#24 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'She Sells Sanctuary' by The Cult (1985)

Back with the Countdown! And At #24 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown the song is She Sells Sanctuary by 80's British rock band The Cult. The Cult formed out of Bradford, Yorkshire, England in 1983, and consisted of members Ian Astbury (vocalist) and Billy Duffy (guitar) amongst many others who came and went over the years, but those two are the primary members and incidentally also the song-writers. Ian Astbury was earlier a member of a band called Southern Death Cult in 1981 (named after a Native American site as well as centralization of power in Southern England. Then in 1983 he Billy Duffy joined up and the band was just called Death Cult, and then by 1984 they had changed the name to just The Cult in order to appeal to a broader audience. She Sells Sanctuary is truly a legendary and truly solid 80's rock song that most of you have at least heard, but may not know exactly who it is that performs the song (until now!). It was released in 1985, on their second studio album titled Love where it would then peak at #15 on the UK Singles chart. The album Love itself would reach #4 that year on the UK Albums chart. And there is #24, and we only have 23 left to go, and then what??

#25 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' by Kim Wilde (1986)

Here we are already, the final 25! Ranking at #25 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown and straight out of 1986 and now direct to you is You Keep Me Hangin' On by British singer/author/television presenter Kim Wilde. Kim Wilde was born on November 18th, 1960 in Chiswick, West London, England. She burst out onto the new wave music scene in 1981 with her chart-topping hit Kids In America (which incidentally was #85 on this countdown), but she didn't reach big success in the USA until the release of this song, which was a cover of the 1966 Supremes song You Keep Me Hangin' On. It was the second single released off of her 5th studio album released in 1986 and titled Another Step. After 1998 Kim Wilde continued on in music to some extent but took up an alternative career as a television gardener for 2 British TV programs called Better Gardens and Garden Invaders. She has also written 2 books on gardening for those who are interested. Getting back to the song, You Keep Me Hangin' On would prove to be her biggest hit peaking at #1 on the US, Canadian, Norwegian, and Australian charts. And so there is #25, and there are only 24 more to go before we are on to some other form of 80's countdown/party lists innit!

#26 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Shake Your Foundations' by ACDC (1985)

G'day 80's Fans! Its time now to present #26 of Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and the song is....wait for it.....Shake Your Foundations by Australian hard-rock-legends ACDC. It was about time that ACDC appeared on the list, and none to late either as this song is one of my ACDC favorites of all time. Now, for some background ACDC...They come from Sydney, Australia and it all started there for them in 1973 when brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed the band. In fact these 2 brothers were actually born in Glasgow, Scotland before their family moved to Sydney in 1963. A 3rd brother (George Young) was the first musician in the family as he learned to play guitar and joined up with The Easybeats, who were a successful Aussie band in the 1960's. According to their Wikipedia page, their sister Margaret Young gave them the idea of naming their band ACDC after noting having seeing the AC/DC symbol on a sewing machine. In 1974 the band was joined by lead vocalist Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, who would lead the band to super-stardom in Australia and internationally. After Bon Scott died in 1980, he was replaced by Brian Johnson, who is the lead vocalist of the band to this day. As of 2010, ACDC sold more than 200 million records worldwide, and somewhere around 71 million in the USA alone. Back in Black (their most successful album from 1980) is estimated to have sold 49 million units worldwide making it highest-selling album by any band, and making it the second highest selling album in history behind the Michael Jackson's 1982 Thriller album which holds the throne at #1. Shake Your Foundations was released in 1985 on ACDC's 10th studio album titled Fly On the Wall. In 1986 the song was remixed by Harry Vanda and George Young and that version was released on the Who Made Who album, and then featured on the film soundtrack for Stephen King's classic action-horror film Maximum Overdrive (which I would highly recommend watching even just for the ACDC songs). And there was #26!

#27 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'To Cut a Long Story Short' by Spandau Ballet (1980)

VJ Samsonite here, and we are back presenting #27 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and the song is the 1980 release  To Cut a Long Story Short by British 80's synth-pop/new-wave band Spandau Ballet. Spandau Ballet formed back in the 1970's in Islington-London, UK (originally the band was called The Cut). The band came together as they were inspired by the arising of the New Romantic fashion/genre, and at that time they consisted of band members Gary Kemp (guitars), Steve Norman (guitars, saxophone, percussion), John Keeble (drums), Tony Hadley (vocals), and Martin Kemp (bass guitar). To Cut a Long Story Short was the first track and hit single off of their debut studio album titled Journeys to Glory, and was released in March 1981 (the single was released in November 1980). It would peak at #5 on the UK Singles chart, and at #15 on the Australian Singles chart that year. According to their Wikipedia Page the Journeys to Glory album was considered quite cutting-edge/avant garde upon its release in 1981. More recently the band reformed in 2009 and released a new album that year that won Best Comeback of 2009 in the Virgin Media Awards. And there it is, #27 in all its glory. Check back next week for #26!

#28 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'How Will I Know' by Whitney Houston (1985)

Now, at #28 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is How Will I Know by American recording artist/legendary vocalist/former fashion model/actress Whitney Houston. Now it is kind of interesting that when I think of Whitney Houston I don't generally associate her with the 1980's but I do more so with the 1990's, but the fact is that How Will I Know what a #1 in 1985 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the US Adult Contemporary chart, and the Canadian Singles chart; while it reached #5 on the UK Singles chart, #3 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and #2 on both the Norway and Sweden Singles charts. So, essentially this song was quite big and it would be the 3rd single from her debut album titled Whitney Houston, which was also released in 1985. Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey USA in 1963, and she was actually the relative of many prominent soul-singers including her mother Cissy Houston, her cousins Dione and Dee Dee Warwick, and her God-mother Aretha Franklin (a.k.a. the Queen of Soul). Houston's 2nd album titled Whitney (1987) became the first by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. She also appeared in a few Hollywood films, her first one being The Bodyguard in 1992 co-starring with Kevin Costner, the soundtrack of which would win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year and contained her song I Will Always Love You, which would become the best-selling single by a female artist of all time.  All of that said Whitney Houston is also the most-awarded female artist of all-time according to the Guinness Book of World Records, holding 16 Billboard Music Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards, which are amongst a total of 411 career awards as of 2006. She has sold somewhere around 170 million albums and singles worldwide. There is quite a bit more of this sort of awards-trivia knowledge, so if you really want to know more go to her Wikipedia page HERE. Now, can you see why I simply could not leave her off of this countdown? So there it is, and now we are onwards and downwards to #27 next....

#29 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Our Lips Are Sealed' by The Go-Go's (1981)

Greetings 80's fans, we are now in the 20's range of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! So, without delay, #29 of the countdown is Our Lips Are Sealed by all female American Rock-pop group The Go-Go's. The Go-Go's started out on the music scene back in 1978 in Los Angeles, California and they are hailed as the first all-female rock band who played all of their own instruments, wrote all of their own songs, and that produced top Billboard Hot 100 hits. When they made it big in the early 1980's the band consisted of members  Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals),  Kathy Valentine (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums). Their debut album titled Beauty and the Beat (released in July of 1981) peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart and it is considered by many to be one of the true cornerstone new wave albums that paved the way for the genre at that time. That very same album would reach double platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Incidentally, Our Lips Are Sealed was the first track on that very album and in the year 2000 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time. Our Lips Are Sealed would peak at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #10 on U.S. Billboard Club Play Singles chart, #2 on the ARIA Singles chart, and #47 on the UK Singles chart. No doubt The Go-Go's hit it big in the 80's, and thus I knew I had to include at least one of their songs on this countdown. Apparently this song was covered by the Duff sisters in 2004. Well there is #29, stay tuned for #28 and may the force be with you...

#30 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car' by Billy Ocean (1988)

Welcome back once again to the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown (by VJ Samsonite). Today we are presenting #30, and the song is  Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car by British singer/performer Billy Ocean. Billy Ocean was born in Fyzabad, Trinidad in January of 1950, and moved with his family to Romford, Essex, England with his family at the age of 8. Now most of you will definitely remember this song from the late 1980's, and I specifically have a memory of drinking fruit punch Kool-Aid at a friends house and watching Billy Ocean's music video for this song on MTV, ahh..the memories. This song was a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the Australian Charts, and the Hot R&B Songs chart. It would peak at #3 on the UK charts. One other interesting fact about this song that I had totally forgotten is that it was featured on the soundtrack of the 1988 teen adventure movie License to Drive, which featured 80's-duo Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, who were still basking in the success of the previous year's 1987 cult classic The Lost Boys. In fact, I think I even have a License to Drive keychain, and have no idea how I would ended up with it, but I figure I must have acquired it in a Disneyland trip that year, you know, when they were still doing Star Tours and Michael Jackson's 3D Captain EO...those were the days. In fact I wonder if I could even find a copy of License to Drive today, I bet it would be difficult to locate one. Well, enough reminiscing for now...stay tuned for #29! Apparently the original video is good, but YouTube has disabled embedding so this one will have to do.

#31 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Good Times' by INXS and Jimmy Barnes (1987)

Now for #31 of the Countdown...Good Times by Australian rock collaboration INXS and Jimmy Barnes. INXS were a bigtime 80's rock band that arose out of Sydney, Australia in 1977 and who would achieve international success with many albums and songs in the 1980's and 90's. INXS as they were in the 80's consisted of members  Garry Gary Beers (bass guitar), Andrew Farriss (guitar/keyboards), Jon Farriss (drums), Tim Farriss (lead guitar), and Kirk Pengilly on (guitar/saxophone). For twenty years, INXS was lead by Michael Hutchence as their lead vocals, and no doubt the icon INXS's rock star image. On Novemeber 22nd, 1997 Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney hotel room, later to be ruled by the coroner's and autopsy reports as a suicide whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Following the death of Hutchence the band didn't play publicly for a year or so, but then they started up again and continue to play to this day, although never quite the same. Jimmy Barnes on the other hand, was a Scottish born-Australian rock-singer and songwriter. According to his Wikipedia page, Barnes currently holds the title of the Australian rock artist with the highest number of hit albums. In 1973 Jimmy Barnes joined a band named Cold Chisel, until the early 1980's when he began his solo career. In 1986 Jimmy Barnes and INXS recorded 2 songs together, Good Times (which was a cover of the original 1968 release-song by the Easybeats), and Laying Down the Law, both of which would appear on the 1987 teen horror film soundtrack of a true 80's-movie classic (one of my personal favorite 80's movies), a little Joel Schumacher film called The Lost Boys. Good Times would reach #2 on the ARIA charts, #16 on the UK Singles chart, and #47 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Good Times was also used to to promote the national Australia Made series of concerts that took place between Boxing Day 1986 and Australia Day 1987. This is one of those pub favorites that simply cannot be left off of this countdown, and it is most definitely dance-able. So there is #31, now we are getting down to it folks, #30 is next and then the 20's is in...stay tuned.

#34 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol (1983)

Now presenting #34 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and the song is...Rebel Yell by a true British-punk-rocker and legend Billy Idol. Now, this is the second Billy Idol song to appear on the Top 100 Countdown, and like I said before, it may not be the last one. And, from my previous post:  Idol's real name is William Michael Albert Broad, and he was born on  November 30th, 1955 in Stanmore, Middlesex, England, which makes the  Brit rocker 54 this year! Idol bounced around a bit in his earlier  years, and in fact was first a member of the punk-rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1976, but before they were actually called Siouxsie and the Banshees. In 1977 he moved on to join Chelsea, and then with bandmate Tony James he quit and co-founded the band Generation X,  at which point he switched from guitar to lead vocals. In 1981 Idol  moved to New York and started up his successful solo career. Rebel Yell was released in 1983 as Idol's 2nd studio album, which produced 4 singles that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The album itself peaked at #6 on that year's Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. MTV featured 3 of the hit videos off of this album for the songs Flesh for Fantasy, Eyes Without a Face, and Rebel Yell. This past Summer I was shocked to hear that Idol has since started doing small time gigs for Summer-fairs in relatively random and rural US cities?? Now, the reason why I was shocked, is because you look at some other bands from the 80's who are still charging over $500.00/ticket at their shows and yet Idol is playing these smalltime gigs, and he really is one of my favorite 80's artists, I guess them's the breaks, or something like that...Anyways, onwards to #33!

#35 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Working For the Weekend' by Loverboy (1981)

And #35 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is.....Working For the Weekend, by 80's Canadian rock band Loverboy! Loverboy was formed in Calgary, Alberta Canada back in the year 1980, and it consisted of members  Mike Reno (lead vocalist), Paul Dean (lead guitar), Scott Smith (bass guitar), Doug Johnson (keyboards), and Matt Frenette (drums). The band is currently based out of Vancouver, B.C. in Canada, and have since picked up member Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve. Loverboy has quite a classic 80's rock sound, and they are best known for this Working For the Weekend single and their Turn Me Loose (also 1981) single. Throughout the years Loverboy has produced 4 albums that have achieved multi-platinum status, thus selling millions of albums since their early days in the 1980's. Working For the Weekend comes off of their October 1981, 2nd studio release album titled Get Lucky.  The song peaked at #2 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and at #29 on the Pop Singles chart. The Get Lucky album itself would attain the peak spot at #7 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart, and would remain listed on the Hot 200 chart for over 2 years and sell around 4 million copies in the USA alone. This album was later remastered and re-release in 2006 with 4 bonus tracks of previously unreleased demo songs. Now, many of you will probably recognize this song from the coal-mining scene in the 2001 hit Ben Stiller comedy film Zoolander. I must say that is the scene that comes to mind when I hear this song, which also makes this the second 80's dance hit off of this Top 100 Countdown that was on the Zoolander Soundtrack, whoever produced that soundtrack sure knew their 80's music! This song was also featured in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, an episode of the television series Scrubs, as well as an episode of Saturday Night Live in the famous Chippendale's audition skit with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze (RIP to them both).  I would also add that Working For the Weekend was ranked at #100 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of the 80's, so I am not the only one including it on a Top 100 80's list aye!  ;-D This post also found at http://your80smusicauthority.blogspot.com/

#38 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Is This Really Love?" by Narada Michael Walden (1987)

We are back, in the 80's once again, and this time we have a gem, at #38 its.....Is This Really Love? by  American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter Narada Michael Walden. Now many of you might be asking yourselves questions like "who the hell is that?" or "what song is that?" Well, I must admit that I did not know of this song or artist in the 80's, and in all actuality it has been later on (since about the year 2000 or so) that I have actually been into 80's music, movies, and media again. You know, I went through that same 90's music stage that the rest of us did only to end up in the "noughties" with not much happening musically, only to rediscover the upbeat and just plain more interesting music of the 80's decade. But now, I have noticed an influx of new-energy, especially on the music scene coming in, which is quite exciting...But that really is a tangent, so getting back to the artist....Walden started out on his musical career in the 1970's and produced 9 studio albums between the 1976-1988. Walden has collaborated with many other major talents that achieved #1 Awards, such as Whitney Houston's How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), or Aretha Franklin's Freeway of Love, to Diana Ross's Take Me Higher.  He has also owned and managed the renowned Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California since the mid-1980's. Is This Really Love? can't be found on any of his studio albums however, as it was produced and featured in the 1987 Meg Ryan/Dennis Quaid/Martin Short film Innerspace (another 80's classic fo sho). So if you are looking for it and can't find it, the soundtrack is where you will find it. If I remember correctly from the film, this is the song they play in the dance club scene when "the Cowboy" character is dancing with/hitting on Meg Ryan's character. If you like this song I would also recommend another 80's classic song of his (which sadly won't be featured on the countdown as I have filled all the spots, so I will mention it here) caribbean-sounding Ain't Nobody Ever Loved You track, found on his 1983 Looking at You, Looking at Me album. And there it is kids, now go out and watch Innerspace, we could all use some good 80's comedy in our lives these days after all, and stay-tuned for #37!http://your80smusicauthority.blogspot.com/

#41 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode (1987)

Bonjour!! Here we are again, and #41 of the countdown is...Never Let Me Down Again, by some true English synth-electronica gods..Depeche Mode. Depeche Mode (meaning 'hurried fashion' or 'fashion dispatch' in French) started out in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, UK, and presently consists of members David Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, and chief songwriter after 1981), and Andrew Fletcher (keyboards). Depeche Mode originally began when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher started a band by the name of No Romance In China, and a few others, then in 1980 the original band members that formed Depeche Mode would end up being Dave Gahan, Martin Gore,  Andrew Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. Vince Clarke left the band in 1981 following the release of their debut Speak & Spell album, and he was replaced by Alan Wilder who stayed with the band up until 1995 when he also left leaving the remaining trio what it is today. Depeche Mode are considered one of the most successful (if not the most) electronic band in music history as they have generated #1 albums in the UK, US, and Europe as well as charting 48 of their tracks on the UK Singles Chart. According to EMI they have sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide, and apparently Q Magazine named them "the most popular electronic band the world has ever known." Now I originally was going to place their single "Enjoy the Silence" at #41, but then I realized that it was actually released in March of 1990 (recorded in 1989) making it just out of reach of being an 80's release, so maybe when I make a 90's countdown in the future and on a different blog I could include Enjoy the Silence, and just because its not 80's doesn't mean its not a great track!! Now, as for Never Let Me Down Again, it was first released on Depeche Mode's 6th studio album in 1987 titled Music for the Masses. It would peak at #22 in the UK, #2 in West Germany, and become a top 10 hit in various other European countries. Now, when listening to the lyrics one will find that the song is clearly about drug-use and the endless search for that fleeting high, only to be inevitably 'let down again.' Well, there it is peeps, #41, and this countdown seems to be a fluid entity, but as they say.. thems the breaks. Now the video is a live version, because once again youtube doesn't have an embeddable recorded version of the song so this is what we have to put up with.

#43 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! "Hypnotize Me" (1986) by Wang Chung

Ok, so #43 of our Countdown is....Hypnotize Me by British 80's new-wave group Wang Chung. According to wikipedia the name of the band came from the Chinese word 'Huang Chung,' which literally means "yellow bell" in Chinese but the band surmised their translation of it as meaning the sound that a guitar made. In fact it wasn't until 1983 that they changed their name from Huang Chung to Wang Chung because apparently english speaking people kept referring to them as Hung Chung.They originally formed in 1979 and consisted of core members Jack Hues (vocals/guitar) (real name is Jeremy Ryder), and bassist Nick Feldman, and like so many other 80's acts they split up in the 90's only to reconvene in the 00's and are still playing concerts to this day. Wang Chung had their greatest musical successes in the US markets, producing 5 top 40 hits there between the years of 1984-87. Hypnotize Me first appeared on the their 1986 Mosaic album, where it peaked at #36 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at #13 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. I first encountered this track watching the 1987 movie Innerspace as it was on the soundtrack and featured in a dance club scene in the movie itself. Wang Chung were famous mainly for Dance Hall Days and Everybody Have Fun Tonight but I personally think that Hypnotize Me was their best song, and that there a few others of theirs that were also better than the two most popular ones. Anyways, moving on to #42....

#44 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Peter Schilling: Major Tom (Coming Home) (1983)

Here is #44! And the song is...Major Tom (Coming Home)," by 80's German synth-pop artist Peter Schilling. Peter Schilling was born on January 28, 1956 in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and he began his music career back in the 1970's. His songs were known for featuring sci-fi sorts of themes, such as astronauts, aliens, holocausts, and other dark sorts of post-apocalyptic imagery. Major Tom (Coming Home) is considered to be his one international hit song and was featured on his 1983 album titled Error in the System. According to wikipedia, it was intended as a re-telling of the 1969 David Bowie song Space Oddity. There isn't a whole heap more of information out there on Schilling, other than he had a few other single releases worth mentioning and checking out including The Different Story (1986) and Terra Titanic (1984). I included this track on the Countdown I spent many a night dancing to it at a local 80's night and the DJ used to always play this song, and obviously the chorus is the sweetest part. It is a bit hard to locate the English version of the song as Itunes and Amazon seem to only carry the German language version, which is annoying, but as they say 'seek and ye shall find.' Enjoy, and we are already on to rest of the countdown!

#45 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "If You Leave" by OMD (1986)

Ahoy! We are at #45 of the Countdown! And the song is...If You Leave, by 80's English synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Also commonly abbreviated and known as OMD, this group originated out of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England back in 1978, which presently consists of members Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes, and Martin Cooper. McCluskey and Humphreys were the founding members of the band and are considered the 'core members' to this very day. If You Leave was a single recorded specifically for the John Hughes classic 80's film soundtrack to his film Pretty in Pink, and it was used mainly for the final scene of the movie. It would be OMD's biggest hit in the USA, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, at the same time it would only reach #46 on the UK Singles Chart. I don't really have a whole heap more of information on OMD, although I do remember that they did some more soundtrack work for some other 80's John Hughes movies including the iconic Weird Science, and I haven't yet quite decided if I will feature more of their hits on this countdown, maybe, but maybe not, we shall see....

#46 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Robert Palmer: Addicted to Love (1986)

At #46 we have....Addicted to Love by English Grammy Award winning singer/song-writer Robert Palmer. Robert Palmer was born on January 19th, 1949 in Batley, Yorkshire, England. Palmer was well-known for his solo-work and music videos (such as for this song) and another for the song Simply Irresistable, both of which feature identically dressed models with pale faces, dark eye, makeup and bright red lipstick, which was meant as a sort of tribute to the women in the art of artist Patrick Nagel, who was quite big in the 1980's as well. He was also well-known, at that time, for being the lead singer of 80's super-group 'Power Station,' which generated 2 Top 10 US Singles in 1985. Addicted to Love was released in 1986 on Palmer's Riptide album and it peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. According to wikipedia, this song was originally intended to be a duet between Palmer and Chaka Khan, but Chaka Khan's record label wouldn't give her permission to work on Palmer's record label, and thus it became a solo-song, but still good all the same. The images this song brings back is that scene from the classic 1988 movie Cocktail where Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown are blasting this song in the crowded bar whilst flare bar-tending, was totally rad!

#47 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Madonna: Open Your Heart (1986)

#47 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is....Open Your Heart by none other than the undisputed Queen of Pop Madonna. Now, this is the second single by Madonna to yet appear on this countdown, and be forewarned, there may be more to come. Madonna was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, and it was back in 1977 when she moved to the Big Apple to pursue a career in modern dance, which inevitably led her to the music business and the amazingly prolific success she has had there over the past 31 years or so. Word on the street is that Lady Gaga is looking to usurp the throne, which I wouldn't say is impossible, however to even contend with Madonna, Gaga would have to put out a minimum of 5 more top 10 albums (over the course of the next 3 decades), star in movies and perhaps win an Oscar or two, and that would be just to come even close to matching the Queen of Pop's prowess. Here is a directly quoted paragraph from wikipedia:

"Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. Considered to be one of the most influential figures in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. She is recognized as an inspiration among numerous music artists." (from Madonna's wikipedia page)

Open Your Heart was the 4th single release from her 1986 album release (which was her 3rd studio album) titled True Blue. It was Madonna's 5th #1 'Billboard Hot 100' hit! One other interesting fact before we move onwards is that Open Your Heart was originally written as a rock 'n roll song titled Follow Your Heart and the song-writers (Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson) had intended it for Cyndi Lauper despite the fact that it was never introduced to her in the end. Well, onwards to #46!

#48 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Beastie Boys: Fight For Your Right (1986)

Hello again, straight to it, #48 is...."Fight For Your Right" by American hip-hop group Beastie Boys. It would be surprising if you didn't know who the Beastie Boys are, they have practically become a household name over the years, and have produced prolific and solid repertoire. They came out of Brooklyn, New York in 1979 and comprised of members Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. You might not know this (I didn't before doing a little research for this) but they started out as a hardcore punk group, and didn't make the full transition to hip-hop until 1984. They are said to be one of the longest living hip-hop acts in the world and continue to enjoy success 20 years onwards. According to wikipedia they have been nominated for induction into the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' "Fight For Your Right" was the first single release from their major breakthrough album "Licensed to Ill" which was released in 1986. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was also named as one of 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.' Well, there is #48, on to 47!

#49 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Pet Shop Boys: Always On My Mind (1987)

Here it is, the first of the final 49...and so here at #49 of the Countdown is Always On My Mind by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It all started for Neil Tennant (lead vocals/keyboards/guitar) and Chris Lowe (keyboards) in 1981 in London, England. Pet Shop Boys are still active to this day and they have sold somewhere around 100 million records worldwide, and are listed as The Most Successful Duo in UK Music History by the Guinness Book of World Records. They are also 3 time BRIT Award winners and 6 time Grammy Nominees, and since 1986 they have produced 42 Top 30 Singles and 22 Top 10 Hits on the UK Singles Charts. Always On My Mind appeared on their 1987 release album titled Introspective which was their 4th studio album. It was their 2nd best selling album and sold around 4.5 million copies globally. Always On My Mind was actually a synth-pop cover version of an American country song originally performed by Brenda Lee. This cover version was performed by the Pet Shop Boys on a Television special commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the death of former King of Pop Elvis Presley. This covered version was so well received that they decided to record it and release it as a single which would end up becoming the UK's #1 Christmas Single that year, beating out Fairytale of New York by the Pogues and topping the charts for 4 weeks. A good song it is, and a good dance song at that, so I am happy to have it set at #49, it gets even better folks, so stay tuned! (click here for the full Top 100 Countdown)

#50 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! "Your Love" by The Outfield (1985)

Well well well, we are there already, half way folks, half-bloody-way! At #50 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown we have....Your Love by British power-pop-rock band The Outfield.The Outfield originated out of London, England back in 1984, and they currently consist of members Tony Lewis, John Spinks, and Alan Jackman. The Outfield are one of the English rock bands from the 80's that never really gained much acclaim in their home country, but did achieve some moderate success in the US music market. Your Love was released on their first studio album titled Play Deep in 1985, and the song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #7 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart. In fact, Your Love would later prove to become the band's signature song (or one-hit-wonder), and according to Wikipedia this song been covered or remixed over 1,000 times by other artists over the years. As for their 1985 album Play Deep, it would reach #9 on the US Album Chart that year. Well that is it for trivia, and now we are over the hill, we hath finally reached the final 49 songs of the Countdown, or should I add a track "0" or "0.5???"