30 Years Ago | Pop Music in 1987

Different artwork for US version:

 

​

Different artwork for US version of Wendy and Lisa:

 

Some great Australian albums from 87:

 

I'd probably hate this, too, if I listened to it now but it was my teenage introduction to the song and is one of many arguably substandard? covers that got me looking back before my time. Similarly, I credit the harmonies in INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" for priming me for The Beatles' cover of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me."

PARENTAL ADVISORY: Well, then who the hell am I supposed to lean on? Uh oh, I hope I didn't just answer my own question.

 

Some of my favorite albums from this year:
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Whitesnake - Whitesnake '87
Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Heart - Bad Animals
The Cars - Door to Door
Starship - No Protection
Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night

 

August

 

Heart - There's the Girl

 

The Cars - You Are the Girl

 

Correct. I think it's hideous in comparison.

 

Albums released elsewhere prior, but not in the US until 1987 (and sometimes differing from their non-US counterparts):

 

God might it too!

 

Bill Withers wants to have a word with all y'all, and he's not busy!

 

Remember that in 1987, people in the U.S. were not ready for the image on European cover. I like the U.S. cover, BTW. It's all in what you're used to.

 

For those that were there, U2 dominated 87 with what many consider their best work: Album of the year the Joshua Tree.

 

Well, technically (or, as per Billboard), the No. 1 album of '87 was Slippery When Wet. But the top albums were '87, on the US charts, absolutely were the likes of The Joshua Tree (No. 1 for nine weeks from April to June), plus Graceland (which won the Grammy in February, and kept on selling and selling), Licence To Ill (a landmark for a rap album, in terms of sales), and Bruce Hornsby & The Range's The Way It Is, which really took off after the title song topped the Hot 100 in December 1986. Looking at the Billboard year-end chart, the most surprising major hit was Night Songs by Cinderella, which ended up at No. 9 (and was certified triple platinum). I know Cinderella were Bon Jovi's tourmates in '87, which had to help, but I didn't know that album was a hit on that scale.

 

I stopped by a Salvation Army store today, and they had that Yello CD... so I picked it up on a whim (I know nothing about Yello except for "Oh Yeah", thanks to The Secret Of My Success. Besides, it was $1). I'm looking forward to listening to it now, with your endorsement.

 

Hipsway: "The Honeythief"... what a song! It peaked at No. 17 in the UK in March 1986, but hit No. 19 on the Hot 100 in April '87.

 

Can't believe @Psychedelic Good Trip has posted this one: from Shropshire, in the West Midlands of England, T'Pau (Star Trek reference) and the US/UK (and New Zealand) Top 10 hit "Heart And Soul":

 

For those that were there, U2 wasn't on our radar in 1987.

 

Such a great year for Music. I probably had most of these on album & CD for sure.

You'll never see such a slew of great great music in one year like this again.

 

It's a pretty good album, although "Oh Yeah" originally appeared on their 1985 album Stella, which I prefer over One Second. They tacked on "Oh Yeah" to One Second after the success from Ferris Beuller and also because of Secret Of My Success. Plus, they had switched from Elektra to Mercury/Polydor in the US with One Second.

I really love "The Broken Years" from that album. Cherry Red in the UK just released a 2-disc of this album with all sorts of great bonus tracks/extended mixes.

 

I think that's correct. I've had many discussions here about this, particularly with @Bobby Morrow where I'll show the US cover for something vs. the UK. I usually prefer the US ones, and he the UK ones. Like Kim Wilde - here is the US one, which I prefer and then the UK, which Bobby prefers. I think the former looks very professional while the latter looks like a cheap reissue:



I will say that I prefer the UK cover for Make It Big by Wham! over the US one.

 

I think one reason the U.K. cover wasn't used here in the states is because the map cuts off all but the U.S. east coast, and shows most of Europe and the eastern hemisphere. Not good for the late 80s when there was still a strong sense of U.S. patriotism.

 

My favorites from 1987:



01. Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years
02. Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
03. Prince - Sign O' The Times
04. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
05. Swans - Children Of God
06. Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark
07. Tall Dwarfs - Hello Cruel World
08. Sonic Youth - Sister
09. Rhys Chatham - Die Donnergötter
10. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
11. Chris Isaak - Chris Isaak
12. Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription
13. Macabre - Grim Reailty
14. Guns 'n Roses - Appetite For Destruction
15. Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
16. Voi Vod - Killing Technology
17. LL Cool J - Bigger And Deffer
18. Pop Will Eat Itself - Box Frenzy
19. INXS - Kick
20. World Of Skin - Blood, Women, Roses
21. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full
22. Death In June - Brown Book
23. David Sylvian - Secrets Of The Beehive
24. Revolting Cocks - You Goddamned Son Of A Bitch
25. Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien
26. That Petrol Emotion - Babble
27. Meredith Monk - Do You Be
28. The Bevis Frond - The Inner Marshland
29. U2 - The Joshua Tree
30. Scratch Acid - Berserker
31. Laibach - Opus Dei
32. Suns Of Arqa - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Seven, All Good Children Know Some Heaven
33. Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust
34. Napalm Death - Scum
35. Yello - One Second
36. Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu - 1987: What The F*** Is Going On?!
37. Sly & Robbie - Rhythm Killers
38. Accuser - The Conviction
39. Terence Trent D'Arby - Introducing The Hardline According To...
40. Opal - Happy Nightmare Baby
41. The Wedding Present - George Best
42. Wire - The Ideal Copy
43. Master Musicians Of Tanzania - Mateso
44. Nitzer Ebb - That Total Age
45. Sineád O' Connor - The Lion And The Cobra
46. Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence
47. Henry Rollins - Drive-By Shooting
48. Soup Dragons - Hang-Ten!
49. George Michael - Faith
50. Rhythm Pigs - Choke On This
51. Jany Sibbery - The Walking
52. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
53. Eugene Chadbourne - LSDC&W: The History Of The Chadbournes In America
54. The Wipers - Follow Blind
55. Game Theory - Lolita Nation
56. Pascal Comelade - El Primitivismo
57. R.E.M. - Document
58. Death - Scream Bloody Gore
59. The Gun Club - Mother Juno
60. Loop - Heaven's End
61. The Chills - Brave Words
62. Boiled In Lead - Hotheads
63. Karen Finley - The Truth Is Hard To Swallow
64. Meat Puppets - Huevos
65. Gibson Bros. - Big Pine Boogie
66. Startled Insects - Curse Of The Pheromones
67. Suicidal Tendencies - Join The Army
68. Negativland - Escape From Noise
72. Titãs - Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas
70. Marianne Faithfull - Strange Weather
69. Able Tasmans - A Cuppa Tea And A Lie Down
71. Momus - The Poison Boyfriend
73. Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show
74. The Proclaimers - This Is The Story
75. Yiorgos Mangas - Yiorgos Mangas