Forgotten 80s: August 2020

Sunday, 30 August 2020

SHOW #377 - "Cartoon capers happen in reality, rich man poor man living in fantasy..."

Sly Fox "Let’s Go All The Way"
The Beat "Tears Of A Clown"

Supertramp "It's Raining Again"
Tone Loc "Funky Cold Medina"

Guns 'n' Roses "Nightrain"
Los Lobos "Come On Let's Go"

Chaka Khan "Eye To Eye"
Squeeze "Labelled With Love"

CALLING AMERICA:
Rick James "Cold Blooded"

Matt Bianco "Wap Bam Boogie"
Elvis Costello "Veronica"

The Alarm "A New South Wales"
Amazulu "Don't You Just Know It"

The Damned "Anything"
Freeez "Southern Freeez"

Tracey Ullman "Move Over Darling"
Full Force "Alice I Want You Just For Me"

Erasure "Drama!"
Passions "I'm In Love With A German Film Star"

Joan Armatrading "Me Myself I"
Kane Gang "Closest Thing To Heaven"

CALLING AMERICA:
Holly Knight "Heart Don't Fail Me Now"

LAST ORDERS SEQUENCE:
Shakin' Stevens "Cry Just A Little Bit"
Kim Wilde "Chequered Love"
Phil Collins "One More Night"

All three artists had UK Top 40 hits in the 1980s with covers of songs originally done by the Supremes.

Sunday, 23 August 2020

SHOW #376 - "When I show them round my house, to my bed, I had it made like a mountain range, with a snow-white pillow for my big fat head..."

Peter Gabriel "Big Time"
Dexys Midnight Runners "Old"

Toto Coelo "I Eat Cannibals"
The Cure "The Walk"

Paul McCartney "This One"
Bronski Beat "C'mon C'mon"

Duran Duran "All She Wants Is"
Wavelength "Hurry Home"

CALLING AMERICA:
Carly Simon "Jesse"

Dionne Warwick "Heartbreaker"
UFO "Young Blood"

King "Torture"
Dollar "Mirror Mirror"

Spandau Ballet "Highly Strung"
Village People "Can't Stop The Music"

Sheena Easton "The Lover In Me"
Tenpole Tudor "Wunderbar"

Dire Straits "Skateaway"
Audrey Hall "Smile"

Johnny Hates Jazz "Turn Back The Clock"
Whitney Houston "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"

CALLING AMERICA:
Mike and the Mechanics "Taken In"

LAST ORDERS SEQUENCE:
Kool and the Gang "Get Down On It"
Gap Band "Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)"
Inner City "Good Life"

All three artists had a Top 40 hit in the 1980s with a song called Big Fun.

Sunday, 16 August 2020

SHOW #375 - "Hating all the faking and shaking while I'm breaking your brittle heart..."

Echo and the Bunnymen "Bring On The Dancing Horses"
Aswad "Beauty's Only Skin Deep"

Cameo "Back And Forth"
Bangles "Walking Down Your Street"

Mr Mister "Kyrie"
Earth, Wind & Fire "I've Had Enough"

Susan Fassbender "Twilight Cafe"
Hue & Cry "Violently"

CALLING AMERICA:
Naked Eyes "(What) In The Name Of Love"

Meat Loaf "Modern Girl"
Keith Sweat "I Want Her"

Madonna "Lucky Star"
David Bowie "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"

Kylie Minogue "Wouldn't Change A Thing"
The Fall "There's A Ghost In My House"

UB40 "King"
Galaxy featuring Phil Fearon "Wait Until Tonight My Love"

Rainbow "All Night Long"
A Flock Of Seagulls "Transfer Affection"

Mezzoforte "Garden Party"
Clannad featuring Bono "In A Lifetime"

CALLING AMERICA:
Babyface "It's No Crime"

LAST ORDERS SEQUENCE:
Undertones "It's Going To Happen!"
Icehouse "Hey Little Girl"
Limahl "Never Ending Story"

All three tracks have a fade-up intro.

Sunday, 9 August 2020

SHOW #374 - "Make a shroud pulling combs through a backwash frame..."

Human League "Sound Of The Crowd"

David Joseph "Let's Live It Up (Nite People)"

Belinda Carlisle "La Luna"
Style Council "Have You Ever Had It Blue"

Heart "Never"
Midge Ure "That Certain Smile"

Siouxsie and the Banshees "Spellbound"
Mary Jane Girls "All Night Long"

CALLING AMERICA:

Santana "Hold On"

Swing Out Sister "Surrender"
Ryan Paris "Dolce Vita"

Spear of Destiny "Never Take Me Alive"
Kids From Fame "Hi-Fidelity"

Shakin' Stevens "A Letter To You"

The Police "The Bed's Too Big Without You"

Mari Wilson "Just What I Always Wanted"
Kajagoogoo "The Lion's Mouth"

Level 42 "Tracie"
Elvis Costello "I Wanna Be Loved"

Doctor and the Medics "Burn"
Black "Sweetest Smile"

CALLING AMERICA:

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam "Lost In Emotion"

LAST ORDERS SEQUENCE:
Gladys Knight "Licence To Kill"
Elton John "Heartache All Over The World"

Stevie Wonder "Overjoyed"

All three artists were Dionne Warwick's "friends" on the charity single That's What Friends Are For.

Sunday, 2 August 2020

SHOW #373 - "When you hear our drums, hear them sound, we're gonna fight until we have won this town..."

Tenpole Tudor "Swords Of A Thousand Men"
Boris Gardiner "You're Everything To Me"

Johnny Hates Jazz "Heart Of Gold"
Donna Summer "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)"

Madonna "The Look Of Love" (Mark Ledder, email)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Watching The Wildlife"

Creatures "Right Now"
Cliff Richard "My Pretty One"

CALLING AMERICA:
Melissa Manchester "You Should Hear How She Talks About You"

Big Country "Chance"
Haywoode "Roses"

Fuzzbox "Love Is The Slug"
Nick Straker Band "A Walk In The Park"

The Jam "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)"
Wally Jump Jr. and the Criminal Element "Tighten Up (I Just Can't Stop Dancin')"

Dio "Rock 'n' Roll Children"
Hipsway "The Honeythief"

Huey Lewis and the News "Do You Believe In Love"
Herb Alpert featuring Janet Jackson "Diamonds"

Classix Nouveaux "Is It A Dream"
Leo Sayer "Orchard Road"

CALLING AMERICA:
Curtie and the Boombox "Black Kisses Never Make You Blue"

LAST ORDERS SEQUENCE:
Jermaine Stewart "We Don't Have To..."
Howard Jones "You Know I Love You...Don't You?"
Irene Cara "Flashdance...What A Feeling"

All three song titles contain an ellipsis.

Forgotten 80s

This show is the successor to Q The 80s, which was a cult programme I was privileged to host on Q Radio across the UK from September 2010 to May 2013. When the radio station was discontinued by its parent company, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to continue the programme as Forgotten 80s by Absolute 80s, and the first edition aired on Sunday 26th May 2013. It's a two-hour show and we start at 9pm.

The show features the underplayed and the almost completely forgotten hits of the 80s, with the intention of rehabilitating the music of a decade that too many people are quick to scorn. Naturally, on a radio station that plays 80s music 24 hours a day, one is preaching somewhat to the converted, but nevertheless we do like to go that little step further. At least half of the songs on each edition of the show are requested by the audience.

The purpose of this blog is to act as a no-frills archive for the show's weekly setlists for people to visit after broadcast. No other material will appear on it. Below you will also find links to archives on Spotify of Flaunt The Imperfection, Calling America, Journeys To Glory, Didn't We Almost Have It All, When Will I Be Famous and The Nobody's Diary; the six features we have run on the show that have allowed us to play thousands of songs from outside the UK Top 40, as well as album tracks. A feature began in 2024 called Song For Whoever, focusing on cover versions of the 1980s, and there is an active archive running on Spotify.

In October 2017, we introduced the Last Orders Sequence to end the programme each week, which featured three tracks that hold some kind of connection, and were always taken from audience submissions. This ended in December 2021 and was replaced in January 2022 by The Edge Of Heaven, which features three singles that peaked on the chart outside the UK Top 40, all chosen by the audience.

Absolute 80s is available on DAB+ nationwide in stereo; on the Rayo app downloadable for free from your app store; on your smart speaker ("play Absolute 80s"); and via the Listen Live button on the official website. It has 1,700,000 listeners a week (RAJAR Q3 2024).

From Sunday 5th February 2017, we introduced a Listen Again facility for the show via a Forgotten 80s section on the free Absolute Radio app for smartphone and tablet. New editions of the show will appear on the app shortly after broadcast.

On Sunday 13th September 2015, during the 121st edition of the show, our hashtag - #forgotten80s - trended on Twitter for the first time at a ranking of 8. On Sunday 15th January 2017, during the 190th edition of the show, the hashtag was at number 1 in the trending charts across the UK for the first time. It went on to trend at number 1 for four consecutive weeks. The show trends in at least the Top 20 on Twitter every Sunday evening.

In December 2019, a special edition of the show helped commemorate Absolute 80s' tenth birthday.

On the 5th April 2020, following the imposition of Covid restrictions, the show deviated from its "one request per two songs" format to become an All Request show, and remained so even after Covid restrictions were eased.

In January 2023 the show reached its 500th edition, and the show celebrated its 10th anniversary on 28th May 2023, building up to the occasion with ten special shows that each featured music from just one different year of the 80s.

On August 1st 2023, a non-stop Forgotten 80s radio station was launched by Absolute Radio as part of its Premium portfolio, allowing subscribers to listen 24 hours a day commercial-free, and with the facility to skip songs. All information is on the Absolute 80s website (link further down this column), including terms and conditions.

I am 51 and have been on the radio since 1990. You can email me via the Absolute 80s website and follow me on Twitter.

Thanks for visiting the blog!
Matthew Rudd
#forgotten80s

Forgotten 80s on Spotify!

There are seven principal archives on Spotify which all feature music played on Forgotten 80s. Song For Whoever is a feature which we ran on Forgotten 80s from January to December 2024. Here we played cover versions, released in the 1980s, of high profile songs. Both tracks were selected by an individual listener each week. The archive for Song For Whoever is on Spotify. We endeavoured to add both featured tracks each week, subject to availability. Flaunt The Imperfection is a feature which ran on Forgotten 80s from January 2022 to December 2023. Here we played album tracks of studio or soundtrack albums of the 1980s that were not released as singles in the UK. Both tracks were selected by an individual listener each week. The archive for Flaunt The Imperfection is on Spotify. We endeavoured to add both featured tracks each week, subject to availability. Two album tracks by Freeez in succession were featured when founder and lead singer John Rocca appeared as a guest contributor. The Blogger widget will only display a maximum of 100 songs; further songs are being added to the archive on Spotify itself after this limit was reached in January 2023. Calling America was a feature which we ran on Forgotten 80s from January 2020 to December 2021. Here we played tracks which were entering or climbing the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA in the week of broadcast from two different years of the 1980s. We pledged to not play any track that made the Top 40 in the UK, nor any which has been on the show previously in any preceding feature below. The archive for Calling America is on Spotify. We endeavoured to add both featured tracks each week, subject to availability. The Blogger widget will only display a maximum of 100 songs; further songs were added to the archive on Spotify itself once this limit was reached in December 2020. Journeys To Glory was a feature that ran on Forgotten 80s from January 2018 to December 2019. Here we played tracks from albums of the 1980s on the anniversary of their entering the UK album chart. We considered studio and soundtrack albums only, as they contained material original at the time. We played either non-Top 40 single releases or tracks only released as part of the album. The archive for Journeys To Glory, is also on Spotify. We endeavoured to add both featured tracks each week, subject to availability. The Blogger widget will only display a maximum of 100 songs; further songs were added each week once this limit was reached in January 2019. Didn't We Almost Have It All? was a feature that ran on Forgotten 80s from May 2015 to December 2017. Here we featured songs from the charts counted down on the show prior to Forgotten 80s, the Absolute 80s Chart, which would never get higher than 41. Every song played was chosen by the audience. The archive for Didn't We Almost Have It All?, is also on Spotify. The Blogger widget will only display a maximum of 100 songs; further songs were added to the archive on Spotify itself since this limit was reached in the summer of 2017. When Will I Be Famous? was a feature that ran on Forgotten 80s from August 2014 to May 2015. Here we featured unsuccessful early releases by artists who would later go on to stardom. Every song played was chosen by the audience. The archive for When Will I Be Famous?, is also on Spotify. The Nobody's Diary was a feature of Forgotten 80s from the show's inception in May 2013 to August 2014. Here we featured artists who would never make the UK Top 40, despite attaining a lower position in the charts at least once. Every song played was chosen by the audience. The archive for The Nobody's Diary, is also on Spotify. Via these seven features, we have played on the show more than 1,500 tracks that were not Top 40 hits in the UK. We have further associate archive playlists, collating as many of the songs as possible that reached a certain chart position in the 80s, relating to birthday editions of either the show or the radio station. To explore these archived lists further, search for matthewjrudd on Spotify.

Forgotten 80s requests

Requests can be sent via the official Absolute 80s Facebook page, using the thread opened shortly before the beginning of each show; using the hashtag #forgotten80s via Bluesky and/or the social media formerly called Twitter; or via matthew.rudd@absoluteradio.co.uk. Messages via the website or Rayo app will also appear in my email inbox.
Guidelines for your requests:

- no act from the previous week can be repeated (but a solo artist from a featured group can - eg, if Ultravox were on last week, a Midge Ure solo record is eligible for the next week) - this rule is often relaxed for special editions

- a track must have had a 30-show gap before it can be played again (you can use the search function on this blog to assist you) - this rule is often relaxed for special editions

- all regular requests must be for Top 40 hits of the 80s, with a peak chart position attained between January 1st 1980 and December 31st 1989 (the link above for the Official Chart Archive can assist you with this)

To request for Song For Whoever, you must send by email four choices of cover versions recorded in the 80s, from which two will be selected, and to request for The Edge Of Heaven, you must send by email four choices of singles of the 80s that peaked on the chart outside the Top 40, from which three will be selected (the link above for the Official Chart Archive can assist you with this). Only emailed submissions will be considered