4 Pop Stars From the 1980s Who Disappeared Without a Trace

Countless names in pop music have made it big, only to disappear into thin air when their careers began to decline. The following super underrated pop stars from the 1980s, specifically, disappeared without a trace. Let’s find out what happened to them, shall we?

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1. Matthew Wilder

Remember “Break My Stride” from 1983? Few songs from the 1980s have matched the positive, cozy feeling of that synth-reggae tune. Naturally, Matthew Wilder’s song climbed the charts and peaked at no. 5. You’ll still hear it at rollerskating rinks today.

Sadly for Wilder, he never really had as big of a hit again. That didn’t seem to bother him, though, considering he went on to focus on songwriting and music production. He even worked on film scores, notably for the Disney film Mulan.

2. Robbie Nevil

Robbie Nevil was the chillest dude of the 1980s, and he made it big with the laid-back 1986 pop-R&B tune “C’est La Vie”. He had the vibe and look of a superstar heartthrob in his era, so it’s not exactly shocking that his hit song made it to no. 2 on the Hot 100 chart.

Nevil had a couple of more marginal hits before fading away into obscurity. However, he didn’t disappear completely. Nevil went on to focus on songwriting and producing for other artists.

3. Toni Childs

Toni Childs made a big name for herself with the powerful rock song “Don’t Walk Away” from 1988. It’s kind of surprising that she didn’t have a long-lasting career after releasing that track. Childs did enjoy some fame in Australia for a time, but she never had as successful of a hit as “Don’t Walk Away” in the US. Childs’ last studio album was It’s All A Beautiful Noise from 2015.

4. Rockwell

If Rockwell doesn’t look familiar, you probably have still heard his work before. His father was the founder of Motown, and his pop anthem “Somebody’s Watching Me” was a huge no. 2 hit on the charts, likely due to the contribution Michael Jackson made to the song. 

“Somebody’s Watching Me” set Rockwell up for success, but he struggled to capitalize on the song’s commercial power with subsequent singles. He more or less ended his music career by the late 1980s, which lands him on our list of pop stars from that era who disappeared. Though, Rockwell has gone on to focus on supporting charities like the Special Olympics and the American Cancer Society.

Photo by Mike Prior/Getty Images

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