This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.
Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. is an American musician, composer, guitarist, and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide.
Spandau Ballet were an English pop band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Dance Music" as "The Applause" for this new club culture's audience. They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop and were part of the Second British Invasion of the Billboard Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson (guitar), and Keith Strickland. Ricky Wilson died of AIDS-related illness in 1985, and Strickland switched from drums to lead guitar. The band has also added various members for albums and live performances.
New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic movement was characterised by flamboyant, eccentric fashion inspired by fashion boutiques such as Kahn and Bell in Birmingham and PX in London. Early adherents of the movement were often referred to by the press by such names as Blitz Kids, New Dandies and Romantic Rebels.
Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
Steve Ferrone is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Average White Band in the 1970s. Ferrone has recorded and performed with Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Laura Pausini, Christine McVie, Rick James, Slash, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Scritti Politti, Aerosmith, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Johnny Cash, Todd Rundgren and Pat Metheny. Ferrone also hosts The New Guy weekly radio show on Sirius Xm's Tom Petty Radio.
Gustavo Adrián Cerati Clarke was an Argentine musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, who gained international recognition for being the leader, vocalist, composer and guitarist of the rock band Soda Stereo. He is widely considered by critics, specialized press and musicians as one of the most important and influential artists of Latin rock. Billboard magazine ranked Cerati as the 33rd best rock singer of all time.
Gary James Kemp is an English songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet.
Martin David Fry is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer.
Tracy Ann Wormworth is an American bass guitarist.
Grant Young is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band Soul Asylum from 1984–1995. He replaced Pat Morley shortly after the release of Soul Asylum's debut album, Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck in 1984. Young's last appearance on a Soul Asylum record album was the breakthrough album, Grave Dancers Union. He was replaced in the middle of the recording sessions by Sterling Campbell, who has also since left the band and is primarily associated with David Bowie, as part of his touring bands.
Carlos Alomar is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician.
Doble Vida is the fourth studio album by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on September 15, 1988. Produced by Carlos Alomar, this was the second of only 2 Soda Stereo albums produced by someone outside the musical group, with the other being Soda Stereo, the eponymous debut album produced by Federico Moura of Virus.
Anton Fig, also known as "The Thunder from Down Under", is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. David Letterman, for whom the band served as house band on his late-night talk shows, often referred to Fig as "Anton Zip" or "Buddy Rich Jr." Fig is also well known for his work with Kiss, Ace Frehley and Joe Bonamassa.
Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disco.
Now That's What I Call the 80s is a special edition of the (UK) Now! series, released on October 29, 2007. The three-CD set has 60 hits from the 1980s.
Now That's What I Call the 80s is a special edition compilation album from the Now! series in the United States, containing hit songs from the 1980s. It was released on March 11, 2008. In addition to a traditional CD release, an 80-track "deluxe digital edition" was made available for download only on iTunes.
Peter Darwin Goddard was a Canadian music and culture journalist for Toronto-area newspapers starting with the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Telegram, and for most of his career, the Toronto Star.
