Don’t save a prayer for me now
Save it til the morning after
Save a Prayer by Duran Duran was released on August 9, 1982, with Hold Back the Rain (Remix) as the B side. It was the third single from the album Rio. Continue reading
new wave
80s Song of the Day: Drive by The Cars
Who’s gonna pay attention
To your dreams
Who’s gonna plug their ears
When you scream
Drive by The Cars was released on July 23, 1984, with Stranger Eyes as the B side. It was the third single from the album Heartbeat City. Written by Cars vocalist Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: True Faith by New Order
I used to think that the day would never come
I’d see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, displaced by fear
True Faith by New Order was released on July 20, 1987, with 1963 as the B side. The newly released singles appeared along with all of the band’s previously released singles in their 12-inch versions on the compilation album Substance (also known as Substance 1987). Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: In Between Days by The Cure
Yesterday I got so scared,
I shivered like a child,
Yesterday away from you,
It froze me deep inside
In Between Days by The Cure was released on July 15, 1985, with The Exploding Boy as the B side. It was the first single from the band’s sixth album The Head on the Door. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Tempted by Squeeze
I said to my reflection
Let’s get out of this place
Tempted by Squeeze was released in the United Kingdom on July 10, 1981, with Yap. Yap. Yap. as the B side. It was the second single released from the band’s fourth album, East Side Story. The song featured Squeeze keyboardist Paul Carrack on lead vocal. Continue reading
80s Song of the Day: Cruel Summer by Bananarama
The city is crowded
My friends are away
And I’m on my own
Cruel Summer by Bananarama was released in the United Kingdom on June 27, 1983, with Cairo as the B side. It was a single from the album Bananarama.
The song reached No. 8 in the United Kingdom. Its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid ignited the song’s international success (the group did not, however, allow the song to appear on the film’s soundtrack). Cruel Summer reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, becoming Bananarama’s first Top 10 hit in the States.
Watch the music video for the song, which was shot in New York City in the summer of 1983.
80s Song of the Day: Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Go’s
Can you hear them
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well that’s no surprise
Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Go’s was released June 12, 1981, with Surfing and Spying as the B side. It was the first single from the band’s debut album, Beauty and the Beat.
The song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 47 on the UK Singles chart. It was a Top 5 hit in Australia and Canada.
Watch the official music video for the song.
80s Song of the Day: Shout by Tears for Fears
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on
Shout by Tears for Fears was released in the United States on June 4, 1985, with The Big Chair as the B side. It was the second single released from the album Songs from the Big Chair.
Shout was a No.1 hit for Tears for Fears in the United States. It reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. An international success, it was a Top 10 hit in more than 20 other countries.
Watch the official music video for the song.
80s Song of the Day: Every Breath You Take by The Police
Since you’ve gone I’ve been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
Every Breath You Take by The Police was released on May 20, 1983, with Murder by Numbers as the B side. It was the first single from the album Synchronicity.
Every Breath You Take was the biggest hit of 1983. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles chart for four weeks.
Watch the official music video for the song.
45 RPMs: Cyndi Lauper Time After Time
If you’re lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
The U.K. and other versions of the Time After Time 7″ single came with this picture sleeve. The U.S. version did not.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I was a huge fan of Cyndi Lauper in the 80s, and She’s So Unusual was one of my very first albums. It still holds a lot of significance for me because it came out at a time when I was just starting to discover my own musical tastes and interests. Cyndi wasn’t my parents’ favorite singer or my brothers’ favorite band – she was all mine.
Time After Time is an absolutely stunning song and one of my all-time favorites. Released in 1984, it was the second single off of She’s So Unusual, after Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and Cyndi’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Continue reading
Eighties Grooves 