#12 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'I Ran (So Far Away)' by A Flock Of Seagulls (1982)

Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80s Dance Hit Countdown! Today we present you with #12, which goes to the British Grammy Award-winning new-wave band A Flock Of Seagulls and their most successful single I Ran (So Far Away). A Flock Of Seagulls began in 1979 out of  Liverpool, England and was formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score (keyboards, vocals) and Alister "Ali" James Score (drums), with Frank Maudsley (bass) and Paul Reynolds (guitar). I Ran (So Far Away) was released in 1982 on their A Flock of Seagulls album where it would reach #1 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart,
and #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song is one of the songs that really defined 80s music in my own mind and that is partly why I put it so high at the top of the list, that. the beat, and the of course the fully-sick hairstyles! Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown, we are nearing the top 10!

Rockin' In The 80s: 'It's In the Way That You Use It' by Eric Clapton (1986)

Yes yes its another 80s weekly series category, but well needed, and so the first Rockin' In The 80s post goes to English guitarist/vocalist/and songwriter Eric Clapton and his 1986 #1 hit It's in the Way That You Use It. Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England in 1945, has had a long and prolific musical career, and according to his Wikipedia page:

  

"Clapton ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time." and "Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream."

Need I say more?? It's In the Way That You Use It was released in 1986 on Clapton's August album, and the song would reach #1 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart that year. If you check out the video below you will also notice that the song was used on the soundtrack for that 1986 Tom Cruise/Paul Newman film The Color Of Money.  So there is the first Rockin In The 80s post, keep on rockin...boom boom!

The Saxxy 80s: 'Thorn In My Side' by Eurythmics (1986)

And now for another Saxxy 80s track, and yes this is a repost, but I figure I would like to get the reposts under their respective genres over with so I can get on with the ones I haven't yet featured. So, without further ado, straight out of 1986 is the very saxxy Thorn in My Side by the Eurythmics. Eurythmics are a British rock-pop-new-wave duo consisting of  Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart from London, who hit it big in the 80's (though currently they are disbanded). Thorn In My Side was released in 1986 on their Revenge album, and would become their 9th top 10 single. The song peaked at #5 on the UK Singles chart, #1 on the Swedish Chart, and #68 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Hot 80s Nights!: 'Running With The Night' by Lionel Richie (1983)

Welcome back to another issue of Hot 80s Nights!. Today we are revisiting a previous post under this issue, and the song is Running With The Night, by American singer-songwriter-musician-music producer Lionel Richie. This song was the second single release from his 1983  Grammy Award winning/multi-platinum album Can't Slow Down. Richie co-wrote this song with fellow song-writer Cynthia Weil and then co-produced it with James Anthony Carmichael. It would peak at #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at #9 on the UK Singles chart. Since 1968 Lionel Richie has been a member of the musical group Commodores on the  Motown Records label, and he made his solo-debut in 1982. I thought it also interesting to mention this song was featured on the  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game in 2002.

Tragic Love In The 80s: 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel (1986)

This week's Tragic Love In The 80s track goes to British singer/songwriter/musician Peter Gabriel and his 1986 release In Your Eyes. Peter Gabriel was one of the founding member of progressive rock group Genesis and he also had a successful solo-career. In Your Eyes was released in 1986 on Gabriel's So album, which was his 5th studio album. In Your Eyes reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986 and I specifically remember this song being featured on the soundtrack of the 1989 Cameron Crowe film of Say Anything.

Your 80s Hip-Hop Lives!: 'Brass Monkey' by Beastie Boys (1986)

How about another 80s Hip Hop Lives track?! Aight, so this week goes to hip-hop champions the Beastie Boys, and their 1986 track Brass Monkey. Beastie Boys are another of those legendary groups that have managed to remain successfully prolific through 3 decades and now have recently released yet another major album in this 4th decade! For those who don't already know they consist of Mike D (Michael Diamond), MCA (Adam Yauch), and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), and they originate out of New York City, USA. Brass Monkey was released as a single from their 1st (and still my favorite of theirs) album in 1986  Licensed to Ill. Now, I was always told that brass monkey was a drink consisting of beer mixed with orange juice, but according to Wikipedia a brass monkey can also consist of

"a mixture of gin, triple sec, tequila, orange juice, sour mix and grapefruit juice, or to a mixture of rum, vodka and orange juice (with or without Galliano). An alternative version of the brass monkey is a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor that has been consumed to the top of the label and then filled with orange juice."

No doubt it's an excellent and tasty beverage to imbibe...stay tuned para mas.

The Beachy 80s: 'All I Need Is Everything' by Aztec Camera (1984)

This week's Beachy 80s track, straight out of 1984, is All I Need Is Everything by 80s Scottish new-wave band Aztec Camera. Aztec Camera were a Glasgow-based new-wave/alternative band which starred teenage singer/song-writer Roddy Frame. All I Need Is Everything is another of those 80s songs that carries that upbeat beachy-80s sound mixed with some latin-style synthesizer rhythms, and it can be found on the B-side of the group's 1984 Knife album. Summer is coming and this kind of music combined with some sunny weather and warm air can really help to boost ones's spirits, so don't hesitate to bust these tunes out loud. Check back next week and I will have yet another Beachy 80s track for your ears only. 

#13 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Just Like Heaven' by The Cure (1987)

VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is back, and at #13 we have the massive 1987 track Just Like Heaven by English new-wave/rock band The Cure. The Cure are one of those brilliant bands that has managed to not only survive the passing decades, but also to continually put out great new music that is timeless, and they were doing it well in the 80's, 90's, 00's, and I must add that I hope to see more and more from this group in the future as well. The Cure formed in formed Crawley, West Sussex in 1976, with lead vocalist and songwriter Robert Smith being the only consistent and primary member in the group throughout its existence. Just Like Heaven was the third single release off of the 1987 Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album, and it would become their first hit in the USA where it peaked at #40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, while hitting #29 on the UK Singles Chart. This is one of those great timeless 80's songs that always makes for a good dance floor filler.

The Saxxy 80s: 'You Belong To The City' by Glenn Frey (1985)

The Saxxy 80s is back with American musician/actor/singer/songwriter Glenn Frey, and his 1985 Miami Vice soundtrack song You Belong To The City. You may be asking yourself if I already posted this song and you are right, however it fits under the saxxy genre so it is being reposted in this fashion. This is uber-saxxy 80's hit was featured on the soundtrack to that legendary 80's-undercover cop show Miami Vice,  and it peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in that year. Glenn Frey was a founding member of The Eagles back in 1971 (along with drummer Don Henley) who broke up in 1980 after having become one of the most successful rock-bands of all time. Frey then went on to start his solo-career at that point. Anyways, check it out...can't you just picture Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas cruising around Miami-beach in a Ferrari at sunset and shooting at bad guys when you hear this song...well if you can't just check out the music video below...

Hot 80s Nights! = 'Angel Of The City' by Robert Tepper (1986)

Those hot nights of the summer are coming soon for us here in the Northern hemisphere, which brings me to my next feature track from Hot 80s Nights! This post features  Robert Tepper and his 1986 song Angel Of The City.  Robert Tepper is an American singer/songwriter from Bayonne, New Jersey who has done soundtrack songs for various films and many of them from the 1980's..go figure. Angel Of The City comes off of Tepper's 1986 release album titled No Easy Way Out, and the song was featured on the soundtrack of Sylvester Stallone's killer 1986 action film Cobra. If you like the song you can purchase it and the rest of the album on ITunes HERE.

Tragic Love In The 80s = '(I Just) Died In Your Arms' by Cutting Crew (1985)

This week's Tragic Love In The 80s song straight out of 1985 is (I Just) Died In Your Arms by English pop-rock group Cutting Crew. Cutting Crew was formed back in 1985 by vocalist Nick Van Eede and guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael, who were later joined by bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin Beadle in 1986. The power ballad (I Just) Died In Your Arms was released in 1985 on the the band's Broadcast album. It would turn out to be their biggest hit clenching the #1 spot in the United States, Canada,
Norway,  and Finland, while also reaching the Top 5 in the UK, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland. Their is definitely a touch of tragic love in this song, so check it out...I would be surprised if you haven't heard it many times before. Stay tuned for more is to come....

Your 80s Hip-Hop Lives!: 'It's Tricky' by Run–D.M.C. (1986)

Yo 80s Fans! This is the start of the 80s hip-hop series! The title of this series will probably change if something better comes to mind. The first post goes to none other than 80's hip hop guru's Run–D.M.C. and their 1986 track It's Tricky. Now Run-D.M.C. are an American hip-hop group from Hollis, Queens, NYC and was founded in 1981 by members Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell. It's Tricky was a single released off of their third studio album from 1986 titled Raising Hell. The song peaked at #57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #21 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. An interesting bit of trivia from Wikipedia I didn't know before is that apparently The Knack actually sued Run-D.M.C. for sampling their song My Sharona in this song without official permission.

The Beachy 80s = 'The Boys Of Summer' by Don Henley (1984)

This weeks Beachy 80's track goes to American singer/songwriter/drummer Don Henley, and his 1984 song The Boys Of Summer. Now you might ask why is this on the Beachy 80's list? Well, the lyrics always bring up someone driving along the California coast for me, and more specifically a California beach. Don Henley of course was one of the founding members of the successful rock group Eagles in the 1970's, and this song comes off of his 2nd solo-studio album released in 1984 titled Building The Perfect Beast. That said, I am having some trouble finding some of my other Beachy 80s tracks on YouTube, so some future posts might not include video, but will have at least some info.

#14 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Take On Me' by A-ha (1985)

VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown returns once again with #14 of the countdown, which goes to 80's Norwegian new-wave sensation A-ha and their mega-hit Take On Me. Take On Me is arguably one of the most well-known 80's songs of all-time, and it can be found on the group's 1985 Hunting High and Low album. A-ha was founded in 1982 out of Oslo, Norway by members Morten Harket (vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards), and Pål Waaktaar (guitar). Throughout their career A-ha have sold around 36 million albums, and 35 million singles, and they are one of the top 50 highest grossing bands in the world to date. Be sure to check out the music video on YouTube as well as it was really one of those songs and videos that really helped to define the decade and YouTube has disabled embedding for some strange reason. Take On Me charted at the #1 spot on over 10 country-charts worldwide including the UK Singles and U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. And there we have #14.

The Saxxy 80s: 'A Love Bizarre' by Sheila E. (1985)

The Saxxy 80s welcomes you back, and today we are featuring Sheila E.'s legendary 1985 track (which was done as a duet along with Prince), A Love Bizarre. Sheila E. (Sheila Escovedo) is an American singer/drummer/percussionist/actress out of Oakland, California USA, who would join up forces with another 80's legend by the name of Prince and even manage to have a successful solo-career as well. A Love Bizarre is a track written and performed by Prince and Sheila E. which was released on Sheila E.'s 1985 Romance 1600 album. The song was Sheila E's second major hit which would reach #1 in Urban Radio Airplay & Dance/Club Play charts, #2 on the U.S. R&B charts, and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Pop Radio Airplay charts. The 12-inch version of the song runs over 12 minutes, and that is the version I am featuring here although the video below is the short 3 minute version, so check it out!