80's Pop Music

"Live to Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna included on her third studio album True Blue (1986), and in the 1986 film At Close Range. A pop ballad with torch influences, its lyrics talk about deceit, mistrust and childhood scars. Originally conceived as an instrumental by producer Patrick Leonard for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire (1986), it was rejected by the studio, who deemed it unfit for the movie. Leonard then presented the track to Madonna, who decided to use it for At Close Range, which stars her then-husband Sean Penn. She wrote the lyrics, came up with a bridge and a few melodies of her own, and co-produced the track alongside Leonard.

"Relax" is the debut single by English new wave band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983. The hit version, produced by Trevor Horn and featuring the band along with other musicians, entered the UK Top 75 singles chart in November 1983 but did not crack the Top 40 until early January 1984. Three weeks later it reached number one, on the chart dated 28 January 1984, replacing Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace".[9] One of the decade's most controversial and most commercially successful records, "Relax" eventually sold a reported two million copies in the UK alone, easily ranking among the ten biggest-selling singles in the UK.[10] It remained in the UK Top 40 for 37 consecutive weeks, 35 of which overlapped with a radio airplay ban by the BBC (owing to lyrics perceived as overtly sexual). In June 1984, bolstered by the instant massive success of the band's follow-up single "Two Tribes", the single re-entered the Top Ten for a further nine weeks, including two spent at no. 2 (behind "Two Tribes"). At that time, Frankie Goes to Hollywood were the only act apart from the Beatles and John Lennon to concurrently occupy the top two positions on the chart. Several 12-inch single versions (and the "Frankie Say Relax" T-shirt craze) further fed the "Relax" phenomenon. The single re-entered the UK Top 75 in February 1985 and, more successfully, in October 1993, when it spent three weeks in the Top Ten. "Relax" remains the UK's biggest-selling debut single of all time. [11]

Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward.[2] Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group.[3] Between 1982 and 2009, they had 32 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.

"Who Can It Be Now?" is a song by Australian band Men at Work. It was released in Australia in 1981, prior to the recording of their 1981 debut album Business as Usual, on which the track was later included as its opening track. "Who Can It Be Now?" reached No. 2 on the Australian singles chart in August that year,[6] and was awarded a gold disc for sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia.[7] The song also hit No. 45 in New Zealand. Released in Canada in early 1982, the track peaked at No. 8 in late July. This spurred an American release of the song, and the single, by then well over a year old, went on to hit No. 1 in the US in October 1982. "Who Can It Be Now?", directed by Tony Stevens, was also a modest hit in the UK, reaching No. 45. As one of Men at Work's biggest hits, it was featured on their later compilation albums, and a live version can be found on Brazil. The song remains a popular symbol of new wave music and has been featured on numerous 1980s compilations. The band performed both this song and "Down Under" live on Saturday Night Live on 23 October 1982.

"Heart and Soul" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn and made famous by Huey Lewis and the News. The song was first recorded by Exile in 1981 as the title track to their album Heart and Soul. Exile's single failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 102 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song was also recorded by the BusBoys for their 1982 album American Worker.

"The Power of Love" is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News, written for the soundtrack of the 1985 blockbuster film Back to the Future. The song became the band's first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4][5] and their second number-one hit on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. In the United Kingdom, it was released as a double-A side with "Do You Believe in Love," becoming the band's only top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart.[6] The song is included alongside "Back in Time" on the film's soundtrack, and appears as a bonus track on international editions of the band's fourth studio album, Fore!

"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded and written by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features guest vocals by Michael Jackson (in the chorus), Randy Jackson, and Jermaine Jackson performing (additional backing vocals).[8] The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.[9][10] In the UK, it reached No. 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart.[11] Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song."[2]

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. It was written and composed by the record producer Keith Forsey and the guitarist Steve Schiff for the film The Breakfast Club (1985). Simple Minds initially declined to record it, preferring to record their own material, but accepted after several other acts also declined. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" became a breakout hit for Simple Minds, an iconic song and a 1980s anthem. The single reached No. 1 in the United States and Canada, becoming Simple Minds' biggest hit in the United States. It also reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top ten in charts around the world.

"True" is a song by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released in April 1983 as the title track and third single from their third studio album. It was written by the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter Gary Kemp to express his feelings for Altered Images lead singer Clare Grogan. Kemp was influenced musically by songs of Marvin Gaye and Al Green he was listening to at the time, and lyrically by Green and the Beatles. "True" reached number one on the UK singles chart in April 1983 and made the top 10 in several other countries, including the US, where it became their first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100.

"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League (credited on the cover as the Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the best selling UK single of 1981,[5] that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history.[6] It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.