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'80s sophisti-pop

August 11, 2023

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English rock band Roxy Music in concert at Wembley Arena in London, England, during their Avalon Tour, September 1982. Guitarist Phil Manzanera is on the left, with bass player Alan Spenner behind him, and singer Bryan Ferry on the right. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of the soft and smooth sounds of '70s and '80s yacht rock it's why I celebrate it on these airwaves each and every summer. Well something else I like to celebrate annually on The Current is the smooth and soft sounds of '80s classic alternative artists, aka sophisti-pop, and it just happens to be that this is the week. So get ready to turn down the lights and turn up the Sade, Bryan Ferry, Simply Red and more this Thursday night, as we sophisticate the world of pop music '80s style.

Program playlist

Sophisti-pop

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A man sings onstage — Mick Hucknall, singer of the British pop band Simply Red, performs on the Auditorium Stravinski during the 40th Montreux Jazz festival on July 5, 2006, in Montreux, Switzerland.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

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A woman sings onstage with arms outstretched — Sade performs onstage in Nice, southeastern France, on April 29, 2011. The Nigerian-British singer of "Smooth Operator" fame in the mid-80s is back after a decade away with her latest album, "Soldier of Love".
Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

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Bryan Ferry singing onstage — September 23, 1982: English pop star, Bryan Ferry, the lead singer of Roxy Music.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images