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The Morning Show - With Jill Riley

Coffee Break: British Invasion - 1980s -

Coffee Break: British Invasion - 1980s

Boy George of Culture Club performs at The Pearl in 2016 in Las Vegas.
Boy George of Culture Club performs at The Pearl in 2016 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

by Anna Weggel and Jill Riley

November 10, 2021

This week on the morning show we're bringing you a British invasion of sorts — each day Jill will talk to a different musician including Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Wet Leg, Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode and the one and only Sting.

And each day at 9:30, we’ll take you on a journey through the history of British music.

So for today’s Coffee Break, what British bands do you want to hear from the 1980s - a.k.a. the second British invasion?

A little bit more about that term “second British invasion” – if the first British invasion of music happened in the 1960s with band like The Beatles, Zombies, Kinks, Rolling Stones, Animals Petula Clark, Yardbirds, etc. coming into popularity in the U.S., the second wave happened during the early-to-mid 1980s when MTV brought synthpop and new wave acts from the U.K. into popularity.


Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs played:

Tears for Fears - Shout

Spandau Ballet - True

Eurythmics - Here Comes the Rain Again

Culture Club - Karma Chameleon

Wham! - Freedom

The Smiths - Ask