80s Dance Music

How this sound was built

25 essential tracks

Listed in release order. Tap a title to play it, or play all 25 in a row.

1. 1. Alleys of Your Mind — Cybotron (1981)

   Juan Atkins and Rick Davis made this in Detroit with synthesizers and a drum machine, and it sold thousands of copies locally. Its robotic voices and electro beat are a blueprint for techno, which Atkins went on to help invent a few years later.

2. 2. Don't Go — Yazoo (1982)

   Vince Clarke's bubbling synth riff and Alison Moyet's bluesy voice made one of the great early synth dance tracks. It reached No. 3 in the UK in 1982, and it still fills dance floors today. Clarke had just left Depeche Mode when Yazoo formed.

3. 3. Get Down on It — Kool & The Gang (1981)

   Kool & The Gang had moved from hard funk to smooth, party-ready R&B with singer James "J.T." Taylor. This invitation to the dance floor reached No. 10 in the US and No. 3 in the UK, and it is still a wedding and party favourite.

4. 4. Gloria — Laura Branigan (1982)

   An Italian song by Umberto Tozzi, rewritten in English with a driving dance beat. Laura Branigan's powerhouse vocal took it to No. 2 in the US, and it stayed on the Hot 100 for 36 weeks. It became a staple of dance clubs and, decades later, of hockey arenas.

5. 5. I Feel for You — Chaka Khan (1984)

   A Prince song rebuilt with a rap intro from Melle Mel, a harmonica part from Stevie Wonder and a stuttering "Chaka Khan" sample. It reached No. 3 in the US and No. 1 in the UK, and it was one of the first big pop hits to mix R&B, hip hop and electronic production.

6. 6. On and On — Jesse Saunders (1984)

   Often called the first house record ever pressed on vinyl. Jesse Saunders, a Chicago DJ, recorded it with a drum machine and bass synth so he would have his own track to play. It showed other local DJs that anyone with cheap gear could make a record.

7. 7. Into the Groove — Madonna (1985)

   Written for the film Desperately Seeking Susan, in which Madonna co-starred. It was her first UK No. 1 and topped Billboard's dance chart. In the US it was only sold on the B-side of a 12-inch single, so it never appeared on the Hot 100, but it became one of her signature songs.

8. 8. No UFO's — Model 500 (1985)

   The first release on Juan Atkins's Metroplex label, recorded under the name Model 500. Its cold, precise machine funk, with vocoder vocals, is one of the founding records of Detroit techno. Atkins is often called the "originator" of the genre.

9. 9. Conga — Gloria Estefan (1985)

   Miami Sound Machine's breakthrough mixed Cuban percussion with a pumping dance beat. It reached No. 10 in the US and made Gloria Estefan a star. It became famous for setting off conga lines at parties, and the band once led a record-breaking one in Miami.

10. 10. Music Is the Key — J.M. Silk (1985)

    Steve "Silk" Hurley and singer Keith Nunnally made this for Chicago's DJ International label. It was the first house record to reach the Top 10 of Billboard's dance chart, proving that the Chicago sound could sell outside the city. Hurley became one of house music's most in-demand remixers.

11. 11. Can You Feel It — Mr. Fingers (1986)

    Larry Heard's dreamy chords and warm bassline invented what came to be called deep house. Later versions added speeches, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream", over the track. It is one of the most-played house records ever.

12. 12. Love Can't Turn Around — Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk ft. Darryl Pandy (1986)

    Darryl Pandy's huge, operatic voice over a pounding Chicago house beat. In 1986 it reached No. 10 in the UK, one of the first house records in the British Top 10. Pandy's wild performance on Top of the Pops is still remembered.

13. 13. Jack Your Body — Steve 'Silk' Hurley (1986)

    Little more than a bassline, a beat and the words "jack your body" repeated. In January 1987 it became the first house record to reach No. 1 in the UK, where it stayed for two weeks. It proved raw club tracks could cross over.

14. 14. Word Up! — Cameo (1986)

    Larry Blackmon's nasal vocal, a funk bassline and a spaghetti-western whistle. It went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 6 on the Hot 100, and it is still a party standard. Blackmon's red codpiece in the video made its own headlines.

15. 15. Dancing on the Ceiling — Lionel Richie (1986)

    Lionel Richie's party song reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. Its video, directed by Stanley Donen, used a rotating room so the dancers really seem to walk up the walls, the same trick Donen used for Fred Astaire in the 1951 film Royal Wedding.

16. 16. Venus — Bananarama (1986)

    A 1969 hit for the Dutch band Shocking Blue, turned into a high-energy dance track by producers Stock Aitken Waterman. It went to No. 1 in the US in 1986, Bananarama's only American chart-topper, and helped make SAW the hit factory of the late 80s.

17. 17. Nude Photo — Rhythim Is Rhythim (1987)

    Derrick May made it with Thomas Barnett for his own Transmat label. The tight, jittery drum machine and moody synth chords set the sound of Detroit techno. May's next record, "Strings of Life", became the genre's anthem. Transmat is still one of techno's most respected labels.

18. 18. Acid Tracks — Phuture (1987)

    DJ Pierre, Spanky and Herb J twisted the knobs of a Roland TB-303 bass machine until it squealed. DJ Ron Hardy played the tape at Chicago's Music Box club for months before it came out on Trax. It is the first acid house record.

19. 19. Your Love — Frankie Knuckles ft. Jamie Principle (1987)

    Jamie Principle wrote and sang this slow, hypnotic love song, and Frankie Knuckles, the "Godfather of House", made it a Warehouse anthem. Its synth riff was later mashed up with Candi Staton's vocal as "You Got the Love", which became a hit several times over in the UK.

20. 20. Promised Land — Joe Smooth (1987)

    A gospel-style house song about unity, with piano chords and a hopeful vocal. It became one of the anthems of the acid house era in Britain, and The Style Council covered it in 1989. Joe Smooth wrote and produced it in Chicago.

21. 21. Devotion — Ten City (1987)

    Byron Stingily's soaring falsetto over a smooth house groove, produced by Marshall Jefferson. Ten City brought gospel and soul singing back into house music, and this track helped get them signed to a major label. Their sound led straight to the soulful house of the 90s.

22. 22. Big Fun — Inner City (1988)

    Kevin Saunderson made the track and Paris Grey sang it. It reached No. 8 in the UK in 1988, one of the first Detroit techno records to become a real pop hit. Inner City followed it with "Good Life", another Top 10 hit.

23. 23. Together Forever — Rick Astley (1988)

    The follow-up to "Never Gonna Give You Up", written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in June 1988, Rick Astley's second American chart-topper, with the same bright synths and pounding beat.

24. 24. Cold Hearted — Paula Abdul (1989)

    Paula Abdul was the choreographer for the Lakers Girls and for Janet Jackson before becoming a star herself. This went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1989, and its video borrows from a dance scene in Bob Fosse's film All That Jazz.

25. 25. French Kiss — Lil Louis (1989)

    A Chicago house track that slows down almost to a stop in the middle, with breathy sounds that got it banned by some radio stations, then speeds back up. It reached No. 2 in the UK in 1989 and was a huge club record across Europe.

Where to go next

• 80s freestyle music
• 80s new wave and synth-pop
• 80s pop songs
• The 80s hits mix
• Build your own 80s dance playlist

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