Subscriber Playlist, December 2023: “Pop Sophistication”
A brief sampling of the classy, sophisticated pop that UK artists released with abandon throughout the ’80s.
I had my copy of Prefab Sprout’s 1985 album Steve McQueen for a long time before I actually listened to it. When I finally did so earlier this year, not only did it become my musical obsession for a few weeks, thanks to songs like “Bonny,” “Appetite,” and “When Love Breaks Down,” but it set me down various rabbit paths into a particular era of UK music.
During the early-to-mid ’80s, there were numerous artists that churned out one release after another that straddled the lines between new wave, synth-pop, alternative, jazz, soul, and blues to create a form of elegant, sophisticated pop earmarked by heartfelt lyrics, impassioned vocals, smooth riffs, and some immaculate production.
These artists achieved varying levels of success in their native lands, and throughout Europe, though some of them — like China Crisis, Deacon Blue, and Love and Money — never really made it across the pond to American airwaves and success. Some of them eventually faded away while others (e.g., David Sylvian, Talk Talk) would eventually eschew pop music altogether and move on to increasingly experimental and outré forms of music.