Dance music of the 80s!

From 1984, this is At the Feet of the Moon by a group called The Parachute Club and it peaked at #11 in Canada in 1984.  I don't believe it charted outside of Canada, so it may be unfamiliar to some, but if you love fun 80s dance/pop songs, I guarantee you will enjoy this one!

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From the UK, here is Hazell Dean with Whatever I Do (Where I Go).  This peaked at UK #4 in 1984 and was written and produced by the legendary Stock, Aitken and Waterman trio.  I wish this one had been popular in North America.  It's really catchy!

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Do you like the song Love the One You're With?  Well, here is a really good Hi-NRG version from 1988 by Gino Soccio, and when I say really good, I mean once I start listening to it, I end up listening to it on a loop for a while.  It peaked at #79 in Canada, and while Gino had a bunch of dance hits in the US, this sadly was not one of them

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I recall this from my late 80's clubbing days -

Nice & Wild - Diamond Girl (1987)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFiLRZ67S4

Dead or Alive were a British group who had many singles, best known in the US and Canada for You Spin Me Round (Like A Record), which if I am honest, I don't think was their best song.  Here is In Too Deep, which peaked at UK #14 in 1985.  I really enjoy this one a lot!

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Here is one that is on the cusp called Got to Get by Rob'n'Raz featuring Leila K.  I place it in this topic because it peaked at UK #8 in November of 1989. 

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In North America, the song was released with a different music video:  In the US, it was credited as Leila K with Rob'n'Raz and it peaked at #48 in March of 1990, and in Canada, it was credited as Leila K and peaked at #5 on the dance chart, also in March of 1990. 

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A favorite 80's dance cut of mine -

Yaz - Situation (1982)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdV-5ivltkc

A favorite 80's dance cut of mine -

Yaz - Situation (1982)


Good song!  Interestingly enough, that song was released as their first US/Canada single against the duo's wishes and was never released as a single in the UK, however a remix titled Situation '90 did see the UK Top 20 in 1990.

I still hear their song Don't Go from time to time on the radio

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In 1983, an Italian group called Club House released a single titled Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean.  The idea was to blend the Steely Dan song and the Michael Jackson song together as a cover and it peaked at UK #11 and US #75

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Several artists that same year also did versions, the most successful of which was by a group called Slingshot whose version topped the US Dance chart in 1983

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsK1ybDZ44
Liquid Gold- Dance Yourself Dizzy (1980)

Sorry, I didn't know where to put this, it said 1980 but some said 1979. ???

I recall this one from the dance clubs I frequented -

Stacey Q - Two Of Hearts (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=512Od60Vihg

I first heard this at University -

Kano - I'm Ready (1980)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LvTpjK-MEY

In 1983, KC and the Sunshine Band topped the UK chart with the song Give It Up.  Their record label wouldn't release the song in North America, so KC purchased the rights to it and released it solely under the name KC, and in 1984, it peaked at #18 in the US and #43 in Canada.  In a list of songs that I cannot live without, this is near the top!

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Is the 12" remix better?  This is a question I ask myself a lot, and I still don't know.  I do like the bass line intro in the 12" a whole lot more though!

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Here is a 1981 single called You Can by a Swedish singer named Madleen Kane.  Produced by Giorgio Moroder, this topped the US Dance chart and also peaked at #77 on the US Hot 100.  I've always been a fan of this one!

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Here is Dancin' the Night Away by a Quebec duo called Voggue.  This topped the US Dance chart for 3 weeks and also peaked at UK #39, both in 1981

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As Prince tunes go, this one gets overall mixed reviews.  But it's an excellent club tune (as one who's danced to it while clubbing can attest) -

Prince - Kiss (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a9kOCHYZIw

This is the 12" version of the 1986 single I Need You by a German duo called The Twins.  I own a physical copy of this and I love it so much!

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I've mentioned this one before, but it definitely belongs in this topic.  From 1985, it's Tonight by an Italian singer named Ken Laszlo.  This one was a Top 40 hit in several parts of Europe.  I don't know how well it did in the North American clubs, but I know it was released at least in Canada as I own the physical 12" single.  This is such an addictive song!

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I recall liking this after hearing it on the radio -

Linx - You're Lying (1980)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJKvpeQF9Uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1MDlJM_C1k
AEIOU- Freeez (1983)

I recall liking this after hearing it on the radio -

Linx - You're Lying (1980)


Love that song!  When Linx broke up, lead singer David Grant went solo and had a small run of hits in his native UK.  I thank the internet for bringing this fantastic one into my life...

David Grant and Jaki Graham - Coud It Be I'm Falling in Love (1985)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1MDlJM_C1k
AEIOU- Freeez (1983)


I've been a fan of that song since it was popular.  That version in the video is different than the single version. 

I've been a fan of that song since it was popular.  That version in the video is different than the single version.

I think the original is on YouTube.

I loved dancing to this at the clubs in the mid/late 80's-

New Order - Blue Monday (1983)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYH8DsU2WCk

I loved dancing to this at the clubs in the mid/late 80's-

New Order - Blue Monday (1983)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYH8DsU2WCk
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How does it feel to know that I had the single and I cannot find it now!

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How does it feel to know that I had the single and I cannot find it now!


Oh, dear!

A UK Top 20 hit in 1988, this was the final single by the British duo The Communards...

The Communards - There's More to Love (Than Boy Meets Girl)
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Heard this during clubbing circa 1989; I lost track of it, not knowing what it was, and didn't rediscover it until a couple years ago -

Lime - Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight (1983?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu18uC5XH5o

Can't forget about MJ -

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (1983)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XMvPTFzgVU

Can't forget about MJ -

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (1983)


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The phrase repeated numerous times at the end of the track is "Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah" (according to Wiki), taken from saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa". But it has been misheard in several different ways..
including “Mama-say mama-sah ma Microsoft” :D

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The phrase repeated numerous times at the end of the track is "Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah" (according to Wiki), taken from saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa". But it has been misheard in several different ways..
including “Mama-say mama-sah ma Microsoft” :D


Yes, I heard that in his song, at first I didn't know it was from Manu Dibango.

Yes, I heard that in his song, at first I didn't know it was from Manu Dibango.

I had not realized that at first either, but I also know that Rihanna later used it in her late 2000s hit “Don’t Stop The Music.”

Heard this during clubbing circa 1989; I lost track of it, not knowing what it was, and didn't rediscover it until a couple years ago -

Lime - Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight (1983?)


That one is from 1982.  Lime were from Quebec and they had the best album covers.

This one is from 1983 called Vamos a La Playa by an Italian duo named Righeira.  This one did not chart in the US or Canada, but I discovered it many years ago while browsing the UK 80s charts and i've loved it ever since.  Just last year, I finally found the album at a vinyl record show and it was a Canadian pressing, which means they did try to make a name for themselves this side of the "pond". 

A song about the explosion of an atom bomb sung in Spanish?  It's so unusual, but it's so catchy and I love to sing along even though I don't speak a word of Spanish lol

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Laid Back are a Danish duo best remembered for their hits White Horse (1984) and Sunshine Reggae (1983), but in their native Denmark, they had other hits including this one called High Society Girl, which I think is their best!

Laid Back - High Society Girl (1983)
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In 1984, a Canadian singer named Allen Harris peaked at #87 in Canada with a cover of the Laid Back song Sunshine Reggae.  However, the song is better known in a 12" version which featured his then wife Nancy Martinez singing the Edith Piaf tune La Vie En Rose.  Both songs were basically mashed into a medley and released as Sunshine Reggae/La Vie En Rose by Nancy Martinez and Allen Harris and at the time, the 12" version showed up on a few dance compilation albums.  Love it!

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Great Britain had a lot of great acts that never really made it in the US or Canada.  Here is a duo called Dollar (David Van Day and Teresa Bazar) with a pair of fun ones that were both Top 40 hits in the UK.


Dollar - Gimme Some Kinda Magic (1982)
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Dollar - Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) (1981)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jN0TWNRaXo
Nancy Martinez - For Tonight (1986)

Laid Back are a Danish duo best remembered for their hits White Horse (1984) and Sunshine Reggae (1983), but in their native Denmark, they had other hits including this one called High Society Girl, which I think is their best!

Laid Back - High Society Girl (1983)


Since you mention it (and I recall it from my dance clubs) -

Laid Back - White Horse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwATF5dnfq4

I loved dancing to this during my mid/late 80s clubbing days -

Whitney Houston - So Emotional (1987)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXJLuR3A1tY

For those who listened to positive rap music from way back in the days, this guy was the one of the originators of hip hop music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-XMHqIVFP4
Love Bug Starski- You've Gotta Believe (1983)

Another dance cut I enjoyed dancing to in my clubbing days -

Aretha Franklin - Another Night (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgJC7HyBRXE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQsbr7whako
Freeez - Can't Keep My Love (1983)

Here's an American group called Figures on A Beach with a 1989 cover of the BTO classic You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.  This peaked at #67 in the US and was their only entry in the Billboard Hot 100

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Another dance cut I enjoyed dancing to in my clubbing days -

Aretha Franklin - Another Night (1986)


I was just literally listening to that one on a 45 rpm record yesterday.  Great song!

The Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance (1985)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOscjUHPY-o