Anybody into 80s big music?

The White Fronts
Green on Red

Here are a couple of groups that put out some good Albums in the 80s you do not hear mentioned a lot. Shooting Star, Fastway, Streets.

The Godfathers.
The Chameleons.

TALK TALK

Big 80's fan here. Tears for Fears gave us an 80's masterpiece w/ 'Songs from the big Chair'. I still listen to this disc in 2015. Sure its sounds a little dated, and holds up well. In the grand-scheme of things, the 80's was more about cocaine, than anything else.

keep me posted and Happy Listening!

Loverboy, owned the early 80's as well as Benatar, Asia, Toto and Quiet Riot. Still great music today.

MISTER MISTER

The Call just didn't have that killer, every track a standout type of Lp. It has nothing to with record sales. Big country debut comes to mind. Virtual flawless debut with a gluttony of high quality tracks. Sounds like I'm slagging them but I'm not.In short, They.never made a Joshua Tree. Few bands do.

I enjoy the Call and like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club even more. Michael Been's son Robert is founder of BRMC. BMRC covered "Let the Day Begin" on their last live album.

Phasecorrect-Having hit records and a definite debut album has nothing to do with "getting it right" from a musical perspective. Many bands have that "definite" 1st release then start on a spiraling decline, The Call did just the opposite The Call released 7 albums with the 5th recording "Into The Woods" being a creative peak for them.

The Call had two massive singles with "I still believe" and "walls come down." They got it right twice, which is more than most. They just didn't have a definite, career begining Lp IMHO. Reconcile came close.

Dayglow,

Sorry. The Call isn't my cup of tea. I have more to list like Dire Straits, Journey, Hall & Oats, Human League, Chaka Khan, Wham, Nena.......it's just too many to put it all in.

80's music + beer + chicken wings + audio nerd friends = perfect weekend :^)

S1nn3r-Your list helps prove The Call is consistently overlooked!

not exactly the glossy, symphonic sound contemplated by the original post, but i just dusted off two 80s guitar bands which blew me away, both from alabama (of all places) and both available on spotify: primitons and carnival season. primitons, in particular, shoulda been huge--rem-ish guitars, great vox and unusual, poetic lyrics.

If you want an amazing eighties album with superb production I can't recommend Shriekback's Big Night Music highly enough, especially the b-side. In fact mainly the b-side. I love that album and also use it as a test record when I get new tubes/equipment. They don't sound like their name would suggest, it's beautiful atmospheric but still thumping music. Miles better than Dead Can Dance, a band who's music I find pretentious. Check out “The Underwaterboys" online for a taste.

+1 for Leather Nun, saw them live about 1988.

This post has inspired me to beef up my 80s collection Lps. A local store had a $1 clearance sale, so I stocked up on some forgotten gems by many of the suggestions here. I basically left with 2 crates of Lps, which is kind of overkill, but I have a college friend coming to town, and we are going to have a late night listening session with some bourbon and cigars on some 80s vintage equipment in my man cave. A bit darker/noise fueled is the Leather Nun, a Swede band from the era with a heavy Lou Reed vibe. Thanks mates!

I'm born in the 70's so 80's music is a big part of my childhood. I also like 70's from my parents playlist. I guess those who don't like 80's are older generations. Just like how we feel about most of this era' music is garbage.

To many to list but here are some of my favorite.
Depeche Mode
New Order
Duran Duran
Tears for Fears
Pet Shop Boys
OMD
Spandau Ballet
Fra Lippo Lippi
China Crisis
Psychelic Furs
INXS
The Cure
Gene Loves Jezebel
Bolshoi
General Public
U2
Erasure
When in Rome
Camouflage
ABC
Soft Cell
Berlin
Echo and the Bunnymen
Flesh for Lulu
A-ha
Modern English
Reo Speedwagon
Blondie
Kenny Loggins
The Police
Toto
Air Supply
Christopher Cross
Micheal Learns to Rock
Madonna
Michael Jackson
Simply Red
Whitney Houston
James Ingram
Lionel Ritchie
Randy Crawford
Sade
Barry Manilow
Phil Collins
Angela Bofill
Dan Hill
Cutting Crew
El Debarge

Happy listening peeps =)

Attending college in the mid 80's vastly increased my exposure to new music. Had I not attended college, I'd probably still be listening to Van Halen and driving a Camaro.

Some of my fav's from that period:
The Romantics
The Call
The Replacements
Hoodoo Gurus
Squeeze
General Public
The Smiths
REM
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Fixx
INXS

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry were so awesome, now you're talking the Leeds connection; Sisters of Mercy, March Violets, Mission UK, The Sisterhood, James Ray. Gothic/Post-punk, none would exist w/o Joy Division.

Still don't understand the definition of "Big Music," no Wiki page for it.

Love the genre. Every now and then I dust off a few of these and offend the neighbors:

The Cult- Love
U2- the first 3 or 4 albums
Chameleons UK- the first 3 or 4
The Cure- Disintegration is my favorite
Hoodoo Gurus- Mars Needs Guitars
The Bolshoi- (Trevor Tanner's solo works are great too)
Simple Minds-
The Church
Gene Loves Jezebel
Waterboys- first couple of albums (I agree with Marty about World Party)

Even though a lot of these are pretty electric, I preferred them over the "hair' bands.

So "big music" is actually not music. It's simply pop that has nothing to do with music. I think music is something else but 80's pop.

Not "Big Music", more " post-post-punk", but Red Lorry Yellow Lorry had a great debut LP featuring "Hallow eyes" and "Talk about the weather." Definite Joy Division connection.

Depeche Mode still touring and releases albums so what?
They started in 80's.
None mentioned Talk Talk. They reached their peak in early 90's though.

Moody Blues, Yes, April Wine all hit commercial if not creative peaks in the 80's.

Czar,

No doubt.

Whoops, they were 90's.... (:^)

Have a nice day, Andrew.

My choice here is World Party. Karl Wallinger left The Waterboys in the mid-'80s and went bigger in almost every meaningful way. Mike Scott is IMO the more original and personal songwriter, but Wallinger is just a master re-cycler. He steals (pretty much exclusively) from The Beatles, The Stones, and Dylan and - given his particular gift - that's a surefire recipe for success.

"Goodbye Jumbo" (their best, IMO) was released in 1990, but I'll call these guys an '80s band, anyway.

Lowrider,
I got it. Big 80's is meant to be synth pop?
Til Tuesday, Thompson Twins, The Knack, Modern English -- Yak...Meh...Weh.. Shut down that thing and turn on the music please!

Dead Can Dance is definitely not synth pop.
I guess I can only enjoy Depeche Mode out of all synth pop or is it even synth pop?

Czarivey mentioned Billy Idol's guitarist as a good 'un, and he's absolutely right. If you have a hi-res/surround sound system snag a copy of Stevens' "Flamenco A Go Go", it's a TERRIFIC album!!

alot of the glossier, new-wavy stuff hasn't held up that well, but i still reach back to the slightly edgier, guitar-oriented english bands of that era--echo, chameleons uk, icicle works, smiths. also the sound, comsat angels and lucy show (somewhat less renowned, but equally worthy). the psychedelic furs (mentioned by waltersalas above) first couple of albums are also timeless--those songs stick with you 30+ years later.

Just saw Flock of Seaguls,Wang Chung,ABC, Gene Loves Jezebel,, Naked Eyes and a few others at winery in Saratoga recently..... Awesome!

David + David had one of the best(non-metal)recordings of the 80's.

Sorry, but the 80's were a definite low point, with few exceptions (R.E.M., the Smiths, U2). Most of that music sounds very dated due to the synth pop production style. The best artists from the 60s and 70s generally stayed true to their use of actual instruments, but most tried to fit in at least briefly, probably due to pressure from their record companies. Most of the rock music we listen to today took place or had its origins in the 60s and 70s.

Czarivey,
Your playlist resembles what the clubs I frequented were playing. "How Soon is Now" always filled the dance floor.

Never heard the term "Big music," but I guess these don't qualify... Post-Punk, New Romantic, Gothic, Techno, Industrial, New Wave.

Dead Can Dance started out in 80s. Also, John McLaughlin/Paco de Lucia/Al di Meola guitar trio.
It's big music in different sense.

How about the Romantics, Simple Minds, and the Psychedelic Furs?

Mapman not too much I care about Billy Idol, but his guitarist Steve Stevens is really figure.

The Outfield...perfect! Asia! Always liked Charlie Sexton...beats so lonely.. Bit more new wave...but early 80s had some overlap genres

. . . And a few others:

INXS
The Ramones
REO Speedwagon
Midnight Oil
The Pretenders
Scandal
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

"Big Music" was a term applied to 80s music that was a bit heavy handed at times (passionate), gated drums, chorus heavy, guitar/keyboard driven rock...it was a sub genre of what was then called college rock in the mid 80s... Which a precursor to the "alternative" movement of the early 90s...very few bands made the leap from college radio to the big-time...although REM, the Cure and U2 made the transition. A few skirted on the fringe. Those being Echoe & the bunnymen, Big Country, the Alarm, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Church,etc. Tears for Fears qualifies! Great band!

OP defines it as anthemic with big guitars and drums, so. . .

Asia
Dire Straits
The Outfield

How about 70-80's bubblebgum crap with buckingham/nicks trashing version of fleetwood Mac? Top forty kasey kasem all the way.boogie woogie.
Chew on that marty lindsey stevie wannabe rock stars..

80's way better than most of the trash now days.
They had originality, catchy rhythms and music you could actually listen to.

Talk Talk: The Colour Of Spring

Frida: Something's Going On

Daryl Hall John Oates: The Very Best Of

Big 80s fan here. In addition to the above (which identify some sold groups), some other classic 80s bands that come to mind:

Robert Palmer
OMD
New Order
The Police
Flock of Seagulls
The Cure
A-ha
Soft Cell
Human League
INXS
Depeche Mode
Blondie
Cyndi Lauper

Billy Idol had a lot of great tunes in the 80s, many very well recorded.

Hey Phasecorrect - does Tears for Fears qualify?

Can I clarify Big 80's? Is it 80's pop? I guess it's not my bowl of soup, but would never mind spinning following favorite 80's rock and electronica:

The Smiths;
Joy Division;
Violent Femmes;
Dream Syndicate;
Sisters of Mercy;
Skinny Puppy;
Laid Back;
DEPECHE MODE!
Kraftwerk;
Duran Duran;
Japan and David Sylvian also other members too;
Brian Ferry;
LAURIE ANDERSON!
Michael Brook;
Talking Heads(yea some of them actually from late 70's infiltrated to the 80's music);
Same to Brian Eno;
GONG!(with Daevid Allen)
Jean Michelle Jare.

I liked the 1970's bands better, but the 80's did have some great artists.

Here is a list that ranks the top Bands and Music from the era.

Don't forget big hair. I'd be into that but the trend since has been in the opposite direction. (:^{

In general I like more 80s music now than I did back then.

Also the Geico "Europe/Final Countdown" commercial is pretty funny. ISn't that tune pretty much the pinnacle of what we're talking about here?