Category: 1980s
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Edwyn Collins
About Edwyn Stephen Collins is a British musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in 1985, Collins started a solo career. His 1994 single “A Girl Like You” was a worldwide hit. Albums/Songs: Hellbent…
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Lucky Dube
About Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a…
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Jimmy Somerville
About James William Somerville is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter from Glasgow, Scotland. He sang in the 1980s with the synth-pop groups Bronski Beat and the Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and soulful countertenor/falsetto singing voice. Many of his songs, such as “Smalltown…
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Technotronic
About Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, best known for the 1989 single “Pump Up the Jam”, which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Later that year, the single was followed by the…
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Pixies
About A pixie is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. However, the word ‘pixie’ also appears in Dorset, Somerset and to a lesser extent in Sussex, Wiltshire and Hampshire. Albums/Songs:…
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Black Uhuru
About Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick “Duckie” Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful period in the 1980s, with their album Anthem winning the first ever Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in…
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Joe Hisaishi
About Mamoru Fujisawa , known professionally as Joe Hisaishi , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi’s music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, Western classical, and Japanese classical. He has also…
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Pepe Kalle
About Pépé Kallé, sometimes written as Pepe Kalle was a Congolese soukous singer, musician and bandleader. Albums/Songs: Gerant L’argent ne fait pas le bonheur! Gigantafrique Cocktail Zabolo Le Nain Danseur – Dans Massasy Calculé A Abidjan Call to Action: What’s your favorite Pepe Kalle song? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Papa Wemba
About Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, known professionally as Papa Wemba, was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the “King of Rumba Rock”, he was one of the most popular musicians of his time in Africa and played an important role in world music. He was also a…
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Jocelyne Béroard
About Jocelyne Béroard is a Martinican singer and songwriter. She is one of the lead singers of the Zouk and Compas band Kassav’. As a solo artist, she helped create zouk Beton, a music genre originated by the seminal Martinican Creole band Kassav’ from Paris, the main members of which are from Guadeloupe and Martinique.…
