80s Music Quiz

Which 1984 musical film starred Prince as 'The Kid' and produced the hit 'When Doves Cry'?

AnswerPurple Rain

NotePurple Rain won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

Which singer became the first artist in Billboard history to have seven consecutive #1 hits, starting in the mid-1980s?

AnswerWhitney Houston

NoteHer debut self-titled album became the best-selling debut album by a female artist at the time.

Which flamboyant frontman of Culture Club led the band to fame with 'Karma Chameleon'?

AnswerBoy George

NoteBoy George's androgynous style made him a defining visual icon of the New Romantic movement.

Which colorful 80s pop star sang the empowerment anthem 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'?

AnswerCyndi Lauper

NoteLauper won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1985.

Which singer left the duo Wham! to launch a hugely successful solo career with the 1987 album 'Faith'?

AnswerGeorge Michael

NoteThe title track 'Faith' topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987.

Which veteran rock-soul singer staged a massive career comeback with her 1984 album 'Private Dancer'?

AnswerTina Turner

Note'Private Dancer' included her hit 'What's Love Got to Do with It'.

Which British band, icons of the MTV era, had hits like 'Hungry Like the Wolf' and 'Rio'?

AnswerDuran Duran

NoteTheir exotic music videos, often shot in tropical locations, were staples of early MTV.

Which striking, androgynous frontwoman sang 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' with Eurythmics?

AnswerAnnie Lennox

NoteLennox's flat-top orange hairstyle in the video became instantly iconic.

Which singer co-wrote 'We Are the World' with Michael Jackson for USA for Africa in 1985?

AnswerLionel Richie

NoteThe 'We Are the World' session brought together over 45 major artists in one studio night.

Which English band, formed in Basildon in 1980, became synth-pop icons with hits like 'Just Can't Get Enough' and later 'Enjoy the Silence'?

AnswerDepeche Mode

NoteVince Clarke left after their debut album to form Yazoo, then Erasure.

Which British solo artist and former Tubeway Army frontman had a robotic-sounding 1979 hit called 'Cars'?

AnswerGary Numan

NoteNuman was one of the first mainstream artists to build a hit almost entirely around a Minimoog riff.

Which Manchester band, formed from the ashes of Joy Division, blended rock and dance on the 1983 single 'Blue Monday'?

AnswerNew Order

NoteIts distinctive sleeve, designed like a floppy disk, was so costly to produce that Factory reportedly lost money on every copy sold.

Which Sheffield band topped charts worldwide in 1981 with the synth-pop love triangle anthem 'Don't You Want Me'?

AnswerThe Human League

NoteFrontman Phil Oakey famously recruited two backing singers after spotting them dancing in a Sheffield club.

Which New York art-rock band, led by David Byrne, brought new wave into avant-garde territory with the 1980 track 'Once in a Lifetime'?

AnswerTalking Heads

NoteThe jerky choreography in the video was inspired by Japanese Bunraku puppetry and Byrne's own seizure-like dance experiments.

Which English band led by Robert Smith mixed gloomy gothic textures with pop hooks on songs like 'Just Like Heaven'?

AnswerThe Cure

NoteRobert Smith's messy hair and smeared lipstick look became a defining goth-rock aesthetic.

Which quirky Ohio band, known for matching red 'energy dome' hats, released the new wave classic 'Whip It' in 1980?

AnswerDevo

NoteTheir name comes from their satirical concept of 'de-evolution' of society.

Which British band, famous almost as much for their gravity-defying hairstyle as their music, hit big in 1982 with 'I Ran (So Far Away)'?

AnswerA Flock of Seagulls

NoteFrontman Mike Score was a hairdresser before forming the band, which explains the elaborate coiffure.

Which Guns N' Roses track, famous for its ringing guitar intro, opens their 1987 debut album 'Appetite for Destruction'?

AnswerWelcome to the Jungle

Which Van Halen frontman fronted the band for its biggest 1980s hits before being replaced by Sammy Hagar?

AnswerDavid Lee Roth

Which Twisted Sister anthem became a defiant answer to the question 'What do you want to do with your life?'

AnswerWe're Not Gonna Take It

Which Swedish band's soaring keyboard riff powers their 1986 global smash 'The Final Countdown'?

AnswerEurope

Which Survivor anthem became forever linked to Rocky Balboa after featuring in 'Rocky III'?

AnswerEye of the Tiger

Which British-American band's 1984 power ballad asks the question 'I Want to Know What Love Is'?

AnswerForeigner

Which Whitesnake anthem, backed by a famous MTV video on a car hood, was a 1987 reworking of one of their own earlier songs?

AnswerHere I Go Again

Which British reggae group of teenagers had a massive 1982 hit with 'Pass the Dutchie'?

AnswerMusical Youth

Which Austrian singer topped the US charts in 1986 with 'Rock Me Amadeus'?

AnswerFalco

Which duo had a surprise 1986 hit with the deceptively upbeat 'The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades'?

AnswerTimbuk 3

Which German singer and band had a global 1983 hit protest song called '99 Luftballons'?

AnswerNena

Which British-American band had a joyful 1985 smash with 'Walking on Sunshine'?

AnswerKatrina and the Waves

Which Canadian band's signature dance-craze hit was 1982's 'The Safety Dance'?

AnswerMen Without Hats

Which vocal artist, singing entirely a cappella, topped the charts in 1988 with 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'?

AnswerBobby McFerrin

Which Italian act delivered the bouncy 1985 novelty hit 'Tarzan Boy'?

AnswerBaltimora

Which British musician had his biggest hit with the quirky synth track 'She Blinded Me with Science' in 1982?

AnswerThomas Dolby

Which American band had a lasting hit with the phone-number chant '867-5309/Jenny' in 1981?

AnswerTommy Tutone