80s bands re-united and playing live in recent years.

Grandeeod

For the older crew around these parts.

The 1980s is remembered for great bands who could play live and others who hadn't a clue. It was a decade of two half's with a weird middle. This thread is for memories and videos of 80's acts still threading the boards and appearing live, be it at festivals or stand alone tours. Any appearance from the last 5 years will do.

Are they standing up or do they look and sound like dicks? I'll kick it off with a video of Howard Jones from 2015. Had no real interest in him back then, but did see him live in the National Stadium circa 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_uxHyD04n8

Ray Palmer

Saw Adam Ant perform a number of times in recent years. He is a very good performer still and his voice is just as good. He has aged and the outfit he wears is a bit of a cheap knock off of his Kings of the Wild Frontier outfit. His original is in the Victoria Albert Museum in London.

Saw the Violent Femmes a few years ago too and I would rush to see them play again.

Oasis1974

Wasn't Shakin Steven's and Adam Ant the same person I thought?

Ray Palmer

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Wasn't Shakin Steven's and Adam Ant the same person I thought?

No. One wrote his own music with a band and was originally a punk band. The other was a Elvis impersonator who did covers.

Not that they ever went away, but Madness were ****ing awesome when they played in Dun Laoghaire earlier this year.

Deebles McBeebles

More 70's really but I saw Fleetwood Mac a few years ago with the classic lineup. The tour before Buckingham got kicked again. They were excellent. Worst part of the whole thing was the imbecile in front of me recording half the gig for her Snapchat story.

Mad_maxx

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Wasn't Shakin Steven's and Adam Ant the same person I thought?

The mind boggles

Mad_maxx

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

More 70's really but I saw Fleetwood Mac a few years ago with the classic lineup. The tour before Buckingham got kicked again. They were excellent. Worst part of the whole thing was the imbecile in front of me recording half the gig for her Snapchat story.

The mac are legendary performers

topper75

Saw the Stranglers in the Milk Market in Limerick a little while back.

I wouldn't go again. Lots of people in their early 50s standing as though they were at an outdoor mass. Lineup like Rodney's sweeping brush. The Stranglers, mar dhea.
A person can't step in the same river twice I suppose. Their re-mortgages are nothing got to do with me. What's gone is gone. Let it go.

maccored

topper75 wrote: »

Saw the Stranglers in the Milk Market in Limerick a little while back.

I wouldn't go again. Lots of people in their early 50s standing as though they were at an outdoor mass. Lineup like Rodney's sweeping brush. The Stranglers, mar dhea.
A person can't step in the same river twice I suppose. Their re-mortgages are nothing got to do with me. What's gone is gone. Let it go.

the stranglers never quit though - they've been playing constantly since 1974

YFlyer

topper75 wrote: »

Saw the Stranglers in the Milk Market in Limerick a little while back.

I wouldn't go again. Lots of people in their early 50s standing as though they were at an outdoor mass. Lineup like Rodney's sweeping brush. The Stranglers, mar dhea.
A person can't step in the same river twice I suppose. Their re-mortgages are nothing got to do with me. What's gone is gone. Let it go.

Its Trigger.


Hermann Hesse was a great author.

riclad

Every band is different , u2 is still a good band .
A good drummer or guitarist can still sound good even if they are over 50.Not all bands sound good live, many 80,s bands were popular
because they had video,s played on mtv .
Or top of the pop,s .image was as important as musical ability ,
make a good music video, and you will have a hit.
Many bands from the 80,s were great, they all played their instruments, eg u2 , elo, queen, the eagles .
A lot of music in the charts now is simply music composed on laptops and samples .
It does,nt sound quite as good as songs from the 80,s
where all the music was performed on real guitars and drums .
I,m not saying all modern music is bad, it,s made or recorded in a totally different way .
With hardly any real guitars or drum,s played .
A lot of bands from the 80,s are back now, they need to pay the bill,s ,
and they have middle aged fans who are happy to buy tickets to see them live .

The music of fleetwood mac, the eagle,s , u2, queen still sounds great.
alot of bands from the 80,s were ripped off by record company,s .
So they might as well earn some money to fund their retirement .
Some singers like jeff lynne or phil collins sound as good as they did
30 years ago .





https://www.nme.com/news/music/highest-grossing-world-tours-2019-far-2523268

Many bands make most of their money from touring ,
rather than selling cd,s or songs on itunes, spotify.
i agree it,s strange when you go to a gig, and everyone there is over 50.

Sir Osis of Liver.

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Wasn't Shakin Steven's and Adam Ant the same person I thought?

This from someone born in 1974???

Freddie Mercury,wasn't he Boy George?

ToddyDoody

A-ha are on their second comeback.

NeinNeinNein

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Wasn't Shakin Steven's and Adam Ant the same person I thought?

Don't be silly, he wasn't Adam Ant but he was Alvin Stardust.

souter

As a person of a certain vintage, I am enjoying a second wind as a committed gig goer. Originating in the sticks I never had the chance to see the cool bands at the time.
But now... I can see the grey haired legends of my youth close up and personal. For little money. Maybe a bit paunchy but there's none of the dreaded "now from our new album..." - just hit after hit.
In nice small venues, with cheap tickets I have supported the pension arrangements of Undertones, Primal Scream, PiL, jesus and mary chain etc etc. And tomorrow it's Jah Wobble at the Grand Social.
Bring it on/

JohnnyFlash

Toto. The best €49.95 you’ll ever spend.

Ursus Horribilis

I saw ABC in the Olympia a couple of years ago and that was a great gig. You couldn't call them a reunited band though because ABC has been Martin Fry for a long time now.

Grandeeod

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Toto. The best €49.95 you’ll ever spend.

WTF! They are still going too!

RikkFlair

The Stone Roses most recent gig in 2017 was their last, they've split up again.

Gregor Samsa

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No. One wrote his own music with a band and was originally a punk band. The other was a Elvis impersonator who did covers.

Don’t know if this is actually true or not, but I was once told that Shakey wrote his own B-sides, so he would get writing royalties from all his singles he sold even though they were covers. Seemingly made good money that way.

80s/90s Belgian EBM legends Front 242 are playing in the UK soon. They are one of the few bands I really regret never seeing live.

stateofflux

topper75 wrote: »

Saw the Stranglers in the Milk Market in Limerick a little while back.

I wouldn't go again. Lots of people in their early 50s standing as though they were at an outdoor mass. Lineup like Rodney's sweeping brush. The Stranglers, mar dhea.
A person can't step in the same river twice I suppose. Their re-mortgages are nothing got to do with me. What's gone is gone. Let it go.

I saw them last year in the olympia...just to cross it off the list... even though there are only 2 original members left from the classic lineup it was ok.

Those people in their early fifties are actually in their 70's and have arthritis of the knees

I think it's kind of tragic..
Whatever happened to breaking up after 5 years and the guitarist dying of a heroin overdose?..
Rock and roll is dead..the ageing nostalgia they're selling in it's place isn't it anyway..lads in their 70s with bad tattoos entertaining lads in their 60s..
I suppose music meant something back then, and they're selling the nostalgia to the aged fans, and their 'legend' status to the youth, because, really, everyone likes every band now..
But shur I suppose once the dopes keep buying the tickets they'll keep doing it..

NewbridgeIR

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No. One wrote his own music with a band and was originally a punk band. The other was a Elvis impersonator who did covers.

A sweeping dismissal. Shaky has plenty self-penned compositions on his albums. And the disc of 12" remixes on his Epic Masters box is deadly.

NewbridgeIR

Grandeeod wrote: »

I'll kick it off with a video of Howard Jones from 2015. Had no real interest in him back then, but did see him live in the National Stadium circa 1986.

Howard Jones - like Nik Kershaw and Paul Young - saw sales dip with their third albums in 1986. All three played Live Aid. HJ never stopped though - 13 LPs in total, another new one this year.

nkl12xtw5goz70

The top 10 highest grossing world tours of 2019 so far include Elton John, Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, and Cher.

The Rolling Stones are still touring, led by 76-year-old Mick Jagger.

Makes you wonder why musicians old enough to be pensioners are drawing bigger crowds than younger acts.

Zaph

If only Talking Heads would copy the rest and re-form then I'd be a very happy man. But seeing as three of them no longer really speak to David Byrne, unfortunately that's about as likely as me winning the Euromillions tonight.

RayCon

Unfortunately XTC stopped touring in the 80's .... now there's a band I'd love to see live.

YFlyer

Aegir wrote: »

Not that they ever went away, but Madness were ****ing awesome when they played in Dun Laoghaire earlier this year.

I went with some friends to their gig in Limerick. Great night.

NewbridgeIR

RayCon wrote: »

Unfortunately XTC stopped touring in the 80's .... now there's a band I'd love to see live.

I met an accountant at some networking event a few years back. Pushing 60, pleasant enough. For some reason the conversation turned to concerts and he casually dropped in that he saw XTC on all three nights in McGonagles back in 1978. He also saw The Jam in the Top Hat the same month.

Grandeeod

Jimmy Somerville - WTF?

Has a very distinctive singing voice. After the Communards, he was barely scarping a living in clubs singing along to backing tracks for many years. I'm sure I remember a poster advertising his gig in the George in the late 90s.

These days he's reformed himself with a big backing band and playing festivals with a Bronski Beat and Communards back catalogue. Then he has the cheek to finish the set with a cover from ACDC.:eek: Bands are bands for a reason. Nice guy Jimmy is just a cabaret act.

Holly Johnson - similar crap. Finishes his current set with......Power of Love and Relax is popped into the middle. Tom Bailey - digging it out, but his song writing abilities can't over shadow that one man without an act doesn't cut it. Thompson Twins in case you're wondering. Human League - Jaysus! This lad has had more come backs that retrograde ejaculation. Saw them (as in him and the two girls) back at a very early EP or even the first.

Anyway, for a real treat in line with the thread title, the Forever Young Festival a few months back, sums up lots of sad stuff. A few exceptions, but in general
a cabaret with the original lead singer.