List: 1980s music groups

by likeorhate

•  ABBA

  ABBA was a Swedish pop music group formed in Stockholm in 1972, consisting of Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog (Anna). Fältskog and Ulvaeus were a married couple, as were Lyngstad and Andersson during their career, although both couples later divorced. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, and they topped the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982.

  

  42.9%
  

  35.7%
  

  21.4%
  
•  The Alan Parsons Project

  The Alan Parsons Project were a British progressive rock band active between 1975 and 1990, founded by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons.

  

  44.0%
  

  28.0%
  

  28.0%
  
•  Boney M.

  Boney M. is a disco group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Jamaicans Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Montserratian Maizie Williams, and Aruban Bobby Farrell. The group was formed in 1975 and achieved immense popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s.

  

  26.1%
  

  34.8%
  

  39.1%
  
•  Bronski Beat

  Bronski Beat was a popular British synth pop trio who achieved notable success in the mid 1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy". All members of the group were openly gay and their songs often contained political commentary on gay related issues. Although many groups in the early to mid 80s had an openly gay image, Bronski Beat was one of the first groups to address the issues of gay people.

  

  31.3%
  

  25.0%
  

  43.8%
  
•  Black Sabbath

  Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Terry "Geezer" Butler, and Bill Ward. The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members. Originally formed as a heavy blues-rock band named Earth, the band began incorporating occult- and horror-inspired lyrics with tuned-down guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and achieving multiple platinum records in the 1970s.

  

  33.8%
  

  18.3%
  

  47.9%
  
•  The Beach Boys

  The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961, who gained popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance. Brian Wilson's growing creative ambitions later transformed them into a more artistically innovative group that earned critical praise and influenced many later musicians.

  

  26.1%
  

  30.4%
  

  43.5%
  
•  Depeche Mode

  Depeche Mode are an English electronic band which formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, production) with Gore taking over songwriting.

  

  35.5%
  

  32.3%
  

  32.3%
  
•  Devo

  Devo is an American band associated most often with the New Wave music scene formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973. While they are best known for their 1980 hit "Whip It", which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the band has successfully maintained a cult following since early in their career. Their style over time has shifted variously between punk, art rock, post-punk, and New Wave.

  

  34.6%
  

  15.4%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Electric Light Orchestra

  Electric Light Orchestra, commonly abbreviated ELO,were a symphonic rock group from Birmingham, United Kingdom, who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELOwere formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. After Wood's departure following the band's debut record, Lynne wrote and arranged all of the group's original compositions and produced every album.

  

  38.1%
  

  34.9%
  

  27.0%
  
•  Frankie Goes to Hollywood

  Frankie Goes to Hollywood (FGTH) were an English dance-pop band that was extremely popular in the mid-1980s. The Liverpool group was fronted by Holly Johnson, supported by Paul Rutherford, Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole and Brian Nash.

  

  47.8%
  

  30.4%
  

  21.7%
  
•  Fleetwood Mac

  Fleetwood Macare a British-American rock band formed in 1967 in London. The only member present in the band from the very beginning is its namesake drummer, Mick Fleetwood.

  

  35.1%
  

  27.0%
  

  37.8%
  
•  Insane Clown Posse

  Insane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the wicked clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore and is known for its elaborate live performances. The duo has earned two platinum and three gold albums.

  

  37.9%
  

  32.8%
  

  29.3%
  
•  Joy Division

  Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion). Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences, to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk movement of the late 1970s.

  

  50.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Kraftwerk

  Kraftwerk is a pioneering and a highly influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The signature Kraftwerk sound combines driving, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies, mainly following a Western classical style of harmony, with a minimalistic and strictly electronic instrumentation. The group's simplified lyrics are at times sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software. Kraftwerk were one of the first groups to popularize electronic music.

  

  32.0%
  

  32.0%
  

  36.0%
  
•  Metallica

  Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo.

  

  36.8%
  

  36.8%
  

  26.3%
  
•  Moğollar

  Moğollar is one of the pioneer bands in Turkish rock music for about 40 years and one of the founders of Turkish ethno rock music. The major goal of the band is to prove that folk music has a multi-layered soul and folk music's dynamism is very close to pop music's dynamism.

  

  0.0%
  

  33.3%
  

  66.7%
  
•  Mötley Crüe

  Mötley Crüe is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The band was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold more than 80 million album copies worldwide, including 25 million in the U.S.

  

  18.2%
  

  27.3%
  

  54.5%
  
•  Meat Puppets

  The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Paradise Valley, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix.

  

  33.3%
  

  0.0%
  

  66.7%
  
•  Megadeth

  Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. Founded by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson following Mustaine's departure from Metallica, the band has since released twelve studio albums, six live albums, two EPs, twenty six singles, thirty-two music videos, and three compilations.

  

  40.0%
  

  40.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Motörhead

  Motörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, known mostly by his stage name Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart.

  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  
•  N.W.A

  N.W. A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes, a.k.a. "Niggaz With Attitude") was a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre. Active from 1985 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations and even at times prevented from touring - yet the group has still sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone.

  

  25.0%
  

  25.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Nirvana (band)

  Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. The band established itself as part of the Seattle music scene, releasing its first album Bleach for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989.

  

  42.9%
  

  28.6%
  

  28.6%
  
•  New Order

  New Order were an English musical group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris. New Order were formed in the wake of the demise of their previous group Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis. They were soon joined by additional keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. New Order combined post-punk and electronic dance, and became one of the most critically acclaimed and highly influential bands of the 1980s.

  

  50.0%
  

  33.3%
  

  16.7%
  
•  Pixies

  The Pixies are an American alternative rock band that formed in Boston in 1986. The group disbanded in 1993 under acrimonious circumstances but reunited in 2004. Black Francis (lead vocals and guitar), Joey Santiago (guitar), Kim Deal (bass), and David Lovering (drums) have been the band's continual members.

  

  16.7%
  

  16.7%
  

  66.7%
  
•  Rush (band)

  Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their current form when Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.

  

  22.2%
  

  44.4%
  

  33.3%