever it came on the radio. So it had some longevity throughout the 80’s for sure. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/31 "2020-08-28T17:18:11Z")
The two eightiesest instruments are obviously the drum machine and the saxophone. So my candidate is “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins (drum machine throughout, wailing sax at the end, and that’s not even counting some sweet sweet synth licks). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/siwpn14IE7E/maxresdefault.jpg "Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone (Official Video - Top Gun)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E) ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/32 "2020-08-28T17:23:20Z")
I would also add a requirement for either Yamaha DX-7’s glassy electric piano sound or the bass (and “Danger Zone” satisfies the latter.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/33 "2020-08-28T17:44:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “Beat It” by Michael Jackson has Eddie Van Halen on guitar, represents one of the unquestioned biggest albums of the 80s, and, as a bonus, gave Weird Al his big breakthrough. That is quite a hat-trick of 80’s cultural touchstones. MTV played the ever-loving crap out of that video. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/34 "2020-08-28T17:46:30Z")
“Take on Me” by A-Ha. Iconic video, too. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/djV11Xbc914/maxresdefault.jpg "a-ha - Take On Me (Official Video) [Remastered in 4K]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/35 "2020-08-28T17:49:07Z")
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics is what first popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/36 "2020-08-28T18:03:46Z")
“Send Me an Angel” by Real Life. [This is the version that got a lot of play on Empty-Vee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwfErYUoqx8). Cheesy synthesizer. Not bad guitar. Lead singer trying way too hard to look sexy for the camera. This is the “[Extended Dance Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb7CvPdj1H4)”. All of the above, plus egregious 80’s hairstyles. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/37 "2020-08-28T18:04:28Z")
Some great suggestions so far, and don’t forget that the 80s lasted 10 years and the music changed a lot in those years. But for me, synth-pop dominated at least the first half of the decade, and the two I propose are so very 80s: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MzGnX-MbYE4/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAlAUrIaYl9DgZH-oVdKtKilknvQQ "Depeche Mode - People Are People (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzGnX-MbYE4) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ye7FKc1JQe4/maxresdefault.jpg "Tears For Fears - Shout (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye7FKc1JQe4) ETA: and this, Ultravox must have a place in this thread: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xJeWySiuq1I/hqdefault.jpg "Ultravox - Vienna (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJeWySiuq1I) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/38 "2020-08-28T18:06:54Z")
Love Tears for Fears. My nominees would be: Mad World [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/u1ZvPSpLxCg/maxresdefault.jpg "Tears For Fears - Mad World (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg) And Everybody Wants to Rule the World [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aGCdLKXNF3w/maxresdefault.jpg "Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGCdLKXNF3w) ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/39 "2020-08-28T18:17:43Z")
The Warrior - Scandal In what other decade could you pull off that post-apocalyptic, Cirque du Soleil aesthetic? That and this video made me fall profoundly and deeply in love with Patty Smyth. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/47y5bo8wtqM/maxresdefault.jpg "Scandal - The Warrior (Video) ft. Patty Smyth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47y5bo8wtqM) ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-eighties-est-song/919247/40 "2020-08-28T18:21:13Z")
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