Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and "It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar. After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–1979, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums. They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar. The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University. This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid-1980s.
The Cars were an American new wave band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter and leader.
Gregory Stanley Kihn is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
The Grease Band was a British rock band that originally formed as Joe Cocker's backing group. They appeared with Cocker during the 1960s, including his performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. The band's name derived from an interview Cocker had read with the American jazz organist Jimmy Smith, who had approvingly described another performer as having "a lot of grease", with "grease" referring to soul. After Cocker formed the Mad Dogs & Englishmen album band line-up, the group released two albums without him in the 1970s.
Flash Gordon is the ninth studio album and first soundtrack album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 December 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and on 27 January 1981 by Elektra Records in the US. It is one of two film soundtracks that they produced, along with Highlander. It is the soundtrack to the science fiction film Flash Gordon and features lyrics on only two tracks. "Flash's Theme" was the only single to be released from the album, under the title "Flash". The album reached number 10 on the UK charts and number 23 in the US. The album was reissued worldwide on 27 June 2011 as part of the band's 40th anniversary. The reissue adds an EP of related tracks.
Shake It Up is the fourth studio album by American new wave band the Cars, released on November 6, 1981, by Elektra Records. It was the last Cars record to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. A much more pop-oriented album than its predecessor, its title track became the band's first Billboard top-10 single. Spin magazine included it on their "50 Best Albums of 1981" list. In 2021, Rhino Entertainment re-released the album on neon green vinyl.
Quinella is the tenth album by American Southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section, and their only album on Columbia Records, released in August 1981. The band was supposed to release another album on the label, but due to differences between Columbia and the band, the album was shelved.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American rock band The Cars, released on October 25, 1985, by Elektra Records. "Tonight She Comes", a previously unreleased song, and a remix of "I'm Not the One" were issued as singles to support the album. It was a commercial success, going six-times platinum.
INXS is the debut studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on Deluxe Records in Australia on 13 October 1980. The band recorded the album in midnight to dawn sessions during 1979 to 1980 after performing, on average, two gigs a day at local pubs around Sydney. All tracks were credited to band members, Garry Gary Beers ; brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss ; Michael Hutchence ; and Kirk Pengilly. The album was co-produced by the band and Duncan McGuire. It spawned the single, "Just Keep Walking", which became their first Australian Top 40 hit. INXS peaked in the Top 30 of the related Kent Music Report Albums Chart. The album did not appear internationally until 1984.
Triumph is the fourteenth studio album by the Jacksons, released in October 1980 by Epic Records.
School's Out is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in June 1972. Following on from the success of Killer, School's Out reached No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Top Albums chart, holding the top position for four weeks. The single "School's Out" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart and went to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman, and The Modern Lovers, the Rubinoos, and the Tyla Gang. Several other artists appeared on singles, or on compilation albums. From 1980 to its dissolution in 1984, Beserkley was a one-artist label, the artist being Greg Kihn.
Extended Play is a 1981 EP released by new wave band The Pretenders. "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town" featured on this EP were also included on their second album Pretenders II released later the same year. "Porcelain" and "Cuban Slide", outtakes from their Pretenders debut album, were included on disc two of the 2006 and 2021 remastered editions of their debut album and on the Pirate Radio box set. The live version of "Precious" on this EP, recorded at their New York Central Park performance on 30 August 1980, was finally released on CD on November 5, 2021. The booklet for disc one of the Pretenders debut album from the 2015 UK Edsel/Rhino Records box set 1979–1999 incorrectly states "Precious" is from that Central Park performance. Instead, the box set version is from their Boston performance of 23 March 1980; it is also included on disc two of the 2006 remastered edition of Pretenders.
Something Special is the thirteenth studio album by American band Kool & the Gang, released in 1981. It was the group's third consecutive Platinum-certified album.
Black & White is the eighth studio album by the Pointer Sisters, released in 1981 on the Planet label.
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song " and "Jeopardy". The band's musical style and genres comprise rock, pop rock and power pop.
Straight in a Gay Gay World was the third studio album by Australian rock band, Skyhooks. The album was released in August 1976. With the exception of "Million Dollar Riff", it was recorded at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California, after the band's first tour of the United States earlier in the same year. The title and songs are a sort of view the band had on their experience in the States. The album was produced by former Daddy Cool leader Ross Wilson. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian charts.
Glass House Rock is the fifth studio album by Greg Kihn and the second album to be released as The Greg Kihn Band in 1980.
Kihntagious is a 1984 studio album by the Greg Kihn Band. It is the last album to feature drummer and founding member Larry Lynch and keyboard player Gary Phillips.
Citizen Kihn is a studio album by the American musician Greg Kihn, release in 1985 through EMI America. It was his first album since 1978's Next of Kihn not to be released under the Greg Kihn Band name. The album reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 200. The first single was "Lucky".
