Their next album, Hysteria, was released in 1984 and was reasonably successful, though not as massive as its predecessors. During the mid-80s Phil Oakey collaborated with Giorgio Moroder on the soundtrack to the movie Electric Dreams and on a second album. The band had another hit single in 1986 with ‘Human’ from Crash. Their next album, released in 1990, was less successful and The Human League were quiet until 1994 when a new album, Octopus, was released to moderate UK success. They continued touring throughout the 90s, however their 2001 album Secrets was not a success, hampered by the collapse of their record label right after the album’s release. They have not released any new material since, but continue to tour.

Website
http://www.thehumanleague.net/

Trivia
After their first tour with the band in 1980, Susan Sulley and Joanne Catherall went back to school to complete their A-levels. After their exams, they joined the band full-time.

After seeing television footage of the famine in Ethiopia in 1984, Bob Geldof decided to found BandAid to raise money for relief. Midge Ure soon came on board, and the pair scouted for the biggest bands and artists of the day. The final line-up included Bono, George Michael, Phil Collins, Bananarama, Sting, Boy George, David Bowie and Paul McCartney. The single went straight to Number One on its release in November 1982. The LiveAid concerts took place the following year.

The single was re-recorded with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Wet Wet Wet in 1989, and was Number One for 3 weeks. In 2004, BandAid 20 was released, commemorating 20 years since the original single and raising money for Darfur. Band Aid 20 featured Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Sugababes and Will Young, among others. It sold over 1.1 million copies.

Website
http://www.bandaid20.com/

Trivia
Paul McCartney and David Bowie were not in the studio for the original 1985 recording, but they each sent recordings of their lines which were dubbed on to the final mix.

You pick the songs played in every hours Eight 80s in-a-row

Frontman of Cutting Crew, Nick Van Eede worked as a musician and writer since he was a teenager and even in the early days he was often seen with his kazoo playing with the likes of David Essex, Leo Sayer and Hot Chocolate.

He tells us the story behind the band’s name, how he met the other members of the band Kevin, Colin and Martin and the truth behind the famous lyrics to one of the biggest hits of the 80′s – I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight!

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Formed in Glasgow in 1988, Texas were one of the biggest bands of the last 2 decades. With 13 Top 10 hits under their belts, their most successful albums White on Blonde, The Hush and their Greatest Hits went platinium. Sharleen Spiteri’s debut solo album “Melody” was released earlier this year. She wrote and produced the whole album, recording it in Glasgow, London and Spain. The first single she released from the album was “All the Times I Cried” followed by “Stop, I Don’t Love You Anymore.”

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Simple Minds are back December 9th for what will no doubt be a memorable gig at the O2. Grab your tickets from Ticketmaster.

Jim Kerr, lead singer and founder member of the legendary band, joins us for an exclusive chat about how they came up with the bands name, the interesting story behind their biggest hit “Don’t You Forget About Me” which featured on the 1985 film The Breakfast Club, and he tells us about his connections with Ireland.

Throughout their career spanning almost 3 decades, Simple Minds have scored over twenty Top 20 hits, sold over 35 million records, had 5 number one albums, a No. 1 single in America – plus 3 American top ten singles and been voted Q Magazine’s World’s Best Live Act!

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Baz Warne, vocalist and guitarist with The Stranglers joins us for a chat and reveals the much more practical reasons behind the band’s infamous decision to always wear black on stage! Originally known as The Guildford Stranglers, their biggest hit was Golden Brown – but what is it really about? Baz gives us some hints but doesn’t give too much away!

Rumoured to have a new album on the horizon, The Stranglers who have been on the go for over 30 years now, returned to the Ambassador Theatre in Dublin in October to kick of their tour, and Baz tells us why Ireland is so close to their hearts.

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