Category: 80s Video

Retro Video of the Day – Blind Vision

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There are many bands that truly embody the 80s electro-synth sound and Blancmange would have to be high on that list. Riding the wave of the 80s electro revolution, Blancemange was growing in popularity alongside the likes of Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Soft Cell and other bands forging a new sound for the decade.

Although their first real major hit was “Living on the Ceiling”, they did have some other decent songs that charted fairly well. “Blind Vision” reached number 10 in the UK in 1983 thanks in part to this creepy video. The group recently reformed and are working on new material for a new album.

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Retro Video of the Day – Can You Feel It

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When they were known as the Jackson 5 signed with Motown, Michael Jackson and his brothers only received less that 3% of the Royalties so when they made the jump to CBS, papa Joes made sure the boys received a massive 20% which obviously changed quite a few things for the now renamed Jacksons and their family.

Even with the success of albums like Destiny and Triumph, Michael still cranked out solo work that outsold the Jackson’s work by a significant amount. When Thriller was released, instead of going on tour to promote the album, he rejoined his brothers for the Victory tour which meant if you wanted to see Michael doing Billie Jean, you had to go see the Jacksons.

“Can You Feel It” was released from the Triumph album in 1981 and charted well in many countries reaching number one on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart until Cool and the Gang pushed them off with their monster hit, “Celebration”. The video was voted one of the Top 100 videos of all time in 2001 for MTV’s 20th Anniversary.

Retro Video of the Day – Domino Dancing

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I remember first spinning the original West End Girls track on a white label and thinking that this was completely fresh (how long has it been since you used that word in that context?) and probably the start of a new and prominent trend in dance music. Whether you called it Electro-Pop, Electronica, EuroBeats, or crap, it was undeniable that pop music was moving away from strictly guitars and experimenting with new electronic sounds that ushered and defined what ’80s music was all about.

The Pet Shop Boys have always been on the forefront of that movement and have continually put out new music over three decades. Domino Dancing, released in 1988, really helped them cross over to a wide range of audiences. It reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Club Play listing and cracked the Top 10 of almost all the countries it was released in.

Extra Retro Bonus !

Retro Video of The Day – Images of Heaven

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If your looking for a prototypical ’80s sounding song with a prototypical looking ’80s video to go with it then you need not look any further than Peter Godwin’s “Images of Heaven”.

Peter was part of the band called Metro in the late ’70s and went solo in the early ’80s producing his most memorable track, “Images in Heaven” in 1982. His other hit that got some Alternative radio play was “Baby’s in the Mountain” but in my opinion Images was a much stronger song. Enjoy!

Retro Video of the Day – Pump Up the Volume

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In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo landings, I thought the video should reflect the space theme and frankly Pete Schilling’s Major Tom thing is way too obvious so I decided on one of my personal favorites from 1987 – “Pump Up The Volume” by M/A/R/R/S. The video featured some vintage footage from the early U.S. and Russian space program. The footage confirms these astronauts had balls of steel or were heavily sedated and brainwashed to volunteer for this gig. How do you convince a guy to sit on top of a long gas tank and let them light the fuse. Now it seems fairly routine but back then I’m sure there was a lot of finger crossing and rabbit feet rubbing going on in the control rooms.

This song was a collaborative effort and became a one hit wonder since the people involved couldn’t play nice together. Literally. Even though they were nominated for a Grammy in 1989, they never released anything after that. I never get tired of this one. Turn the volume way up on this one!