Mental Jukebox: 80s Retrospective: Having recently fallen into an absolute treasure trove of fabulous 80s era New Wave/Modern Rock/Alternative music videos, and re-discovering so many great songs of that era, I couldn’t resist doing a bit of a retrospective on some of the fabulous bands that existed back then. So many of these artists had huge careers in Australia, the UK or Canada, but weren’t given a lot of attention in the musical mainstream of the US. Until MTV came along, of course. Many of these bands that you might vaguely remember for the one or two songs that cracked the early Modern Rock charts have impressive back catalogs that are well worth exploring. Perhaps, like me, you’ll discover some new gems to treasure among the old favorites.
Pseudo Echo “A Beat For You”
Mental Jukebox 80s Retrospective: Best known in the U.S. for their cover of Lipps Inc.’s “Funkytown” in 1986, the Melbourne-based New Wave band Pseudo Echo had several Top 20 hits in Australia, including this tune (“A Beat For You”) from their 1984 debut album Autumnal Park. In listening to some of their back catalog, I was surprised by how many of their songs I actually knew, but had somehow forgotten, although the track “Living In A Dream” (the follow up t“Funkytown”) was the band’s only other charting hit in the U.S. Elsewhere, they’re still going strong. Pseudo Echo celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2007 with a sold-out show in Melbourne followed by a short tour, released their 5th studio album “Ultraviolet” in 2014, and recorded a live album at Hollywood’s Viper Room in 2015.
Mental As Anything “Live It Up”
Mental Jukebox 80s Retrospective: Mental as Anything was a new wave/pop rock group from Sydney, Australia that formed in 1976. The original members shared an art school/visual design background, making them pioneers of the music video form beginning in the late 70s. Along with their memorable (and often humorous) videos, they had a number of hits in Australia and Canada throughout the 80s, including some interesting covers of tunes by the likes of Roy Orbison, The Reflections, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. “Live It Up” was their biggest worldwide hit, also reaching the Top 5 in the UK, Norway and Germany, and getting some exposure in the U.S. via the film Crocodile Dundee, plus a North American tour with Men at Work. This band has an amazing catalog of great songs, which I really encourage you to check out. They released a total of 13 studio albums between 1979-2009, and continue to tour in their native Australia.
Boom Crash Opera “Onion Skin”
80’s Retrospective: One of my favorite late 80s albums was Boom Crash Opera’s 2nd release “These Here Are Crazy Times”, which was produced by Jimmy Iovine and featured a number of excellent tunes, including this one. The album reached No. 10 and spent 40 weeks in the Australian Top 50, achieving double platinum status there. Despite a string of hits and numerous ARIA awards in their native Australia, they never really cracked the charts in the U.S., although “Onion Skin”, did receive a bit of MTV airplay. But my personal favorite track from that album, “Dancing In The Storm”, (also posted below) went on to have more enduring fame at home, resurfacing a number of times, and finally serving as the title track of their last studio (acoustic) album in 2009.
Bronski Beat “C’mon! C’mon!”
80s Retrospective: Bronski Beat was a UK band best known for their excellent 1984 hit “Smalltown Boy”, but this follow up tune “C’mon C’mon” was a personal favorite. The band was fronted by Glaswegian singer Jimmy Somerville, who went on to have success with The Communards (1985-88) and then as a solo artist. His distinctive countertenor/falsetto vocals have been featured on a number of collaborative tunes with other artists, including several classic disco covers. His first solo album ”Read My Lips” was released in 1989 and charted three UK singles, including this fantastic title track (also shared below). He added “actor” to his resume in the 90s as well. His most recent release was the 2015 album “Homage”.
Mental Jukebox 