Remembering the 80s: Radio Nigel

Radio Nigel gives life to the 1980s you don’t hear much about these days, an 80s of alternative, punk, and new wave music that for many of us, defined our teenage years. I like Madonna, Journey, and Van Halen as much as the next person, but there was more to the 80s than present-day commercial radio and VH1 would leave you to believe.

Radio Nigel is listener-supported. Without voluntary contributions, it cannot continue. I’ve never plugged anything on VIS except my church, but I’m going to plug Radio Nigel. As far as I know, it’s the only source of its type of programming, although I would love to hear of others. So if you remember Echo and the Bunnymen, the B-52s, and the Stranglers, download Winamp and connect to Nigel—you’ll recapture a part of your childhood and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the rest of the day. If you can throw $10 at them to help support their production costs, that would be great.

Now, courtesy of Nigel’s playlist, here’s a list of some of the best 80s songs you might have forgotten about or never heard. Links are to YouTube videos.

1. Echo and the Bunnymen, “Seven Seas”
2. Wall of Voodoo, “Mexican Radio”
3. Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London” (1978)
4. The Smiths, “Girlfriend in a Coma”
5. Oingo Boingo, “Dead Man’s Party”
6. House of Love, “I Don’t Know Why I Love You”
7. Robin Hitchcock, “My Wife and My Dead Wife”
8. Morrissey, “That’s Entertainment”
9. Peter Gabriel, “Solsbury Hill” (1977)
10. B52s, “Give Me Back My Man”
11. Bananarama, “He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’”
12. The Belle Stars, “Sign of the Times”
13. Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights”
14. Nick Lowe, “All Men Are Liars” (released in 1990, I think)
15. Sundays, “Here’s Where the Story Ends”
16. Talk Talk, “It’s My Life”