Wherever you look, there is nostalgia in the air, often blamed at some popular shows both in the cinemas and the small screen (it doesn’t feel appropriate to say “TV” in the age of streaming). The retro aesthetic of the popular Marvel movie “Thor: Ragnarök” could be either the cause or the symptom but when it comes to “Stranger Things”, Netflix’s insanely popular series, it is the cause. Seeing popular Artists And Bands From The 1980s return to the shelves and hearing synthpop music from the radio triggers warm feelings of nostalgia in many – then it hits you that the 1980s wasn’t THAT long ago – let these artists who emerged back then and are still active today stand witness to this fac.
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Most Popular Artists And Bands From The 1980s
1. Madonna
Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone, may have not been the first singer to go by one name but she made the concept very popular – and triggered an entire generation of copycats. Madonna’s breakthrough came in 1982, with her debut single “Everybody” that became a major club hit in the US. In 1983, her first album “Madonna” was released, starting her on her way to the top.
Madonna is still very much active today, both on the stage and in the studio. She is preparing for the release of her 14th studio album “Madame X” that she’s been working on since last January.
2. U2
The story of U2 seems torn from the script of a coming-of-age movie: a bunch of teens from an Irish school gathered in the kitchen to form a band in 1976. By 1977, the newly formed group called “Feedback” was playing small gigs, and by 1978, the band changed its name twice, becoming what we know today as “U2”. And by the end of the 1980s, they had their first record deal in their pocket.
U2 released its first international single in May 1980 and its first album later in the year. Almost 40 years and 14 studio albums later, U2 is still very much active: the band still has its original format, and they are touring as we speak.
3. Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is considered one of the world’s top 10 performers to this day. He made his debut in the 1960s and played in various bands for years before landing his first record deal in the mid-1970s. While he was a critical favorite, he didn’t reach major commercial success until 1975, the release of its first successful album “Born to Run”. His most resounding success to this day is “Born in the USA”, the album he released in 1984.
Today, Springsteen has exchanged the concert stage to a smaller one, performing on Broadway. This didn’t stop him from releasing a brand new album this year.
4. Metallica
You can’t think of heavy metal without thinking of Metallica. The band was born in 1981 after drummer Lars Ulrich recruited James Hetfield to record a song for the “Metal Massacre” compilation. The song was released in 1982 and was a success, leading to the band’s first live performances, including opening for the UK heavy metal band Saxon during their 1982 US tour.
From an opening act to Saxon, Metallica has grown into one of the biggest heavy metal phenomena in the world. In the almost four decades that passed ever since they have released 10 studio albums, they have pocketed eight Grammy awards, and they are touring and recording to this day – they are preparing to release their next studio album pretty soon.
5. Iron Maiden
Another band that became successful in the 1980s and is touring and releasing albums ever since. After releasing certified platinum albums like 1982’s The Number of the Beast, 1983’s Piece of Mind, 1984’s Powerslave, and several others, the band lost its vocalist Bruce Dickinson – and a lot of its momentum. Dickinson returned to the band in 1999, and helped it regain its popularity – the band’s 15th studio album, “The Final Frontier”, released in 2010, has reached the #1 spot, and the band has been touring and recording ever since.
6. Queen
Queen reached its peak popularity in the early 1980s when they became the biggest stadium rock band in the world. Their ascension came to an abrupt stop with the passing of their frontman, singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara). Soon after, bassist John Deacon also retired, leaving guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor bear the torch – they have been touring ever since with vocalists Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert.
7. Sting
Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, made a name for himself as a singer for The Police, an English rock band formed in the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, he’s tried his luck as a solo artist – he released his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, in 1985, immediately receiving Grammy nominations and being certified triple Platinum. He became a major sensation in the 1990s, and nothing seems to stop him ever since – between joint tours with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel and a lot of soundtrack work, he found the time to launch a new studio album “My Songs” this year.
8. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney went down in history as one of the Beatles… but he has a very successful solo career behind him as a singer, musician, and songwriter. After the disbandment of the Beatles in the 1970s, he launched a first solo album that topped the US charts, then he founded a new band with Linda McCartney, guitarist Denny Laine, and drummer Denny Seiwell, called Wings. His second solo album called “McCartney II”, released in 1980, which was once again an unexpected success, convincing him to continue solo for the rest of his career.
He never stopped playing, touring, and composing – his latest studio album, “Egypt Station”, was released in 2018.
9. Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is a… phenomenon that emerged in the mid-1970s, conquering the world with their almost sterile electronic music. After several albums and live performances across the late 1970s and 1980s, they took a break… then returned into the spotlight with “The Mix”, an album recorded in 1989 and released in 1990. It was a “best of” of sorts but with all songs brought to speed with the modern electronic music scene. At the same time, the band started touring again and never stopped. They took the stage at the Ultra Music Festival in 2012 and headlined the Bluedot Festival celebrating 50 years from the first Moon landing this year.
10. Depeche Mode
Finally, here’s one of the biggest sensations of the 1980s electronic music revolution, the English synthpop phenomenon Depeche Mode. The band was born in 1980, blasting into the scene with their first single “Dreaming of Me” that reached #57 in the UK, followed by a #11 called “New Life”, and later, their first UK top 10 single, “Just Can’t Get Enough”.
The band has since released 14 studio albums – the latest, in 2017 – and last October, they were still touring.
