Songs Released in 1983

1983, THE YEAR POP WENT CRAZY

Weren't the 80s great?

These are hit pop songs (also new romantics, new wave, synthpop, electronica, some rock, some disco, dance, etc) released in 1983 alone. I didn't include metal, punk and related as that was never my cup of tea, but that will likely make this list much longer. Although, the years before 1983 and after that were just as prolific, but somehow 1983 was dubbed as "The Year Pop Went Crazy". This is why some known artists may be missing because they skipped 1983 and released either in 1982 or 1984 and later.

There were many more songs released in 1983 but the songs listed here had some sort of hit status (Top 100, Top 10, etc) or received awards in 1983 or 1984; or are simply iconic and easily recognizable either in the US or Europe. Many of those songs were one hit wonders though. Many of these songs have been remixed and covered over and over by many artists of all genres and generations, from metal, reggae to hip hop all the way to the recent years.

I'm not 100% sure about all though, as the sources seem to contradict on some releases, as well as some songs were released at different times in different parts of the world, some were re-released (as part of 1983 movie soundtracks, for instance) some "releases" were remixes, some were covers of older songs and, finally, some songs were released as singles in 1982 before the full album was released in 1983. There were more than ten songs released in November and December 1982 that I didn't include here because of this, even though the album was released in 1983.

So, here you go:

Bananarama            - Cruel Summer
Billy Idol            - Rebel Yell
Billy Joel            - Uptown Girl
Bonnie Tyler          - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Bronski Beat          - Smalltown Boy
Bryan Adams           - Straight From The Heart
Cindy Lauper          - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Culture Club          - Karma Chameleon
David Bowie           - Let's Dance
David Bowie           - Modern Love
David Bowie           - China Girl
Dominatrix            - The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight
Donna Summer          - She Works Hard For The Money
Duran Duran           - Is There Something I Should Know?
Eddie Grant           - Electric Avenue
Eurythmics            - Here Comes The Rain Again
Eurythmics            - Sweet Dreams (my personal fav)
Eurythmics            - Who's That Girl
Herbie Hancock        - Rockit
Howard Jones          - What Is Love?
Irene Cara            - What A Feeling (Flashdance)
Kajagoogoo            - Too Shy
Kraftwerk             - Tour De France (my personal fav)
Laura Branigan        - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
Madonna               - Holiday
Madonna               - Lucky Star
Michael Jackson       - Billie Jean
Michael Jackson       - Human Nature
Michael Jackson       - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Mike Oldfield         - Foreign Affair
Mike Oldfield         - Moonlight Shadow (my personal fav)
Nena                  - 99 Luftballons
New Order             - The Beach
New Order             - Blue Monday (my personal fav)
OMD                   - Telegraph
Pat Benatar           - Love Is a Battlefield
Prince                - Little Red Corvette
Shannon               - Let The Music Play
Spandau Ballet        - Gold
Spandau Ballet        - True
Stevie Nicks          - Stand Back
Styx                  - Mr. Roboto
Talking Heads         - Burning Down The House
Tears for Fears       - Pale Shelter (my personal fav)
The Human League      - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
The Police            - Every Breath You Take
The Police            - Wrapped Around Your Finger
U2                    - New Year's Day
U2                    - Sunday Bloody Sunday
UB40                  - Red Red Wine
Yazoo                 - Nobody's Diary (my personal fav)
Yes                   - Owner of the Lonely Heart
ZZ Top                - Gimme Al Your Lovin'
ZZ Top                - Legs
ZZ Top                - Sharp Dressed Man

-- Henry Lootgraab