We are moving now into the 1980’s for our selections of songs that once were on everyone’s lips but have faded from somewhat our memories and playlists.
“Best Years of Our Lives” is a song recorded by Modern Romance. It was released in October 1982 as a single by WEA. Japanese and German editions were also released. “Best Years of Our Lives” was the biggest-selling single for the group. It was the first single to feature Michael J. Mullins as lead vocalist and peaked at number 4 on the UK chart in late 1982. The single can be found on Modern Romance’s hit albums Trick of the Light (1983).
“Hold Me Now” is a song by British band the Thompson Twins. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alex Sadkin and the group’s lead vocalist Tom Bailey. The song is a mid-tempo new wave song that uses a varied instrumentation, including keyboards, a xylophone, a piano and Latin percussion. It was released in November 1983 as the first single from their fourth studio album, Into the Gap. Released in the United Kingdom in late 1983, the song peaked at number four in the UK in November of that year. It was certified gold by the BPI in 1983, becoming the band’s biggest-selling single, and their first top five in that country. The song was released in the United States in February 1984. It also became the band’s highest charting single there, peaking at number three on the Billboard in May, remaining on the chart for 21 weeks.
“Wordy Rappinghood” is the debut single by American band Tom Tom Club, from their 1981 self-titled debut album. It uses part of a traditional Moroccan children’s song and game, “A Ram Sam Sam”. The song opens with the sound of a typewriter and features jarring synthesizer chords and a distinctive drum break. The words of the fifth verse are spoken in French: “Mots pressés, mots sensés, mots qui disent la vérité, mots maudits, mots mentis, mots qui manquent le fruit d’esprit” which translate as: “hurried words, sensible words, words that tell the truth, cursed words, lying words, words that lack the fruit of the mind.”
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag” is an intrumental performed by the British band Pigbag. The instrumental was written by Chris Hamlin and James Johnstone before Pigbag was formed and produced by Dave Hunt and Dick O’Dell. In the United States, the instrumental was released as an import on the Rough Trade label, where it made it to number 56 on the US dance chart. A 1982 re-release of “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag” went to number three in the United Kingdom. The piece’s title is a play on the James Brown song “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. Whilst the track is well known for its brass riff, the bassline of the track was also ranked by Stylus Magazine at number 40 in their 2005 list of the “Top 50 Basslines of All Time”.
“Caravan of Love” is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of The Isley Brothers’ 3 + 3 lineup of the 1970s. British band The Housemartins released “Caravan of Love” in November 1986. The a cappella song was a success, reaching number one in the UK in December 1986 (only the second a cappella recording to do so, after “Only You” by the Flying Pickets in 1983), before being denied the Christmas No. 1 by a posthumous re-release of Jackie Wilson’s “Reet Petite”.
