Queen formed in London in 1970. Freddie Mercury thought up the name Queen for the band as he said it sounded regal and splendid.

Guns ‘N’ Roses is an American hard rock band founded in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1985.The group was formed by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns, Ole Beich and Rob Gardner. The band created its name by combining two of the members’ names.

Michael Joseph Jackson, often referred to as The King of Pop, is the biggest selling solo artist of all time. His musical career began in 1967 as lead singer of The Jackson 5 in Gary, Indiana, USA.

Music artists of the 1980s

Music artists of the 1980s

The Police were a new wave band which formed in 1977 in London, UK. They became one of the most popular bands in the last 70s and throughout the 80s.The Police are notable as one of the first mainstream white pop groups to adopt reggae as a predominant musical form and to score major international hits with reggae styled material.

Bon Jovi is a hard rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey, USA. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, the group achieved large scale success in the 80s. The group took influence from contemporary arena ready hard rock bands such as Aerosmith and Deep Purple while also seeking a catchy, pop oriented vibe focused on slick guitar and keyboard riffs, with Bon Jovi becoming a key park in what was to become pop metal music.

a-ha is a Norwegian new wave band formed in 1982 in Oslo, Norway. The origin of the name a-ha comes from the lyric of an early song. Over their career, a-ha have officially released 32 singles and has been recognized as Norway’s most successful band through the years.

Music artists of the 1980s

Dire Straits were a British rock band from Newcastle, UK. Formed in 1977, and led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler, the group built their sound upon the laid back blues rock of J.J. Cale, but they also had jazz and country inflections, occasionally dipping into the epic song structures of progressive rock.

Pet Shop Boys formed in 1982 in London, UK. They are a British synthpop/dance music duo made up of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Pet Shop Boys are one of the most commercially and critically acclaimed British music artists ever. They have sold 50 million records worldwide and are listed as the most successful duo in UK music history by The Guinness Book of Records.

Talking Heads were a new wave band formed in New York, USA in 1974. The band originally consisted of David Byrne (vocals, guitar), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Frantz (drums), who had met while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. The band released eight studio albums before disbanding in 1991. Talking Head were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Music artists of the 1980s

Tears for Fears is a British pop/rock outfit formed in 1981 in Bath, UK. The founder members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith had been friends since their early teens and had already been in the short lived ska band Graduate. They named themselves Tears for Fears after a phrase in Arthur Janov’s book Prisoners of Pain, and their early music was explicitly based around the emotional angst of adolescence.

Eurythmics were a new wave British music duo consisting of singer/songwriter Annie Lennox and musician/producer Dave Stewart. They formed in 1980 whilst in Australia and called themselves Eurythmics after a pedagogical exercise system that Lennox had encountered as a child. They had a striking visual image, with Lennox having a very androgynous persona.

Van Halen is a hard rock band which formed in 1972 in Pasadena, California, USA. The band was originally called Mammoth and changed their name to Van Halen by 1974. The band, featuring David Lee Roth on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass, and Dutch born Edward Van Halen on guitars and keyboards, and brother Alex Van Halen on drums, established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful US heavy metal music genre of the 1980s.

Music artists of the 1980s

Joy Division were a post punk band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK. The band dissolved in May 1980 after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis. The remaining members reformed as New Order. With their use of synthesizers and electronics, Joy Division are considered the pioneering band of the post punk movement of the last 1970s and the early 1980s.

Duran Duran is an electronic pop rock band that was part of the new wave movement of the 80s and 90s. Created in Birmingham, UK in 1978 by Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, it is named after a character in Roger Vadim’s sci fi classic, Barbarella). Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran was among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes.

The Smiths were a rock band which formed in 1982 in Manchester, UK. The band lasted all of five years from 1982 to 1987.

Music artists of the 1980s

New Order are an alternative rock/electronic dance band which formed in 1980 in Salford, UK by the three remaining members of Joy Division. Pioneers of dance music in the 1980s and one of the first bands to effectively and popularly synthesize keyboard and guitar based music, New Order are noted as being one of the first bands to bridge the gap between Post Punk and Dancefloor.

Madonna Louise Ciccone is a recording artist, entrepreneur and occasional actress, often referred to as The Queen of Pop. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world’s top selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records.

Depeche Mode are an English synthpop band, founded in 1980, originally from the town of Basildon, Essex, UK. They are one of the most enduring and successful bands to have emerged during the 80s, and particularly from the new wave/new romantic era. The band name is derived from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode, which means "fashion dispatch."

The Cure are a rock band which formed in 1976 in Crawley, England, UK. They are considered a major influence on alternative rock, goth rock and new wave music.

Music artists of the 1980s

David Bowie was an English rock singer, songwriter, musician and actor. As a multi instrumentalist, he is famous for playing the guitar, piano and saxophone, but he also played the harmonica, drums, cello, marimba, bass guitar, koto and stylophone. Bowie is credited as being a major inspiration behind the new romantic, futurist movement and subsequent development of electronic/electronica music.

Music artists of the 1980s

Aerosmith is an American rock band that formed in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. From 1989 onwards their popularity made them one of the top selling and most popular rock bands in the world today.

Blondie is an American rock band founded in New York City, USA in 1974 by singer songwriter Deborah Harry. Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler’s dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry’s bright blond hair. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk scenes of the mid 70s.

Siouxsie and the Banshees were an influential rock band which formed in 1976 in London, UK. Initially associated with the British punk rock scene, the band quickly evolved to create a form of post punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation. The Times cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as “one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post punk era.”

Music artists of the 1980s

Scorpions is a rock band formed in 1965 in Hannover, Germany. Along with metal contemporaries such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Whitesnake, and others, Scorpions is one of the most successful acts in heavy metal and hard rock in history as well as, by far, the most successful German rock band in the UK and the USA.

Cyndi Lauper is a Grammy Award winning singer and Emmy Award winning film, television and theatre actress from Brooklyn, New York, USA. She possesses a four octave vocal range and her melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s and new wave – the decade and genre in which she first came to fame.

Phil Collins is an English singer/songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor from Chiswick, London, UK, best known as a drummer and vocalist for the English progressive rock group Genesis and as well as being a Grammy and Academy award winning solo artist. His international popularity transformed Genesis from a cult favourite rock group to a regular on the pop charts. Collins began his professional career as a drummer.

Music artists of the 1980s

Kiss is an American hard rock band that formed in New York City, USA in 1973. Easily identified by their trademark face paint and stage costumes, Kiss quickly rose to prominence on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars and pyrotechnics. Inspired by energetic shock rock artists such as Alice Cooper and cult works of American horror and science fiction, they had their biggest commercial success in the 70s, influencing many later arena rock and heavy metal artists.

Prince was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a musical innovator who was known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant dress and makeup, and wide vocal range. His music integrates a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Billy Idol is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor from Middlesex, UK. In 1976, Idol decided to become a musician and formed a punk rock band called Generation X. Generation X signed to Chrysalis Records and released three successful albums before breaking up. Idol moved to New York and began working as a solo artist leading to international recognition as one of the lead artists during the MTV driven Second British Invasion in the US.