5 Fantastic 80's Love Songs

In 1979 the UK elected a woman as Prime Minister for the first time. This may or may not have been a mistake. However, what it did for political activism should not be understated. This activism found its way into popular culture perhaps as never before. Coupled with the Reagan government in the US and worldwide situations such as Apartheid in South Africa, popular musicians were at it hammer and tongs with songs that delivered a political message. No time for love songs then, yes? Well no actually, as five of my favorite 80's love songs will surely demonstrate.

From my point of view, Madness is THE band of the 80’s. Others no doubt have equally valid claims to the title, but for my brother and I these cats were the tops! They debuted in 1979 with The Prince and didn't stop scoring UK chart hits until (Waiting For) The Ghost Train in 1986. In total between these two bookends, Madness scored a total of 23 UK Top 40 hits. Of all of these my favorite can only be their cover of Labi Siffre’s song It Must Be Love. From the moment I first heard it I was taken. You know, I used to write the lyrics down and send them to the girl up the road - she never got the message, or maybe, I never got the message?! It was released in 1981 and got to number 4 in the UK, even managing a number 33 placing in the US Hot 100 - one of only 3 Madness singles that did. But then I suppose that just made them ours, all ours!

I really loved Phyllis Nelson’s 1985 hit, Move Closer, which made her the first black woman to top the UK chart with a self-penned song. It also makes her a genuine one hit wonder on the UK chart as it was her only single released as well as being a number one. It tells the story of her love for a white man, with whom she brought up her two children. The song is an honest appraisal of their differences and the attendant pressures likely to destroy their relationship, but it also takes great solace in the opportunity to live in the present and to enjoy each other before it ends. It’s a beautiful, haunting ballad perfectly capable of moving me to tears with no effort whatsoever.

The Flying Pickets a capella version of Only You was a cover of Vince Clarke and Ailson Moyet's song that as Yazoo they had taken to number 2 in 1982. The Pickets’ version went one better, making it to the number one spot for Christmas 1983, spending a total of 5 weeks at the top and earning its place in the history books as the first ever a capella number one in the UK. Although perhaps it’s more of a lament than a love song, it’s just a sublime demonstration of the art of song writing nevertheless.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye was Soft Cell’s third UK hit single. It reached number 3 in 1982 following shortly after 1981’s towering hit Tainted Love and Bed Sitter a number 4 effort. It's taken from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye gives a nod to the Beatles Hello Goodbye. The singer is relates his story of a failed relationship - due he says to the inability of his girlfriend to remain faithful to him, ‘you were a sleep around, a lost and found…’. It’s absolutely delicious. A perfect piece of British Synth Pop which perhaps suffers in comparison to the ginormous presence of Tainted Love, though in many respects it is the better of the two.

If anybody epitomized the influence of politics on popular music then perhaps Paul Weller is that man. The Style Council was Weller’s next big project after The Jam. This song, You’re The Best Thing, charted in 1984 in the UK as a double A side with The Big Boss Groove and rose to the heights of number 5. Weller was perhaps the original angry young man of 80’s pop music, so this came as a bit of a surprise - a gorgeous love song. It’s a song in which Weller tells his love that he’s been tempted, but that nothing could move him from her - ‘I might shoot to win and commit the sin… I’m content just with the riches that you bring.’

So those are my five favorites, but what do you think? What are your favorite 80's love songs?