AllMusic Loves 1982

It was, in so many ways, a transitional year, a year of beginnings and endings, a year where the old guard began to fade as the new school emerged. So many sounds that defined the decade emerged in 1982 -- Thriller, of course, and also 1999, Rio, and The Lexicon of Love, Grandmaster Flash's groundbreaking "The Message," not to mention scores of new wave singles that crossed over thanks to the wild success of MTV and the clones that appeared in its wake. Truly, this 1982 is the year where new wave broke big: Human League, Dexys Midnight Runners, Adam Ant, and Soft Cell managed to leap across the Atlantic and score big hits in the U.S., something that was inconceivable just a year before, and they were merely the biggest of a flood of new romantics, post-punks, and synth-poppers. These upstarts, along with their godfathers in Roxy Music who closed out their career with the gorgeous Avalon, provided the glitz and glamour of '82, leaving the grit to veterans like Bruce Springsteen, who turned in the stark acoustic Nebraska, and Richard & Linda Thompson, who chronicled their divorce on Shoot Out the Lights. Between those two extremes lay the rapidly maturing angry young men of 1977, as Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, and XTC all took a great leap forward, effectively turning into the new old guard to 1982's new wave of new wave.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Assembling my singles list for 1982 was difficult. This year was a high watermark for two of my favorite kinds of singles: new wave classics of the early MTV era and latter-day soft rock. Also, there were plenty of AOR singles that split the difference between the two sounds -- think Utopia or Huey Lewis, or for a slightly harder spin Aldo Nova and .38 Special -- so narrowing my favorites down to just a handful of songs was painful. If I wound up slightly favoring the soft rock, that's just because I knew nobody else would praise Bertie Higgins, Paul Davis, and Kenny Loggins...

Prince - 1999
Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Pete Townshend – All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Imperial Bedroom
Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
Madness – Presents the Rise & Fall
Richard & Linda Thompson – Shoot Out the Lights
Roxy Music – Avalon
XTC – English Settlement
ABC – The Lexicon of Love
Joe Jackson – Night and Day
Peter Gabriel – Security
Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain
Paul McCartney – Tug of War
Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay
The English Beat – Special Beat Service
Dave Edmunds – D.E. 7th
The Clash - Combat Rock
Aldo Nova - Aldo Nova
Nick Lowe – Nick the Knife
Bertie Higgins – Just Another Day in Paradise
Adam Ant - Friend or Foe
Utopia - Swing to the Right
Daryl Hall/John Oates - H2O

The English Beat – "Save It for Later"
The Human League – "Don't You Want Me"
Dexys Midnight Runners – "Come on Eileen"
Tommy Tutone – "867-5309/Jenny"
Lindsey Buckingham – "Trouble"
Jackson Browne – "Somebody's Baby"
The Alan Parsons Project – "Eye in the Sky"
The Jam – "A Town Called Malice"
Prince - "1999"
Aldo Nova – "Fantasy"
Crosby, Stills & Nash - "Southern Cross"
Huey Lewis & the News – "Do You Believe in Love"
Joe Jackson – "Steppin' Out"
Bertie Higgins – "Key Largo"
Utopia – "Lysistrata"
The Jam – "Beat Surrender"
Fleetwood Mac – "Hold Me"
Peter Gabriel – "Shock the Monkey"
Bobby Bare – "New Cut Road"
.38 Special – "Caught Up in You"
Laura Branigan – "Gloria"
Soft Cell – "Tainted Love"
Kenny Loggins – "Heart to Heart"
Paul Davis – "Cool Night"
Marvin Gaye – "Sexual Healing"
America – "You Can Do Magic"
Supertramp – "It's Raining Again"
Adam Ant – "Goody Two Shoes"
The Cars – "Since You're Gone"
Utopia – "Feets Don't Fail Me Now"

John Bush
Vangelis - Blade Runner
Wendy Carlos - Tron
Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land
The Clash - Combat Rock
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
XTC - English Settlement
The dB's - Repercussion
Siouxsie and the Banshees - A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
R.E.M. - Chronic Town
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
The Au Pairs - Sense and Sensuality
The Bongos - Drums Along the Hudson
Tones on Tail - Tones on Tail
INXS - Shabooh Shoobah
23 Skidoo - Seven Songs
Rikk Agnew - All by Myself
Fear - The Record
Man Parrish - Man Parrish
Marvin Gaye - Midnight Love

Bauhaus - "Ziggy Stardust/Third Uncle"
New Order - "Temptation"
The Sisters of Mercy - "Adrenochrome"
Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Melt!"
Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf"
The English Beat - "Save It for Later"
ABC - "The Look of Love"
INXS - "The One Thing"
Robert Wyatt - "Shipbuilding"
John Mellencamp - "Jack & Diane"
Asia - "Heat of the Moment"
Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force - "Planet Rock"
The Treacherous Three - "Yes We Can-Can"
Aztec Camera - "Pillar to Post"
The dB's - "Amplifier"
Tears for Fears - "Mad World"
Fear - "Let's Have a War"
The Clash - "Know Your Rights"
23 Skidoo - "Vegas el Bandito"
Brian Eno - "Tal Coat"

Jason Lymangrover
Angry Samoans - Back from Samoa
Bad Brains - Bad Brains
Bad Religion - How Could Hell Be Any Worse?
Descendents - Milo Goes to College
Devo - Oh, No! It's Devo
Duran Duran - Rio
Fear - The Record
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Lou Reed - The Blue Mask
Men at Work - Business as Usual
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires?
Mission of Burma - Vs.
Misfits - Walk Among Us
Musical Youth - The Youth of Today
Orange Juice - Rip It Up
Prince - 1999
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

Sean Westergaard
Adrian Belew - Lone Rhino
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Ice Cream for Crow
William Bootsy Collins - The One Giveth, the Count Taketh Away
Defunkt - Thermonuclear Sweat
The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
Buddy Guy - DJ Play My Blues
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Destiny Street
Ronald Shannon Jackson - Mandance
King Crimson - Beat
Bill Laswell - Baselines
Massacre - Killing Time
David Murray Octet - Murray's Steps
Sun Ra Arkestra - Nuclear War
Snakefinger - Manual of Errors
Andy Summers/Robert Fripp - I Advance Masked
Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
Television - The Blow-Up
James Blood Ulmer - Black Rock
Doctor Umezu Band & Kiyoshiro - Danger
X - Under the Big Black Sun

Heather Phares
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Wendy Carlos - Tron
George Clinton - Computer Games
Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw
Duran Duran - Rio
The English Beat - Special Beat Service
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The Message
Daryl Hall/John Oates - H2O
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Liliput - Liliput
Mission of Burma - Vs.
Prince - 1999
Roxy Music - Avalon
Sparks - Angst in My Pants
Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
The Waitresses - Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?
XTC - English Settlement

Laurie Anderson - "O Superman" (YouTube)
Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force – "Planet Rock"
Jackson Browne - "Somebody's Baby"
The Clash - "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Marshall Crenshaw - "Someday, Someway"
Peter Gabriel - "Shock the Monkey"
Marvin Gaye - "Sexual Healing"
Daryl Hall/John Oates - "Did It in a Minute"
The Human League - "Don't You Want Me"
Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out"
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - "I Love Rock 'N Roll"
Men at Work - "Who Can It Be Now?"
The Steve Miller Band - "Abracadabra"
Prince - "1999"
Queen - "Under Pressure"
Tom Tom Club - "Genius of Love"
Tommy Tutone - "867-5309/Jenny"
Romeo Void - "Never Say Never"
Kim Wilde - "Kids in America"
Yaz - "Situation"

David Jeffries
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Black Uhuru - Chill Out
The Clash - Combat Rock
Descendents - Milo Goes to College
Dub Syndicate - Pounding System
Eek-A-Mouse - Wa-Do-Dem
The English Beat - Special Beat Service
Fear - The Record
Flipper - Generic
Front 242 - Geography
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Midnight Oil - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
New Order - 1981 - Factus 8 - 1982
Pop-O-Pies - The White EP
Prince - 1999
Sparks - Angst in My Pants
The Time - What Time Is It?
Vanity 6 - Vanity 6
Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's
Yellowman - Mister Yellowman

Greg Heaney
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Imperial Bedroom
The dB's - Repercussion
Madness - Presents the Rise & Fall
Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles
Prince - 1999
Gang of Four - Songs of the Free
The English Beat - Special Beat Service
Fun Boy Three - Fun Boy Three
Hüsker Dü - Everything Falls Apart
Nine Below Zero - Third Degree
Sparks - Angst in My Pants
Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
Bill Cosby - Bill Cosby Himself
Daryl Hall/John Oates - H2O
Descendents - Milo Goes to College
Bad Brains - Bad Brains
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Rip Rig & Panic - I Am Cold
Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land

James Christopher Monger
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Misfits - Walk Among Us
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
XTC - English Settlement
The Damned - Strawberries
Fear - The Record
Rush - Signals
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless
Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
Duran Duran - Rio
Asia - Asia
Fleetwood Mac - Mirage
Van Halen - Diver Down
Men Without Hats - Rhythm of Youth
Stray Cats - Built for Speed
Adam Ant - Friend or Foe
Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Ay

Saga - "On the Loose"
Toto - "Africa"
Eddy Grant - "Electric Avenue"
Madness - "Our House"
The Jam - "A Town Called Malice"
Golden Earring - "Twilight Zone"
Falco - "Der Kommisar"
John Cougar - "Jack & Diane"
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "You Got Lucky"
The Damned - "Stranger on the Town"
A Flock of Seagulls - "I Ran (So Far Away)"
The Gap Band - "You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
Billy Squier - 'Everybody Wants You"
Billy Idol - "White Wedding"
The Clash - "Rock the Casbah"
Wall of Voodoo - "Mexican Radio"
Marshall Crenshaw - "Someday, Someway"
Bangles - "Going Down to Liverpool"
Men at Work - "Down Under"
The Boomtown Rats - "Never in a Million Years"

Andy Kellman
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Bad Brains - Bad Brains
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Roxy Music - Avalon
Prince - 1999
Patrice Rushen - Straight from the Heart
Associates - Sulk
The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
Mission of Burma - Vs.
Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Evelyn King - Get Loose
The Comsat Angels - Fiction
Cocteau Twins - Garlands
Duran Duran - Rio
Shalamar - Friends
The Time - What Time Is It?
Cabaret Voltaire - 2X45
Don Blackman - Don Blackman

Dazz Band - "Let It Whip"
Grand Master Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message"
Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force - "Planet Rock"
Patrice Rushen - "Forget Me Nots"
Universal Robot Band - "Barely Breaking Even"
The Jones Girls - "Nights Over Egypt"
Modern English - "Life in the Gladhouse"
One Way - "Cutie Pie"
Odyssey - "Inside Out"
The Gap Band - "Outstanding"
The S.O.S. Band - "High Hopes"
Shalamar - "A Night to Remember"
Prince - "1999"
Evelyn King - "Love Come Down"
Vanity 6 - "Nasty Girl"
Sylvian/Sakamoto - "Bamboo Houses"
Carly Simon - "Why"
Planet Patrol - "Play at Your Own Risk"
Klein & MBO - "Dirty Talk"
Effigies - "Body Bag"

Thom Jurek
Prince - 1999
A Certain Ratio - Sextet
The Birthday Party - Junkyard
Cabaret Voltaire - 2X45
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Ice Cream for Crow
The John Carter Octet - Dauwhe
Marilyn Crispell - Spirit Music
Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell - El Corazon
Miles Davis - We Want Miles
The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
The Dub Syndicate - Pounding System
The Fall - Hex Induction Hour
The Flesh Eaters - Forever Came Today
Diamanda Galas - The Litanies of Satan
The Gun Club - Miami
Merle Haggard - Going Where the Lonely Go
Kip Hanrahan - Coup de Tête
Massacre - Killing Time
Misfits - Walk Among Us
Bill Nelson - The Love That Whirls
Tav Falco's Panther Burns - Behind the Magnolia Curtain
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
The Time - What Time Is It?
Virgin Prunes - ...If I Die, I Die

Jonathan Ball
Roxy Music - Avalon
Haircut One Hundred - Pelican West
The Church - Blurred Crusade
Fear - The Record
Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
Hüsker Dü - Land Speed Record
The Clash - Combat Rock
Duran Duran - Rio
Robert Plant - Pictures at Eleven
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance

Duran Duran - "Rio" (YouTube)
Judas Priest - "Screaming for Vengance" (YouTube)
Iron Maiden - "Run to the Hills" (YouTube)
Haircut One Hundred - "Fantastic Day" (YouTube)
The Rolling Stones - "Waiting on a Friend" (YouTube)
The Church - "When You Were Mine"
The Clash - "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
The Jam - "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)"
The Jam - "Beat Surrender"
INXS - "Don't Change"
Soft Cell - "Tainted Love"
Loverboy - "Working for the Weekend"
Gang of Four - "I Love a Man in Uniform"
Hüsker Dü - "In a Free Land"
Paul McCartney - "Take It Away"
Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"
Asia - "Heat of the Moment"
Jackson Browne - "Somebody's Baby"
Dazz Band - "Let It Whip"
The Go-Go's - "Vacation"
The Steve Miller Band - "Abracadabra"
The Police - "Spirits in the Material World"
Black Flag - "TV Party"

Matthew Garbutt
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Associates - Sulk
Bad Brains - Bad Brains
Black Uhuru - Chill Out
Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters
Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Aye
Don Carlos - Day to Day Living
Eek-A-Mouse - Wa-Do-Dem
Orange Juice - You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
The Beat - Special Beat Service
The Birthday Party - Junkyard
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
The Fun Boy Three - The Fun Boy Three
The Gun Club - Miami
The Jam - The Gift
The Prisoners - A Taste of Pink
Theatre of Hate - Westworld
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West

Aztec Camera - "Pillar to Post"
Barrington Levy - "Poor Man Style"
Bauhaus - "Kick in the Eye"
Bow Wow Wow - "Go Wild in the Country"
Grandmaster Flash - "The Message"
Hüsker Dü - "In a Free Land"
Imagination - "Just an Illusion"
Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out"
New Order - "Everything's Gone Green"
Orange Juice - "Rip It Up"
Robert Wyatt - "Shipbuilding"
Serious Drinking - "Love on the Terraces"
Shalamar - "A Night to Remember"
Shriekback - "My Spine Is the Bassline"
Soft Cell - "Torch"
Sisters of Mercy - "Alice"
The Jam - "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)"
The Milkshakes - "Please Don't Tell My Baby"
The Southern Death Cult - "Moya"
Triston Palma & Nica Smart - "Mr. False Preacher"

Aneet Nijjar
Siouxsie and the Banshees - A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
Grace Jones - Living My Life
Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Tropical Gangsters
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84)
Roxy Music - Avalon
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
Associates - Sulk
King Sunny Ade - JuJu Music
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Joe Jackson - Night and Day
Cabaret Voltaire - 2X45
Mission of Burma - Vs.
Flipper - Generic Flipper
Liliput - Liliput
23 Skidoo - Seven Songs
Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell

Dinosaur L - "Go Bang! #5"
Kraftwerk - "Numbers"
Fonda Rae - "Over Like a Fat Rat"
Gino Soccio - "It's Alright"
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message"
New York Citi Peech Boys - "Don't Make Me Wait"
Raw Silk - "Do It to the Music"
Rockers Revenge - "Walking on Sunshine"
Was (Not Was) - "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming"
Yaz - "Situation"
Bush Tetras - "Can't Be Funky"/"Cowboys in Africa"
D.A.F. - "Goldens Spielzug"/"Eel Que"
Imagination - "Just an Illusion"
Klein & MBO - "Dirty Talk"
Pete Shelley - "Homosapien"/"Witness the Change"
The Waitresses - "I Know What Boys Like"
Stevie Nicks - "Stand Back"
Tom Tom Club - "Genius of Love"

James Wilkinson
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
The Church - The Blurred Crusade
The Jam - The Gift
Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
The Prisoners - A Taste of Pink!
The Spongetones - Beat Music
XTC - English Settlement
Green on Red - Green on Red
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Eek-A-Mouse - Wa-Do-Dem
Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles
The Times - Pop Goes Art!
Scientist - Scientist Encounters Pac-Man
Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw
Neil Young - Trans

The Stranglers - "Strange Little Girl"
Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out"
The Jam - "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)"
The Stranglers - "Golden Brown"
The Milkshakes - "It's You"
The Jam - "Beat Surrender"
New Order - "Temptation"
The Human League - "Don't You Want Me"
Emmylou Harris - "Born to Run"
New Order - "Everything's Gone Green"
The Dream Syndicate - "Tell Me When It's Over"
Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners - "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)"
The Barracudas - "Inside Mind"
The Teardrop Explodes - "Tiny Children"
John Williams - "E.T. Original Theme (Flying)"