The ’70s were the golden age of the double A-side single, a curious little thing where a record company would release a single and promote both sides to radio, all…
John C. Hughes
402 Articles
John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Last Friday, Popdose commenter Rich mentioned that someone should write a Why You Should Like… about the Judybats. Well, Rich, I’d love to give you all the credit, but I’ve…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
German new wave combo Nena secured their place in rock history with the one-hit wonderdom of “99 Luftballons” in 1984, but I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Today we introduce a new weekly feature on Popdose, as John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
When Ian McCulloch left Echo & the Bunnymen in 1988 for a solo career, no one really expected the rest of the band to carry on without him, much less…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
The most interesting thing about British pop band Curiosity Killed the Cat is that Andy Warhol appeared and co-directed the video for their biggest hit. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
With long tails and ears for hats, Josie and the Pussycats, created by Archie Comics genius Dan DeCarlo, debuted on Saturday-morning TV screens everywhere in 1970 with a show copied…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Enduring several record contracts, shifting musical tastes, and more than a few near-hits over the past 15 years, New York City-based dream-pop trio Ivy just may be the hardest-working band…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
In 1983 (The Best Year For Music Ever!) Heaven 17 must have been inspired by the worldwide smash success of Human League Mark II’s Dare LP. Since splitting with the…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Former New Order bassist Peter Hook has a pretty big set of brass balls. When the band decided to take a break after 1993’s Republic, various members did their own…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
The story of Kent, Ohio’s Human Switchboard would make a great screenplay — a trio of Velvet Underground devotees start a band, get signed, release one critically acclaimed, but low-selling…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
No, it’s not Tuesday again, and your eyes are not deceiving you. While considered by most to be an ’80s band, the Motels’ self-titled debut actually came out in 1979….
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
With her candyfloss hair, plastic bra and squealing, Betty Boop vocal histrionics, Dale Bozzio was New Wave personified, but such a figure overshadowed the songwriting and musical chops of the…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
There’s something somewhat satisfying and shadenfreude-y watching Malcolm McLaren, one of the bigger thieves and musical grifters of pop music, get ripped off himself. After all, this is the man…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Washington D.C.-based art-punk quartet Jawbox earned the ire of indie purists in 1993 when they left Dischord Records for major-label Atlantic in the Great Post-Nirvana Alternative Rock Swoop-Up. It proved…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
It’s the age-old story in pop music Á¢€” when the hits start drying up, it’s time to grab the current “hot” producer and jump on the latest trend, hoping to…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
In 1979, Donna Summer could do no wrong — she was, in fact, riding high with three Top Ten hits in a row. So no one blinked when Summer and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Should the Monkees be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum? Certainly the argument that they began life as a solely commercial construct is a valid one,…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
Led by brothers Brian and Kevin O’Neal, the BusBoys burst from suburban Los Angeles in the early ’80s with their uncategorizable blend of Rock, New Wave and old-fashioned rhythm and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
By all rights, L.A.-based Possum Dixon’s second full-length album, 1996’s Star Maps, should have been an unfocused disaster. Band members were beset by serious drug problems and lead singer/songwriter Rob…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
The recent announcement of a Yazoo (“Yaz” to us in the States) reunion tour set me to thinking … will Alison Moyet be performing any of her solo singles during…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
“Hey kid,” the strange voice whispered from the dark alley of cyberspace. “C’mere, I got somethin’ for ya.” I looked around to make sure this raspy utterance was actually directed…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Maryland-born quintet Velocity Girl created a bit of a buzz in the early to mid-’90s by marrying a blend of shoegazer guitar sludge with the pixie-pop vocal melodies of singer…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
One of the stranger novelty songs from the ’80s has to be the Bollock Brothers’ “Harley David (Son Of A Bitch)” (download) — I say “stranger” because my friends and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
On Tuesday the B-52’s will release their first album of new material in 16 years: Funplex. While that’s a long stretch between releases, the band wasn’t exactly quiet during that…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
A studio creation of constantly rotating blonds, brunettes and redheads, the Flirts were the brainchild of Bobby O., a songwriter/producer with a notorious reputation for “borrowing” other people’s riffs and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Discovery = Disco? Very! That was the joke around rock critic circles when Electric Light Orchestra unleashed Discovery upon a disco-obsessed public in 1979. With the singles “Shine a Little…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
“I’m a true fairy,” Jobriath exclaimed, putting any debate over his true sexuality to rest, becoming rock music’s first openly gay superstar. It’s just that the superstar part never happened,…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Sprung from the same neo-psychedelic scene as their most obvious influence, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Mighty Lemon Drops traded in the same moody jangle-pop, but emphasizing hooks more and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Led by the progenies of two ’60s rockers, hippy-dippy Donovan and blue-hatted Monkee Mike Nesmith, pomo new wavers Nancy Boy definitely rebelled against their musical pedigree, emphasizing fashion and style…