Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in February 1988. Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first top ten single in the UK Singles Chart and reached number one in Spain.
The Singles is The Pretenders' 1987 compilation album and features all the band's UK single hits to that date, as well as including "I Got You Babe" which Chrissie Hynde had performed with UB40 in 1985. The album reached #69 in the US album chart and #6 in the UK.
"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song recorded by the American band the Bangles. It was released in 1986 as the third single from the album Different Light. It was the band's first number one single, being certified gold by the RIAA, and became Billboard's number-one song of 1987.
"The Final Countdown" is a song by Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was based on a keyboard riff he made in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie's "Space Oddity". Originally made to just be a concert opener, it is the first single and title track from the band's third studio album. The music video by Nick Morris, made to promote the single, has become iconic with almost 1 billion views on YouTube. The video features footage from the band's two concerts at the Solnahallen in Solna, as well as extra footage of the sound checks and footage from Stockholm.
"Strangelove" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 27 April 1987 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987). It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, number two in West Germany and South Africa, and the top 10 in several other countries, including Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the first of nine number ones on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it stayed for three weeks at the top.
"Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West Germany, and the top-10 in several other European countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. The cover art features fragments of a Soviet map of Russia and Europe, with different fragments used for the different editions of the single.
"Learning to Fly" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, and Jon Carin. It was the first single from the band's thirteenth studio album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It reached number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in September, 1987, remaining three consecutive weeks at the top position in the autumn of the same year. Meanwhile, the song failed to chart on the official U.K. top 40 singles charts. On the other hand, in Spain, the song peaked at number 1 on the Los 40 Principales chart.
"What's Another Year" was Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winning song, achieving success in the 1980 edition of the contest, as well as Ireland's second Eurovision victory. Composed by Shay Healy, the song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in May.
"Walk of Life" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, the third track on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms (1985). It subsequently appeared on their live album On the Night (1993). It was released as a single on 29 November 1985, but had first been available as the B-side of "So Far Away" released in advance of Brothers in Arms.
"You're in the Army Now" is a song by the South African-born Dutch duo Bolland & Bolland, released in 1982. The song spent 6 consecutive weeks on the top of the Norwegian singles chart. A cover by British rock band Status Quo, simplified as "In the Army Now", was internationally successful in 1986.
"It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby Orlando, and the song's form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic.
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan, released as a stand-alone single. It directly entered in the UK Singles Chart at number 3 on 10 March 1973 and peaked three weeks in a row at that position. It stayed a total of nine weeks in the UK Chart.
"Lessons in Love" is a single from the English band Level 42, released in 1986 from the album Running in the Family, issued one year later. This single is the band's biggest hit in their homeland, where it reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and internationally, entering the top 10 in numerous countries, reaching the number-one spot in five of them: Spain, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and Finland. "Lessons in Love" is also one of the few singles from the band that broke into the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number 12 in 1987. It is the first of five singles from their 1987 album, Running in the Family, and it made way for the success of other singles from the album. In 2012, David Quantick described it in Q magazine as 'one of the best singles of the 80s'.
"New Sensation" is a song by the Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single from their 1987 album Kick. The music was written by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics by Michael Hutchence. The song reached no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, no. 9 in Australia, no. 25 in the UK, and no. 8 on the Album Rock Tracks in the US.
"The Living Daylights" is the theme song from the 1987 James Bond film of the same name, performed by Norwegian band A-ha. It was written by guitarist Pål Waaktaar. A revised version of the song was included on the band's third studio album, Stay on These Roads (1988).
"Love Missile F1-11" is the debut single by British band Sigue Sigue Sputnik, released in 1986 from their debut album Flaunt It. It was the band's biggest hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart.
"Voyage, voyage" is a song by French singer Desireless, released as the first single from her debut studio album, François (1989). It was written by Jean-Michel Rivat and Dominique Dubois, and produced by the former. Sung entirely in French, the song transcended the language barrier on the music charts and became a huge international success between 1986 and 1988, reaching the top position in more than 10 countries across Europe.
"Boys " is a song by Italian singer Sabrina, released in May 1987 as the third single from her self-titled debut studio album (1987). The song topped the charts in France and Switzerland, while peaking within the top five in Austria, Belgium, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
"Call Me" is a song by Italian singer Spagna, released in 1987 as the second single from her debut studio album, Dedicated to the Moon (1987). The music video for the song was filmed in and around Nottingham, England. The majority of the video was filmed in and around the Ritzy nightclub, with the nearby Belvoir Castle also featuring.
