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Synthpop duos of the 1980s

August 04, 2023

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Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, the music duo who formed the band The Eurythmics in London in 1980, pose inside Studio 3 at the EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California on November 16, 2017 following an interview with AFP.
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" has become a classic in pop music and marked a commercial breakthrough for synth-pop. But before the Eurythmics wrote it, the duo feared they were finished. "I remember that I was in a terrible mood that day. I actually thought we should give up," Lennox recalled of the 1982 recording session in London with her bandmate Dave Stewart. — Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, the music duo who formed the band The Eurythmics in London in 1980, pose inside Studio 3 at the EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California on November 16, 2017 following an interview with AFP. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" has become a classic in pop music and marked a commercial breakthrough for synth-pop. But before the Eurythmics wrote it, the duo feared they were finished. "I remember that I was in a terrible mood that day. I actually thought we should give up," Lennox recalled of the 1982 recording session in London with her bandmate Dave Stewart.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

I was thinking the other day how much I love the band Tears for Fears, and how thankful I am that they're still around today putting out new material and touring. It got me thinking even more about the duos of the 1980s and how many there were. That's why this week we're going to dive right into the pool of synthpop duos from TFF, Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys, to Eurythmics, OMD and Yaz, there will be no lack of dancing on this Thursday's show.

Program playlist

Gallery

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Two mannequins seated at a table, their torsos and legs detached — 'Upstairs at Eric's' is the debut album by British synthpop duo Yazoo (known in the U.S. and Canada as Yaz), released in the U.K. on Mute Records and in North America on Sire Records on August 20, 1982.
Mute Records / Sire Records

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Songs from the Big Chair, Tears for Fears' 1985 breakout album.
Phonogram Records

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Soft Cell band members bathed in neon light at night — Soft Cell, 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret'
Some Bizarre Records