{"id":1194214,"date":"2026-09-09T01:32:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T01:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194214\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T01:32:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T01:32:28","slug":"the-10-most-underrated-pop-songs-from-the-1980s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194214\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 most underrated pop songs from the 1980s"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Waterboys \u2013 \u2018The Whole of the Moon\u2019\"The<\/p>\n

Before you see this entry and immediately wonder why a song as big and iconic as \u2018The Whole of the Moon\u2019 would ever be considered underrated in any way, let\u2019s look at the bigger picture<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The song didn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n

Still, \u2018The Whole of the Moon\u2019 remains one of the most significant releases of the entire \u201980s, standing as the ultimate embodiment of everything that the era\u2019s so-called \u2018pop\u2019 music was trying to achieve, blending accessible tropes with something bigger and more theatrical and grandiose.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A Flock of Seagulls \u2013 \u2018I Ran (So Far Away)\u2019\"A<\/p>\n

A Flock of Seagulls were pretty unavoidable in the early 1980s, thanks to MTV spearheading the second British invasion<\/a> and the music world\u2019s fascination with catchy, synth-pop hooks, but even they weren\u2019t immune to the odd \u2018flop\u2019, with their 1982 single, \u2018I Ran (So Far Away)\u2019, the second from their debut album, only peaking at number 43 on home soil in the UK.<\/p>\n

However, it has since become one of the many gems of the \u201880s, following the story of a man who is so attracted to a woman that he runs away from his feelings before they\u2019re both abducted by aliens. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"OMD<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a crime that much of modern discourse about quintessential \u201880s bands<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

When you listen to \u2018Souvenir\u2019 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\u2019s highest-charting singles on home soil. <\/p>\n

That said, it still feels overlooked in the sense that, despite being a commercial success, it\u2019s still left out of those all-important bigger conversations about electro-pop revolutionaries, forever hovering around watercooler chatter without actually ever getting there.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Talk Talk \u2013 \u2018It\u2019s My Life\u2019\"Talk<\/p>\n

Again, it might seem strange that a song as big as \u2018It\u2019s My Life\u2019 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. <\/p>\n

That, plus the fact that most people still think of No Doubt\u2019s version first, makes it one of the most overlooked singles across the entirety of the \u201880s. 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<\/a> and the complexity of Mark Hollis\u2019 voice. <\/p>\n

As he explained in 1984, after being questioned about whether his voice was intended to be sad, melancholic, or something else that didn\u2019t quite translate: \u201cWhat 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\u2019re happy, you can cry with happiness?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

When In Rome \u2013 \u2018The Promise\u2019\"When<\/p>\n

Upon release in 1987, When In Rome\u2019s \u2018The Promise\u2019 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<\/a> gave it a much-needed second wind.<\/p>\n

Capturing the essence of true \u201880s synth-pop, \u2018The Promise\u2019 deserves about as much credit as songs by some of the era\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

New Order \u2013 \u2018Bizarre Love Triangle\u2019\"New<\/p>\n

When New Order formed after the split of Joy Division<\/a>, 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-\u201980s, they started experimenting with electronic music and synthesisers. <\/p>\n

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 \u2018Bizarre Love Triangle\u2019, which saw them fully embrace this newfound adoration for all things synth. <\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Thompson Twins \u2013 \u2018Hold Me Now\u2019\"Thompson<\/p>\n

One of the most common themes throughout the world of pop is love<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the Thompson Twins touched upon in \u2018Hold Me Now\u2019, and it\u2019s considered a classic for the ages, but at the time, it didn\u2019t get the recognition it thoroughly deserved. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlannah 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,\u201d said Tom Bailey when discussing the track, \u201cThen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Talking Heads \u2013 \u2018Wild Wild Life\u2019\"Talking<\/p>\n

While all of the Talking Heads generally contributed to the songs and albums<\/a>, their 1986 offering, True Stories, was very much David Byrne\u2019s vision, which the band helped steadily bring to life. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe demoed all those songs before we recorded them,\u201d said drummer Chris Frantz, \u201cWhen I say \u2018demo\u2019, 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

A leading single (which doubled up as a soundtrack for a film of the same name) was \u2018Wild Wild Life\u2019, 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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Prince \u2013 \u2018Controversy\u2019\"Prince<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, where he spoke about the questions that people asked surrounding his ethnicity and his sexuality, singing, \u201cAm I Black or white? Am I straight or gay?\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u2019t considered one of Prince\u2019s best, but this seems unfair, as both the subject matter and the execution of the track certainly warrant some level of praise. <\/p>\n

Out of all of Prince\u2019s discography, this controversial offering is one song that should get more credit. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Janet Jackson \u2013 \u2018Don\u2019t Stand Another Chance\u2019\"Janet<\/p>\n

Janet Jackson pulled out all the stops for \u2018Don\u2019t Stand Another Chance\u2019, 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. <\/p>\n

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<\/a>. While it managed to climb relatively high on various R&B charts, the track never officially managed to break the Billboard Hot 100. <\/p>\n

When you listen to it now, it\u2019s 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\u2019t.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Waterboys \u2013 \u2018The Whole of the Moon\u2019 Before you see this entry and immediately wonder why a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1194215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3936],"tags":[81823,220355,77,29682,292642,269,67034,98572,3020,176791,7794,323625,323626,35131,16,15],"class_list":["post-1194214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1980s","tag-ballad","tag-entertainment","tag-janet-jackson","tag-love-songs","tag-music","tag-new-order","tag-new-wave","tag-pop","tag-pop-rock","tag-prince","tag-synth-pop","tag-talk-talk","tag-talking-heads","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117238509383188658","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1194215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}