Various Artists - Greatest Hits of the 80's [1999 Disky]

Like the box sets devoted to the 1960s and 1970s released by Dutch label Disky, Greatest Hits of the 80's is a massive collection that should have qualifications applied to its all-encompassing title. First, Disky licenses primarily from EMI, so its hits are largely restricted to that major label's vaults. (This is not as great a limitation as it might appear, since it includes artists like Talking Heads, who are not on EMI labels in the U.S.) Second, the collection has a distinctly European orientation, so its application to the nostalgic American listener is limited. Of the 144 tracks, 129 reached the British charts, with 120 of those making the Top 40, 99 the Top Ten, and 22 going to number one. The comparable American statistics are roughly halved: 68 chart entries, of which 54 made the Top 40 and 38 the Top Ten, with 14 chart-toppers. And 12 of the tracks, by such performers as Sandra and Gazebo (each of whom gets two selections), scored only in continental Europe, missing both the U.S. and U.K. charts. The bulk of the tracks are pop/rock recordings by the videogenic post-new wave acts of the early '80s, most of them British: Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Ultravox get four selections each; there are three songs each by Blondie, Eddy Grant, Hot Chocolate, Billy Idol, Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet, and Kim Wilde; and among those with two tracks each are Thomas Dolby, Samantha Fox, and Billy Ocean. So, if you were living in, say, Amsterdam in the 1980s, there will be much here that you will recognize. But the box was selling for only about $50 through U.S. mail-order firms in the early 2000s, and, at that price, even American '80s enthusiasts might want to delve into its mixture of the familiar and the exotic. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adeva Performer Adrian Gurvitz Performer Afrika Bambaataa Performer Aled Jones Performer Amazulu Performer Ashford & Simpson Performer Baltimora Performer Belouis Some Performer Billy Idol Performer Billy Ocean Performer Blondie Performer Bobby McFerrin Performer Bongo Performer Boy George Performer Broken English Performer Brother Beyond Performer Bruce Performer Centerfold Performer China Crisis Performer Climie Fisher Performer Culture Club Performer Cutting Crew Performer David Austin Performer David Grant Performer Debbie Harry Performer Dexys Midnight Runners Performer DJ Sven Performer Dr. Hook Performer Duran Duran Performer Eddy Grant Performer F.P.I. Project Performer Feargal Sharkey Performer Fern Kinney Performer Flying Pickets Performer Freddie Jackson Performer Fun Fun Performer Gazebo Performer George Baker Selection Performer Glass Tiger Performer Go West Performer Heaven 17 Performer Hot Chocolate Performer Huey Lewis & the News Performer Human League Performer Icehouse Performer J. Geils Band Performer Jaki Graham Performer Jellybean Performer Jermaine Stewart Performer Jimmy Nail Performer John Waite Performer Johnny Hates Jazz Performer Jona Lewie Performer Kajagoogoo Performer Kate Bush Performer Katrina & the Waves Performer Kim Carnes Performer Kim Wilde Performer King Mc Performer Laid Back Performer Lene Lovich Performer Leo Sayer Performer Limahl Performer Living in a Box Performer Look Performer Marillion Performer Max Werner Performer Mel & Kim Performer Michael Zager Band Performer Midge Ure Performer Nick Straker Band Performer Nu Shooz Performer Paul Hardcastle Performer Peabo Bryson Performer Peter Tosh Performer Renée & Renato Performer Robbie Nevil Performer Roberta Flack Performer Samantha Fox Performer Sandra Performer Sheena Easton Performer Sly Fox Performer Spandau Ballet Performer Stars on 45 Performer Sydney Youngblood Performer T'Pau Performer Talk Talk Performer Talking Heads Performer The B.B. & Q. Band Performer The Firm Performer The Power Station Performer The Proclaimers Performer The Stranglers Performer The Waterboys Performer Thomas Dolby Performer Tony Esposito Performer Tracey Ullman Performer UB40 Performer Ultravox Performer XTC Performer