“Land of Confusion” is a song by the English rock band Genesis from their 1986 album Invisible Touch. The song was the third track on the album and was the third track released as a single, reaching No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 14 in the UK in late 1986. It also reached No. 8 in the Netherlands. The music was written by the band, while the lyrics were written by guitarist Mike Rutherford. The song is widely remembered for its music video, which had heavy airplay on MTV. The video features puppets from the 1980s UK sketch show Spitting Image. After Phil Collins saw a caricatured version of himself on the show, he commissioned the show’s creators, Peter Fluck and Roger Law, to create puppets of the entire band, as well as all the characters in the video.
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in September 1989, and later released as part of Joel’s album Storm Front in October 1989. A list song, its fast-paced lyrics include brief references to 118 significant political, cultural, scientific, and sporting events between 1949, the year of Joel’s birth, and 1989, in a mainly chronological order. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for the Record of the Year and became Joel’s third single to reach number one on the United States Billboard in late 1989. “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, particularly in the 21st century, has become the basis of many pop culture parodies, and continues to be repurposed in various television shows, advertisements, and comedic productions.
“Just Can’t Get Enough” is a song by English band Depeche Mode. It was their third single, released in September 1981, a month before the release of their debut studio album, Speak & Spell. It was recorded during the summer of that year at Blackwell Studios, and was the band’s first single to be released in the United States.. A riff-driven synth-pop song, “Just Can’t Get Enough” was the final single to be written by founding member Vince Clarke, who left the band in November 1981. The single reached number 8 in the UK and number 26 in the US chart, making it their highest-charting single at the time on both counts. It also became the band’s first (and biggest) hit in Australia, reaching number 4.
“Great Southern Land” is a song by Australian band Icehouse. It was released in August 1982, as the lead single from their second studio album Primitive Man. It peaked at No. 5 in the Australia, it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular song. There are two versions of the music video. The Australian original version, was filmed at the disused Jones’ quarry in Wahroonga in 1982, with solarised clips of the band in daylight and surrounded by camp fires at night. The USA version was made in 1989 for the movie Young Enistein and it has Iva Davies walking around Myall Lakes National Park. The song is also used as the walk out tune for the Australian cricket team for their home matches during the Australian summer.
“Hand in Glove” is a song by the English band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released as the band’s first single in May 1983. Later in the year, Sandie Shaw began new phase in her career after she received a letter from “two incurable Sandie Shaw fans” – Morrissey and Marr – telling her that “The Sandie Shaw legend cannot be over yet – there is more to be done.” Shaw’s husband was a friend of Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records, the label to which the Smiths were signed, and she agreed to record some of their songs. In April 1984, her version of “Hand in Glove” was released featuring Smiths members Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce as backing musicians reached No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
