And now they're not? At least there was actual dedicated equipment used in the 80s not just Logic Pro or some other computer program. And there were other drum machines and synths used in the 80s, the Oberheim (think Blue Monday), the Roland TR-707, 808 and 909, SAW used a Linn 9000 not the LM1, also the Roland Juno 60, Jupiter 8, Yamaha DX7, and the Synclavier to name just a few.

Great to hear Blow MOnkeys

classic

Sounds Of The 80's about to begin, with Tony Hadley as the main guest this evening.

Gloria kicks off. The song, not the singer.

HIya - all up on Tweetdeck and all that... here we go..

We don't want to hear about those kids TV prats Dick & Dom appearing in Spamalot do we? What's that got to do with the 80's exactly?

A fabulous Roxy Music album here - Flesh & Blood.


I'm not on twitter so can't tweet direct, but took a glance to see some fool reckoning Gloria was infact Disco 2000, was that for real? I know there are similarities but come on, and to be 4 years out too. Tut tut...some people.

SOunds like a Go West track...
OK - it isn't.. Ahhh - Sheena Easton as produced by Prince.

I think most people associate Sheena Easton firmly with the other end of the decade in 1980, not 1989. This is screeching awfulness. Roxy in '80 to Sheena in '89 just about sums up the wrong direction the 80's took production wise for me.

What an admission for Sara Cox to say she didn't know how Sheena was discovered. Everyone knows that, as young as we may have been at the time. Did she really just discover that fact? That's poor.

Yup - especially as it was a bloody BBC programme that broke her!

Ahhh - Fame. One of the classic go-to tracks... and didn't the series go out after TOTP back in the day?

Over the past few years since 1980 Sheena Easton has morphed into somebody quite unrecognisable from the person that Esther's Big Time came across.

Always thought that show was a one off, but looked it up and find it was a series that ran over 4 years, including a very well known insult from Fanny Craddock to a talented cook!

Time for the poster known as "The Kane Gang" to put in an appearance.

Michael Aspel read out my Ask Aspel to see her from The Big Time. For me and Louise Kemp of Twickenham, if I recall correctly. I liked Sheena, even in the late 80's.

Nice to hear Judas Priest. Sara, at first I was thinking you were too young to do this show but, under a good producer, you're pulling the rabbits out if the hat

I vaguely remember that Aspel programme. Did you meet Sheena then, or just get a plea to do so read out?

Ooh, summer hols of 1983, Roman Holiday.

Funnily enough I heard that last weekend!

I just requested to see a clip of her singing, from the programme The Big Time.

ABC, The Look Of Love. Exactly 3 months ago tonight, on 7th September, I could hear them pounding out this single live from my back garden. They were doing some gig along with a few other 80's acts at a major nearby motor manufacturer's HQ about 2 miles away. The sound drifted well that night! Infact I heard their entire 80's back catalogue that night.

Gloria and now Look Of Love, memories of my afternoon paper round listening to a Radio Nova

Oh yes, what a good choice here. I think this great track got a lot of airplay but never hit the Top 40 for some strange reason. It's brilliant. Thomas Dolby, She Blinded Me With Science along with the help of the charismatic Dr Magnus Pyke. Almost forgotten now, but a household name in the 80's.

Ah. Ray Dorset's track...

Ahh - Miami Sound Machine...

Not bad, but it should never have dared keep the exceptionally talented Randy Crawford and her awesome single One Day I'll Fly Away from ascending to the No1 position in September 1980.

She's on Facebook you know, with a beautiful beaming smile like she always has, that can only make anyone's heart warm. But doesn't appear to have her own dedicated website, as I was only looking this very week to see.

Which takes us back to the discussion towards the beginning of this thread at to whether Cox was the right host for this programme given she would have been 6 at the beginning of the 80's.

The only other episode of the Big Time I remember was the guy who got the chance to play for Liverpool. I wonder what happened to him? I didn't realise that it ran for 4 series.

Sheena Easton was The Big Time as far as I knew. But she was on it in 1980, whereas the show apparently ran from 1976-1980. It also, I learnt last night, included the famous put down to an amateur cook by Fanny Craddock that ended her TV career.

The show is on at the moment and talking to Go West from the 80's.

Maybe everyone was out on a Christmas night out, Rich? I fell asleep just after eleven. Did I miss anything good?

This wasn't the most exciting in the series so far to be honest. The classic album was by REO Speedwagon and the guests were Go West. Neither designed to set things alight too much I thought. Even the caller on the dreadfully named "Sounds of the Matey's" picked the good but always heard and overplayed Zoom by Fat Larry's Band. Not forgetting the retro chart from this week, which went back to the poor December 1989, which was a horror story. I'd forgotten just how vile the Jeff Wayne remix was of War Of The Worlds that was top three at the time. How did he ever allow it? Then there was the awful debut hit and No1 by New Kids On The Block, You Got It (The Right Stuff) which is a grim listen, and Sara mentioned she had said she thought it was the worst record of the 80's at some point a few weeks back to her crew!

Read your PM about a Vacuum Cleaner named James. ...

Caught up with what I missed from Saturday night's show. I've probably said before that although I'm only slightly older than Sara, I think I have a much better knowledge of 80s music than she has. I may be wrong, but I'm sure she'd not heard REO Speedwagon's Take It On The Run before. Also, it'd be nice to have a show where she doesn't mention what she's been up to with her kids.
Definitely the best track of the show, imo, was Aztec Camera's Walk Out To Winter. It was Chris Evans who said The Right Stuff was the worst record of the 80s when Sara was on his show. I like it, certainly better than Hangin' Tough!

I was pleased bout the REO inclusion and, prepare to be shocked, LOVE You Got It! I consider it one of best songs of that year!!

I'll check my PM's, didn't get a notification.