3 Hits From the 80s That Were Inspired by Real Relationship Drama

Some of the best songs are inspired by real life and real love stories. Here are a few 80s hits that were inspired by real relationships!

“Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel

Originally, this song was going to be called “Uptown Girls”, as it was inspired by multiple women in Billy Joel‘s life at the time. The singer had gotten divorced, and what followed were relationships with models like Elle MacPherson and Christie Brinkley.

“The song was originally called ‘Uptown Girls’ not ‘Uptown Girl’,” Joel explained once, as shared by Songfacts. “I know its associated with Christie but when I started to write that song I had recently divorced prior to meeting her, all of the sudden I’m a rock star and divorced. All these women were going to go out with me.”

“I Don’t Care Anymore” by Phil Collins

Collins sings about his divorce from his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli, in this entry on our list of 80s hits. “I Don’t Care Anymore” introduces the listener to a version of Collins that is slightly more detached from the situation. At this point, he had moved on and was dating Jill Tavelman, whom he would later marry. The lyrics sing to Bertorelli directly.

Well, you can tell everyone I’m a down disgrace
Drag my name all over the place
I don’t care anymore
You can tell everybody about the state I’m in
You won’t catch me cryin’ ’cause I just can’t win
I don’t care anymore
I don’t care anymore, d’you hear?

“Hearts And Bones” by Paul Simon

Much of the Hearts And Bones album was inspired by Simon’s relationship with Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher. The pair met in 1977, were married at one point, and then divorced in 1984. In the 80s, they dated for a bit after their divorce. In the quote below from Songfacts, Simon compares “Hearts And Bones” to his massive Simon and Garfunkel hit, “The Sound of Silence”.

 “I wrote ‘The Sound of Silence’ when I was 21 and ‘Hearts And Bones’ is, I think, a better song,” he told Bruce Pollock in 1986. “But ‘Sounds Of Silence’ was a big hit and it’s in the culture. When you talk about a popular art, as the writing gets more complex and more layered, it’s harder to have a lot of people who really like it. It is easier to have a smaller group of people who are more intensely devoted to you. It’s natural that this should happen in my development…”

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