Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band. The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" was a UK Number 1 single in December 1986.
Dead or Alive were an English pop band that released seven studio albums from 1984 to 2000. The band formed in 1980 in Liverpool and found success in the mid-1980s, releasing seven singles that made the UK top 40 and three albums on the UK top 30. At the peak of their success, the lineup consisted of Pete Burns (vocals), Steve Coy (drums), Mike Percy (bass) and Tim Lever (keyboards), with the core pair of Burns and Coy writing and producing for the remainder of the band's career.
M People is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who formed the group. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked them as the 83rd most successful dance act of all time. M People have sold over 11 million records worldwide
You Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 17, 1987, by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums—Madonna (1983), Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986)—and a new track, "Spotlight". In the 1980s, remixing was still a new concept and technology, by which a particular vocal phrase could be endlessly copied, repeated, chopped up, transposed up and down in pitch and give them more echo, reverberation, treble or bass. Madonna became interested in the concept, noting that she hated when others remixed her songs and wanted to do it by herself.
Then Play On is the third studio album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 September 1969. It was the first of their original albums to feature Danny Kirwan and the last with Peter Green. Jeremy Spencer did not feature on the album apart from "a couple of piano things". The album offered a broader stylistic range than the straightforward electric blues of the group's first two albums, displaying elements of folk rock, hard rock, art rock and psychedelia. The album reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's fourth Top 20 LP in a row, as well as their third album to reach the Top 10. The album's title, Then Play On, is taken from the opening line of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night—"If music be the food of love, play on".
"I Wanna Be Adored" is a song by the British rock band the Stone Roses. It was the first track on their debut album, The Stone Roses, and was released as a single. The US release charted at number 18 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in 1990. In 1991, the single was released in the UK, Germany and Japan featuring previously unreleased B-sides.
"Dress You Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second studio album Like a Virgin (1984). It was released as the fifth and final single from Like a Virgin on July 31, 1985, by Sire Records. The song was the last track to be added to the album as it was submitted late by songwriters Andrea LaRusso and Peggy Stanziale. Madonna pushed for the song's inclusion on Like a Virgin as she particularly liked its lyrics. Musically, "Dress You Up" is a drum beat driven dance song featuring instrumentation from guitars and vocals from a choir, and a guitar solo played by Nile Rodgers, who also produced the song. The lyrics are an extended metaphor for fashion and lust, comparing dressing up with passion.
"Spotlight" is a song by American singer Madonna from her first remix album You Can Dance (1987). It was released as a single in Japan on April 25, 1988 by Sire Records and Warner-Pioneer Japan. Initially rejected during her True Blue album recording sessions, the song was written by Madonna, Stephen Bray and Curtis Hudson who had presented the original to the singer. It was inspired by the song "Everybody Is a Star" (1970), by American rock band Sly and the Family Stone. The song was remixed by Shep Pettibone, with additional mixing done by John "Jellybean" Benitez.
"Holiday" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eponymous debut album, Madonna (1983). Sire Records released it as the album's third single on September 7, 1983. Written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of Pure Energy, the track was offered to Madonna by her producer John "Jellybean" Benitez when she was looking for a potential hit track to include on her debut album. After accepting the song, she and Benitez worked on it and altered its composition by the addition of a piano solo performed by their friend, Fred Zarr. "Holiday" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic handclaps, a cowbell, and a synthesized string arrangement, while its lyrics speak about the universal sentiment of taking a holiday.
"With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree (1987), and was released as the album's lead single on 16 March 1987. The song was the group's most successful single at the time, becoming their first number-one hit in both the United States and Canada by topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and the RPM national singles chart for one week, with a further three weeks at number two.
"A Forest" is a song by the English rock band The Cure. Co-produced by Mike Hedges and the band's Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC's Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
"Red Rain" is the first track on English rock musician Peter Gabriel's 1986 solo album So. In the USA, it was the second single from the album and reached number three on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock chart in 1986, where it stayed for three weeks between July and August. In the rest of the world it was not released until 1987 and received less airplay and fewer sales, peaking at 46 in the UK singles chart after entering the chart in July of that year. A live version also charted in the US and the UK in 1994.
"Waiting for That Day" is a song performed and largely written by George Michael which was released on Epic Records in 1990 in the UK and on Columbia Records in 1991 in the US.
"At My Most Beautiful" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. During the song's creation, members of the group noted its similarity to the work of the Beach Boys and purposefully fashioned it to resemble that band's output. Singer Michael Stipe strove to make his lyrics the most romantic he had ever written, and the piano-driven ballad became R.E.M.'s first straightforward love song. Released on the group's 1998 album Up, it was issued as the third single from that record the following year, reaching number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"High" is a song by Feeder, released as the fourth and final single from their 1997 debut album, Polythene. This track was not included on the album until its re-issue in October of the same year and is seen as a fan anthem.
"Go" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released in October 1993 as the first single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by drummer Dave Abbruzzese. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number two in New Zealand, and it received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror .
"Dragonfly" is a song written by British rock musician Danny Kirwan with lyrics taken from a poem by Welsh poet W. H. Davies. It was originally recorded by Kirwan's band Fleetwood Mac in 1970, and became the first UK single released by the band after the departure of their frontman Peter Green. It was also their first single with Christine McVie as a full member of the group. By the time the song had been released, guitarist Jeremy Spencer had left the band.
"How Can I Love You More" is the debut single from British band M People taken from their debut album, Northern Soul. It was written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard, and produced by M People. The single was first released in 1991 peaking at number 29 and then re-released on 25 January 1993 with several new remixes. The song was a bigger hit and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart.
"Hey Boy" is a song by British pop group Take That. It was released through Polydor Records on 16 October 2015 as the fourth single from the seventh studio album, III, originally released in 2014, although this song only appears on the 2015 Edition. The song was written by Take That and produced by Greg Kurstin and features Mark Owen, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald on lead vocals.
