Why are the Brits the real Kings of Pop?
par Gaëtan Gennaro-Presse, le 26 mai 2019
The Eighties
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The eighties offered a wealth of talented musicians, some of whom were to enjoy long-lasting careers
Now a household name, Depeche Mode was formed in the late 70s but really rose to fame in the early 80s with songs like Just can’t get enough. With People are people, the band from Basildon was able to conquer the US audience. The live album 101 remains one of their greatest achievements, but Gahan, Gore and Fletcher have carried on working, earning an uninterrupted success.
Led by Robert Smith, the Cure recorded their first album in 1979 but really drew attention in the early 80s. Real fans would argue that their best song to date is A Forest, featured on their second album, released in 1980. Commercial successes include Lullaby, Boys don’t Cry or Lovesong. The band is still touring nowadays.
Another major singer was born to fame in this decade, George Michael started his career as co-singer of pop band Wham! He then carried on with a solo career, producing some worldwide hits like Faith or I want your sex. He died a premature death in 2016, less than two years after the release of his last solo album.
Genesis was a band formed in the late 60s by Peter Gabriel, but its most successful line-up included Phil Collins who joined the band in the early 1970s. It earned recognition in the 80s with such titles as Invisible Touch or We can’t dance. Phil Collins went solo in the 90s with titles like Another Day in Paradise. Peter Gabriel also enjoyed a long-lasting career, focusing on world-music, his song My Body is a Cage was featured on House M.D. during the last season of the show.
No comprehensive review of British music of the 80s would fail to include the Smiths and their brilliant frontman Morrissey. Though the band was only active from 1982 to 1987, they had a long-lasting influence on musicians all around the world. Out of four studio albums and one live album, four appeared on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". This Charming Man, Bigmouth or Meet is Murder are but a small sample of their talent. A cover of their 1985 song How soon is now? was used as the soundtrack of US witchcraft-themed show Charmed. Morrissey is still enjoying a commercially successful solo career.
Among the British bands who gained international success in the 80s, one might want to mention reggae-styled UB40 (Red red Wine), soul-band Simply Red led by Mick Hucknall (Money’s too tight to mention, Come to my aid), Dire Straits (Money for Nothing, Sultan of Swings), Eurhythmics (Sweet Dreams) or Pet Shop Boys. Acutally, the list would be way too long to name them all.
Across the Irish sea, musicians like Sinéad O’Connor came to prominence with her album The Lion and the Cobra but her international breakthrough came with Nothing Compares 2 U. Another band was to start a long-lasting career, U2, whose debut album Boy was released in 1980. The band still have the same line-up today, a fact which is rare enough to be underlined. Other Irish musicians include Bob Geldof, former Boomtown Rats singer and the man who initiated Band Aid, a charity mobilising the pop world to raise funds. The Pogues released the world-famous song Dirty Old Town while Donegal-born Enya distilled her Celtic influenced world-music, making her Ireland’s bestselling solo artist with an estimated 75 million albums sold worldwide.
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