4 Songs From the 80s That You Probably Forgot About (But Still Know Every Word To)

The best songs are the ones that don’t take much effort to remember. Here are a few songs from the 80s that you can always sing along to, even if it’s been a while since you put them on.

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“I Melt With You” by Modern English

Even though this one might sound like a stereotypical love song, “I Melt With You” is actually inspired by the looming doom of nuclear war during the 80s. Apparently, it’s supposed to be about a couple making love amidst pure chaos. Honestly, it makes sense if you listen to the lyrics more than the melody:

Moving forwards, using all my breath
Making love to you was never second best
I saw the world thrashing all around your face
Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace.

Vocalist Robbie Grey once said of this tune, “The last thing we wanted was to write a song where boy meets girl, they go to the cinema and make love, and that’s the end of it.” There is something strangely deep about this song, so I’d say they achieved that.

“Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League

Everyone knows this fun synth-pop tune about a waitress in a cocktail bar. Its chorus is as fun to sing along to as it is easy to remember. Feeling inspired by the movie A Star Is Born, The Human League‘s vocalist Phillip Oakey decided to turn this one into a duet. It ended up being the group’s most commercially successful hit.

“Valerie” by Steve Winwood

Written by Winwood and Will Jennings, “Valerie” is the ultimate synth-pop ballad. According to Jennings, who wrote the words to “Valerie” as a poem, the song was inspired by a real person named Valerie Carter.

Carter was a member of the band Howdy Moon and worked with artists like Jackson Brown and James Taylor. She and Jennings apparently hung out quite a bit in the 70’s.

“Years later, in 1981 or 1982, I think it was,” the songwriter shared on his website, “I put Valerie in a lyric I wrote for Steve Winwood’s music when we were working on the second album Steve and I collaborated on, Talking Back to the Night.”

“Just Like Heaven” by The Cure

Similar to “I Melt With You”, this is one of those songs you don’t necessarily go looking for. However, it’s always a welcome surprise when you hear it again. Apparently, The Cure’s Robert Smith wrote this song after going on a trip to the sea with his wife, Mary Poole. She was just his girlfriend at the time. Knowing its backstory makes this song even more nostalgic.

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