Pop Making Sense: Music in '85
Windy City Times 25th Anniversary Issue
Twenty-five years ago I was an oddity with too much Sun-In in my hair going to a grade school just over 20 miles outside New York City. My twin brother and I had a paper route to help finance our budding record collection, which consisted of The Pointer Sisters, Pat Benatar and Prince. My favorites were Eurythmics and Boy George. During a trip into the city, I remember buying a Culture Club book, but the one with the most pictures of back-up singer Helen Terry.
Even though a quarter of a century has passed, trends remain constant, as does my fondness of music from the Reagan era.
My poor parents could not distinguish between the chirps of Cyndi Lauper, Tracy Ullman, Pia Zadora or Madonna. Two iconic vocalists debuted in 1985, as both Whitney Houston's "You Give Good Love" and Sade's "Smooth Operator" proved to be breakout hits.
Madonna was at her prime, chalking up her second number one with "Crazy for You" and igniting the dance floor with "Into the Groove," "Dress You Up" and "Gambler." During her Live Aid performance, a brunette Madonna made a quip about the nudes from her salad days surfacing in Playboy and Penthouse. At the sold-out Virgin Tour, Madonna wannabes showed up decked out in lace, ribbons and rubber bracelets. I had flashbacks to this upon seeing attendees aping Lady Gaga at The Monster Ball Tour.
My sense of camp was well nourished thanks to Jem and the Holograms and pop misfires like Denise LaSalle's "My Toot Toot," Kurtis Blow's "Basketball" and Billy Crystal's "You Look Marvelous."
In the '80s men wore make-up, similar to how guyliner is trendy now. Neither are reflections of one's sexual orientation. Even Motley Crue sported war paint in the video to its cover of "Smokin' in the Boys Room." Many were oblivious or in denial about the sexual orientation of gender benders like Boy George and Dead or Alive's Pete Burns. Years later, both had revealing autobiographies.
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