3 New Wave Hits From 1981 That Every 80s Kid Can’t Stop Singing

The repetitive nature of new wave has helped forever embed the genre’s earworms in our brains. Many new wave hits were built atop danceable rhythms, which also rely on simple repetition. And this rigid and angular DNA similarly echoes the unforgettable geometric fashion patterns of the neon decade, guaranteeing that every 80s kid will continue to sing these new wave hits from 1981 well into adulthood.

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Here’s to hoping you kept some of the old clothes because you might want to dust them off when you hear the tunes on this list. We’ll begin with a less obvious number you may have forgotten, but muscle memory is a powerful thing. The final two entries are bigger hits, but I have faith you’ll recall all three.

“Beautiful World” by Devo

Following the unexpected success of “Whip It”, Devo’s record label, Warner Bros., hoped the band would craft something similar for a follow-up single. However, Devo wasn’t interested in recreating “Whip It”. Instead, the band self-produced a darker, less accessible album, New Traditionalists. Fewer guitars, more synths and drum machines, blinking and repetitive, on an LP pushing back against the absurdity of their signature tune. Though “Beautiful World” has an optimistic veneer, a dark undercurrent hints at something sinister. For Devo fans, it became a different kind of anthem to sing.

“Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol

Billy Idol’s former band, Gen X, released “Dancing With Myself” in 1980, becoming a modest hit in the U.K. Then Idol remixed and rereleased the song without his band the following year, breaking through in the U.S. and helping to launch a solo career. Idol soon became a dominant figure of the decade’s pop landscape, with a snarling punk rock image, danceable grooves, and defining hits like “White Wedding”, “Rebel Yell”, and “Eyes Without A Face”. But it all started with “Dancing With Myself”, showcasing the link between punk rock and new wave.

“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell

In the late 1960s, DJs in Northern England scoured record bins for underground American soul music. By doing so, they unwittingly started the Northern Soul movement. Another example of the U.K. exporting American music back to its country of origin. Emerging from Leeds, Soft Cell landed its biggest hit with a cover of Gloria Jones’s 1965 B-side, “Tainted Love”. (Jones had become something like the Queen of Northern Soul.) Many listeners likely didn’t realize “Tainted Love” was a cover. But it was yet another uptempo gem uncovered by curious crate diggers in England who unearthed a soul classic that the Americans missed.

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