The 10 Greatest Singles of the 80s

into the groove, i can't go for that, blue monday, pump up the volume, close (to the edit), planet rock, a town called malice, sign o the times, straight outta compton, pacific

Borderline, Open Your Heart (HL), When Doves Cry, Absolute Begginers, Sign o' the Times, Victims, Together in Electric Dreams, Pump Up the Volume, Billie Jean, High Energy

GADZOOKS! - JML has just nominated Borderline aswell.... brilliant!

All from the 80's. There are lots more.

billie jean, relax, rock the casbah, ghost town, venus, the message, fight the power, voodoo ray, how soon is now, come on eileen

that's the work of the devil

ABBA: "The Day Before You Came"
ABBA: "The Winner Takes It All"
ABC: "All of My Heart"
Adam and the Ants: "Stand and Deliver"
Associates: "Party Fears Two"
Dexy’s Midnight Runners: "Come on Eileen"
Dexy’s Midnight Runners: "There, There My Dear"
Funky 4 + 1: "That’s the Joint"
Go-Betweens: "Right Here"/"When People Are Dead"
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5: "The Adventures of GF on the Wheels of Steel"
The Jam: "A Town Called Malice"/"Precious"
Kraftwerk: "Computer Love"/"The Model"
Barrington Levy: "Here I Come (Broader Than Broadway)"
Liquid Liquid: "Cavern"
Loose Joints: "Tell You (Today) (Vocal)"
M/A/A/R/S: "Pump Up the Volume"
Machine: "There But for the Grace of God"
New Order: "Temptation"
OMD: "Enola Gay"
Yoko Ono: "Walking on Thin Ice"
Orange Juice: "Blueboy"/ "Love Sick"
Prince and the Revolution: "Kiss"
Section 25: "Looking From a Hilltop"
Wayne Smith: "Under Me Sleng Teng"
The Smiths: "This Charming Man"
The Specials: "Ghost Town"
The Sugarcubes: "Birthday"
Talking Heads: "Once in a Lifetime"
Tenor Saw: "Ring the Alarm"
Robert Wyatt: "Shipbuilding"

Otherwise - Aikea Guineau - Cocteau Twins.

"The Lovecats" - The Cure
"Kiss" - Prince
"I Wanna Be A Cowboy" - Boys Don't Cry
"Touch Me" - Samantha Fox
"Let Me Be The One" - Expose
"Burnin' Up" - Madonna
"Wanna Be Startin' Something" - Michael Jackson
"Nemesis" - Shriekback
"Hot With Fleas" - Severed Heads

Just wish my list didn't look too much like the "Breakfast Club Soundtrack" album.

The Message
I Ran
Born in the USA
Sister Christian
Magnificent Seven
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Rock Lobster
Where Eagles Dare
What You Need
Walk Like An Egyptian

Thieves like Us - New Order, I could have picked 3 others

I Can't Go For That - Hall and Oates

Stone Roses - Made of Stone

Cameo - Word Up

Tour de France - Kraftwerk

Boogie Down Bronx - Man Parrish

Rockit - Herbie Hancock

Box Elder (cover) - Wedding Present - 89', if not, then My Favourite Dress

Strings of Life - Rhythim is Rhythim

Mr Fingers - Can u Feel it

and the Butthole Surfers, but they didn't do singles

'Let the music play' - Shannon
'Love comes quickly' - Pet shop boys
'This charming man' - The Smiths
'I could never take the place of your man' - Prince
'When I think of you' - Janet Jackson
'Duel' - Propaganda
'Those first impressions' - The Associates
'Therese' - The Bodines
'Modern Love' - David Bowie
'Icing on the cake' - Stephen Duffy

ok, that's 20 - but hell, it was a great decade..... and I didn't even include DuranDuran, The Cult, Bauhaus, The Clash, Sugercubes, Prince, Gary Numan or Madonna?!

thousands of others obv.

"blasphemous rumours," depeche mode; "valley girl," frank zappa; "kiss," prince; "cars," gary numan; "how soon is now?," the smiths; "lips like sugar," echo and the bunnymen; "crash," the primitives; "burning down the house," talking heads; "welcome to the jungle," guns 'n roses; "i ran," flock of seagulls

Stone Roses - Made of Stone - This wasn't a guilty secret back then. It is now.

Cameo - Word Up - Thursday night, early evening, mid-80s, family gathered around the TV for Top of the Pops - enter THE codpiece!!!

Tour de France - Kraftwerk - Been cycling all day, early evening, many many miles from home, in a converted barn with a strange kid from school. His drunken mother started screaming at him, and I hid in the loft where I found this record.

Rockit - Herbie Hancock - The video.....

Box Elder (cover) - Wedding Present - I listened to the Brassneck EP with my best friend all night in the basement of my parents house. At dawn he offered me a lift somewhere, I chose to walk instead and listened to this on the way out of town. 24 hrs later I was on the other side of the world.

Strings of Life - Rhythim is Rhythim - loved it at the time, but didn't know what it was till years later. The case with so many records back then.

i think i always did like the ones in my original 10 - except maybe 'into the groove' tho i didnt hate it but i wasnt big on Madonna, she was just ok...

(My actual listening 80s are littered with brilliant records I heard and loathed - "Police Officer", "Pump Up The Volume" and "Beat Dis", "What Difference Does It Make?" etc.)

I am CRUSHED that I neglected Cameo (although I'd pick "Candy" or "She's Strange" over "Word Up!"). I should have included a Depeche Mode song, too, and I fully endorse the shout-out to Cherrelle.

"There's No Stoppin' Us" (Theme From "Breakin'") - FEEL THE FLASHBACK POWER

As for the question at hand -- lists from posters, too many choices.

Open Your Heart - The Human League
Kids In America - Kim Wilde
Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners
Girls On Film - Duran Duran
To Cut a Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet
Senses Working Overtime - XTC

West End Girls
Follow the Leader - Eric B and Rakim
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Cameo - Word Up
Thieves Like Us - New Order
The Wrong Road - Go-Betweens
Birthday - Sugarcubes
Heartlands - the The
When love breaks down - Prefab Sprout
This is what she's like - Dexy's midnight runners

Oh yeah! Do you remember the remix of this where they went on about Jack Kerouac? That's definitely number 11.

OF COURSE I DO! Who do you take me for? ;-)

I've just googled it and This site contains very little information.

I've just googled it and This site contains very little information.

Sorry, that should be here http://theacf.com/immaterial/

Michael Wells - nice that someone apart from stevem and me has mentioned the Nanas - as I said above, perfect pop, and there can't be anyone on this board who doesn't have a soft spot for them and at least one of their hits ..... fun all the way, unpretentious good time girls who, despite apparently not being able to sing or dance, must've been doing something right. Damn sexy, too.

Bust a Move
Fools Gold
Holiday
I Will Dare
Is There Something I Should Know?
The One I Love
Pump Up the Volume
Radio Free Europe (Hib-Tone version)
Voodoo Ray
What Have I Done to Deserve This?

in random order:

Private Life
Ma & Pa
Stray
Third From the Sun (Chrome cover)
Lets all Go to the Fire Dances
Green Candle
Night Boat to Cairo (1979 is close enough)

What a the-usual decade.

"cars," gary numan
"ashes to ashes," david bowie
"how soon is now?," the smiths
"lips like sugar," echo and the bunnymen
"when doves cry," prince
"once in a lifetime," talking heads
"fuck the police," NWA
"push it," salt n pepa
"valley girl," frank zappa
"sweet child o' mine," guns n roses
"west end girls," pet shop boys
"paid in full," eric b. and rakim
"don't go," yaz
"back to life," soul 2 soul

AC/DC - Back in Black
John Lennon - Watching the Wheels
Bowie - Fashion
Human League - Facination
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink
Black Flag - Rise Above
XTC - Respectable Street
Michael Jackson - P.Y.T.
Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Meat Puppets - Plateau
U2 - New Year's Day
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
Chaka Kahn - I Feel For You
Hall & Oates - Kiss on my List
Husker Du - Eight Miles High
Ozzy Osbourne - Over The Mountain
Tom Waits - Clap Hands
Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels
Ratt - Round & Round
Camper Van Beethover - Take the Skinheads Bowling
Replacements - Alex Chilton
Pixies - Gigantic
Prince - Alphebet Street
N.W.A. - Fuck The Police
Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
Beastie Boys - Sounds of Science
Public Enemy - Fight The Power

Um.. I guess I went over 10

Because why not?

Only 10 songs per post please, but multiple posts are acceptable.

Okay.. that was supposed to be my 1st post on a new thread, but it turned out "The 10 best songs from the 80's" already existed.

So now I actually have to make up my 10......

I seriously don't know how anyone could do this. I hate lists. No way I could pick 10.

I mean, no way I could pick just 10.

I know, but there's also a 90's one where people have been posting lots of good stuff, and right now I need 80's recommendations..

ok here it goes...

The Plimsouls "A Million Miles Away"
Dinosaur Jr "Freak Scene"
The Psychadelic Furs "Love My Way"
Bobby Brown "My Prerogative"
Daryl Hall & John Oates "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"
Suicidal Tendancies "Institutionalized"
Lindsay Buckingham "Trouble"
Musical Youth "Pass The Dutchie"
The Cure "Just Like Heaven"
Metallica "One"

and here's another 10 for good luck

The Replacements "Alex Chilton"
New Order "True Faith"
Pixies "Gigantic"
My Bloody Valentine "You Made Me Realize"
Depeche Mode "Never Let You Down Again"
Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls"
Motorhead "Ace Of Spades"
Queen & David Bowie "Under Pressure"
Duran Duran "Planet Earth"
Berlin "The Metro"

1. Blurt - The Fish Needs a Bike
2. Chaba Fadela - N'Sel Fik
3. The Cure - A Forest
4. Kraftwerk - Computer Love
5. Liquid Liquid - Optimo
6. Madonna - Into the Groove
7. The Specials - Ghost Town
8. The Sugarcubes - Birthday
9. Prince - Raspberry Beret
10. Young Marble Giants - Final Day

And another one... (I'm cheating this time....several of these are not actually singles... just songs)

1. The Cardboards - Electrical Generator
2. Chris & Cosey - October (Love song)
3. The Chills - Pink Frost
4. Grauzone - Eisbar
5. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
6. Mariah - Shinzo No Tobira
7. Schooly D - Saturday Night
8. New Order - Age of Consent
9. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Never Understood
10. Pixies - Hey

10 best songs from the best decade ever? That is impossible!

The Landscape Is Changing - Depeche Mode
Blasphemous Rumours - Depeche Mode
Told You So - Depeche Mode
Let's Go To Bed - The Cure
Ghosts - Japan
Forbidden Colours - Sylvian/Sakamoto
Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House
The Chauffeur - Duran Duran
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
René and Georgette Margritte With Their Dog After The War - Paul Simon

(Now seeing my previous post, which is more representative as it contains some I've forgotten, plus at least three of the songs in this last list are album tracks)