‘We Are Live’ N°10 – Vintage 80s Music Videos

The Selecter, The Jam, The Jam, Bow Wow Wow, Simple Minds, Blitz, Habit, Styx, Cliff Richard, Queen, Slade, Slade

They are the performers of twelve “live” music videos that were ranked in various charts, this week (05/52) BUT … in the EIghties 80s.

Here, they are reunited in one glorious playlist. Enjoy!

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For TWELVE “Look Ma, No Mike!” – Vintage 80s Music Videos – week 05/52 – click here

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Tracklist

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1 . The Selecter – Three Minute Hero

Written by Neol Davies, “Three Minute Hero” by The Selecter is a razor-sharp slice of 1980s 2-tone ska, clocking in at exactly three minutes as a calculated jab at pop radio norms. Released on their debut album *Too Much Pressure*, the track brims with jagged energy and social commentary, rendering it a quintessential emblem of working-class disenchantment.

The song’s title alludes to the fleeting glamour of pop stardom—an unachievable fantasy for many of the era’s youth. Lyrically, it’s restless and biting, framing the monotony of daily life as a backdrop to unfulfilled ambitions. The vibrant, choppy guitar riffs and offbeat rhythms maintain a frenetic urgency that echoes the narrative.

While the track lacks formal accolades, its enduring impact within ska and beyond is irrefutable. Reaching No. 16 on the UK charts, it cemented The Selecter’s place alongside genre peers like The Specials and Madness. It stands as a searing, rhythmic time capsule of late-70s economic struggle.


Featured on the 1980 album “Too Much Pressure”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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2 . The Jam – Start

The Jam’s “Start!” lands with the kind of intentional punch that demands attention, blending raw energy with sharp, unadorned musicianship.

Released in August 1980, it captures the band at a time when their UK chart dominance was firmly established, racing from number 3 to claim a chart-topping position in just two weeks.

Unlike the more polished pop trends of the time, “Start!” thrives on its stripped-down arrangement, anchored by Paul Weller’s clipped vocals and a bassline that tips its hat to The Beatles’ “Taxman” while making it entirely their own.

Its lyrical themes reject complacency, urging action and individuality, though not in the preachy tone one might expect—it’s all about the subtle swagger, not heavy-handed moralizing.

The track didn’t make it to a studio album but found a home on later compilations, signaling its enduring place in The Jam’s legacy.

While the BBC “Top of the Pops” performance is unremarkably staged, it mirrors the song’s directness, shunning grand theatrics for focused delivery.

The minimalist yet dynamic quality of the work is notable, with every note deliberate and unembellished, as if the band was trimming the fat off late ’70s punk to carve out their own lean, sharp soundscape.

This wasn’t music meant to comfort, and that’s precisely its strength—an unapologetic, no-frills testament to the trio’s ability to craft hits while refusing to pander.

Notably, the single’s success in the UK contrasted sharply with their persistence in American markets, where their tour paused prematurely due to the pull of commitments back home.

In a catalog defined by both sociopolitical focus and personal reflection, “Start!” manages to distill the essence of The Jam’s vitality into just over two invigorating minutes.


Featured on the 1980 album “Sound Affects“.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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3 . The Jam – The Modern World

“The Modern World” by The Jam channels the grimy pulse of 1977, with its unapologetic swagger capturing the defiance of an era teetering on rebellion.

Emerging as the lead single from their second album, the track blends incisive lyrics with a relentless, fast-paced rhythm that mirrors the raw edge of punk’s heyday.

In its original uncensored form, Paul Weller spits out a scornful dismissal of critics, later softened for mainstream ears—though the venom remains firmly intact.

Backing the single are live cuts of “Sweet Soul Music” and “Back In My Arms Again,” recorded at London’s 100 Club, lending a grittiness that situates the band within the vibrant live scene of the late ’70s.

The track peaked modestly on the UK Singles Chart, reflecting The Jam’s position as outsiders compared to their punk contemporaries, though Weller sought distinction from the movement’s nihilistic tendencies.

Musically, the song’s fiery guitar riffs and driving basslines embody a bristling energy, while its lyrics paint a vivid critique of societal norms and outdated values.

For all its brashness, it balances rebellion with nuance, showcasing Weller’s knack for embedding wit into otherwise snarling commentary.

“The Modern World” doesn’t linger in nostalgia beneath its punk exterior, instead glancing toward a new wave ethos that hints at the band’s evolving trajectory.

Their disdain for conformity is palpable, their vision sharper than those who dismissed them as mere punk imitators.

The track stands as a snapshot of a year marked by upheaval and transition, both musically and culturally, with The Jam straddling the line between raw dissent and emerging sophistication.


Featured on the 1977 album “This Is the Modern World“.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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4 . Bow Wow Wow – Go Wild In The Country

“Go Wild in the Country” leaps into 1982 with a flurry of playful rebellion, clad in neon and hairspray.

Bow Wow Wow’s take on new wave transforms urban disdain into an anthem for nature’s unapologetic chaos.

The infectious chorus pairs cheeky lyrics with a rhythm fueled by tribal drums, a hallmark of Dave Barbarossa’s drumming.

Annabella Lwin’s voice flutters between coyness and feral energy, embodying a wildness the lyrics call for.

The production, handled this time by Brian Tench rather than Malcolm McLaren, has a cleaner edge but retains its raw spirit.

Its controversial sleeve, a reimagining of “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe,” stirs more than artistic debate, hinting at McLaren’s calculated provocations.

The song hit No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, demonstrating the group’s uncanny ability to tease mainstream success while retaining edginess.

Performed with swagger on “Top of the Pops,” Lwin’s Mohican hairstyle becomes an instant visual cue for the track’s untamed ethos.

The B-side, “El Boss Dicho!”, serves as a playful instrumental counterpoint, though without the main track’s cultural bite.

“Go Wild in the Country” is as much a time capsule as it is a manifesto, capturing Bow Wow Wow’s knack for turning the everyday into the extraordinary.


Featured on the 1981 album “See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Facebook

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5 . Simple Minds – Sanctify Yourself

“Sanctify Yourself” stands as a pulsating anthem from Simple Minds’ 1986 album *Once Upon a Time*, merging rock’s boldness with an undercurrent of gospel inflection.

The track carries an electric intensity, propelled by Jim Kerr’s charged yet earnest vocals and a rhythmic backbone that doesn’t quit.

Lyrically, it’s a rallying cry for self-betterment, wrapped in a message that teeters between empowerment and spiritual nudge.

The production by Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain gives the track a polished insistence, balancing its layered instrumentation with just the right amount of bombast for mid-80s rock radio.

This isn’t just a pop-rock single; it’s a piece built to fill arenas, and it did exactly that, as evidenced by its charting success across multiple countries.

The extended mix allows for a deeper dive into the track’s relentless groove, though, depending on your tolerance for the era’s studio indulgences, it might toe the line of overkill.

Echoes of the band’s admiration for Sly & the Family Stone surface subtly but unmistakably, giving the piece a more textured lineage than its surface gloss might suggest.

Simple Minds remain unapologetically themselves here—big, ambitious, and a little self-serious, which is precisely what makes tracks like this land so effectively in the live setting.

The remastered video, with its saturated hues and emphatic visual flair, captures the song’s aesthetic—earnest, bold, and right out of 1986’s maximalist playbook.

If the song lacks subtlety, it compensates with gusto, winking to the listener through its sheer commitment to scale and spectacle.


Featured on the 1985 album “Once Upon a Time”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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6 . Blitz – New Age

Blitz’s “New Age” captures the peculiar tension of a punk band grappling with evolution while sidestepping full-blown reinvention.

Birthed in 1983 and housed on their album “Second Empire Justice,” the track swerves away from the unapologetic Oi anthems that cemented Blitz’s gritty reputation.

Here, they indulge in post-punk textures and new wave sensibilities, as icy keyboards and pulsating guitars weave around bursts of defiance in the lyrics.

The lineup—Nidge Miller’s sharp guitar lines, Neil McLennan’s sturdy bass, and Tim Harris’s contributions to both guitar and keys—finds a groove that’s cleaner, if not entirely polished.

The accompanying music video leans into the raw energy while offering a visual parallel to the sonic shift, balancing punk urgency with the detached coolness of its era.

Despite its change in style, “New Age” landed well, nabbing the No. 4 spot on the UK Indie Chart and becoming a staple of compilation albums like “Punk And Disorderly.”

It’s a track that thrives on contrasts, straddling reinvention and familiarity, rebellion and introspection, chaos and control.

Blitz may not have rewritten their rulebook, but with “New Age,” they certainly tore a few pages out and scribbled something intriguingly different in the margins.


Lyrics >> More by the same : Wikipedia

7 . Habit – Lucy

“Habit” by Lucy Dacus wrestles with the weight of lost love and the fragmented process of moving forward.

Drawing from the dissolution of a five-year relationship, the track opens with restrained guitar strums, letting a somber calm set the stage before erupting into one of her most sonically intense moments.

The song’s narrative centers on Dacus skillfully sidestepping her past, deploying the rhythm of mismatched work schedules as an apt metaphor for separation.

The lyrics cut deeply, unearthing intrusive memories and emotional debris, yet they hold space for a bittersweet hope that these words might someday serve a new presence.

It’s not just a breakup song; it’s a reflective voyage, where personal anguish gets tangled with universal truths about the aftermath of intimacy.

Intriguingly, the song’s quiet start builds to an unapologetically loud crescendo, mirroring the chaos of unresolved feelings.

In tandem with its lyrical grit, it anchors “Historian” as an album steeped in grief, resilience, and self-reclamation.


More by the same : .

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8 . Styx – The Best Of Times

“The Best of Times” by Styx operates as both a nostalgic anthem and a snapshot of early ’80s anxieties.

Rooted in Dennis DeYoung’s intricate keyboard work and earnest vocals, the track anchors “Paradise Theatre” with its soaring melodies and reflective undertones.

Tommy Shaw’s guitar solo feels meticulously assembled—more a collage than a spontaneous burst of emotion—offering a flourish over Chuck Panozzo’s steady bassline and John Panozzo’s dependable drumming.

In its prime, the song’s chart performance was undeniable, clinching the top spot in Canada and holding ground at No. 3 in the U.S., a feat that mirrors the cultural appetite for hopeful melancholia during turbulent times.

Yet for all its polished production and heartfelt sentiment, it harbored fissures in the band’s dynamic, emblematic of the tensions that would later unravel Styx.

Thematically threaded through an album reflecting societal uncertainty, the song’s textural callbacks to “Abbey Road” signal a band fully aware of its ambitions, albeit teetering on overreach.

Its revival in 2024 after decades of absence speaks less to its timelessness and more to its enduring place in fan nostalgia.

DeYoung’s solo reinterpretations and pandemic-era renditions further underscore its adaptability, though its emotional resonance risks veering into cloying territory when stripped of its original context.

Much like the band’s career, “The Best of Times” operates as both a time capsule and a reminder of the creative friction that fueled Styx’s peak moments.


Featured on the 1981 album “Paradise Theatre”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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9 . Cliff Richard – Carrie

“Carrie” by Cliff Richard emerges as an intriguing slice of late-’70s pop, blending poignancy with a dash of morbidity, all wrapped up in a mellow, synth-tinged package.

The song’s narrative follows a shadowy tale of a missing woman, cleverly delivered through Richard’s plaintive vocals and Britten’s haunting guitar work, offering a darker shade to the typically upbeat musician’s catalog.

Recorded in the glamorous locale of Paris’ EMI Pathé-Marconi Studios, with the final touches added in London’s Abbey Road, the production boasts an international flair, even as it leans into quiet introspection rather than bombast.

Its instrumentation maintains an eerie allure—Herbie Flowers’ bass thrumming like a sinister undercurrent, Tristan Fry’s delicate percussion giving the track a sense of unease, and Mel Collins’ occasional saxophone providing a jazzy lament hovering on the edges of the song.

Released with an assortment of B-sides tailored to different markets, this track strategically catered to a diverse audience while sidestepping the repetitive churn of the industry’s usual single/B-side formula.

Riding high on the UK Singles Chart at number four and landing at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100, “Carrie” appeals not with overwhelming hooks but with its emotional weight and sharp storytelling, cutting through the neon gloss of the era’s pop trends.

The accompanying video reflects the song’s somber tones, eschewing big-budget theatrics for a stripped-down visual narrative that keeps the attention locked on the lyrical themes of love and loss.

While often overlooked when discussing Cliff Richard’s prolific output, “Carrie” stands out as an intriguing pivot, marrying introspective storytelling with a pop sensibility that doesn’t attempt to oversell itself, making it an understated gem in his discography.


Featured on the 1979 album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Juvenile”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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10 . Queen – Save Me

“Save Me” by Queen, a keystone of their 1980 album “The Game,” lands in that unique space where heartbreak collides with grandeur.

Brian May’s songwriting traces Mercury’s personal upheavals, marrying vulnerability with sweeping instrumentation that shifts effortlessly between G major and D major like a lover’s conflict caught in song form.

Freddie Mercury’s dynamic delivery transforms confessional anguish into arena-filling catharsis, while May’s acoustic and electric guitars provide layers that oscillate between tender and electrifying.

Roger Taylor’s drums and John Deacon’s bass ground the song, underscored by subtle synthesizer embellishments from Reinhold Mack, lending the track a cinematic feel without tipping into excess.

The Alexandra Palace-shot video veers to the theatrical, juxtaposing live footage with animation of a dove and a woman – a deliberate nod to themes of freedom and loss.

“Save Me” may have thrived in live performances, but its studio iteration carries an indelible mark: a power ballad that’s somehow both majestic and intimate.

It’s an anthem of despair couched in Queen’s signature polish, balancing raw emotion against their penchant for high drama.


Featured on the 1980 album “The Game“.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

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11 . Slade – All Join Hands

Released in 1984, Slade’s “All Join Hands” offers a spirited glam rock anthem that marries festive cheer with a bold sense of unity.

Noddy Holder and Jim Lea weave a melody that’s both grandiose and surprisingly tender, wrapped in a message of communal joy without tipping into saccharine territory.

The production, helmed by John Punter, leans heavily on the era’s penchant for dramatic orchestration, though Slade’s raw energy keeps the track grounded in rock tradition.

The single finds itself perched on the crossroads of fading glam rock exuberance and ‘80s studio polish, a balancing act the band just manages to pull off.

Despite its celebratory tone, the song feels deliberate in its construction, with an almost premeditated intent to endear itself to holiday playlists without explicitly mentioning Christmas.

The accompanying video, featuring John Otway as a knowing, theatrical presence on piano, captures the band’s knack for blending humor with showmanship.

Turned up to eleven, the transformation from formal recital to spirited gig feels quintessentially Slade—a group reveling in its own ability to not take itself too seriously.

While its chart success was modest at best, peaking at number 15 in the UK, the track’s longevity hangs on its flirtation with nostalgia and its unpretentious commitment to creating a sing-along moment for the masses.

Viewed through a modern lens, it doesn’t break boundaries but instead solidifies Slade’s role as purveyors of dependable, good-natured rock that never pretends to be anything more than it is.

A warm, glitter-dusted reminder of a band thriving at the tail-end of their heyday, “All Join Hands” is both charmingly dated and timeless in its inclusive intent.


Featured on the 1985 album “Rogues Gallery”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Facebook

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12 . Slade – We’ll Bring The House Down

“We’ll Bring the House Down” by Slade packs a punch of raw energy and unapologetic grit, capturing the band’s fiery resurgence in the early ’80s.

Fueled by audience chants from their post-Reading Festival gigs, this track taps into communal euphoria, turning an impromptu chant into a rallying cry of defiance and celebration.

Noddy Holder’s unmistakable vocals explode over Jim Lea’s driving bassline, with instrumentation that feels both chaotic and deliberate, like a barroom brawl conducted in perfect rhythm.

The production stretches the limits of a DIY aesthetic; recording in the men’s toilets adds a guttural, echoing texture that matches the song’s anthemic aggression.

The accompanying music video, spliced with concert footage, feels less like a polished product and more like a gritty snapshot of a band electrifying its audience while doubling down on its no-frills identity.

By balancing their stomp-heavy glam rock roots with a punkish edge, Slade triumphantly straddles nostalgia and reinvention without losing their raucous charm.


Featured on the 1981 album “We’ll Bring the House Down”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Facebook

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