3 Rock Songs From the 1980s That Shouldn’t Work on Paper (but They Do Anyway)

The success of some songs isn’t rational. Though artists and labels might like to think that there is a science behind it, that’s not always the case. The three rock songs below, all released in the 1980s, were questionable on paper. In practice, though, they worked like magic, earning oodles of success for their accompanying artists.

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“Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen

When you put two larger-than-life characters in a room together, it runs the risk of them overpowering one another. On paper, there is no truer sense of the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” than the battling personas of David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure”.

Freddie Mercury and Bowie were both artists who went above and beyond the usual asks of musicians. Both of their presences could blow anyone off the stage, so you wouldn’t immediately think to put these two together. However, the result was the stuff of rock history, becoming one of the most successful collaborations of the 80s. Sometimes gambles do work out, as evidenced by this rock song.

“Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler

While there is a layer of cheese to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” by today’s standards, no one can deny it’s a thrilling rock number. On top of Tyler’s incomparable vocals, the melody of this hit drives hard. It’s unrelenting from start to finish, making it an unforgettable listening experience in the 80s and even today.

“Holding Out For A Hero” could’ve easily been written off as a dime-a-dozen rock power ballad on paper, but Tyler’s voice breathes life into it that gives it an edge few of her peers could deliver.

“Rock The Casbah” by The Clash

The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah” is a mishmash of sounds and ideas that shouldn’t work on paper but somehow do. On top of the melody being completely different from the sound The Clash made their name on, the instrumentation nearly leans toward pop, an unconventional direction for a punk band to take.

The band was able to make this huge musical shift because the themes within the song remained punk-aligned, political, and affronting. “By order of the prophet / We ban that boogie sound / Degenerate the faithful / With that crazy Casbah sound,” the band sings in this 80s rock song. This thematic throughline helped fans get on board with this unlikely hit.

Photo of Clash Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images