The boring 80’s

Imagine it’s the boring 80’s again: there’s no internet and the only computer close-up you’ve ever had is Hal, from watching Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Odyssey. Marillion hasn’t yet reached the airwaves but the BeeGees have 3 hit songs among the top 10. On the tele, a balding Phil Collins is dressed up in a cardboard suit three times his size and crooning “You Can’t Hurry Love”.

 

You look out the living-room window and you see a slender, short-haired girl wearing a head band nimbly jogging along; she reminds you of Olivia Newton-John (“Hopelessly Devoted to Yoooooooooo”). In the background, you hear your younger brothers in the next room fighting over your Rubik’s cube. You turn on the radio but all you hear is U2, The Police and Duran Duran being played to death. Suddenly, you feel the unmistakable signs of a prog withdrawal fit coming on and you want to scream : BUMMER!!!

 

OK. To those of you progheads who are old enough to have bought music during the 80’s, I ask this question: What did your little prog hearts feed on during that decade?

 

Had you entirely given up on prog? Perhaps even on music as a hobby?

Were you listening to vintage prog over and over again, or did you perhaps try to get interested in 80’s music?

 

Personally, I filled dozens of casssette tapes with old prog favourites, recording them in a different order to vary the menu. When I visited record stores, I gleaned without much conviction over the rock section for a forgotten gem, or the jazz or new age sections for a Jean-Luc Ponty, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream or Tomita. In desperation, I clung to anything remotely prog they still dared to play on the radio: Pink Floyd, Saga, Simple Minds...

 

I honestly thought I’d never again see the word “prog” except in old newspaper clippings. That is until one glorious day, I heard a slightly Gabrielite voice uttering these strange lyrics coming from beyond the grave: Light swtich, yellow fever, crawling up your bathroom wall…

 

What’s your story? I'd really like to hear it.

It's very dependant on when you were born: I was born in 1970 and so I was a teenager in the 80's.  I'm youngest in my family and so I was a 'passive listener' of things like ABBA, Eagles, Foreigner - and some near-prog of the time (early 80's) like SAGA and ASIA. (Guess which has just recently gave me wonderful listening pleasures - ABBA! Like revisiting the harmless childhood days. But honestly, what marvelous two singers and many fine songs!) My first favourite band was Dire Straits and then came Marillion and then I went backwards in time into 'classic prog'. I had almost always felt quite ignorant about charts and pop music of the moment.

   So my relationship with the 80's pop/rock music is in a way close and on the other hand distant, and I like it that way, I mean I'm glad I was a teenager in the 80's, because there's a lot of songs from that time I still enjoy. I like a good deal of U2, Police, Tears For Fears, Talk Talk, Simple Minds, etc. I could also say that I'm free from hating albums like 90125 or Invisible Touch (though I actually haven't liked the latter since 80's) as they were the ones I came into these bands with. Not to mention Misplaced Childhood, one of the most influental crushes of mine!
   80's had many true unique artists as well: e.g. Kate Bush and Jane Siberry (both still in business). It surely wasn't as one-eyed or overcommercial decade as we tend to think of it today.
I'm more happy than sad about the 80's being so different from 70's.

80's boring? 

Only if you weren't really listening. It was really an exciting time, music wise. I guess it's how you look at it. Do you want to remember the goofy crap or the gems? You can make the same observation of the 70's. The 70's was disco, Captain and Tennile, Carpenters and The Bay City Rollers, wasn't it? Seems to me some of the biggest sellers were "Convoy" and "Disco Duck". My point is, the music was there, you just had to know what to look for. Most fashion movements look silly years after, remember the Brady Bunch shirts (nobody will admit it, but everyone wore them back then) and the Afro hair of the 70's? 

There was almost a bit of an explosion of diverse music at the time. There was a lot of 70's pop plugging up the airwave and New Wave, as well as other musical styles came in like a fresh breeze. Dire Straits hit full stride. There was a lot of Ska influenced music around. I'm kind of shocked that you lumped U2 and The Police in with Duran Duran. The Police had some pretty complex stuff, or "used a lot of expensive chords" as Andy Summers put it. U2 may not have been remotely prog but they could put political statements in with such dazzling music better than most.

Ok, for prog: There was Asia, obviously. The movie Pink Floyd's The Wall came out. Supertramp released "Paris". There was a large movement of what I call art rock, your definition may vary: Laurie Anderson (United States opus comes to mind). Philip Glass. The Talking Heads may sound like silly pop stuff but give a listen and there is some interesting things he did (not to mention the humour)

Keep in mind in the 80's it was possible to pick up prog on vinyl for relatively cheap. Chances were, your older sibling, or the older sibling of your friends was a goldmine of music, usually just lying around. My sister had "Rush 2112" and Supertramp's "Crisis? What Crisis?". Keep in mind that sometimes someone would have an old record lying around that they no longer listened to, the lp cover was damaged or the vinyl was worn, so they'd give it to you if asked. Prog was easy to find and usually the music wasn't new but new to you.

There was also albums that were prog by my standards, maybe not by yours. Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark had "Dazzle Ships". The The had "Infected". Seems to me Klaatu and Saga was still making albums into the 80's. Many of us learned about Amnesty International and Apartheid through Peter Gabriel's "Biko". Then again, there was "Games Without Frontiers" and everything else on that album. Phil Collins did go pop but he did release "In The Air Tonight" as sort of a farewell to his days of prog. There were also snippets in other songs like Gowan's "Criminal Mind" (which he pretty much borrowed Peter Gabriel's band to record). There were obscure stuff like Danielle Dax, who weaved in Arabic and Asian sounds with rock. Let's not forget This Mortal Coil, which was a side project for members of groups like The Cocteau Twins (another favourite of mine). Not sure if it's prog but there was Roxy Music.

Unfortunately, most remember the 80's as the time in prog that The Moody Blues released "The Present", Yes released "90215" and Styx released "Mr Roboto", so your mileage (and memories) will vary.

There, did I ramble enough?

Edited by darren

Hibou wrote: Personally, I filled dozens of casssette tapes with old prog favourites, recording them in a different order to vary the menu. When I visited record stores, I gleaned without much conviction over the rock section for a forgotten gem, or the jazz or new age sections for a Jean-Luc Ponty, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream or Tomita. In desperation, I clung to anything remotely prog they still dared to play on the radio: Pink Floyd, Saga, Simple Minds...   I honestly thought I’d never again see the word “prog” except in old newspaper clippings. That is until one glorious day, I heard a slightly Gabrielite voice uttering these strange lyrics coming from beyond the grave: Light swtich, yellow fever, crawling up your bathroom wall… What’s your story? I'd really like to hear it.

 I got through the 80's listening to The Fixx, Tangerine Dream, The Clash, Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, and other New Wave acts.

 It was a terribly rough time, yes.....and I never thought I would see the re-surgence of the music I loved throughout the 70's, but things DO come full circle!

TheProgtologist wrote: While the 80's were a bad decade for prog,I spent the ages of 14 through 24 in that decade and had a ball.They were anything but boring.I listened to a ton of thrash metal,and sort of got away from prog for a little while.

Amen to that!

 

Actually, I quite liked Duran Duran's music (but hated the image), and some of the "New Romantics" and Electronic bands were quite inventive; John Foxx, Gary Numan, Joy Division, Japan et al were interesting and fresh - and David Sylvian (ex Japan) has done a lot of great work. A high point (for me) was Laurie Anderson's "Mister Heartbreak" album - absolutely fantastic.

I was more into metal at the time, as the NWOBHM started in a fairly progressive vein anyway - and then thrash came along.  I even played a little thrash myself...

Of course, there was Marillion, IQ, Twelfth Night and *cough* Pallas - and the Enid and King Crimson were doing great things in the prog world.

So a pretty good mix of music, as long as you stayed away from the Discos.

No problems

Don't get me started on NWOBHM

Remember "Frozen Rainbow" on Saxon's debut - yeah! Saxon doing prog! (almost...!)

Some of Def Leppard's early stuff had proggy leanings (in the same way as early Priest), and you've practically listed all my fave bands from that time - except Motorhead.

Time for a thread on NWOBHM, methinks...

I listened to a lot of the ZTT/Trevor Horn produced stuff in the 80s, such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda. Propoganda's 12 inch singles Dual/Jewel and Dr Mabuse have a huge prog influence IMO, not that it was aknowledged of course!

Aha, Soft Cell and Tears for Fears were other favourites and I also developed a strange liking for jazz/pop acts like Matt Bianco and Swing Out Sister.

Prog-wise I thought Tangerine Dream did some good stuff in the 80s such as White Eagle, though that doesn't seem to be rated by a lot of people around here.

Other than that I survived on a diet of hard rock (Gillan, Rainbow) and AOR like Toto, Foreigner and, oh all right then I'll admit it, Asia!

     To be honest, after growing up in the 70s with really good
inspiring progressive music, my friends and I suffered so many
bitter disappointments, starting with "Going for the One" and
culminating in the atrocity of "Love Beach", that for us this
movement was really, officially OVER, already in about 77.
Certain groups continued to be good for awhile, like Brand X,
some McLaughlin, National Health, more in the jazz-rock
realm. As far as stuff with vocals goes, Peter Hammill was the
only one of that bunch that never floundered for a minute, his
music has always touched me deeply. Then I discovered Henry
Cow, Art Bears, Univers Zero, Present, older stuff like Magma,
more European RIO chamber-rock stuff, that fulfilled the need
for innovative instrumentals. The so-called "neo-prog" just
seemed like a pathetic rehashing of YESteryears, so for new
vocal thrills there were interesting things happening in the "Art-
Rock" dept., Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Jane Siberry,
even Peter Gabriel was to be found there with Kate Bush. In
Punk/New Wave, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Pere Ubu, David
Thomas' later stuff with Chris Cutler, Bauhaus & Tones on Tail,
Souxie & the Banshees. Only when pop music seemed to dry
up completely did I start reverting back to 70s prog gems. But I
honestly didn't miss them during the 80s with this plethora of
other interesting materiel, but it was great to discover that a lot
of older prog has aged very well, and there's still a lot to be
learned from it today. But good music has never been handed
to you on a silver platter, it's always been necessary to go
digging for it.

Am i the only one here who thinks "The Smiths" are the best 80's band? I yust love em... Morrissey have one of the best voices ever. And Marr's guitarr work is fantastic.  

Hibou wrote: Imagine it’s the boring 80’s again: there’s no internet and the only computer close-up you’ve ever had is Hal, from watching Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Odyssey. Marillion hasn’t yet reached the airwaves but the BeeGees have 3 hit songs among the top 10. On the tele, a balding Phil Collins is dressed up in a cardboard suit three times his size and crooning “You Can’t Hurry Love”.   You look out the living-room window and you see a slender, short-haired girl wearing a head band nimbly jogging along; she reminds you of Olivia Newton-John (“Hopelessly Devoted to Yoooooooooo”). In the background, you hear your younger brothers in the next room fighting over your Rubik’s cube. You turn on the radio but all you hear is U2, The Police and Duran Duran being played to death. Suddenly, you feel the unmistakable signs of a prog withdrawal fit coming on and you want to scream : BUMMER!!! OK. To those of you progheads who are old enough to have bought music during the 80’s, I ask this question: What did your little prog hearts feed on during that decade? Had you entirely given up on prog? Perhaps even on music as a hobby? Were you listening to vintage prog over and over again, or did you perhaps try to get interested in 80’s music? Personally, I filled dozens of casssette tapes with old prog favourites, recording them in a different order to vary the menu. When I visited record stores, I gleaned without much conviction over the rock section for a forgotten gem, or the jazz or new age sections for a Jean-Luc Ponty, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream or Tomita. In desperation, I clung to anything remotely prog they still dared to play on the radio: Pink Floyd, Saga, Simple Minds...   I honestly thought I’d never again see the word “prog” except in old newspaper clippings. That is until one glorious day, I heard a slightly Gabrielite voice uttering these strange lyrics coming from beyond the grave: Light swtich, yellow fever, crawling up your bathroom wall… What’s your story? I'd really like to hear it.

salut Lise, ça boume?

Excellent topic!

Although I was awre of Marillion (loved the debut but it is too derivative) and IQ , I was really hard up for good music in the early 80's, and since I was 17 in 80 and had started buying album from 75 onwards, there was tons of music to be discovered.

So I did like you filled tons of Maxell XLII-S tapes (they are stocked in old wine cases under my bed), but also roamed all of Toronto and Montreal's second hand vinyls and discovered mounds of music from the 70's and 60's  going as far as Canonball Adderley, Big Bill Broonzy, Django Reinhardt  and Jimmy Smith (Jazz and Blues), Chuck Berry and Dylan. I used to buy many used albums for a given price in some record shop and listen (and make compilations of the ones I decided not to keep) to them. Those I decided to part with, I headed out to London (Ontario) and Kitchener where second-hand stores used to buy back the unwanted records for the price I paid for them. So the actual costs were down mostly to finance the car trips (we often did this in a trio).

I think I bought around 4 to 5 thousand vinyls but never had more than 800 at a given time in my collection.

But You are right I never really thought I'd hear the word prog (or Art Rock as it was called in Canada at the time) again , until the Swedish trilogy (Anglgard , Anekdoten and Landberk) in 94.µ

But as I got back to the Old World across the pond , I discovered tons of bands that we had never heard of in America. I also fouind out of ECM jazzz-rock fusion when I came back here

The 80's appear as boring to older progheads because most of us were not aware that groups like Von Zamla , Univers Zero, Art Zoyd even existed. there was no way to discover them because the crappy pop music scene of those years focused all of the attention on the same groups (MTV born in 81 not helping out since looks became more important than music) and the black-out on then groud-breaking artistes was total (outside the US-UK realm that is).

So i have a better image of the 80's musically-speaking now than back then, only by retrospect because I know groups now , I had no idea even existed then.

The 80's were excrutiatingly bad especially after the glorious period of 65 to 75.