On this third outing in the My 80s Radio thing -- observe that the previous two sets (The Main Thing and More Than This, streaming on Selector's Choice) drew more from the white / anthemic spectrum of the times: Roxy Music, U2, Eurythmics, Eurogliders etc. Version Girl is the backbeat version, looking to Grace Jones, Talking Heads, UB40, The Stones, and Prince to set things in motion, that special motion ... which is why this set is streaming on BeatConscious instead of Selector's Choice ... this is my groove, these are my people

So, about some of these tracks ... for me, the Talking Heads' Born Under Punches is an iconic 80s track … if Remain in Light didn't show up on your radar when it was released, now is certainly the time to get educated. Listen to these guys break it down in the instrumental break … frisky! A standard by which to measure the rest of the decade, musically.

Also looking to the future from 1981, consider the Grace Jones joint, Walkin' in the Rain, a very early downtempo outing, long before that genre had a name.

Later we move into the backbeat side of things for real, going from UB40 to John Martyn's ur-Dub rendition of Johnny Too Bad … Lee Perry smiles.

Simply Red comes correct with Love Fire, more reggae-vibed goodness....

Eddy Grant ramps up the energy with the guitar work especially; and Eddy into the Stones: made to go together, plus there's another helping of that funky guitar work...

With all the new music flooding in these days, it's a testament to the strength of these 80s tracks that this is what I've been working on instead ...

Feedback welcome, as always.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MadameFLY,

Gave this a listen too a little while ago .... just catching up on my posts now

Great selection of 80s tunes - good cross-section of styles/bands from those times.

Mixing also spot-on - sometimes a quick fade out/in; other times a clean precise cut; always beats matched keeping the flow (not easy, I guess, with the range of styles/tempos on offer)

Nice one, Mme

Neb.