Who “owned” the 1980s musically?

I am going with:

Madonna
Prince
Joy Division/ New Order


I note Unknown Pleasures was released in mid 1979 in the UK but did not get its US release until March 1980

what do we mean by "owned"?  as in, were the most influential amongst other musicians?  most popular with the public?  most hits? most culturally relevant?

come to think of it, it doesn't matter: all those categories were slayed by Michael Jackson.  i don't care what your gauge is, there was no bigger name in music in the 80's than MJ.

we can lock this thread now.

All done here, folks.  Maybe Springsteen or U2 (ewww) can be added to the discussion but all of the "dominant" arena acts have now been mentioned.

Michael owned 1982-1984


This is about the entire decade.

hands down the biggest influence on music for that decade

Lou Pearlman

Heilung4eva wrote:
Lou Pearlman

That needs to go in the upcoming 90s thread…if ..we…get there

Phil Collins, no question.

Oh that’s a great choice

Throw R.E.M in there somewhere.  And Journey.  And Guns N Roses plus Motely Crue towards the end.

WalkOnBack wrote:
Throw R.E.M in there somewhere.  And Journey.  And Guns N Roses plus Motely Crue towards the end.

I love REM as much as the next person but a band that played to hundreds of people every night during the vast majority of the timeframe in question didn’t own shit.

Peter Gabriel
XTC
Style Council

Julian, wrote:

WalkOnBack wrote:
Throw R.E.M in there somewhere.  And Journey.  And Guns N Roses plus Motely Crue towards the end.

I love REM as much as the next person but a band that played to hundreds of people every night during the vast majority of the timeframe in question didn’t own shit.

how, donatella versace of you.

kosmo wrote:
Peter Gabriel
XTC
Style Council

xtc?  style council?  seriously?  i don't even think they make the cut for "musicians that had a major influence on other musicians"…

Don’t forget Style Council!




Kosmo is smoking crack today

hutch wrote:
Michael owned 1982-1984


This is about the entire decade.

Post Bad, Janet was the Jackson who mattered.

That’s true


If we could vote for a Michael/Janet tandem I might agree!

With regards to Peter Gabriel owning the 80s, I had a longer rant in mind… But, I'll just leave this iconic movie scene here instead.

The Style Council was an amazing group of musicians who weren't tied to any one genre of music and could easily move between jazz, soul and pop.  Their sound is timeless and they managed some truly memorable songs along the way.  They influence many people to explore music beyond the sound of The Jam.

XTC released an amazing streak of records in the 80s.  English Settlement > Mummur > The Big Express >  25 O' Clock > Skylarking > Psonic Psunspot > Oranges and Lemons

While XTC may not be a directly mentioned influence, they sure do get the tribute treatment often enough. 

While I definitely agree with your sentiments, and for me personally they (at least XTC) was a major group for me in the 80's, I would argue 90% of the numbnuts out there couldn't recognize either as a musical group, let alone name 1 song.

kosmo wrote:
The Style Council was an amazing group of musicians who weren't tied to any one genre of music and could easily move between jazz, soul and pop.  Their sound is timeless and they managed some truly memorable songs along the way.  They influence many people to explore music beyond the sound of The Jam.

XTC released an amazing streak of records in the 80s.  English Settlement > Mummur > The Big Express >  25 O' Clock > Skylarking > Psonic Psunspot > Oranges and Lemons

While XTC may not be a directly mentioned influence, they sure do get the tribute treatment often enough.