Don’t Stop The Dance: An Eighties Sophisti-Pop Sofa Session

Sophisti-pop, blue-eyed-soul, new wave and some Japanese funk are the ingredients for the best years of our lives: the 1980s 😊 Enjoy this new sofa session!

What was called easy listening in the early days, became sophisti-pop later on. In the 1980s the big orchestras of the previous decade were replaced by small synths and the cheesy musical structures disappeared in favour of more complex ones. Sophisti-pop could be described as stylish, predominantly electronic, sometimes jazzy or funky and always very cleverly put together. I suppose Bryan Ferry was the king and Sade the queen of the genre. 

On May the 25th, at the 50th anniversary of Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry will publish his book Lyrics. It contains the lyrics of his 17 albums, from the first Roxy Music album in 1972 to 2014’s Avonmore. The book includes an introduction by the author, and an essay by James Truman.

The track by Mizuki Koyama is from the compilation Tokyo Glow by DJ Notoya. He explains the quality of the songs in the liner notes: 

"Back in the day, the record companies had big budgets and could afford to have many great musicians playing on one record, plus strings and horn sections, top drummers and keyboardists. It all made a very rich sound, which is generally very different to today’s music."  

Tracklist:

Matt Bianco – Half A Minute [Joey Negro Sunburnt Mix] (1984/2013)
Sade – Hang On To Your Love (1984)
Kid Creole And The Coconuts – Endicott (1985)
Modern Romance – Best Years Of Our Lives [Midnight Mix] (1982)
Belouis Some – Imagination (1985)
ABC – King Without A Crown (1987)
Fra Lippo Lippi ‎– Shouldn't Have To Be Like That (1986)
Bryan Ferry – Don’t Stop The Dance (1985)
Breathe – Jonah (1988)
Hue & Cry – Looking For Linda (1989)
Mizuki Koyama – Oh! Daddy (1985)
Curiosity Killed The Cat ‎– Ordinary Day (1987)
Climie Fisher ‎– This Is Me (1986)
Johnny Hates Jazz – Heart Of Gold (1988)
Mariko Tone – Broken Eyes (1985)
Linx – You’re Lying (1980)
The Adventures – Send My Heart (1984)
The Lover Speaks – No More "I Love You's" (1986)