I want my MTV! You’re damn right I did. We finally got cable at my house in like 1983 and the first thing I did was boot up that rocket ship to new-wave heaven. It was awesome to learn that other people were stoked about some of the same sounds my friends and I were into. MTV was playing (showing) music that they weren’t playing on my local FM rock stations. We were finding out about stuff that wasn’t “Black Dog,” “Brown Sugar” or “Baba O’Riley” and here they were playing it on the telly.
New wave was as much a fashion as it was a sound. And video was a great way to show the cool kids that your band was down. As the 80s rolled on, new wave even got invited to sit at the big table. Sand down the rough edges a bit, and the next thing you know the charts are lousy with synths, Strat chime and electronic drums. New-wave sound & fashion were a big influence on mainstream pop in the 80s, so it was only fair that power-poppers & synthno-dance rockers got to rub a bit of that sweet chart sugar on their gums.
New wave tunes did pretty well on the charts, but only rarely rose all the way to the tippy-top. There were just enough #1 new wave hits to suggest that a bit of the old Rocktology! might be in order. To be clear, these aren’t our picks for the best new-wave songs of the decade — they simply managed to get to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
C’mon! Sweet dreams are made of this. Who are you to disagree?
Final Four
| FINAL FOUR | FINALS | CHAMPION | FINALS | FINAL FOUR |
| “Call Me” – Blondie (52%) | “Call Me” – Blondie (48%) | (52%) “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics | (42%) “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys | |
| “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds (48%) | “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics | (58%) “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics |
Opening Rounds
| ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | MOVING ON |
| “Call Me” – Blondie (91%) | ||
| “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Kim Wilde (9%) | “Call Me” – Blondie (56%) | |
| “Call Me” – Blondie | ||
| “Take On Me” – a-ha (76%) | “Take On Me” – a-ha (44%) | |
| “Take My Breath Away” – Berlin (24%) | ||
| “Don’t You Want Me” – The Human League (81%) | ||
| “She Drives Me Crazy” – Fine Young Cannibals (19%) | “Don’t You Want Me” – The Human League (40%) | |
| “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds | ||
| “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds (70%) | “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds (60%) | |
| “Rock Me Amadeus” – Falco (30%) | ||
| “Karma Chameleon” – Culture Club (43%) | ||
| “Mony Mony” – Billy Idol (57%) | “Mony Mony” – Billy Idol (42%) | |
| “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys | ||
| “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys (53%) | “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys (58%) | |
| “Walk LIke an Egyptian” – The Bangles (47%) | ||
| “The Reflex” – Duran Duran (44%) | ||
| “Need You Tonight” – INXS (56%) | “Need You Tonight” – INXS (47%) | |
| “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics | ||
| “Venus” – Bananarama (24%) | “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics (53%) | |
| “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics (76%) | ||
