Everyone knows the massive hits, but there are certain songs you only know if you can speak from experience. Here are some slightly more niche 1980s hit songs that will make you feel like you’ve been around a little too long.
“Back To Life” by Soul II Soul (ft. Caron Wheeler)
Before you say, “This song was from the 80s, really?”… Yes, “Back To Life” was released in 1989. However, it went on to win a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1990.
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“‘Back To Life’ came about from my own pain and I nearly died…” singer Caron Wheeler said of this song. “I nearly died and literally came back to life and I was mad, because where I had gone in between that was so wonderful… but I basically didn’t pass over at that point… I was mad, I was like, ‘Why do you want me here? However do you want me? What do you need from me?’ You know, I was talking to my creator, but it sounds like a party song on the record…”
“Heat Of The Moment” by Asia
This song feels iconic, but it also isn’t the first song I think of when I think of 80s music. According to John Welton of Asia, no one really “got” this song besides him and writer Geoff Downes. “Heat Of The Moment” was the last song to be added to Asia’s self-titled album.
“The lyrics are an abject apology for my dreadful behavior towards a particular woman; the chorus began its life as a 6/8 country song,” Welton explained in an interview. “But when Geoff and I started writing together, we moved the time signatures around, and ‘Heat Of The Moment’ emerged.”
“Wrapped Around Your Finger” by The Police
Although it’s no “Every Breath You Take”, this song off of Synchronicity is totally worth mentioning. This song has a mystical quality to it, and that’s probably because, as Sting revealed in Lyrics By Sting:
“This song is vaguely alchemical and probably about a friend of mine, a professional psychic and my tutor in tarot, with bits of Doctor Faustus and ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ thrown into the pot for good measure.”
Photo by: Solomon N’Jie/Getty Images
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