Madonna in the 1980s

Madonna burst into the scene in the early 1980s with her infectious sound and music and a very highly marketable persona. Her ideas and image were refreshing but often it courted scandal and danger but more than often she would come out of it all ok.

Her ambition stemmed from her admiration of Marilyn Monroe and her early look was dressed in white lace but with an edgier look drawing on the punk theme that had just faded. She was able to combine the look and make the sound more pop and mainstream.

There is much more to Madonna than a image, she could write songs, produce, dance and act in major films and an all round entertainer. She has been confirmed as the best selling female artist of all time and dubbed the queen of pop.

She released her self titled album and the record saw three singles that made huge strides in the chart with 'Holiday', 'borderline' and 'lucky star', the record was a disco sound and very much based on electronic sound with mixing by Jellybean but the next album was to catapult her into conscious of the many.

1984 saw the release of 'Like a Virgin' and the single made huge sales but not without controversy particularly the video and the premise that it encouraged pre marital sex etc.. the puritans were not in favour but the vast majority were still buying the record. The record saw 5 singles released along with the title there was also 'material girl', 'angel', 'into the groove' and 'dress you up'. The record was produced by Nile Rogers of Chic fame so the disco theme still continued but with more natural instruments.

1985 saw her star in the film 'desperately seeking susan' which contained the lead song she composed and sung 'crazy for you' and in a whirlwind romance she met and married actor Sean Penn, not content with that she embarked on a tour to promote her work and that year she starred in Live Aid in America to much acclaim and the world was truly warming to the queen of pop.

1986 saw the release of True Blue and once again the album was a huge success both sides of the pond. It spawned 5 singles and again the self titled song along with 'live to tell', 'papa don't preach', 'open your heart' and 'la isla bonita'. In her spare time she fitted in a couple of film roles with 'Shangai Surprise' and 'Who's that Girl' to the latter she also composed most of the score for the film. Inevitably a world tour followed including a 130,000 plus crowd for a concert in Paris!.

Towards the end of the 1980s she incurred the wrath of the Vatican with her video portrayal of 'Like a Prayer' which depicted Stigmata and burning crosses. Such was the animosity that her main sponsor Pepsi fearing a backlash dropped there links with her. The album included 'Express yourself', 'Cherish' and 'Oh Jessie'. A divorce from Sean Penn followed but the 1980s saw her as one of the most influential artists of her time. She was brave to take on institutions and break down barriers and her image as always remained a positive one.

During the 1980s she released four studio albums with three of them going number one in the UK and American charts, only the debut album failed to reach the top spot. She released a staggering 26 singles with 22 of them going into the top 10 in the UK singles chart with six going to number one. he record 'into the groove' was her first UK number one single.

Morrissey during the 80s

Steven Patrick Morrissey better known as Morrissey has been active in the music industry since the late 1970s and the Bardsmen has made an outstanding impression with lyrics, vocals and sometimes his own social views.

He started in the punk scene in the late seventies when Manchester became a real hotbed of punk talent. He briefly led the Nosebleeds who also featured Billy Duffy who went on to huge fame with The Cult. Duffy had introduced Johnny Marr to Morrissey and in 1982 The Smiths were formed.

The Smiths had a 5 year existence but for a Indie band they had made huge strides and became a regular in the charts and mainstream music. They signed to Rough Trade Records and were massively championed by Radio One DJ's John Peel and Kid Jensen.

During the 1980s The Smiths had released four studio albums with three number twos and 1985 offering 'Meat is Murder' reaching number one. They released 19 singles and were very prolific during this half decade they were around. They achieved two top ten hits with 1984 'Heaven Knows I'm miserable now' and 1987 'Sheila take a bow'.

During the last album, the cracks had appeared and the effectively the band had split. The late 1980s saw Morrissey embark on a solo career which would go well into the 2010's. He teamed up with ex-Smiths producer Stephen Street and released his first album 'Viva Hate' and two huge singles complimented the album 'Suedehead' a reverence to James Dean and 'Everyday is like Sunday'. The album went to number one in the UK album charts.

During the latter part of the 1980s he released a number of non album singles with 'Last of the famous international playboys' and 'interesting drug' which both went top ten and 'Ouija board, Ouija Board' punctured the top twenty.

The 1980s saw from a quiet beginning to one of the biggest names in rock and he played a huge part in the indie rock scene which was seen as battling against the takeover of the synth brigade.

Transvision Vamp

In the late 1980s saw a pop rock band emerge with a sassy rebellious young lady leading the group. The band was formed in 1986 by Nick Slater and lead singer Wendy James and they were ably backed up by Dave Parsons, Tex Axile and Pol Burton.

The band were signed up by MCA records and quickly released the single 'revolution baby' and 'tell that girl to shut up' both singles failed to reach the top 40, although it did get some success in Australia and America.

They then released 'I want your love' and this proved to be the stepping stone the band were looking for as it reached the top 10 in the UK reaching the dizzy heights of number 5. It's pop/rock/punk feel seemed to grab the UK audience and they very much carried on in that vain. They re-released 'Revolution baby' and this fared better by hitting the top 30. The next single 'sister moon' failed to dent the top 40 but the release of the album 'pop art' where it reached number 4 in the UK charts and stayed over 6 months in the charts.

1989 saw the band at it's commercial peak when they released the single 'Baby I don't care' which peaked at number 3 in the UK charts and the subsequent album follow up 'Velveteen' hit number one in the UK charts and again stayed over 6 months in the charts. The follow up single 'the only one' hit number 15 in the charts. Two further singles followed 'Landslide of Love' and 'born to be sold' both did well and hit the top 30.

The band then split following the release of 'little magnets verses the bubble of babble' in 1991, the record label were not convinced by the more mature mellow sound and did not release the album in the UK, as a result the band had decided to call it a day.

Wendy James went solo but the success did not follow and called it a day within a year and the rest of the band stayed within music with Dave Parsons going on to huge success with grunge band Bush.

The band enjoyed success in a short stay with 2 top four albums and 2 top five singles and Wendy James gave a shot in the arm that it was okay for girls to rock.

Dire Straits

In the late 1970s a rock band emerged from the North east of England who went on to global fame with a pub rock sound rather than the punk sound that was emerging.

The band was made up of Mark and Dave Knopfler with John Illsley and Pick Withers and the story started with a demo tape that they wanted further advice on and sought the advice of DJ Charlie Gillett who was on BBC radio London and he liked it so much he played it and as a result Phonogram records signed the band on the basis of one song Sultans of Swing.

They released a self titled album and Communique in the late 1970s to great success and the single 'Sultans of Swing' was a huge hit worldwide topping the top 10 in America and the UK. This song led to two nominations for Grammy awards in 1980 and the band went to work on the third album 'Making Movies'. however, this did not go smoothly and the Knopfler brothers had a fall out leaving David to leave.

The album only had 7 songs but yielded some big single success with 'Romeo and Juliet' hitting the top 10 in the UK and top 20 in America. The album was well received by the critics and public alike and peaked at number 4 in the UK album charts. A fourth album followed in 1982 named 'Love over Gold' and was a huge success hitting the top 5 in America and going number one in the UK. The lead single 'Private Investigations' reached number 2 in the UK singles chart and only 5 songs featured on the album including a 14 minute song Telegraph Road.Following the album success an EP was released featuring 'twisting by the pool'. Mark Knopfler also wrote Private Dancer for Tina Turner comeback and he continued to write scores for films such as Local Hero.

The next album was to push them into super stardom with the 1985 release of 'Brothers in Arms'. The album went straight to number one in the UK and stayed in the charts a staggering 4 years!!It also reached number one in America. The album featured many firsts with the video promo 'Money for nothing' being the first video shown on MTV in the UK and also the single 'brothers in arm' was the first CD single and the album was the first CD to sell one million copies in the UK. The album featured some huge hits such as 'Money for Nothing' with Sting on backing vocals , 'Brothers in arms', 'So far away', 'walk of life' and 'your latest trick'. the album won two Grammy awards as well as a BRIT award.

The next 2 years saw the band tour globally as well as a slot on the Live Aid concert and they played in over 100 cities. The band took a rest but go back together for the 70th Nelson Mandela concert. Shortly after that the band split and a greatest hits album was released and went to number one in 1988.

During the 1980s the group released 3 studio albums with 2 number ones in 'Love over gold' and 'Brothers in arms' and in terms of singles they released 13 singles with 4 top 10 singles with 'walk of life' reaching number 2 in the charts.

The Selecter

The Selecter formed in 1979 just as the Ska revival kicked in and like most bands of that genre they were a multicultural band. They also had the unusual feature that the lead singer was female in a very strong male orientated movement but Pauline Black was a strong character.

The name of the band is based on the Jamaican term for a DJ who selects records and the band was one of the most successful Ska bands during that period. The band was initially set up by Noel Davies and John Bradbury (who would later join The Specials) along with Barry Jones recorded some instrumental work and the result was the song The Selecter which was the flip side on the first 2 tone single Gangsters. The song reached number 6 in the UK single charts and this gave them the exposure they needed.

The band expanded after that and members included Des Brown and Charley Anderson and a young Pauline Black was offered the chance to lead the band. The band quickly got to work and three singles followed suit. They included the classic 'on my radio' which peaked at number 8 and this was followed by 'three minute hero' which stalled at 16 and 'missing words' which reached 23 in the singles charts.

Following the single success an album was inevitable and the release of 'too much pressure' was a classic success.  The album was released in 1980 and had the classic Rude Boy on the cover feeling the pressure. The album reached number 5 in the UK album charts and featured all the singles released. The album also featured a Ska version of the James Bond Theme.

The band had now received national recognition but before they could expand the success Brown and Anderson left the band to form The People and were subsequently replaced. They went to work on the second album which was titled 'celebrate the bullet' and the album was not as successful as the first and only reached 41 in the album charts. It featured the singles 'the whisper' and 'celebrate the bullet' which again were not as successful as the first singles they released. The album also featured an old Ethiopians tune 'train to skaville'. At this time they had left 2 Tone and released the album on  Chrysalis Records.

By this time Pauline black had left the band to pursue a solo career and replacement Stan Campbell (who would later front The Specials on Free Nelson Mandela) the band called it a day. Pauline went on to be a big name on TV and film and Noel Davies set up his own recording studio and continues to play Ska even up to the present day.