Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I’m partial to the 80’s decade,
I’m sure you’re all aware of that by now.
It was during this span that my 20’s were in full swing. Rubik Cube was
launched in 1980 followed by M-TV in the summer of ‘81. There were just so many outstanding milestones
during this time and I have many fond memories, ones that shaped me into the
person I am today. I think we would all
agree if we could go back in time there would be things we would change, but I
know I would not want to have missed out on all that this era imprinted onto my
young world. That being said, you can’t
talk 80’s and not reminisce about parachute pants, which I never cared for…LOL…and
of course, Aqua-net hairspray (white can, pink label for me, thank you)….that
was glue in an aerosol form! I used so
much of that stuff, I should have bought stock in the company that makes it! I must
have had to slouch in my car to get my hair to fit, and how on earth did I ever
wash it all out of my hair? Yes, the 80’s were certainly ‘big’!
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Local band ‘The Big 80’s’ breathes life back in
time to many of the tunes that flooded the airwaves of the day. One advantage to having female vocals is the
versatility it brings to the playlist.
They hit upon just about every year of this decade with a sampling of
music that made the 80’s an unforgettable musical extravaganza. What genre tickles your fancy? New wave? Pop
rock? Hip-hop? Rock? Rap? Dance-pop? Maybe hard rock or heavy metal? Big
80’s has got you covered! So
much variety in two sets! The night started off with Journey’s ‘Separate Ways’
(1983), with a twist…female vocalist Gina Dowling taking the mic. Naturally,
the ‘girl tunes’ filled the bill with Joan Jett’s ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ (1982),
Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ (1983), Pat Benatar ‘Hit Me With
Your Best Shot’ (1980), and Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’ (1983).
Photo credit : Bill Iles
Big 80's is:
Gina Dowling - vocals/keyboards
Joe Fortin - vocals/guitar
Scott Maxwell - lead guitar/keyboards
Nate Wiencken - vocals/drums
Eric Hammes - bass guitar
Joel Dowling - background vocals/sound/lights
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Photo credit: Bill Iles
There was so much dance music in this era…but really, all of
it made it easy to get your ‘groove’ on, even those metal tunes! One of the big movies in 1984 was Footloose, (Kenny
Loggins) …that’s one that’s hard to sit still when you hear it. Big 80’s kept the dance floor movin’
with this one! Continuing the theme,
Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘Push It’ (1987), Prince ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ (1984) and ‘1999’
(1982), Tone Loc’s ‘Funky Cold Medina’ (1989), B-52’s ‘Love Shack’ (1989), INXS ‘New
Sensation’ (1987), Corey Hart ‘Sunglasses At Night’ (1984), The Human League ‘Don’t
You Want Me’ (1981), and Beastie Boys ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To
Party)’ (1986). Other popular dance songs from Kool & The Gang, George
Michael, John Mellencamp, Rick Springfield, C&C Music Factory and J. Geils
Band rounded out the funk of the night.
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Photo credit: Bill Iles
Don’t let all that ‘danceability’ fool ya though, as Big
80’s can rock your socks off with Def Leppard ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’
(1987), Ozzy Osbourne ‘Crazy Train’ (1980), Guns N’ Roses ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’
(1987), Bon Jovi ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ (1987), Poison ‘Talk Dirty To Me’
(1987), AC/DC ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ (1980) and Peter Gabriel ‘Sledgehammer’
(1986) plus so many other great 80’s music, and even a few from the late 70’s
and early 90’s. Be sure to visit Big
80’s website at: http://big80stributeband.com
and ‘like’ them on their FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/thebig80sindianapolis This local band is a great live tribute to
this rockin’ era from their phenomenal light show to the rock itself….if it’s
BIG, it’s The Big 80’s!
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