'80s Club Hits

It’s the song that launched a thousand samples, but back in the ’80s, the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” was a brilliant creation all its own. Technotronic paved their to-the-future path with a hit of hip-hop heat on “Pump Up the Jam,” while dance-floor goddesses Bananarama looked to the past with their three-part cover of the ’60s groover “Venus.” Meanwhile, the Thompson Twins were staying in the ’80s moment with ethereal sounds as big as their sky-high hair on “In the Name of Love,” and downtown queen Grace Jones blocked out everything but the beat on “Slave to the Rhythm.”

“I Can’t Wait,” exclaim Nu Shooz, and we know they’re talking about downloading our set of ’80s Club Hits Deep Cuts.

Hey, it’s crowded on that ’80s dance floor. Look over there — it’s old-school rap girls Salt-n-Pepa urging the surging masses to go right on ahead and “Push It,” while Danish dance-floor duo Laid Back corral the spare groove and stick-to-the-music message of “White Horse.” Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside is by the DJ booth, insisting he has a “Perfect Way” to get the club going, a sentiment that German masterminds Kraftwerk take to heart with their synth-soaked marathon “Musique Non-Stop.” And in that corner? It’s none other than goth-pop superstars the Cure, digging on a scene that’s “Just Like Heaven.”

If we were given to bold statements, we might say it was the decade for great club hits. After all, it was the Go-Go ’80s, and everybody from future superstars (Madonna, “Into the Groove”) to one-hit-wonders (Raze, “Break 4 Love”) were on the prowl for a good time. They could find it on the ’80s dance floor, whether they craved the brash beats of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the reverse psychology of “Relax,” the so-emotional synth-pop of Bronski Beat and a wide-eyed “Smalltown Boy,” or the weird and wonderful funk of Cameo and “Word Up.” Hey, shoulder pads and one sequined glove may have gone their way with the fashion winds, but our ’80s Club Hits will never go out of style.