Like everyone else we’ve been having an 80’s revival at Sulk. We were born in this glorious decade and as such we’ve been indulging in a lot faux nostalgia, for things we don’t really remember because we were too young but appear in all our family photos, video cabinets and attics. There’s been an explosion of interest in everything 80’s from fashion, to t.v. to music. Kids who weren’t even a twinkle in their parent’s giant-spectacled eyes are now all wearing clothes hugely influenced by the style of the time, and yes, they mostly look pretty cool. I don’t suppose that many teenagers now have seen a lot of the big films of the 80’s to really know what people wore, which seems curious to us. Who would be wearing high top trainers and body warmers if it wasn’t for Marty McFly? Why would anyone choose to wear a giant bat-wing sleeve if not for Molly Ringwald? But I guess the people who design for H&M and Topshop have seen these films and can remember how cool these teenage film icons were in the day. Even though it is peculiar to dress in a costume from an era you had no experience of, I’m glad the 80’s has been back in for so long now. If only because it saves us from the hideously ugly 60’s and even more fashion vomit-inducing 70’s.
It has to be said that lesbians love their high tops and haircuts, a lot of which are straight out of 80’s post-punk culture. A lot of girls are looking hot in Ben Sherman and braces. Many more have adopted the oversized stonewashed denim shirt and leggings as a wardrobe staple. And the best thing about all of this is that most of these 80’s gems go really well with the lesbian’s favourite item, the Converse All Star (baseball boot not shoe, obviously).
So we thought we’d get the ball rolling with our appreciation of all things 80’s and have a look at some of our favourite things moments of the decade. There will be at least one million omissions from this list so if there’s anything you want to add, please do. We’ll start with music.
Music
Hip-Hop
Forget pretty much all the music we currently call hip-hop, in which big men shout about how much stuff they have. There is nothing hip-hop about it, its all nonsense. Back in the day things were different. Hip-Hop and breakbeats emerged in the 80’s and grew into rap. It was innovative, brilliant and dangerous. It was protest music but it was also fun music, which is why it appealed at a time in America when large groups of people were fighting for basic civil freedoms. The image was all about cool and a lot of fashion and advertising now has been influenced by 80’s hip hop. Here’s five tracks to remind us of the glory days, before 50 Cent etc turned hip-hop into ear-assaulting narcissism;
1. I Got It Made – Special Ed
2. Human Beat Box – Fat Boys
3. Wild Wild West– Kool Moe Dee
4. Beat Street – Grand Master Flash
5. Double Dutch Bus – Frankie Smith
Post-Punk
Bands like The Cure and Joy Division were massive in Britain in the 80’s. The lyrics were weird, the clothes were even weirder and they said everything most kids ever wanted to but couldn’t. A lot of the music was borne out of a time of massive contrast between the 80’s boom years and mass unemployment, not unlike Britain today – which perhaps explains why everyone is walking around dressed like Morrissey. I wish the indie scene could be just as interesting now. But it seems like all we have is Coldplay. Anway, here’s some tracks which I thought sum it up quite well.
1. Pictures of You – The Cure
2. Life in a Northern Town – The Dream Academy
3. Johnny Come Home – Fine Young Cannibals
4. Bring On The Dancing Horses – Echo and the Bunnymen
5. Lloyd Cole – My Bag
Dance
The influence of the 80’s is everywhere in dance music at the moment. Bands like The Human League are as (almost as) big as they ever were and Ministry of Sound put out electronic 80’s compilations that charted for months. Everyone, including La Roux is loving their synth (“we all play synth!”) and a lot of dance DJ’s are showing their love for the beginnings of the genre by including tunes in monthly mixes and club sets. Electronic music in the UK grew out of and into a more alternative scene which made for some pretty interesting styles of singing and fashion and is seen everywhere at the moment. Dance music was also hugely popular in Europe with a massive input from Italy in the form of Italo-Disco. Many obscure tracks from this time are being re-discovered and organized into compilations. Electronic music in 80’s America took a different form more related to 70’s disco. There’s a lot of love at the moment for dance that came out of New York in the 80’s, which was closely associated with the emerging gay scene and flamboyant warehouse drag parties. Chicago house, which had an edgier sound to the New York scene has also been a massive influence on today’s dance. So to round up this hugely varied category which loosely falls under the umbrella of dance, here’s my top five tracks;
1. Orient Express – Wish Key
2. Situation - Yazoo
3. Roots – Richie Havens
4. Fire in my Heart – Escape from New York
5. White Horse – Just Say No!
