The eighties – hate them or love them, but they’re surely hard to ignore. Eighties fashion, typical 80’s bands and 80’s hairstyles – even those who are too young to remember get drawn into this crazy decade as 80’s music is still popular all over the world.
If 1986 was the year of the 80’s anthems, the trend continued in 1987, with many pop bands jumping on the 80’s bandwagon. To make the Top 30 hit list of 1987 below, bands could be from anywhere in the world but the songs had to fulfill all of the following criteria:
- Be pop or dance songs – not rock, R&B or any other genre;
- exemplify the 80’s music style: be fresh, bold and full of spunk (not purely instrumental songs);
- artists were chosen only among 80’s bands, with the eighties being the decade of their biggest hits;
- only one hit song per 80’s solo artist or band was included per year for variety sake.
Eighties Movies, 80’s TV Shows and Other Events of 1987
To really get the feel for a decade, let alone a year, it makes sense to take a look at related areas like movies, TV shows and world events. In 1987, the Simpsons made their first appearance on TV, and the Bold and the Beautiful, Married … with Children, Full House, A Different World and 21, Jump Street premiered.
With over 200 movie releases, 1987 was an unusual year that brought forth a high number of (romantic) comedy hits like Mannequin, the Secret of My Success, Beverly Hills Cop II, 3 Men and a Baby, Spaceballs and Roxanne, dance hits like Dirty Dancing and La Bamba, but also James Bond: the Living Daylights, Full Metal Jacket, RoboCop, Fatal Attraction and Lethal Weapon on the action front.
Other important events of 1987:
- Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old from West Germany, was detained after evading Russian air defenses and landing his Cessna on the Red Square in Moscow.
- The world population reached five billion.
- 19th October was named Black Monday after stock market levels fell around the world.
- Larry Wall created the programming language Perl while Thomas and John Knoll developed the first version of Photoshop.
- The “happy drug” Prozac was made available in the US.
Top 30 Eighties Songs of 1987
How can one sum up 1987? The best is to let the 80’s music hits speak for themselves: While U2 are still pondering to be “with or without you,” Jody Watley is already “looking for a new love”; Cutting Crew “died (in someone’s) arms tonight,” while Kim Wilde “just keeps hangin’ on.”
Fleetwood Mac tell “little lies” – the Pet Shop Boys’ “sin” is Belinda Carlisle’s “heaven on earth.” Samantha Fox demands “touch me” while Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes have the “time of their lives.” Notorious? Maybe, but these are the eighties! Here is the Top 30 of 1987, in alphabetical order:
- “Bad” – Michael Jackson
- “Breakout” – Swing Out Sister
- “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight” – Cutting Crew
- “Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Crowded House
- “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” – Beastie Boys
- “Heaven Is A Place on Earth” – Belinda Carlisle
- “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” – Aretha Franklin and George Michael
- “Is This Love” – Whitesnake
- “I Think We’re Alone Now” – Tiffany
- “It’s a Sin” – the Pet Shop Boys
- “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – Whitney Houston
- “I want your sex” – George Michael
- “La Bamba” – Los Lobos
- “La Isla Bonita” – Madonna
- “The Lady in Red” – Chris Deburgh
- “Land of Confusion” – Genesis
- “Little Lies” - Fleetwood Mac
- “Living in a Box” – Living in a Box
- “Looking for a New Love” – Jody Watley
- “Mandolin Rain’ – Bruce Hornsby & the Range
- “Mary’s Prayer” – Danny Wilson
- “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” – Starship
- “Notorious” – Duran Duran
- “Running in the Family” – Level 42
- “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” – Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
- “Someday” – Glass Tiger
- “(I’ve had) The Time of My Life” – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
- “Touch Me” - Samantha Fox
- “With or Without You” – U2
- “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” - Kim Wilde
Three all-time hits stick out in 1987: Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita,” forcing everyone to sing in Spanish, Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and George Michael’s “I want your sex,” daring only the bold to sing along. “The Time of My Life” and “La Bamba” became hits because of Dirty Dancing and La Bamba. Overall, a year more tilted towards fast beats and new styles, initiated by the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party).”
For more ultimate 80’s hits like “Papa Don’t Preach” or “Take On Me,” check the previous years 1986 and 1985, respectively. Or find out about the following year, 1988!
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