Food for Thought: A Retrospective of Eclectic 1980s Modern Rock

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Since the advent of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s and through the classic rock era into the arrival of modern rock, a hallmark of rock music has been constant evolution, invention, and in particular the integration of cross-cultural influences into ever new and varied strains. In modern rock, such evolution was slower and slighter. Other than ska, modern rock was evolving along variations of its punk and post-punk themes into the new wave and dark wave strains. There were differences, but let’s face it, they weren’t that different.

Pictured on the cover photo, clockwise from top left: Sheila Chandra from Monsoon, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Blue Rondo a la Turk, and The Flying Pickets.

However, there were songs that just didn’t fit into these genres, and that was because they drew on influences from non-rock genres and cultural musical traditions outside the UK and North American locales where modern rock was developing. This was common in pop and classic rock, but modern rock, by its nature, sought to set itself aside from those trends. But for the artists and songs on this playlist, they managed to break through, creating music that was modern, edgy, yet more diversely inspired than the rest of the modern rock genres.

Thus, this somewhat randomly assembled songs from the early era of modern rock is dubbed, ‘modern eclectic.’ It is a list that is, admittedly, formed by my North American perspective. Many of these songs had success in the UK – indeed, almost the entire playlist is from the UK – where foreign sounds were more readily embraced than in North America. And it is also interesting to note many of these tracks are covers of songs from past eras, non-rock genres, or other geographies and cultures, all of which helped bring a much-needed diversity of sound into the early ‘80s modern rock sound. Also surprising, some of these tracks were crossover hits, living as much in the pop sphere and, in some cases, achieving immense commercial success, even if in most cases it was mostly in the UK.

The Playlist

1. “Food for Thought” \ UB40 (1980)

2. “C30 C60 C90 Go” \ Bow wow wow (1981)

3. “Regiment” \ David Byrne & Brian Eno (1981)

4. “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” \ Pigbag (1981)

5. “Ever So Lonely” \ Monsoon (1981)

6. “See Jungle! (Jungle Boy)” \ Bow wow wow (1981)

7. “Me and Mr. Sanchez” \ Blue Rondo a la Turk (1981)

8. “Carioca” \ Blue Rondo a la Turk (1982)

9. “The View from Her Room” \ Weekend (1982)

10. “Blues Dance Raid” \ Steel Pulse (1982)

11. “Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy” \ Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1982)

12. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” \ Culture Club (1982)

13. “Iko Iko” \ The Belle Stars (1982)

14. “The Clapping Song” \ The Belle Stars (1982)

15. “Getting Up” \ Pigbag (1982)

16. “Double Dutch” \ Malcolm McLaren (1983)

17. “White Horse” \ Laid Back (1983)

18. “Rockit” \ Herbie Hancock (1983)

19. “Only You” \ The Flying Pickets (1983)

20. “The Paris Match” \ The Style Council w/ Tracey Thorn (1984)

21. “Each and Every One” \ Everything But the Girl (1984)

22. “My Male Curiosity” \ Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1984)

23. “Whose Side Are You On?” \ Matt Bianco (1984)

24. “Madam Butterfly (un bel di vedromo)” \ Malcolm McLaren (1984)

25. “Close (to the Edit)” \ Art of Noise (1984)

26. “Yeh Yeh” \ Matt Bianco (1985)

27. “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” \ Paul Simon (1986)

28. “Bamboléo” \ Gipsy Kings (1987)

29. “Pump Up the Volume” \ M|A|R|R|S (1987)

30. “Yeke Yeke” \ Mory Kanté (1987)

31. “Sadeness (Part I)” \ Enigma (1990)

This is by no means a complete list, and further exploration is encouraged. And if this playlist has several jarring moments switching from one musical style between (and even within) tracks, such is the example these artists and this era represented to the evolution of modern rock and, indeed, pop music in general. There was a day you could hear many of these songs on the radio and see them on the charts, interspersed with your Michael Jacksons, Madonnas, Princes, Bruce Springsteens, and hair metal bands.

“Food for Thought” \ UB40 (1980)
Crossover music has the potential to either unite listeners of differing cultures and tastes or alienate them by challenging their boundaries. From the start, UB40 united fans (though a segment of reggae fans would never accept them as legitimate) by bringing reggae to contemporary audiences. While reggae had grown internationally due to the success of Bob Marley over the 1970s, its ability to gain modern rock audiences was limited, with focus instead on the more enervating ska forms.  

After forming in 1978 in Birmingham, England, UB40 gained exposure thanks to Chrissie Hynde, who heard the band in a pub and gave them an opening slot for a Pretenders tour. “Food for Thought” and “King” was a double A-side single, released via indie label, Graduate Records. The single reached #4 in the UK singles chart and the band was off to the races. Though immensely successful through their career, the band managed to retain their fans of indie and alternative music well through their career.

“C30 C60 C90 Go” \ Bow Wow Wow (1980)
This band famously came together when a thirteen-year-old girl of Burmese descent, Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye), was heard by a talent scout while singing along to the radio at a dry cleaner, where she was working. He connected her to the ex-manager of The Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren, who was also managing the emerging act, Adam and the Ants. He oddly convinced The Ants to leave Adam and form their own act, which was naturally then in need of a singer. After a brief dalliance with George O’Dowd (aka Boy George), Lwin settled in as the pubescent singer in front of a band deeply exploring African, Burundi beats. “C30 C60 C90 Go” was Bow Wow Wow’s first single (also the first ever cassette single) and revealed the band’s mix of exotic drums and punky guitars – not to mention Annabella’s fantastic, rap-shouting vocals. The single cracked the UK top forty despite limited promotion and access.

Bow wow wow (L to R): Matthew Ashman (guitar), Leigh Gorman (bass), Annabella Lwin (vocals), and David Barbarossa (drums)

“Regiment” \ Brian Eno & David Byrne (1981)
By the 1980s, Brian Eno was already a notable contributor to groundbreaking music after having been a member of Roxy Music for their first two LPs, and as an experimental solo artist and producer of other artist’s music, most notably with David Bowie during his Berlin trio of LPs from 1977 to 1979. From ‘78 to ‘80 he produced another trio of groundbreaking LPs, this time with the band, Talking Heads. Between the recording of the second (Fear of Music, 1979) and third (Remain in Light, 1980) albums, Eno and Talking Heads’ lead singer, David Byrne, recorded an album, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which was released in 1981.

The album was mildly successful but critically regarded for its experimental compositions and, most notably, use of samples taken from a variety of eclectic sources such as Islamic chants, talk radio, and an exorcism. Sampling at that time required splicing together tapes and was well ahead of the days when sampling would become ubiquitous in modern music via digital technology. The influence of African music was notable and carried through the same influences that had been employed on those Eno-produced Talking Heads’ LPs and tracks such as, “I Zimbra” (1979).

Two songs on the LP, “Regiment” and “The Carrier,” featured samples of an Islamic vocal by Lebanese mountain singer, Dunya Younes (variations of her name include, Dounia Younis, Dunya Yunis, Dunya Yusim, and Dunya Yusin). Eno had found her vocal on a 1976 album, Various – Music in the World of Islam, 1: The Human Voice. Though permission for use of the sample had been originally arranged through the album’s label, Younes was not identified as the singer until 2017 nor given proper credit on the LP until 2018. We’ll visit further use of this specific Younes vocal track later in this playlist.

“Regiment” became the album’s best-known track and most distinctive, thanks to its mesmerizing, plodding beat, Eno’s characteristic employment of discordant keyboards, this time with middle eastern flare, and the uncharacteristic vocal, all of which made for an unconventional modern rock release.

Pigbag

“Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” \ Pigbag (1981)
Chris Hamlin assembled Pigbag in 1980 in Cheltenham, England. Evolving through jam sessions, the band resulted in an act that produced instrumentals that took the post-punk sound to more experimental, rhythmic results than few others at the time. The penchant for pushing creative boundaries was helped when Simon Underwood joined from avant-garde, post-punk act, The Pop Group. “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” (a play on the 1965 James Brown song, “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”) was their first single and became their signature tune, reaching #2 in the UK Indie chart and still getting played to this day thanks to its hypnotic, tribal drum and bass rhythms, and catchy, frenetic horns. It was a song that was hard to pin into any category, still to this day.

“Ever So Lonely” \ Monsoon (1981)
Though the English band, Monsoon, only existed for a couple years and issued just one album (after they’d broken up), there was brief success when the single, “Ever So Lonely,” reached #12 in the UK singles chart in 1982. The trio was led by singer, Sheila Chandra, who was born in England but of Indian descent. She was joined in the band by producer Steve Coe and bassist, Martin Smith.

Sheila’s traditional Indian appearance with bindi and sari, her vocal style and the band’s instrumentation based on eastern, raga styles, gave their look and sound an exotic flair. “Ever So Lonely” was written by Coe to promote Asian culture in Britain that was not accepting of this growing immigrant community. To see Chandra and the band perform on Top of the Pops was an important moment for Asians in the UK.

After the success of “Ever So Lonely,” the band had a couple of lesser successful singles before splitting with their label in 1982, which led to Monsoon being dissolved. The label issued their LP posthumously in 1983. Coe and Smith continued to work with Chandra in her solo work and in the act, Ganges Orchestra.

“See Jungle! (Jungle Boy)” \ Bow Wow Wow (1981)
After the initial success of their cassette in 1980, Bow Wow Wow switched from EMI to RCA and released their first album in 1981. Its crazy title, See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!, and cover art of a recreation of the Manet painting, Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, that featured a fourteen-year-old Annabella nude, gave the band instant notoriety. It matched the band’s unique drum-driven sound. In 1982, the band released the EP, The Last of the Mohicans, which included the single, “I Want Candy,” a cover of The Strangeloves’ 1965 hit and which brought the band to international success.

“Me and Mr. Sanchez” (1981); “Carioca” (1982) \ Blue Rondo á la Turk
Named after the famous Dave Brubeck jazz tune, this British band was formed by Chris Sullivan in 1981 with the express purpose to inject Latin rhythms into UK pop music. Built on lively rhythms, explosive horns, smooth melodies, and celebratory harmonies, the band’s sound achieved its mission. “Me and Mr. Sanchez” was their first single and reached the top forty in the UK singles chart. They issued two albums, with the first, 1982’s Chewing the Fat, including their prior first four singles, one of which was “Carioca.” The act only held together for a few years, splitting in two with one half issuing singles in ’83 and the LP, Bees Knees and Chicken Elbows, in 1984 under the name, Blue Rondo. We’ll visit the other half of the band a bit further along in this playlist.

“The View from Her Room” \ Weekend (1982)
Another act with a brief tenure, Weekend was formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1981 when Alison Statton (ex of post-punk band, Young Marble Giants) joined up with Mark ‘Spike’ Williams and Simon Emmerson, also coming out of post-punk acts. The band’s sound was a light mix of loungey jazz and sprightly, salsa inspired rhythms. Statton’s vocals offered a sophisticated, jazz-pop element to the band’s sound.

“The View from Her Room” was their first single, an unlikely eight-minute track that reached the UK Indie top ten. After three-and-a-half minutes, the song launched into an energetic, jazzy instrumental for the remaining five minutes. Two more singles and an album, La Verieté, also all reached the UK indie top ten.

“Blues Dance Raid” \ Steel Pulse (1982)
Steel Pulse was the first homegrown reggae act out of the large West Indian community in Birmingham, England, paving the way for other acts of that city, most notably UB40. They were formed in 1975 and after releasing albums via Island Records, a UK label known for championing Jamaican music, they switched to Elektra for their fourth LP, True Democracy. It was a fantastic LP that delivered a contemporary reggae sound. “Your House” was the hit from the album but tracks like “Blues Dance Raid” offered a compelling, edgy mix of island and UK styles. The band continues today, with original members David Hinds and Selwyn Brown still driving the collective.

“Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy” \ Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1982)
Though not obvious from their sound, this is one of the few non-UK acts to be featured on this playlist (along with Mory Kanté and David Byrne). I really liked Kid Creole and the Coconuts and especially liked the sudden change in feel and sound when they came on my alternative radio station in Toronto in the mid ‘80s. Their fun videos, with the female backing ‘Coconuts,’ were a notable departure from the more dour acts at the time.

Formed in 1980 by August Darnell, who was raised in The Bronx but whose lineage was Caribbean via the American south, Kid Creole (adopted from the 1958 Elvis movie, King Creole) was a stage persona built on years of performing various musical styles through the ‘60s and ‘70s. Wearing colourful zoot suits and drawing on big band styles of the ‘30s and ‘40s, his act combined a mix of new wave influenced salsa beats, island rhythms, and horn accents. It took until their third LP, 1982’s Tropical Gangsters (titled Wise Guy for the US release), for the band to break through, scoring a #3 placement in the UK and the top forty in the US. “Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy” and “Stool Pigeon” were the hits from the album, which would be Kid Creole’s sole chart topper in a career that continues today, with his last LP released in 2011.

“I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” \ Culture Club (1982)
Culture Club were a huge success and, with a lighter sound mixing pop and island rhythms, are not an obvious fit for the modern rock cannon, However, Boy George’s ascent out of the very underground new romantic/Blitz Club scene and the band’s distinct, eclectic first album sound, gave them bona fides as a modern rock act. Their name derived from their line-up’s cultural and visual variety: Irish, British, Jewish, white, black, gay, straight, blond and brunette.

There was never a dull photo of the eclectic Culture Club, right from their earliest days (L to R): Mikey Craig (bass), Jon Moss (drums), “Boy” George O’Dowd (vocals), and Roy Hay (guitar)

Personally, Culture Club was the first act I fell in love with, admiring the boundary pushing androgynous look of Boy George and the band’s intriguing musical style. “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” was the big hit from their 1982 debut LP, Kissing to Be Clever, but “Time (Clock of the Heart),” also reached the top ten in the UK and the US. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” was only released as a single in North America and was also a top ten hit. It’s horn blasts, lively Caribbean rhythms, and Boy George’s smooth vocals were emblematic of the band’s early, more worldly sound.

“Iko Iko” (1982); “The Clapping Song” (1982) \ The Belle Stars (1982)
Formed in 1980 out of the ashes of ska act, The Bodysnatchers, The Belle Stars were a septet from London that, while still closely associated with the ska scene, forged a new and more novel musical direction than its prior line-up. Despite local popularity, their early singles failed to take hold, so they reverted to cover tunes. “Iko Iko” was the first, a tune originally released in 1953 as, “Jock-A-Mo,” out of New Orleans by the act, James “Sugar Boy” Crawford and his Cane Cutters. It didn’t gain popularity until 1956 when The Dixie Cups released it in its better known version. The Belle Stars’1982 version cracked the top forty in the UK singles chart. Its sparse beats, horn blasts, harmonized vocals and shout-outs gave the tune an international flavour.

Their next single was, “The Clapping Song,” another cover of a 1965 hit, this time from Shirley Ellis, who had also done “The Name Game.” The themes of these Belle Stars songs were the spoken/shouted lyrics, mixing melodies tight with rhythms, and again offering a very different sound compared to other contemporary fare. “The Clapping Song” also brought them success with a top ten placing in the UK and international chart attention in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Belle Stars, the only all-female act on this playlist

“Getting Up” \ Pigbag (1982)
After the success of, “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag,” the band issued another single, “Sunny Day,” in November ’81. It equalled the first single’s #2 placing in the UK Indie Chart but also reached the singles chart at #53.

In March ’82 their debut LP was released, Dr Heckle and Mr Jive. The lead single, “Getting Up,” was released the month prior and was their third consecutive #2 placing in the indie chart while reaching #61 in the singles chart. Whereas “Papa” had a frenetic jazz feel, this single leaned more Latin, but continued with the infectious instrumental mixes of horns and complex, repetitive rhythms that brought a world beat ingredient to the UK indie scene.

“Papa” was re-released after “Getting Up,” even though it was not on the album. Now riding the wave of exposure from their releases, this time it went to #1 in the indie chart and #3 in the singles chart, giving Pigbag a bona fide hit. However, the band then changed its line-up and tilted further in the island sound, and their next LP in 1983, Lend an Ear, was less successful. The band then disbanded that year, ending their short career.

“Double Dutch” \ Malcolm McLaren (1983)
After having a hand in the launch of the most notorious clothing shop in London that inspired much of the London punk aesthetic (along with his designer partner, Vivienne Westwood), then launching and managing the most notorious of punk bands, The Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren shifted gears in his musical pursuits. As noted earlier in this playlist, first up were the Burundi beat acts, Adam and the Ants, and its offshoot, Bow Wow Wow, but then Malcolm tried his hand at producing his own music.

Malcolm McLaren in 1983 in New York, carrying the boombox that was featured on the cover of Duck Rock

Not being much of a songwriter, singer, or musician, McLaren somewhat ingeniously availed himself of the emerging capabilities of sampling and mixing, creating unlikely new music by mashing up source material from Africa and the nascent New York hip hop scene. His 1983 album, Duck Rock, was co-written and produced by Trevor Horn (who also had his own acts, The Buggles and then Art of Noise), and featured contributions from New York R&B and hip hop DJs, The World’s Famous Supreme Team. Releasing two successful singles, the album reached #18 in the UK album chart.

The first single was, “Buffalo Gals,” a hip hop flavoured, heavily sampled mixture whose novelty gained attention and rose it to a UK top ten placing. It was followed by, “Soweto,” a mix of R&B, new wave, and African styles that reached the UK top forty. “Double Dutch” was the third single and delivered McLaren another UK top ten. It’s playful take on a New York street feel with hip hop beats, radio show samples, African vocal choruses, a repetitive and catchy rhythm, and a theme based on New York jump rope games and contests, produced a song quite unlike anything else on the radio.

“White Horse” \ Laid Back (1983)
Both modern rock and pop artists were increasingly leaning into the use of synthesizers, such that by 1983 the new, distinctive electronic sounds were infiltrating many genres. Much of the early synth output was rather experimental and avant-garde, given the hard to use, primitive, and expensive nature of the early technology. It took awhile before the likes of Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, and OMD started to infiltrate the pop charts in the UK, opening the door to the broader new wave and electro-pop sounds that dominated the mid-‘80s.

However, many continued to explore new sounds and employ electronics in ever-broadening, unconventional ways. A few of those managed to find their way onto the charts and gain radio airplay. One such quirky example was the Danish duo, Laid Back (John Guldberg and Tim Stahl), with their dance club hit, “White Horse.” Featured on their second album, Keep Smiling, it was first issued as the B-side to the LP’s lead single, “Sunshine Reggae.” That single’s success, reaching #1 in many European countries, brought attention to the B-side, which was taken up in the North American clubs. This led to “White Horse” being issued as an A-side single and it became a top forty hit in the US and Canada.

“White Horse” was a repetitive, mid-tempo, pulsating, electro-funk track with spoken lyrics. It wasn’t pop, dance, funk, or hip hop – or maybe it was all of those? It also gained some notoriety due to the ambivalent intent of its lyrics and the possible (likely?) reference to ‘white horse’ as a code for heroin, and over time for its use of the word, “bitch,” in the lyrics (which was less contentious in 1983 that it would be over time). Infectious yet strange, the track defied categorization and was as unlikely a hit as you would find, then or now. I liked it ( I didn’t own it but it received plenty of airplay in Toronto) and promoted it to my grade eight schoolmates, who waved me off, informing me that I, “listen to some strange shit.” This was one of the many tracks that led me away from popular music and into the eclectic world of new wave and post-punk.

A still from the “Rockit” video

“Rockit” \ Herbie Hancock (1983)
This was another, similar track that was hard to believe was a hit, but it won a grammy, was a top ten hit internationally (#8 in the UK), and was accompanied by one of the most celebrated and watched videos of the era (produced by Godley and Creme and featuring robots designed by UK (but French born and raised in Africa) artist, Jim Whiting. “Rockit” was an instrumental by a legendary jazz performer, but in a hip hop, heavily sampled composition. Go figure.

Herbie Hancock was a keyboardist whose career started in the early 1960s, playing in a variety of jazz acts, not the least of which was the Miles Davis Quintet from 1963 to 1968. He also made a name for himself with his solo work and compositions for films (Blow-up, 1966) and television shows (Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert, 1969) and commercials. He was a pioneer of early synthesizer compositions, and already had a reputation as an innovator. In the early ‘80s he had a quintet known as VSOP II, which included Wynton and Branford Marsalis. He then made his connection to modern rock playing on the Simple Minds track, “Hunter and the Hunted,” from their great 1982 LP, New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84).

However, in 1983 there was not much demand for jazz, and though R&B was dominating the pop charts, Hancock was facing adversity. After having released over thirty albums at that point, he was still facing the prospect of his most recent label, Columbia, dropping him after two LPs of lacklustre success. Hancock decided to do an album of electro-funk, mixing some of the modern hip hop and beat sounds into his R&B and jazz keyboard work, and in the process pushing the limits of the current synth and mixing technologies.

The resulting LP was, Future Shock, released in July 1983. Herbie was joined by Bill Laswell on bass, Pete Cosey on guitar, and Sly Dunbar (of Sly and Robbie fame) on drums. Michael Beinhorn also played keyboards but, along with Laswell (and his ensemble, Material), was critical in the studio in pushing the output to new and interesting places, not the least of which on “Rockit.” Bringing in GrandMixer DXT (Derek Showard, aka Grand Mixer D.S.T.), the pioneer of turntable scratching, and using enhanced sampling of vocals and other music, they turned Hancock’s composition into one of the most intriguing and unlikely successes of the early ‘80s. It was the first hit song to feature scratching and helped pave the way for the later rise of hip hop over the back half of the decade. Future Shock achieved platinum sales and revived Hancock’s career. He’d record three more LPs for Columbia over the rest of the decade and has gone on to release over forty albums in his career.

“Only You” \ The Flying Pickets (1983)
In 1983, I was thirteen and musically starting my shift away from popular music towards new wave. The Flying Pickets a cappella hit, “Only You,” was popular on Toronto radio and I quite liked it. It wasn’t until later that I learned it was a cover of the 1982 synth-pop song by Yazoo. The Pickets version stood out since it was the only a cappella song I knew that became a hit, making it a distinct entry in the early days of modern rock. Indeed, it not only surpassed the success of the original it spent five weeks at #1 in the UK, making it the first a cappella tune to reach that pinnacle. It stands out as a shining example of the eclectic nature of popular music during this period, an environment that likely influenced my own evolving tastes.

The Flying Pickets (a reference to mobile union strikers) were formed in 1982 out of a theatre group who had performed a cappella for a production. They decided to apply the style to pop music.  “Only You” was their first single, featured on their debut album, Lost Boys, which produced a second UK top ten with another cover tune, “When You’re Young and In Love.” They would never replicate that success and the band has continued on through a revolving membership, with the last of the original members leaving the act in 1990.

“The Paris Match” \ The Style Council w/ Tracey Thorn (1984)
Following his successful stint in one of the most successful and appreciated punk pioneers, The Jam, Paul Weller joined with Mick Talbot and formed the act, The Style Council. Their debut album, Café Blue (My Ever Changing Moods in North America), was a shift for Weller, leaving behind the driving guitars for a purer soul and blues sound built on the keyboard work of Talbot. On “The Paris Match,” a sultry jazz feel was employed, with light guitar strums, twinkling piano, and brushes on the drums. It also featured the wonderful vocals of Tracey Thorn, from the duo, Everything But the Girl. While jazz influences were not new to rock, modern rock had not seen much of that flavour to date and songs like this served to broaden the spectrum, particularly aided by the introduction via such an esteemed punk as Weller.

“Each and Every One” \ Everything But the Girl (1984)
As noted, Tracey Thorn was half of this duo along with Ben Watt. They came together as fellow students at the University of Hull and are a couple still together today with three children, though didn’t get married until 2009. Both had already released solo material and Thorn was also a member of a trio, Marine Girls, when they started EBTG in 1982. They named themselves after a slogan used by a local furniture store. The first single was in 1982, a cover of Cole Porter’s, “Night and Day,” and the first LP, Eden, came in 1984.

Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn in 1984

Their mix of light pop, jazz, blues, and soul offset the moody tones of the emerging dark wave scene or the often austere styles of new wave. It was a style not far divorced from the mainstream styles of the time, and in the UK they found success, with their first six albums reaching the top forty and two getting into the top ten. “Each and Every One” was their second single and reached #28 in the UK singles chart, their best achievement until 1988’s, “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” which reached #3 to be their first top ten hit. I discovered them in 1986 via their third album, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, and the fantastic single, “Come On Home.” EBTG did not achieve much success outside of the UK, but in 1994, their single, “Missing,” charted mildly, but when a dance mix by Todd Terry came out in 1995, it became an international success. They stopped releasing music after their tenth album in 1999. Thorn released four more solo albums over the next twenty years, while Watt also issued three LPs. They revived EBTG and released an album in 2023.

“My Male Curiosity” \ Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1984)
Let’s visit Kid Creole with another of his notable singles, this one taken from the film soundtrack, Against All Odds, which was best known for the hit Phil Collins title track. Since the breakout hit of the album, Tropical Gangsters, Creole (August Darnell) had released the follow-up LP, Doppelganger, which flopped. “My Male Curiosity” was released as a single from the soundtrack in July 1984 and was a great track, but also failed to chart well, though did better on the club charts. It’s jazzy guitar with Latin accents, soulful vocals, and catchy, danceable rhythms were infectious. The next LP, 1986’s In Praise of Older Women and Other Crimes, offered another minor hit, “Endicott,” which would be the last hurrah of the act’s period of pop success.

Matt Bianco (L to R): Danny White, Basia Trzetrzelewska, and Mark Reilly

“Whose Side Are You On?” \ Matt Bianco (1984)
This was the other act formed in 1983 out of the split of Blue Rondo a la Turk. And despite a name suggesting an individual, Matt Bianco was a band. Bianco was a spy-themed character, presented via the title track on their first LP, Whose Side Are You On. The trio of Mark Reilly, Danny White, and Kito Poncioni (who left before the first LP), were all from Blue Rondo a la Turk and were joined by Basia Trzetrzelewska, a Polish singer going back to the 1960s who had moved to the UK in 1981. Picking up on their predecessor act, they continued to employ Latin and jazz styles to their sound mixed with pop and slight new wave elements. Their first single, “Get Out of Your Lazy Bed,” a bouncy ditty, reached the UK top twenty, while the album cracked the top forty. In Toronto, I was more familiar with the title track, which was a staple on the local alternative radio station, CFNY. A jazzy, big-band and film-noir vibed track, it stood out among the new wave tracks on the radio. The album was #65 on the station’s year-end chart (as were many of the tracks on this playlist from this era).

“Madame Butterfly (un bel di vedremo)” \ Malcolm McLaren (1984)
The ever-eclectic Malcolm McLaren continued to change lanes and explore new musical ventures. As noted earlier, his first LP, Duck Rock, had explored African and hip hop styles. On his next, the mini-LP, Fans, he improbably brought hip hop and synths into a mix with opera. McLaren continued to use spoken word for his vocal contributions, mixed with raps from Debbie Cole and Angie B., soulful elements from Diane Garisto, and operatic passages from sopranos, Betty Ann White and Valerie Walters, and tenor, Michael Austin. The LP had six tracks, with five built around the Puccini operas, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, and Gianni Schicchi, and the other on Bizet’s, Carmen. It was a minor hit, coming just short of the top forty in the UK album chart.

The single, “Madame Butterfly,” was a greater success, reaching the top twenty internationally. It perhaps was best known for its literally steamy video, which featured models lounging, walking, bathing and showering, and getting massages in a hazy spa. All clad in cream coloured bathing suits, white towels, and robes, the video had a striking aesthetic that mixed art with a dispassionate sexiness, which very much set it apart from the rest of the fare on MTV. It matched the track’s unconventional mix of cold, new wave electronics with the street-styled raps, spoken narrative, and dramatic operatic vocals.

McLaren would continue to swerve musically, doing a funk and disco LP, Waltz Darling, and working with new age artist, Yanni, on his take on the “Flower Duet” from the opera, Lakmé (popularized through its use in British Airways commercials), both in 1989. Overall, McLaren released seven albums up to 2005 before his death from cancer in 2010 at age 64.

“Close (to the Edit)” \ Art of Noise (1984)
Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise? is one of my all-time favourite albums and certainly one of my most played over my high school years (I started high school the fall of 1984). If sampling had started to make its presence known in songs like “Rockit” and the work of Malcolm McLaren, then it was taken to the next level by Art of Noise.

Trevor Horn was an English producer and performer who had gotten his start in the early 1970s playing his way through various acts (mostly as a bassist), as a session musician, and increasingly as a technician and studio expert, working heavily as a producer in the late ‘70s across a spectrum of genres. His first successful act as a performer was the band, The Buggles, whose debut single, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” went to #1 in the UK in 1979 and famously would be the first video played on MTV in 1981. After a brief, ignominious stint fronting legendary prog rock band, Yes, he then turned more fully to producing, building his own studio full of state of the art technology, including the new Fairlight CMI, the tool that would become the pillar of sampling. His notable successes in this period were producing the duo, Dollar, the Lexicon of Love LP for ABC, and, not surprisingly, Malcolm McLaren’s Duck Rock album.

In 1983, Horn formed the label ZTT with famous NME journalist, Paul Morley. Their first act was Frankie Goes to Hollywood, for which Horn produced their iconic, Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984) album. In ’83 he also produced Yes’ 90125 album featuring their hugely successful, “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” single. In these two works Horn’s influence brought the combined use of synths, drum machines, and sampling to new heights. It was at this time, in 1983, that he decided to further explore these sounds in his own work, and Art of Noise was born.

Trevor’s production team since 1981 had included engineer, Gary Langan, programmer J. J. Jeczalik, and keyboardist, Anne Dudley (who could also compose and arrange strings). This group formed the basis of the new project, the name of which was suggested by Paul Morley and taken from the 1913 futurist manifesto, “The Art of Noises,” by Luigi Russolo (Jeczalik pushed for the dropping of the ‘s’). Morley was also a credited member, though his contributions, aside from their name, was more on the art and marketing side of things than the music itself.

In the emerging world of sampling and electronics, many would challenge the idea of Art of Noise as ‘music.’ But in their 1983 debut EP, Into Battle with the Art of Noise, there could be no doubt that their pastiche of samples and enhanced synths and beats created moving and ingenious soundscapes quite beyond what had been heard to that point. The EP was mostly a collection of short instrumental tracks, built around two songs, “Beat Box,” coming in just under five minutes, and the ten-minute, beautifully chilled opus, “Moments in Love.”

There were several different album covers. This is the one I had. The title was also stylized differently, either without parentheses, or depending on your preference, with the first or last parts in parentheses (both are shown here).

This was followed by the debut LP in ’84, (Who’s Afraid of) The Art of Noise?, which was also structured around those tracks plus a new one, “Close (to the Edit).” “Beat Box,” which had achieved minor success from the EP after being taken up in the clubs and by hip hop and breakdancing fans, was remixed to a totally new, more musically full version for the album, titled, “Beat Box (Diversion One)” (the 12” single also included another mix, ‘Diversion Two’). The title track and the album opener, “A Time for Fear (Who’s Afraid),” were also over four minutes, but were more an exercise in sampling dynamics than proper songs with some semblance of melody and rhythm. The other four short tracks, though generally ambient mood setters, could also provide moments of aural beauty, such as the catchy, “Snapshot,” the cathedral styled, “Momento,” and the cinematic scherzo of, “Realisation.”

When I first embraced the LP, it was “Beat Box (Diversion One)” that drew me in after hearing it on the radio. Over time, “Moments in Love,” would become the LP’s best-known work, and even closed a few dances in my high school, giving us that ten minutes of slow dancing to finish the night. But it wasn’t long after getting the album that “Close (to the Edit)” became my favourite, and even more so when its fantastically surreal, punky, dystopic video started getting reasonable airplay on Canada’s MuchMusic station. Catchy beats, orchestra hits, funky piano basslines, and a compendium and sampled vocals, noises, and sharp turns, the song was a force.

Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise? was groundbreaking, and as such was a challenge to most audiences, yet for an experimental and mostly instrumental work, it achieved a reasonable level of success. It reached the top forty in the UK and just cracked the top 100 in the US. “Close (to the Edit)” reached the UK top ten as a single and #4 in the US Dance chart (the EP version of “Beat Box” had reached #1 on that chart). But the album paved the way for many more explorations of sampled sounds and sonic experimentation.

Art of Noise would achieve greater success with its next LP, 1986’s In Visible Silence, with the great single, “Legs.” The hit singles, though, came first from a cover of the TV Theme show, “Peter Gunn” (which included guest guitar from legendary surf rocker, Duane Eddy, who’d had a top ten hit with the same song in 1959). Then it was, “Paranoimia,” which took the album track and added guest vocals from Max Headroom, and popular UK TV show character played by Matt Frewer, and who was supposed to be computer-generated. More success came on the next LP in 1987, In No Sense? Nonsense!, and another TV theme show cover, “Dragnet.” In 1988, their peak success was via the cover single, “Kiss,” which masterfully combined the disparate contributions of Prince’s song, Art of Noise’s sharp beats, and the outsized vocals of celebrated crooner, Tom Jones.  

“Yeh Yeh” \ Matt Bianco (1985)
“Yeh Yeh” was Matt Bianco’s most popular song. It was a cover of a Latin tune, first written as an instrumental by Rodgers Grant and Pat Patrick in 1963 and recorded by Cuban percussionist, Mongo Santamaria. Jon Hendricks added lyrics when it was released by his jazz vocal trio, Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross on their 1964 live LP, At Newport ’63. It went to #1 in the UK when released by UK R&B act, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

Matt Bianco’s version modernized the track with an electronic funk rhythm and boosting its lively energy, adding a piercing trumpet solo to join the sax interjections. The salsa rhythms carried through, pure to the original. The single reached #13 in the UK singles chart and was included as the lead track on the band’s second album, a 1986 self-titled release. A 12” dance version was also a great iteration and replaced the single version on the album’s CD release.

The line-up of the band that recorded this track and the second album was very different than the first LP. Vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska and Danny White formed a romantic relationship and had left the band to work on her solo career, operating under the name, Basia. This left just Mark Reilly, who then brought in Jenni Evans on vocals and keyboardist, Mark Fisher, who was also touring with Wham! during that period. Matt Bianco remained a duo of Reilly and Fisher into the early 2000s (Fisher passed away in 2016), before Basia and White returned to reunite the original trio. Since 2015, Matt Bianco has been the solo effort of just Reilly, though releases have focused on compilations and re-recordings of prior work.  

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” \ Paul Simon (1986)
Paul Simon certainly needs no introduction, having enjoyed immense success in the 1960s as part of the folk-pop duo, Simon and Garfunkel, and then thanks to a huge solo pop career through the 1970s. Similar to most artists of his era, the 1980s had been less kind to Simon and he’d dropped out of mainstream attention. That all changed in 1986 with the release of his Graceland LP. Of course, he was not a modern rock artist, and Graceland was an immense commercial success, the best of his career, so why include it on this playlist? The album’s mix of American and South African music and vocal styles was groundbreaking and was immensely influential in popularizing and bringing African flavours into music of all kinds in the years that followed.

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” was the album’s fourth single but didn’t chart very well. However, it was one of the best examples of the LP’s mix of musical and vocal styles, and perhaps it was this eclecticism that kept it down in the charts, it was too modern.

“Bamboléo” \ Gipsy Kings (1987)
Though also not a modern rock artist, Gipsy Kings were another act that crossed boundaries, bringing their flamenco and salsa sound to a broad and popular global following (well, western at least). The band was formed in 1978 by brothers, Nicolas and André Reyes, who were from Arles, France but were sons of Jose Reyes, a flamenco artist who had been part of the migration movement of Spaniards into France during the Spanish Civil War. The brothers had been performing in a travelling gypsy band with their father, called Los Reyes (“Reyes” also means “kings” in Spanish). When that act failed to gain success, the brothers joined with their cousins, Jacques, Maurice, and Tonino Baliardo, to form Gipsy Kings.

After issuing albums in 1982 and ’83, it was the 1987, self-titled LP that saw the band break through, thanks to the success of the song, “Bamboléo.” It reached the top ten in France, Italy, and the US Latin charts, though only just cracked the top 100 in the UK. The album, however, did reach the top twenty in the UK and #57 in the US album chart. Since then, the band has built a large and loyal following, having released thirteen albums and still going strong. There have been many personnel changes, with only Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo remaining from the original line-up. If anyone has an ear for flamenco music, even modern rock fans such as me, this band played a part in opening that door.

The Young brothers from Colourbox

“Pump Up the Volume” \ M|A|R|R|S (1987)
The back half of the 1980s saw changes in the music landscape that at the time were minor but in time proved to be harbingers of what was to come. One of the most notable examples of this was M|A|R|R|S, a one-hit wonder in every sense, since the double A-side single, “Pump Up the Volume” \ “Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)” was their only release. “Pump Up the Volume” became a worldwide sensation, going to #1 in the UK and top twenty in the US.

This song is on this playlist for three reasons. First, the artist was a combination of two modern rock artists, A.R. Kane and Colourbox, labelmates at the UK label, 4AD. Second, it’s extensive use of samples and driving beats as the primary forms of composition were on the vanguard of emerging techniques that would become pervasive over the coming years, especially in the advent of acid house music. Many of the samples came from funk and hip hop recordings, contributing to the increasing mix of rap and rock started in 1986 by the Run DMC and Aerosmith version of Aerosmith’s classic, “Walk this Way,” and the Beastie Boys’ debut LP, Licensed to Ill.  

Dunya Younes, performing in the 1970s

Finally, once again, the voice of Dunya Younes appeared in a sample, from the same album Brian Eno had used back in ’81, and that New Order had also used in ’86 for their song, “Angel Dust.” Though only a small part near the end of the track, it helped push “Pump Up the Volume’s” boundary breaking vibes into geographic variations in addition to musical.  

A.R. Kane

4AD was a label that liked to see its artists work together – most notably via its ongoing house project, This Mortal Coil. A.R. Kane was the duo of Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala, who were issuing early examples of dream pop and had just put out their first release for 4AD, the Lollita EP (1987). 4AD founder, Ivo Watts-Russell, suggested the band work with Colourbox, a 4AD act which was the brother duo of Martyn and Steve Young and who had been blending genres over a trio of albums and several singles since 1982, mixing reggae, soul, hip-hop, and ambient dub and industrial sounds, and who had also employed samples in tracks such as 1985’s, “Just Give ‘em Whiskey.”

The two acts found their working styles didn’t work well together in person, instead opting to record their own songs separately and then swap them to add to each others’ tracks. A.R. Kane recorded “Anitina” and Colourbox submitted, “Pump Up the Volume.” Guitars from A.R. Kane were added to “Pump Up the Volume” and DJs C.J. Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell added scratching and samples. The project was named using their initials: Martyn, Alex, Rudy, Russell (Smith, a collaborator with A.R. Kane), and Steven. Colourbox had wanted to issue the song as their own and abandon the collaboration, but Watts-Russell refused. As a result, the Young brothers left 4AD, ending both Colourbox and M|A|R|R|S short tenures, but not before first paving an influential path for more eclectic sounds in modern rock.

Mory Kante, with his kora harp

“Yéké Yéké” \ Mory Kanté (1987)
Born in Guinea (known as French Guinea at the time) and raised in neighbouring Mali, Mory came from a musical family and was a player of the kora harp and a singer. He was in the collective orchestra, Rail Band, in the 1970s, which mixed African sounds with Latin styles, built on a mix of western and African instrumentation. This act continues today through an evolving mix of personnel. Kanté was of the West African mande griot tradition, or hereditary storytellers. His grandfather was chief of the griots of Kissidougou and played with large orchestras of up to sixty singers and balafonists (a gourd-based xylophone).

The 7” single I still have to this day

In 1981, Kanté released his first international album, Courougnegne, for an American label, Ebony Records, and recorded it in Los Angeles. His solo work mixed cultures and genres and included musical elements from his Islamic background. In 1984, he moved to Paris and recorded a funk album, moving towards the dance-pop style that would make him famous. In 1987, he issued the album, Akwaba Beach, which included the track, “Yéké Yéké,” a dance track adapted from a traditional mande song and sung in his native Mandingo language. The song was based on nimògòya, which was the flirtation between in-laws based on the Islamic custom that would pass a wife on to her brother-in-law upon the death of her husband. Yéké Yéké was a term for dancing.

An unlikely hit, the track found success on the dancefloors of Europe, going to #1 in multiple countries and reaching #29 in the UK singles chart and #19 in the US Dance chart. Selling over one million copies, it became the biggest selling international African single ever and the album was the top seller in Africa. Similarly unlikely for my musical collection, I ended up with the 7” single when my friend, Phil, brought it home after working in Germany during the summer of 1988, when it was at the peak of its popularity.

Full of horn blasts, electronic beats and synths, piercing guitars, and Kanté’s lyrical vocals, the song was full of energy and catchy turns. Its crossover appeal was undeniable, and it made Kanté one of Africa’s most beloved icons until his death in 2020.

“Sadeness (Part I)” \ Enigma (1990)
We’ll wrap things up with a track just outside the ‘80s, but no less eclectic in terms of its contributions to the musical landscape, and no less surprising in its success. Released in December 1990, Enigma’s album, MCMXC a.D., was driven by several success singles, the first being, “Sadeness (Part 1), released the prior October. It was followed by, “Mea Culpa (Part II)” the following April, and then, “Principles of Lust,” and “Rivers of Belief,” which resulted in almost all the songs from the LP being issued as singles. The album reached the top ten in countries around the world, including #6 in the US and, incredibly, #1 in the UK. “Sadeness” also reached #1 all over the world, including the UK, and #5 in the US.

Why was all this success so surprising? The album was a new age flavoured mix of beats, opera, and Gregorian chants. And in case you’re not familiar with such vocals, these are the chants of choirs sung in Catholic churches going back to the earliest days of the church. If incorporating jazz or African rhythms into modern rock was novel, that had nothing on medieval touches on your dancefloor favourite.

Michael Cretu and Sandra

Enigma was the project of Michael Cretu, who was Romanian born but worked and lived in Germany. After producing music for the middling success of his wife, Sandra Lauer (who performed as ‘Sandra’), the couple relocated to the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1988, which at the time was a hotbed of the Balearic club scene, which included ecstasy-fueled raves and acid house music. New Order would have been there (along with the Happy Mondays) recording the earliest parts of their 1989 album, Technique, and most notably the track, “Fine Time,” released in November ’88. Cretu was joined by David Fairstein and German producer, Frank Peterson and they recorded in Cretu’s home studio. They mixed new age vibes (flute synths) with club beats and Gregorian chants, which Cretu had used in Sandra’s ’87 single, “Everlasting Love,” and was inspired to explore such ancient influences more fully.

The album was mostly continuous, with one song flowing into another with several reprises of the music, and thus the multiple break down of tracks into different ‘parts.’ The Gregorian chants were sampled from the 1976 album, Paschale Mysterium, by Capella Antiqua München. Opera singer, Maria Callas, is also sampled in the track, “Callas Went Away.” The overall feel of the LP was very moody, dark, and downtempo, which no doubt helped its success as a favourite album to put on in the background to chill. However, there were peppier, dancier parts such as on, “Mea Culpa,” which could find success in clubs, where remixes also helped.

“Sadeness” was a part of a three-part, almost twelve-minute piece collectively called, “Principles of Lust.” “Sadeness” was the first and third parts, with the middle being, “Find Love,” which was issued as, “Principles of Lust,” for a single. The single version of “Sadeness,” was the first part of the medley, and yes, the track was a sexually infused, breathy track inspired by the Marquis de Sade. Aside from the chants, it had beats sampled from James Brown (of course), French vocals from Sandra, and flute samples from John Lee Hooker.

Gregorian chants would receive more attention in the 1994 album, Chant, which disposed of the new age elements of Enigma and delivered the pure glory of the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, with much commercial success (#3 in the US!). People seemed to like the cathedral feel for relaxing, one must assume. For Enigma, more success came with the next LP, The Cross of Change, and the single, “Return to Innocence,” another top ten hit around the world in 1993. They wouldn’t get another single into such stratospheric heights, but their LPs continued to do well into the early 2000s. The project has now issued a total of eight albums, with the most recent in 2016. Michael Cretu has been the only mainstay of Enigma throughout.

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What else to call this playlist but “eclectic.” Many of these artists and tracks have been favourites of mine since my teens and they’ve always stood out because of their genre-bending nature. As I’ve compiled playlists and profiles for new wave, punk, dark wave, and other scenes, finding homes for these tracks provided elusive. Therefore, grouping them here made sense as a catch all for how they interspersed themselves and connected to the other trends of the era, while still standing apart due to their uniqueness.

As much as the 1970s saw classic rock and pop music incorporate various musical and cultural influences into some of the most popular music of all-time, so did the 1980s for the modern rock variants that followed. Listening to the radio and watching music video channels was such a rich experience then, such that today’s niche-driven musical landscape can only replicate for us individually and via the internet, and less so via any mass consumption channels such as television or radio. It has been interesting since the 1980s to see first the rise of hip hop and then the huge infiltration of Latin music into worldwide popular music, and those trends owe a debt of gratitude to the artists on this playlist, who paved the way.