3 Overlooked but Equally Dramatic Synth-Pop Songs From the 1980s

The drama of 1980s synth-pop lay in the keyboards. At the start of the decade, synthesizers became ubiquitous with increased affordability. Used in combination with MIDI technology, the notes, rhythms, and sequences were manipulated in the finest detail. More in tune, more in time, more dynamically powerful. Think of it like turning up a giant mood dial. It transformed even the plainest lyrics into something cinematic.

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For this list, I want to highlight lesser-known songs from the era. You’ll know the last two bands, but let’s begin with a London group who were pivotal to the movement, regardless of their inability to break through in the U.S.

“Fade To Grey” by Visage

While “Fade To Grey” remains Visage’s highest-charting single, it didn’t have the same reach in America as other synth-pop hits at the time. Written by Billy Currie, Chris Payne, and Midge Ure, “Fade To Grey” feels as cold and lonely as its title. Brigitte Arens echoes frontman Steve Strange’s bleak verses with dispassionate spoken-word French. She reiterates the New Romantic despair beneath a repetitive groove like one trapped in a downward spiral. Guitarist John McGeoch, from Magazine and Siouxsie And The Banshees, also appears on Visage’s self-titled debut, as the U.K.’s post-punks were unwittingly rewriting pop music history.

“Change” by Tears For Fears

Amid colossal hits like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Head Over Heels”, “Shout”, and “Mad World”, it’s easy to overlook “Change”. Released as the second single from Tears For Fears’ debut, The Hurting, the track features stabbing guitars, layers of synthesizers, and an anxious world music riff. Though the song only cracked the Hot 100, it blends a kind of instrumental virtuosity with rigid programming that made bandleaders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith touchstones of synth-pop and new wave.

“Nothing” by Depeche Mode

Few musicians this side of Trent Reznor have made darkness so danceable. Depeche Mode released Music For The Masses in 1987, and thanks to synth-pop staples “Never Let Me Down Again” and “Strangelove”, the album title proved to be prescient. On the Martin Gore-penned dirge, Dave Gahan dryly offers a day in the life of a nihilist. “God is saying nothing, nothing,” he sings here. Then: “What am I trying to do? What am I trying to say? I’m not trying to tell you anything you didn’t know when you woke up today.” Sounds like a nice revelation to me.

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