Want to impress a special woman in your life, who also happens to be a bit of a 20th-century music nerd? Maybe you want to relate to a woman you’ve started dating who is a big fan of 1980s rock music? Either way, the following three niche (and we’re using that word liberally) bands from the 1980s might be worth diving into. Who knows? You might just find your new favorite band, too.
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Heart
Is Heart actually niche? Probably not to diehard classic rock fans. But the general mainstream world nowadays may not be hip to how cool Heart was in the 80s. Led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart was one of the few female-led 1980s rock groups out there, and they were in a league all their own. From killer songwriting to the impeccable guitar and vocal talents of both sisters, Heart took the world by storm, starting in the late 1970s. However, their work in the 80s has to be some of their best. Heart from 1985 and Bad Animals from 1987 are essential listening.
Poison Girls
Alright, time to get a little self-indulgent. Rarely did early punk rock feature the songwriting and vocal talents of a woman. You’d be even harder-pressed to find a punk rock frontwoman who was a middle-aged mother of two, screaming about how much it sucks to be an aging woman in a patriarchal world. Vi Subversa was a force to be reckoned with, and Poison Girls’ music was shamelessly anarchist punk with a feminist edge. Hex from 1979 might be their most well-known work, but I’m a particularly big fan of their 1981 live record, Total Exposure. Honestly, all of this band’s releases are worth checking out.
Eurythmics
Eurythmics might not be terribly niche among 1980s bands. But I’ve yet to meet a woman who is a fan of new wave synth-pop who doesn’t love this group. Led by powerhouse songwriter and singer Annie Lennox, this was the band that popularized the song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”, among others. Few singers out there sounded like Lennox at the time, and Eurythmics still has staying power today. Touch from 1983 is essential listening, but the 1985 album Be Yourself Tonight is also a solid piece of work.
Photo by Leon Morris/Redferns
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