1983 Songs Of The Year

1983 Songs Of The Year

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Posted 2023-01-16 by Steven Gfollow
1983 is 40 years ago as I type this.

40 years ago. I was in my first year of high school, and this was the first year where I really started to buy a lot of music. Way too much music, probably, looking back on it all.


So, this is a list of songs released in 1983 that I like, excluding live releases. And there are a lot of them. With that in mind, here are the honourable mentions:

'99 Luftballons' by Nena; 'Always Something There To Remind Me' by Naked Eyes; 'Better Keep Your Hands off My (Potential New Girlfriend) ' by Doug Parkinson; 'Blue Day' by Mi-Sex; 'Bop Girl' by Pat Wilson; 'Boys In The Attic' by Ellen Foley; 'Break My Stride' by Matthew Wilder; 'Burning Down The House' by Talking Heads; 'Catch Me I'm Falling' by Real Life; 'Change' by Tears For Fears; 'Chinese I's (Here Come the Minute Men)' by The Venetians; 'Come Said The Boy' by Mondo Rock (this was a close call for the main list); 'Cum On Feel The Noize' by Quiet Riot; 'Der Kommissar' by Falco; 'Don't Pay The Ferryman' by Chris De Burgh; 'Don't Talk To Me About Love' by Altered Images; 'Electric Avenue' by Eddy Grant; 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police; 'Faster Than The Speed Of Night' by Bonnie Tyler; 'Flashdance… What A Feeling! ' by Irene Cara; 'Foreign Affair' by Mike Oldfield; 'Fraction Too Much Friction' by Tim Finn.

Part 2:
'Gimme All Your Lovin'' by ZZ Top; 'Girlfriend Is Better' by Talking Heads; 'Haven't We Been Here Before' by Styx; 'Holiday Road' by Lindsey Buckingham; 'I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' by Nik Kershaw; 'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John; 'In A Big Country' by Big Country; 'Jeopardy' by Greg Kihn Band; 'Juliet' by Robin Gibb; 'Just Like Something From Hell' by Tank; 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie; 'Love Of The Common People' by Paul Young; ' (This Is Not A) Love Song' by Public Image Ltd.; 'Mad World' by Tears For Fears; 'Made My Day' by Tim Finn; 'Metal Health' by Quiet Riot; 'Money Changes Everything' by Cyndi Lauper; 'New Moon On Monday' by Duran Duran.

Part 3:
'On The Dark Side' by John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band; 'Red Red Wine' by UB40; 'Rock And Roll Is King' by Electric Light Orchestra; 'Rockit' by Herbie Hancock (another one really close to the main list); 'Send Me An Angel' by Real Life; 'Shadow On The Wall' by Mike Oldfield; 'She Blinded Me With Science' by Thomas Dolby; 'She's A Beauty' by The Tubes; 'Shoop Shoop Diddy Wop Cumma Cumma Wang Dang' by Monte Video And The Cassettes; 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' by U2; 'Talking In Your Sleep' by The Romantics; 'That Was Then But This Is Now' by ABC; 'The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun' by Julie Brown; 'The Promised Land' by Meat Loaf; 'The Reflex' by Duran Duran; 'The Wind Beneath My Wings' by Colleen Hewett (also really close; this far superior to the Bette Midler version); 'This Night' by Billy Joel; 'Undercover Of The Night' by The Rolling Stones; 'Why Me? ' by Irene Cara; 'Wipeout Beat' by Alan Vega; 'Without You' by Eurogliders; 'Wot' by Captain Sensible.

And that's just the almost-there list! 1983 was such a great year for music.

Here is the list proper in song title order… except the last song, which is my favourite of the year. One song per artist (which did make it awkward in a couple of cases), released as a single in 1983 or the origin album was released in 1983.

Let's go – 1983 in song!
'An Innocent Man' by Billy Joel

The title track from my favourite Joel album is lyrically amazing and musically superb. Nothing else to say.
'Blister In The Sun' by Violent Femmes

One of the few songs I can play on the guitar, this fun track is one I've heard by so many cover bands in pubs and it is a song hard to do badly. But the Violent Femmes original is so good and shines above all the rest.
'Blue Monday' by New Order

Renowned as the first song released only on a 12-inch single – which I bought – this told the world that New Order had truly emerged phoenix-like out of the ashes of Joy Division.
'Going Home: Theme From Local Hero' by Mark Knopfler

What an amazing instrumental this is, a piece of music from a decent little film, this tune was everywhere in the early 80s.
'Guardian Angel' by Masquerade

Yes, one of my favourite songs ever , this track is one I have discovered not many remember, so I am glad to put it out there.
'Here Comes The Rain Again' by Eurythmics

The Eurythmics had a string of amazing songs in the 1980s, and this is my favourite from this year. Annie Lennox's voice is so captivating.
'Holy Diver' by Dio

This is the title track from my favourite album featuring Ronnie James Dio. While it may not showcase his voice like some other tracks do, there is something about this that just hits me.
'Keep Driving' by Meat Loaf

One of my favourite Meat Loaf songs , the best he did without Steinman penning the track. His voice when he was on song was awesome.
'Legs' by ZZ Top

From the Eliminator album , this is the song that catapulted ZZ Top to the charts around the world, and deservedly so. A fun track, a great mix of rock and 1980s pop stylings.
'Love Is A Battlefield' by Pat Benatar

Benatar had so many great songs from the 70s to the 90s that this one being one of the better ones says something about how good it is.
'Major Tom' by Peter Schilling

Another song that I doubt many people remember, but I really this, so much so I also own the original German version, and the 12-inch version which mixes the German and English language lyrics.
'Maniac' by Michael Sembello

This is the stand-out track from the Flashdance soundtrack. Fun fact: this song was originally written about a serial killer, and the lyrics were re-worked to fit the dancing motif of the musical.
'Message To My Girl' by Split Enz

This is one of my favourite Split Enz songs. Another song with great lyrics and stunning music… the Finn Brothers (family) are just musical geniuses.
'Modern Love' by David Bowie

This is my favourite song from the Let's Dance album , a song with some strong 1960s vibes.
'Only You' by The Flying Pickets

This was the song that got me into acapella, a musical style that I still enjoy to this day. The way they take the old Yazoo song (though not old at the time) and make it sound like this is amazing.
'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' by Yes

Hard to believe that the prog rock stalwarts released this awesome pop-rock classic. But, considering it was produced by the Buggles, is that really surprising?
'The Message' by Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five

This was the first serious rap song I heard, and its incredible lyrics portraying life in a big US city for so many in the lower socio-economic areas still resonate today, 40 years later. Why haven't things changed in 40 years?
'Time After Time' by Cyndi Lauper

One of the best ballads (not power ballads, real ballads) ever from a classic album that is still looked upon with affection even now.
'Twist Of Fate' by Olivia Newton-John

Yes, one of my favourite tracks by Olivia Newton-John . This is from a mediocre film, but is still a great track.
'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' by Bonnie Tyler

What else was going to be my favourite song of the year? From a simply amazing album , this track is an all-time classic that I still hear played on the radio, is still used in movies and is still awesome. Jim Steinman was at the peak of his producing powers here; this is superb song-writing, production, performance and everything else.
And there we are – my 20 favourite songs from the year 1983. A mix of pop and rock, and I have liked all of these songs since they were first released way back when.

40 years is a long time in pop culture, but look at how many of these tracks still hold up today. What a great year 1983 was.
via GIPHY

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82995 - 2023-06-11 06:36:34

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