Tag: 1980sPage 2 of 22

Timbuk 3, Greetings From Timbuk 3, 1986 on I.R.S. Records

Debut album from Pat MacDonald and Barbara Koyman MacDonald, the husband and wife duo better known as Timbuk 3 (sometimes written Timbuk3), featuring their most well known single…

Haircut One Hundred, Pelican West, 1982 on Arista

The debut album for UK New Wave band Haircut One Hundred, founded by Nick Heyward, Les Nemes, and Graham Jones, joined here by Blair Cunningham on drums. Lead…

The Brains, The Brains, 1980 on Mercury

Self-titled debut album from Atlanta’s The Brains, including a song later made famous by Cyndi Lauper, “Money Changes Everything.” The Brains would only go on to one more…

Bruce Cockburn, Waiting for a Miracle: Singles 1970-1987, 1987 on True North

Collection of singles from Canada’s Bruce Cockburn, whose career ranged widely from folk to what we might call world music to rock. Cockburn was a Berklee School of…

Gene Loves Jezebel, Immigrant, 1985 on Relativity / Situation Two

Gene Loves Jezebel were twin brothers Jay Aston and Michael Aston, delivering post-punk with a goth-adjacent feel – most well known in the US for “Desire.” This was…

The Honeydrippers, Volume One, 1984 on Es Paranza

Robert Plant’s early 80s group dedicated to reproducing the sound of R&B, which had a big hit with a cover of “Sea of Love.” The title, Volume One,…

Wall of Voodoo, The Ugly Americans in Australia, 1988 on I.R.S. Records

Live Wall of Voodoo recorded on their 1987 tour in Australia, primarily at The Palace in Melbourne. The cover painting is by Robert Williams (aka Robt. Wms.). This…

The Romantics, Strictly Personal, 1981 on Nemporer

Third album from The Romantics, who originally came out of Detroit MI. Look at the new wave style here – matching pink leather suits and bolo ties. Did…

Flesh for Lulu, Long Live The New Flesh, 1987 on Beggars Banquet / Capitol

Third full-length album from Brixton London post-punks Nick Marsh, James Mitchell, Rocco Barker, Derek “Del Boy” Greening, and Kevin Mills—and their first on Beggars Banquet/Capitol. (Capitol in the…

Cactus World News, Urban Beaches, 1986 on MCA

This was the debut album for Cactus World News, with a different cover in US and UK editions- this one is the US cover. They were an early…

T-Bone Burnett, Trap Door, 1982 on Warner Bros.

Most people think of T-Bone Burnett these days as a Grammy-winning producer associated with Americana and roots music, but has also long been a solo artist releasing music…

Flesh for Lulu, Plastic Fantastic, 1989 on Capitol / Beggar’s Banquet

This was the fourth studio LP from Flesh for Lulu, and the second on Beggar’s Banquet (in the UK) and Capitol (in the US). “Decline and Fall” from…

The Alarm, Change, 1989 on I.R.S. Records

We recently lost Mike Peters of The Alarm, after a 30 year battle with cancer. He also had a lengthy solo career following the band’s breakup in the…

Flesh For Lulu, Big Fun City, 1985 on Statik Records

This was the sophomore studio album by Brixton’s Flesh For Lulu, released by London-based Statik Records in 1985. Nick Marsh (vocals, guitar), James Mitchell (drums), Kevin Mills (bass),…

Various Artists, The Best of Chess Blues, 1987 on Chess / MCA

Great 2xLP 80s compilation of the post-war blues that made Chess such a critical label, issued by MCA who acquired the rights to the Chess catalog in the…

Wall of Voodoo, Dark Continent, 1981 on I.R.S. Records

This was the debut album for Wall of Voodoo, before the big hit “Mexican Radio” which was on their follow-up Call of the West. In addition to the…

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Texas Flood, 1983 on Epic

Hard to believe given how fully formed the sound is, but this was the debut album for Vaughan and Double Trouble. Said to have been recorded in two…

UB40, Little Baggariddim, 1985 on DEP International / A&M

Great EP by UB40 from the mid-eighties, including a duet with Chrissie Hynde covering Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” with a dub version on side 2….

Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (aka Security), 1982 on Charisma

The fourth in Peter Gabriel’s self-titled set of albums, this one was labelled Security in some regions, and sometimes is referred to as Peter Gabriel 4. I love…

The Selecter, Celebrate the Bullet, 1981 on Chrysalis

The Selecter were a Coventry band on 2 Tone; Celebrate the Bullet was their second album, following Too Much Pressure. Neol Davies, Pauline Black, and Arthur Hendrickson did…