Killer line: 'Zoom – just one look and then my heart went boom/Suddenly and we were on the moon/ Flyin’ high in a neon sky' Killer line: 'Because I can brighten up your day/If you’re feeling bad, I put a smile on your face'ĭrummer Fat Larry Jones and his band nearly hit No 1 in the UK with this innocent ode to falling in love. Sims, a classically trained pianist, teamed up with electro-funk producer Kurtis Mantronik and kept her vocals relatively restrained for a ballad. Killer line: 'I could run away but I’d rather stay/In the warmth of your smile lighting up my day' Style Council - You’re the Best Thing (1984)Īfter breaking up the Jam, Paul Weller wanted to stop shouting about the world and instead turned out a beautiful homage to his motown heroes. Killer line: 'Hear me calling out your name/I feel no shame/I’m in love' The definitive singer of the'quiet storm' style of mid-Eighties soul, Baker was working as a secretary when this propelled her to fame. Killer line: 'This heart of mine has been hurt before/This time I wanna be sure' Proving that soul music didn’t have the monopoly on the genre, arena rockers Foreigner shocked their fans with this moody love song. Killer line: 'I make my wish upon a star/And hope this night will last forever'įoreigner - Waiting for a Girl Like You (1981) Luckily, Khan had first dibs and turns in one of her most soulful vocals. When Quincy Jones heard the plaintive keyboard intro to this he wanted to give it to Michael Jackson. Killer line: 'You can scratch my back, we’ll get cosy and huddle/I’ll lay down my jacket so you can walk over a puddle' The ladies already loved one of rap’s first pin-ups but he cemented his reputation as a sensitive bad guy with this shot from the heart. Killer line: 'When the lights go out/I cannot pretend/This bed’s too big for me/To be in alone' O’Neal was playing in stadiums with a giant bed on stage on which he would invite ladies to join him. The king of the slow jam at the peak of his career. Killer line: 'Hello, is it me you’re looking for?'Īlexander O’Neal - If You Were Here Tonight (1985)

Richie already had form in the ’70s for super smoothies with Three Times a Lady and Still, but he blew them out of the water with this.

Killer line: 'Some people are made for each other/Some people can love one another for life, how 'bout us? Here are 50 of the best from the Eighties.Ī ballad that seemed to set the template for ’80s love songs: gently throbbing bass, boy-girl dialogue, critical sax solo.

1980&#39;s old school music

1980's old school music