Q

stacey lynn swain (aka stacey Q), 4 years before "two of hearts" took over the radio and made her famous, was asked to sing vocals on the last track of a 4 song EP that Jon St. James (guitarist and songwriter for Berlin) had recorded. calling themselves Q, the band released one single in the UK, "Sushi," which floated around on college radio for a while. only about 1000 copies were made of the original EP, now known as the Q EP (1982):

Jimi Jimi Jimi Aaja

from the bollywood movie Disco Dancer, 1982. anyone familiar with M.I.A. might recognize this tune.

Gary Numan

synthpop's most enduring androgynous mama's boy.
from 1979's The Pleasure Principle:


from 1980's Telekon:

gary numan still lived with his parents at this point. hehe

Delta One

from Ron Hays Music Image: Odyssey, images by Ron, music by Larry Fast 1981

Vangelis

the greek synthesizer deity responsible for the blade runner soundtrack and the 60's psych prog group Aphrodite's Child probably spent lots of time high up in his secluded studio doing this:


here improvising with Neuronium, a synth demigod in his own right, and an anonymous feminine aide.. no wait, that's Carlos Guirao. 1982.

Righeira

a memorable, but short lived italo disco duo. their first two singles, "No Tengo Dinero" and "Vamos a la Playa" appeared on the legendary Spanish children's show La Bola De Cristal (the crystal ball) in '84. the show featured performances and videos from many popular bands of the time and was hosted by pop singer Alaska (of Fangoria), but was canceled in '88 for it's frequent anti-capitalist slogans and satires...shame.
"No Tengo Dinero" (1983):

"Vamos a la Playa" (1983):

Lamont Dozier

truly classic soul from 1974's Love and Beauty.

MC5

punk's great granddads MC5 kicking out the jams, motherfuckers. this song was first recorded in '68. they were dead by '72.

Golpes Bajos

Spain lit up when the New Wave washed up on the beach in the early 80s, ushering in la Edad de Oro del Pop Español, the golden age of Spanish pop. Golpes Bajos (translated, 'Low Blows') was one of the first and most experimental bands to come out of the scene.
1984.

1985.

1983.

Michael Zager Band

1978. the birth of the "woop woop." thanks, mike.
factoids: Zager produced the one, the only Whitney Houston. Oh, and Herp Alpert.


get a taste of whitney's first recording:

Ethiopia's own 80's purgatory

traditionally, Ethiopian music is based on a pentatonic modal system. ?. apparently it rivals jazz in its complexity.


yeah. so at some point in the 80's they said, "hey, let's replace the traditional instruments with electronic ones and dance to this shit!"


eventually came Neway Debebe, golden boy of Ethiopop in the 80's.


as you can see, videography goes to 1980's Ethiopia to die.

Kano

Italo Disco owes alot to Kano, a trio of Italian disco gods, Luciano Ninzatti, Stefano Pulga and Matteo Bonsanto, and probably owes a lot to Glen White (the fellow singing below) for sacrificing his personal dignity and fashion sense in the filming of this video. The girls dancing behind the plastic sheets don't make this look like it was filmed in a sex dungeon. At all. 1983


Another Kano hit featuring Glen White, 1981...

Mazarati

Another one of the many manifestations of Prince. Most notably known for their 1986 single, "100mph", written by Prince and given to the band. Formed by Brown Mark, former bassist for Prince and the Revolution.