music wasn't free, it was only available in record stores, for those who had cash. those that didn't would spend hours hovering over the red record button on their ghettoblaster waiting for the songs they wanted to come on the radio. this could take days and you always missed the intro.
clever editing was required to keep as much of the song as possible before the dj started smarming again, usually bruno brookes and mark goodier on radio 1, the former last seen presenting a fishing show on sky sports 3. what if the tape ran out before the end of the song, and this was before 1987 when tapes didn't flip over to the other side automatically? don't smirk, generation y, that was the height of convenience and technology back then!
add this to the equation - there were some songs that were never played on the radio. you'd have to fork out for the whole tape to get one song. there were even some songs that weren't commercially available because they were used on a soundtrack which didn't get released. so what did you do? you waited three to four years until the movie arrived on tv, that's what you did, then you recorded it to video. then you played it back and shoved your ghettoblaster right up to the tv speakers. repeat process until someone didn't interrupt to yell at you for doing/not doing something. if you were smart you locked the living room door.
for all of the 80s kids nodding along to this post, here are some of those songs in glorious, convenient mp3 format...
ten hard to get 80s soundtracks - download here
can't buy me love (1987)
atlantic starr - one lover at a time
randy hall - all night
the best john hughes movie that never was, and i think, the most underrated of all the 80s teen movies. the atlantic starr track is from the scene near the beginning when the cheerleaders are practising. i wanted this song so i could copy cindy mancini and co's dancing. the second track is the setting for ronald's public premiere of the infamous 'african anteater ritual' dance. a truly legendary moment - think david brent's ill-advised office high-kicks set to a high school dance. mannequin (1987)
belinda carlisle - in my wildest dreams
alisha - do you dream about me
everyone knows the big tune released from this movie - soft rock singalong 'nothing's gonna stop us now' by starship. it went to number one across the world but this wasn't enough to warrant a full release for the soundtrack. belinda carlisle provided an unreleased track for the memorable cartoon intro that sees emmy transformed from egyptian spinster to 80s department store dummy. the second track is from 80s pop star alisha's second album, and was used in the scene where andrew mccarthy and kim cattrall scamper around the department store after hours. which i was so jealous of.coming to america (1988)
levert - addicted to you
michael rodgers - i like it like that
back then, eddie murphy was a comic genius. as soon as you'd stopped laughing at his standup tales of ice cream vans and drunk uncles, he introduced you to soul glo, crazy barbers who argue about boxing champions and that reverend, jacked by countless comedians since (richard blackwood, i am talking to you). the first song is from the club scene where akeem and semi find out that every woman in queens is severely unhinged. the second is from the scene where lisa receives the $500,000 earrings. while her sister prances about in big plastic earrings worthy of pat butcher, oblivious to the injustice.cocktail (1987)
leroy gibbons - this magic moment
jimmy cliff - shelter of your love
by the time this movie was released, tom cruise was invincible. (oh, this was way before he discovered scientology...) which was just as well because as much i love it, the plot is sketchy at best. from what i can gather, tom visits an old bar colleague in jamaica and also meets elisabeth shue. then they dance and drink a lot. fair play to them. both of these songs are from scenes in balmy, outdoor clubs. vision quest (1985)
madonna - crazy for you
madonna - gambler
fortuitously (or not, for the rest of the cast) this release coincided with the exact moment when madonna blew up in the uk. in the hot summer of 1985 holiday', 'crazy for you' and 'into the groove' were simultaneously in the uk charts. i would boom them out of the living room as i kicked, spun and crawled across the carpet in leggings and fingerless gloves. i used to think my mum hated madonna. it turns out she was similarly impressed by her music, but was afraid of her effect on my behaviour. can't think why...oops, we haven't talked about the movie. despite her brief cameo as a nightclub singer, it was and still is, all about madonna.
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