'80s Songs that Don't Sound Like the '80s

Hard to identify any time or place that Never Known by the Durutti Column fits, but it's from 1982:

 

August 29, 1987 Los Lobos "La Bamba" 3 weeks at number 1

3 years earlier.

But yes the 1980's charts are dominated totally by the 1980's production sound

 

I'm old and I started buying the records & going on gigs as a kid in 1975 [that year in my hometown I saw Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Santana and Return to Forever; these bands were in their heydays in 1975; not to mention our domestic "progressive" bands like Smak, Korni Grupa, Hobo, etc] so for me the Eighties came very quickly and I know that the term "Eighties sound" was meant - at least in Europe and the United Kingdom - the sound of the genres & sub-genres that started and (or) had the roots in the '70s but were fully devoloped in the 80s, like "synth-pop","techno", "New Romantic" and so on.
As I said earlier, a number of the artists from so called "Golden Era" released some stuff that was heavy influenced from above mentioned new aesthetics; e.g. Eminence Front the song by The Who [earlier on this thread, I'd posted two Paul McCartney' songs from his McCartney II the album as some nice examples for the same] was made in the "Eighties sound" style and it was groundbreaking when it was released in 1982 (now it sounds dated, IMHO):



On other side, some new bands stylistically returned themselves to the 70s and they released (in the 80s) a number of the albums and singles in "retro" style, as for example Cafe Bleu, the masterpiece by Style Council that was heavy influenced by Soul music from previouis decades (earlier on this thread, I'd posted a few vids of Style Council). However, Cafe Bleu is undoubtedly an 80s album that although it's "retro", it fully belongs to the aesthetics of the Eighties, not to Seventies' aesthetics. Thus, "the sound of the Eighties" could be also a pretty stretching term, as there is no precise boundaries where so called "Eighties sound" starts and ends.

 

Oh well, let's get back to the topic.

 

What about the title track? "Tougher than the Rest?" "Brilliant Disguise?" All great songs, but ALL totally '80's. And these are the tracks that got the most radio play at the time...

 

This track sounds VERY '80s. I think it's the synths and the bad keyboard sounds.

 

I can't tell if this is a "What are the most 80s sounding songs from the 80s?" or a "What 80s songs don't sound like the 80s?" thread.

 

Yes thread has been wrecked by a particular poster. Looks like he is trolling but I suspect he's just a f wit posting every 80's album he's heard.

 

All of R.E.M.s output in that decade was way outside the 80’s box!