The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set
foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released.
Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it
was also groundbreaking, and it revolutionized the music industry and the
world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the
music video into a work of art.
Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small
scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC
for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics and provocative
video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed to have major success around the world with their debut album, "Welcome
to the Pleasuredome". This was also the first big success for ZTT
Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year
the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the
ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend.
With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards
were given away at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the
winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock.
Madonna has not been up for awards, but manged to make prominence
and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's.
Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of
musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good
cause, forming Band-Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a
song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985.
It included more than 40 musicians, and it sold over two million copies
around the globe and raised more than $24 million.
Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be
translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and
became clear that the new musical term was Pop.
01. Bronski Beat - Small Town Boy
02. Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon
03. Talk Talk - It’s My Life
04. Prince - When Doves Cry
05. Billy Idol - Eyes Without a Face
06. Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time
07. Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End of Love
08. Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Around
09. Duran Duran - New Moon on Monday
10. Alphaville - Big in Japan
11. A-ha- Take on Me
12. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
13. Madonna - Borderline
14. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls '84
15. Gary Numan- Berserker
16. Siouxsie and The Banshees - Dazzle
17. Eurythmics - Here Comes the Rain Again
18. Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Two Tribes
19. The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make
20. The Style Council - Shout to the Top
