The Waterboys – ‘The Whole of the Moon’
Before you see this entry and immediately wonder why a song as big and iconic as ‘The Whole of the Moon’ would ever be considered underrated in any way, let’s look at the bigger picture.
The song didn’t perform that well when it was first released in 1985, only peaking at number 12 on the Australian charts and barely making a splash anywhere else, but it eventually became popular upon its 1991 re-release, when it finally got the attention it deserved, reaching the top ten in the UK, Ireland, and the European charts.
Still, ‘The Whole of the Moon’ remains one of the most significant releases of the entire ’80s, standing as the ultimate embodiment of everything that the era’s so-called ‘pop’ music was trying to achieve, blending accessible tropes with something bigger and more theatrical and grandiose.
A Flock of Seagulls – ‘I Ran (So Far Away)’
A Flock of Seagulls were pretty unavoidable in the early 1980s, thanks to MTV spearheading the second British invasion and the music world’s fascination with catchy, synth-pop hooks, but even they weren’t immune to the odd ‘flop’, with their 1982 single, ‘I Ran (So Far Away)’, the second from their debut album, only peaking at number 43 on home soil in the UK.
However, it has since become one of the many gems of the ‘80s, following the story of a man who is so attracted to a woman that he runs away from his feelings before they’re both abducted by aliens.
Although the song had a heavy hand in breaking the band in the US with a music video that MTV was all over, it still raises eyebrows whenever mentioned today, with many somehow never having crossed paths with it at all.
It’s a crime that much of modern discourse about quintessential ‘80s bands and artists often omits Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark from the conversation entirely, when they were undeniably one of the most innovative synth-pop pioneers of the entire decade.
When you listen to ‘Souvenir’ today, that fact only becomes more apparent given that it is single-handedly one of the best songs ever written. At the same time, the song performed fairly well upon release, too, reaching number three in the UK and remaining one of the group’s highest-charting singles on home soil.
That said, it still feels overlooked in the sense that, despite being a commercial success, it’s still left out of those all-important bigger conversations about electro-pop revolutionaries, forever hovering around watercooler chatter without actually ever getting there.
Talk Talk – ‘It’s My Life’
Again, it might seem strange that a song as big as ‘It’s My Life’ would be considered underappreciated, but when you consider that its success upon release was modest at best, and only really made popular after No Doubt covered it and made it into a megahit in 2003, its place here is more than justified.
That, plus the fact that most people still think of No Doubt’s version first, makes it one of the most overlooked singles across the entirety of the ‘80s. Back then, though, some people struggled to understand Talk Talk, which was also a likely contributor to certain setbacks, especially when it came to the nature of their music and the complexity of Mark Hollis’ voice.
As he explained in 1984, after being questioned about whether his voice was intended to be sad, melancholic, or something else that didn’t quite translate: “What can I say? Yes, there is a sad overtone to my voice. But even that often comes with joy. You know that feeling that if you’re happy, you can cry with happiness?”
When In Rome – ‘The Promise’
Upon release in 1987, When In Rome’s ‘The Promise’ only reached number 58 in the UK, peaking at number 11 in the US, but it was soon left behind, until a cover by Sturgill Simpson, inclusion in the television series The Leftovers, and a resurgence on TikTok gave it a much-needed second wind.
Capturing the essence of true ‘80s synth-pop, ‘The Promise’ deserves about as much credit as songs by some of the era’s more obvious culprits, like New Order, Soft Cell, or Erasure, with a song that captures the warm swell of everything good about the decade, and transforming the unease of uncertainty and trepidation into a timeless, tender love ballad.
New Order – ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’
When New Order formed after the split of Joy Division, there was a strange period where they were attempting to find their sound; in the early days, they very much drew on their original rock roots, but in the mid-’80s, they started experimenting with electronic music and synthesisers.
This is now the style that we predominantly know them for, and yet, a lot of tracks from this breakthrough period slipped somewhat under the radar, and a great example of this can be heard on the track ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, which saw them fully embrace this newfound adoration for all things synth.
It completely failed to break the top 40 charts; however, it allowed the band to show off this new direction and also got them a cult following. There’s no doubt about it, given we now recognise New Order as one hell of an electronic band, this is a song that should be celebrated a lot more.
Thompson Twins – ‘Hold Me Now’
One of the most common themes throughout the world of pop is love, which means there are songs out there which follow every single facet of this complicated emotion. You have tracks about falling in love, about hopeless longing, and about the euphoria that shrouds obsession, yet something that very few acts touch upon is how it feels to make up with a loved one after an argument.
That’s what the Thompson Twins touched upon in ‘Hold Me Now’, and it’s considered a classic for the ages, but at the time, it didn’t get the recognition it thoroughly deserved.
“Alannah and I had a big disagreement; an emotional battle that we argued out and, eventually, as you do, we resolved it and made friends again,” said Tom Bailey when discussing the track, “Then we immediately sat down and wrote this song. There was an emotional strength which led the writing. I think I had some of the musical ideas already, and Alannah was contributing lyrics, and it just kind of flowed into the song that we know now.”
Talking Heads – ‘Wild Wild Life’
While all of the Talking Heads generally contributed to the songs and albums, their 1986 offering, True Stories, was very much David Byrne’s vision, which the band helped steadily bring to life.
“He demoed all those songs before we recorded them,” said drummer Chris Frantz, “When I say ‘demo’, I mean just a beatbox drum machine and a guitar. We had to fill in the blanks. We had to take it from zero to 100 miles an hour.”
A leading single (which doubled up as a soundtrack for a film of the same name) was ‘Wild Wild Life’, one of the best from this strange record, and Byrne knew as much, which is why he released it as a single prior to the movie coming out.
It gained some traction, but only reached number 25 on the charts, because the hype of Talking Heads had passed somewhat at this point, resulting in less excitement surrounding releases, which is also reflected in the fact that it marked the final time the band ever broke the top 100.
Prince – ‘Controversy’
Prince was hardly an artist who backed away from controversy; in fact, he embraced it and decided to write about it on the title track for his first album, where he spoke about the questions that people asked surrounding his ethnicity and his sexuality, singing, “Am I Black or white? Am I straight or gay?”
The single was a pretty meta track that touched upon the strange nature of curiosity and why people decided to involve themselves in the lives of an artist so much. The song isn’t considered one of Prince’s best, but this seems unfair, as both the subject matter and the execution of the track certainly warrant some level of praise.
Out of all of Prince’s discography, this controversial offering is one song that should get more credit.
Janet Jackson – ‘Don’t Stand Another Chance’
Janet Jackson pulled out all the stops for ‘Don’t Stand Another Chance’, which wound up being the lead single for her second album, by deciding to get all of her brothers (except for Randy Jackson) to help out on the backing vocals.
The result is something pretty spectacular, as with the tricky debut behind her, Janet Jackson proved she was a solo star that could hold her own. While it managed to climb relatively high on various R&B charts, the track never officially managed to break the Billboard Hot 100.
When you listen to it now, it’s pretty hard to accept such a fact, as it really showcases just how great a performer Janet Jackson was, and with such a stellar backing band helping out, the overall feel of this song is on another level. Sometimes there is no rationale behind what is a success and what isn’t.