Featuring the best 80s music videos, TV shows, 80s celebrities and more!
If ever there was a perfect decade to produce a million different gifs, the ’80s was it! We’re constantly on the lookout for great ’80s gifs, and the ones below are some of the best we’ve seen. Check them out and feel free to share! Help us keep the ’80s alive!
Bon Jovi’s You Give Love A Bad Name was their first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and it started their run as the most popular hair band in the country! They would go on to score number one hits for ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, ‘Bad Medicine’ and ‘I’ll Be There For You’.
In 2018, Cher released her 26th studio album, Dancing Queen, which contains cover versions of songs by ABBA, and is today’s The ’80s Today feature! Cher released two singles from the album in 2018, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), which peaked at number four on the US Dance charts, and SOS. And, in 2020, Cher released Chiquitita.
Below are videos from Cher performing each song as well as ABBA’s music video for each song! Oh, and how amazing does Cher look at 74 years old?
The ’80s Today is a new feature we recently added to our site to showcase what some of our favorite singers, bands, and actors from the ’80s are up to today. Enjoy!
Poison’s frontman Bret Michaels has released five studio albums, two EPs, and 26 singles as a solo artist. In 2010, he released his solo album ‘Custom Built’, which is his most successful solo album to-date hitting number one on the Billboard Hark Rock list. And, in 2006, Hit Parader magazine ranked Bret at #40 on their list of the greatest Heavy Metal singers of all-time!
Bret’s latest solo single was released in 2019. ‘Unbroken’ is a song about triumph over tragedy, and he co-wrote it with his youngest daughter, Jorja Bleu Michaels.
Also, below is one of our favorite songs from Bret’s solo career called ‘Nothing to Lose, a rock ballad he recorded with Miley Cyrus for his ‘Custom Built’ album.
The ’80s Today is a new feature we recently added to our site to showcase what some of our favorite singers, bands, and actors from the ’80s are up to today. Enjoy!
Patty Smyth is one of our favorite female artists from the ’80s. As the lead singer of Scandal, she gave us one of the best rock songs of the ’80s with ‘The Warrior’, and her 1992 duet ‘Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough’ with Don Henley was one of the biggest hits of ’90s hitting number one on the AC charts and number two on the Hot 100 charts.
Another reason why we love Patty is we’re huge fans of John McEnroe, whom Patty married in 1997, and they’re still happily married and living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
And, for today’s The ’80s Today feature, here’s Patty with a brand new single called ‘Drive’ from her upcoming album ‘It’s About Time’ due out on October 9, 2020. The video is pretty simple, but it works for the song, and at 63 years old, Patty is looking great and sounding awesome!
The ’80s Today is a new feature we recently added to our site to showcase what some of our favorite singers, bands, and actors from the ’80s are up to today. Enjoy!
Xanadu starring Olivia Newton-John was released on August 8, 1980. The movie was a musical fantasy film that featured music from Newton-John, Electrical Light Orchestra (ELO), Cliff Richard, and The Tubes. The movie was a box office failure, but the soundtrack was a huge hit!
The soundtrack produced five top 20 singles on the Hot 100 charts:
In addition to the videos below, we’ve also got a cool video that Olivia Newton-John released on Facebook on August 8, 2020 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Xanadu! Enjoy!
In 2016, Heart released their 16th studio album called Beautiful Broken. The album included both new songs and re-interpretations of songs from their earlier albums. One of the re-interpretations was ‘Beautiful Broken’, which was included on their 15th studio album, Fanatic, which was released in 2012.
The studio version of ‘Beautiful Broken’ features Metallica’s James Hetfield on vocals with Ann Wilson and is featured below as well.
The ’80s Today is a new feature we’ve added to our site to showcase what some of our favorite singers, bands, and actors from the ’80s are up to today. Enjoy!
As part of our The ’80s Today series, here’s Def Leppard’s music video for their cover of Depeche Mode’s 1989 single Personal Jesus. The song was featured on Def Leppard’s 2018 Greatest Hits album called The Story So Far – The Best Of.
Def Leppard aren’t the only ones to cover Personal Jesus. Tori Amos, Marilyn Manson, Johnny Cash, and Sammy Hagar all released covers as well. Check out Def Lep’s cover below as well as the original video from Depeche Mode, and just for fun, Sammy Hagar’s 2013 original cover as well. Enjoy!
To kick off our new section called The ’80s Today, here’s Bon Jovi’s newest single called ‘Do What You Can’, the second single released in 2020 from Bon Jovi’s upcoming 15th studio album, ‘Bon Jovi: 2020’ due to be released on October 2, 2020.
“Do What You Can” was inspired by the caption “If You Can’t Do What You Do… Do What You Can” which was under a picture of Bon Jovi washing the dishes in JBJ Soul Kitchen Community Restaurant in Red Bank. The picture was taken by his wife Dorothea and it was posted on Bon Jovi’s personal Instagram profile. Inspired by that caption, Bon Jovi wrote the complete song the very next day. It was recorded with the full band in the studio a few weeks after the Jersey4Jersey benefit concert and added to the album.
The ’80s Today is a new feature we’re adding to our site to showcase what some of our favorite singers, bands, and actors from the ’80s are up to today. Enjoy!
Live Aid was one of the biggest concert events of all time. Queen’s performance at Live Aid (watch it here) is considered one of the greatest live performances of all time by any band. That’s what makes this video of rare backstage footage from Live Aid so remarkable in it’s simplicity.
Our favorite part of the video is when Phil Collins asks Paul Young to sign a couple of autographs for his kids, Simon and Joely!
Oh, and Elton John’s mullet is priceless!
Who doesn’t love Sophia from ‘The Golden Girls’? In the words of YouTube user Next of Ken who put together this awesome list, “Played by the incredible Estelle Getty, Sophia Petrillo is the resident Queen of Shade on “The Golden Girls.” She was lovable yet savage, ruthless, and fearless when it came to throwing shade at Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose. It was usually Blanche, though, that got the brunt of Sophia’s savagery.”
Enjoy 33 times Sophia Petrillo roasted her fellow ‘Golden Girls’!
Who can forget Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool in her red bikini in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, one of the early ’80s best movies. Rolling Stone called his scene, “the most memorable bikini-drop in cinema history.” Cates also starred in Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch, as well as some other less notable ’80s movies.
She retired from acting in 1994 to spend more time with her husband, actor Kevin Kline, and their two children, Owen and Greta. She did come out of retirement in 2001 to appear in the movie, The Anniversary Party, as a favor to her best friend and former co-star in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Jennifer Jason Leigh, who directed the movie.
So, where is Phoebe Cates now? According to the latest issue of Star Magazine, Cates and Kline have now been married for 31 years, which is wonderful considering how most celebrity marriages last about 31 weeks! These days, Cates owns a boutique in New York City called Blue Tree, which she opened in 2005. Blue Tree offers eclectic home goods and high-end clothing personally curated by Cates herself.
The New York Times referred to the store as “a version of Elizabeth Street for the Carnegie Hill crowd, a little oasis of downtown aesthetic at Ladies Who Lunch prices,” and said that “the celebrity boutique is a way for famous people to admit the civilian into their universe; it is a presentation of themselves, their likes and desires, their preferences—and does not require them to step in front of a camera.” Cates stated “I always wanted to have a general store.” Cates also said that some of her customers tell her that she looks like Phoebe Cates, and that she responds to them by saying “I get that a lot.”
via Wikipedia
For us, she’ll always be remembered as Linda Barrett, the most beautiful woman we had ever seen coming out of a pool in a red bikini!
The internet is at it again, and the latest (and some say greatest) Rickroll yet features a LEGO version of ’80s pop icon Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by YouTube user Domy13. Check it out and let us know what you think!
P.S. For those who can’t remember what the actual music video looked like for ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, we’ve included it below as well. Enjoy!
Lita Ford has been rocking the stage since the ’70s when she was the lead guitarist for The Runaways. After The Runaways broke up in 1979, Ford struck out on her own, and in 1983, she released her first solo album called Out For Blood. She released one single from the album, Out For Blood, which is a fan favorite, but wasn’t very successful on the charts.
Later in 1983, she released her second solo album, Dancin’ On The Edge, and released three singles from the album: Dressed to Kill, Fire in My Heart, and Gotta Let Go, which was her first solo single to chart on the Mainstream Rock charts.
In 1988, she released her third solo album, Lita, which was a huge commercial success, and solidified Ford as one of the best female rockers of the ’80s! The first single from the album was Kiss Me Deadly, which has become one of her signature songs, and was her first top 20 song on the Hot 100 charts when it peaked at #12 in 1988. She released three more singles from the album, Back to the Cave, Close My Eyes Forever, a rock ballad with Ozzy Osbourne, and Falling in and Out of Love. Close My Eyes Forever remains her biggest hit song peaking at #8 on the Hot 100 charts.
Enjoy this video look back at the best of Lita Ford in the ’80s!
Lita Ford – ‘Out For Blood’ Music Video
Lita Ford – ‘Dressed to Kill’ Music Video
Lita Ford – ‘Fire in My Heart’ Audio Video
Lita Ford – ‘Gotta Let Go’ Music Video
Lita Ford – ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ Music Video
Lita Ford – ‘Back to the Cave’ Music Video
Lita Ford w/Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Close My Eyes Forever’ Music Video
Lita Ford – ‘Falling in and Out of Love’ Music Video
Sometimes their first single is a hit, and sometimes it takes years before they make it big. Such is the case for many of the ’80s greatest rock bands and singers. Here’s a look back at the first official music video and/or first live video from the ’80s greatest rock stars:
In 1983, Metallica released their debut album ‘Kill ‘Em All’, and the first single released was ‘Whiplash’! The video below is from a concert at The Metro in Chicago, IL on August 12, 1983. It’s so cool to see legendary bands in their infancy, and this clip of Metallica is awesome!
A few notable facts about ‘Whiplash’:
In 1982, Crosby, Stills, & Nash released their album Daylight Again, which produced two all time great classic rock songs! The first was Wasted on the Way, and the second was Southern Cross, which happens to be our favorite Crosby, Stills & Nash song! It peaked at #18 on the Hot 100 charts and #6 on the AC charts in ’82, but it has since become one of the greatest classic rock songs of all time!
In 1984, Bon Jovi released their self-titled debut album, and the first single Runaway made it just inside the top 40 on the Hot 100 charts peaking at #39. Jon Bon Jovi actually recorded the song in 1981 for the so-called “Power Station Demos” at the very beginning of his career. The original recording featured vocals by Bon Jovi and the music was played by session musicians.
Two years later in 1983, Runaway became a surprise hit on WAPP-FM in New York. According to WAPP’s wikipedia listing:
In 1983, a then-unknown Jon Bon Jovi visited the station and wrote and sung the jingles for the station. He spoke with DJ Chip Hobart, who suggested Bon Jovi let WAPP include the song “Runaway” on the station’s compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was reluctant, but eventually gave them the song, on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on “Runaway” (which was written in 1980). WAPP worked with WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) in nearby Secaucus, NJ on a music video show, Rock 9 Videos, for a short time in 1984. As part of a marketing effort, WAPP-FM launched a contest called “New York Rocks 1983.” Local music acts were encouraged to submit demo tapes to this competition. Among the tapes submitted to this contest was “Runaway”, but didn’t win the competition. Another act called the “Frankie Carr Band” won the honors.
via Wikipedia
Bon Jovi released six more singles over the next two years before scoring another top 40 hit. However, it was worth the wait as their 7th and 8th singles were You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin’ on a Prayer from their third album Slippery When Wet. Both songs hit number one on the Hot 100 charts and solidified Bon Jovi as one of the top rock bands in the world in the mid to late ’80s.
In fact, every single released after these two number one songs in the ’80s was a top ten hit on the Hot 100 charts with Bad Medicine and I’ll Be There For You both hitting number one giving them four number one songs in the ’80s!
How cool is this? John Matuszak, who played the beloved Sloth character in the ’80s classic The Goonies goes through a makeup test back in January 1984. This footage is from The Goonies – Making of a Cult Classic, which aired in 2010. It took over five hours every day for the makeup to be applied to transform the former NFL defensive end Matuszak into the Baby Ruth-loving sloth who saved the Goonies from the Fratellis criminal gang.
Enjoy this very cool piece of ’80s movie history!
In 1987, Sonny & Cher appeared on Letterman together. It was the last time the two ever sang together. They weren’t exactly best friends at this time, but they both knew it would make for an unforgettable moment, so they gave in to Dave’s insistence and sang the song together. And, it did indeed become one of the most unforgettable moments in late night TV history.
The performance wasn’t flawless, and they both looked noticeably uncomfortable at times, but in the end, this performance went down in history as one of the most memorable appearances of all time on Letterman.
The ’80s brought us some of the greatest movie scenes in history. There’s hilarious scenes like Chunk’s confession on the Goonies, Rodney Dangerfield’s famous line, “looks good on you though” and eye roll on Caddyshack, the paperboy’s demand for his $2 in Better Off Dead, the graduation scene in Stripes, the major award that was a Leg Lamp in A Christmas Story, and the mattress police scene in Fletch!
And, when it came to suspense, the coffee shop scene in Sudden Impact left us all sitting on the edge of our seats. There were awesome dramatic scenes like Louis Gossett, Jr.’s lineup scene in An Officer and A Gentleman, and who can forget M’Lynn’s breakdown scene from Steel Magnolias.
And, finally, one of our favorite movie scenes of all time comes from Roadhouse the first time Wade Garrett makes his appearance and helps Dalton kick some serious butt behind the Double Deuce!
The last year of the ’80s produced some of our favorite songs from the entire decade. The first number one song in 1989 was Poison’s ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn‘. And, the last song number one song from 1989 was Phil Collins’ ‘Another Day in Paradise’. In the weeks and months in between these two bookend hits, were songs from Bon Jovi, Paula Abdul, The Bangles, New Kids on the Block, Roxette, and many more!
Check out the playlist below we created on Spotify featuring every song that hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during 1989. If you’re on Spotify, feel free to add the playlist to your account. Enjoy!
1989’s Number One Songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts:
December 24, 1988 – January 13, 1989:
Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
January 14, 1989 – January 20, 1989:
Bobby Brown – My Prerogative
January 21, 1989 – February 3, 1989:
Phil Collins – Two Hearts
February 4, 1989 – February 10, 1989:
Sheriff – When I’m with You
February 11, 1989 – March 3, 1989:
Paula Abdul – Straight Up
March 4, 1989 – March 24, 1989:
Debbie Gibson – Lost In Your Eyes
March 25, 1989 – March 31, 1989:
Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years
April 1, 1989 – April 7, 1989:
The Bangles – Eternal Flame
April 8, 1989 – April 14, 1989:
Roxette – The Look
April 15, 1989 – April 21, 1989:
Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy
April 22, 1989 – May 12, 1989:
Madonna – Like a Prayer
May 13, 1989 – May 19, 1989:
Bon Jovi – I’ll Be There for You
May 20, 1989 – June 2, 1989:
Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl
June 3, 1989 – June 9, 1989:
Michael Damian – Rock On
June 10, 1989 – June 16, 1989:
Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings
June 17, 1989 – June 23, 1989:
New Kids on the Block – I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)
June 24, 1989 – June 30, 1989:
Richard Marx – Satisfied
July 1, 1989 – July 7, 1989:
Milli Vanilli – Baby Don’t Forget My Number
July 8, 1989 – July 14, 1989:
Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing
July 15, 1989 – July 21, 1989:
Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me By Now
July 22, 1989 – August 4, 1989:
Martika – Toy Soldiers
August 5, 1989 – August 11, 1989:
Prince – Batdance
August 12, 1989 – September 1, 1989:
Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting
September 2, 1989 – September 8, 1989:
Paula Abdul – Cold Hearted
September 9, 1989 – September 15, 1989:
New Kids on the Block – Hangin’ Tough
September 16, 1989 – September 22, 1989:
Gloria Estefan – Don’t Wanna Lose You
September 23, 1989 – October 6, 1989:
Milli Vanilli – Girl I’m Gonna Miss You
October 7, 1989 – November 3, 1989:
Janet Jackson – Miss You Much
November 4, 1989 – November 10, 1989:
Roxette – Listen To Your Heart
November 11, 1989 – November 24, 1989:
Bad English – When I See You Smile
November 25, 1989 – December 8, 1989:
Milli Vanilli – Blame It on the Rain
December 9, 1989 – December 22, 1989:
Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire
December 23, 1989 – January 19, 1990:
Phil Collins – Another Day in Paradise
In our opinion, Eddie Murphy was at his absolute best when he was doing stand-up comedy. His 1983 stand-up show in Washington, D.C. called Delirious has to be the greatest comedy show of all time in our opinion. Every joke he told was so funny, and this bit about the ice cream man coming into his neighborhood as a kid is freaking hilarious. We’ve watched this scene a hundred times, and it’s hilarious every single time!
There were so many things that happened/launched in the ’80s! From MTV, to 24 hour news channels, to 24 hour sports news, and so much more. Check out WatchMojo’s list of the Top 10 defining moments of the ’80s:
Honeymoon Suite are a Canadian Rock band who released their self-titled debut album in 1984. The first single of the same name is their most remembered song, and it peaked at number seven on the Billboard rock charts. They would score four more top 40 rock hits and one top 40 Hot 100 hit with Feel It Again in 1986.
Enjoy this look back at Honeymoon Suite’s music video for New Girl Now from 1984!
In 1987, alternative rock band INXS released their album Kick, which was one of the most successful rock albums of the entire decade of the ’80s. The album produced four top 10 Hot 100 hits, and six top 40 Mainstream Rock hits. The first single, Need You Tonight was the most successful single from the album hitting number one on the Hot 100 charts and number 12 on the Mainstream Rock charts.
A large part of the success of the song was due to the music video, which was actually Need You Tonight/Mediate, which combined two songs from the album. The video received heavy rotation on MTV, and won five MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 1988! The video also was ranked at number 21 on MTV’s 100 greatest videos of all time!
In 1988, former Miss America Vanessa Williams released her debut album ‘The Right Stuff’. The first single of the same name was a hit on the Dance and R&B charts hitting number one on the Dance charts and number four on the R&B charts.
The music video below was filmed in both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana.
