Don’t You Want Me by The Human League was released November 27, 1981, with Seconds as the B side. It was the fourth single from the band’s fourth studio album Dare.
In the United Kingdom, the song was the 1981 Christmas number one. The Human League’s first single released in the United States, Don’t You Want Me topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in July 1982. Continue reading
Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins was released November 11, 1983, with Let Loving Start as the B side. It was a single from the band’s fourth studio album Into the Gap.
The song was an international hit. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart.
In an interview with Songfacts.com, Tom Bailey, one-third of the Thompson Twins, explained that he wrote the song with bandmate and then-girlfriend (and later wife) Alannah Currie about their relationship: Continue reading
Shake It Up by The Cars was released November 9, 1981, with Cruiser as the B side. It was the first single from the band’s album of the same name.
The song was The Cars’ highest charting Billboard hit at the time, peaking at No. 4 in early 1982. In 1984, the single Drive would climb a notch higher to No. 3. Continue reading
White Wedding by Billy Idol was released on October 23, 1982, with Dead on Arrival as the B side. It was a single from the singer’s eponymous debut album.
The song reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it was re-released in 1985 for Vital Idol, a compilation album of Idol’s remixed singles. Upon its re-release, it reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song’s music video featured Idol’s then real-life girlfriend Perri Lister as the bride in a gothic wedding.
Tonight She Comes by The Cars was released on October 14, 1985, with Just What I Needed as the B side. It was a single from the band’s Greatest Hits album. Just What I Needed, which also appeared on the Greatest Hits album, was originally released on May 29, 1978 as the debut single from the band’s self-titled debut album.
Tonight She Comes was the first of two songs to be released as a single from the Greatest Hits album. The second was a remixed version of I’m Not the One, previously recorded for the 1981 album Shake It Up.
The Cars’ fourth Top 10 hit, Tonight She Comes reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
Mad World by Tears for Fears was released September 20, 1982, with Ideas as Opiates as the B side. It was a single from the band’s debut album The Hurting.
The song was Tears for Fears’ first chart hit, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Continue reading
However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Lovesong by The Cure was released August 21, 1989. The B sides varied; the 7″ release in the United States featured 2 Late. It was the third single from the band’s album Disintegration. Continue reading
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long
But then one thing leads to another.
One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx was released in the United States on August 18, 1983, with Reach the Beach (Dub) as the B side. It was a single from the album Reach the Beach. Continue reading
Crack that whip
Give the past a slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma’s back
Whip It by Devo was released on August 13, 1980. It was the second single from the band’s third studio album, Freedom of Choice. There were two 7″ single releases of the song, one with a remix of the track Snowball, which appears on Freedom of Choice, as the B side and one with Turn Around as the B side. Continue reading
So many nights I longed to hold you
So many times I looked and saw your face
Nothing could change the way I feel
No one else could ever take your place
Human by The Human League was released on August 11, 1986, with an extended instrumental version of the song as the B side. The song was the first single from the album Crash. Continue reading
Eighties Grooves 