Playlist: Looking Back 40 Years, Rock Songs Of…1986

*Photo of the Halley’s Comet (3/8/1986) from Wikipedia and likely subject to copyright

As we usually do, we started off 2026 with our annual “50-year look back” to the rock songs from albums released in 1975. And, as night follows day, we typically return to that nostalgic vibe in March every year with a “40-year look back” to rock songs from albums from the 80s, in this case obviously, to 1986.

Heavy stuff went down in ’86. The Russians had the awful Chernobyl incident. America suffered the horrible Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster. I woke up that day to find everyone where I lived in sad shock. Like most things that happened before noon, I’d slept through it.

Apparently Halley’s Comet rolled past us for the first time since 1910. It won’t return until 2061 and as much as I’d to think I’d get to see it, having missed it in ’86, I will probably have moved…on.

Ah, and of course ’86 was when Reagan did his illegal Iran-Contra deal, selling arms to Iran – a country he’d put an arms sale moratorium on – so he could illegally fund some right wing counter revolutionaries in Latin America. It’s proof that our relationship with Iran, and Latin America, (much like the GOP’s relationship with the law) has always been… fraught.  Good times.

On a more personal note, ’86 was the year of my great college “romance.” I dated a woman for most of the year – wonderful person, we had a lovely easy banter – which was a shift from my more temporary dating experiences in college.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that some of the musical choices I made here weren’t influenced by that relationship. Alas, it didn’t last. She dropped out of college and like the character Clevinger in Catch-22 who flew into a cloud never to be seen again, she disappeared from my life. I wasn’t doing long distance relationships at that time and let her slip away. I had a tenuous grasp on trust at the time.

The thing I remember most about the middle 80s is the sheer size of the hair. Women’s coifs were enormous. It had to be a banner year for hair spray. For some reason a fad emerged where women would spike their bangs so they stood straight up. Thankfully it didn’t last. Thinking about it, the rock star’s hairdos were pretty outrageous too. Luckily I waited until early 1987 to grow my mullet… but that is a different story.

My summer job of ’86 saw me returning to the outdoor, light construction work of building tennis courts, working for my best bud Doug’s dad, after a year of being a “corporate intern.” The work that summer was grueling but man, my tan was spectacular. And it beat the hell out of being a corporate, cubicle bound monkey. I thought I’d lose a little weight working in the hot sun but eating double cheeseburgers every day for lunch was a bad strategy or so it seems.

There were some pretty iconic movies released back then. The war fantasy Top Gun, the original one, came out that year. Of course the more realistic war film about Vietnam, Platoon, captured a lot of our attention. That was the first time I remember seeing Willem Dafoe.

And Rodney Dangerfield stole the show with Back To School. I can’t count how many times one of us repeated the line, “Call me, when you have no class.” We were in college at the time, we had to steal from that movie. Aliens was a wonderful sequel.

Ah, and the Music of 1986! I’m on record as saying 1984 was a blockbuster year in music, certainly the best in the middle of the decade. 1985 was bound to be a bit of a letdown, and it was, but it was not as bad as I had remembered. I had a feeling that 1986 was going to be better than ’85 and I think I’m right about that.

When I first laid out this playlist it was 165 songs long. I’m coming at you with only 83 tracks so for every song included I cut one off. While Hair Metal was at its zenith (and actual Heavy Metal too), and synth-dominated pop and rock n roll was in vogue there was a lot of other stuff going on.

I feel like there was a lot of music percolating under the surface ready to explode. The dull, polished influence of the 80s was slowly starting to break. I still hear a lot of synth and drum machines (or those dreaded drum pads), things were beginning to swing back away from that sound. Key word there, “beginning.”

I see the seeds of alternative rock on this list (The Smiths, R.E.M., XTC). Hip hop was starting its rise, although criminally under represented here. Admittedly I omitted songs from Janet Jackson, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna. There’s pop here, but that pop was a bridge too far.

Many of the great legends whose careers I’ve followed from start to finish didn’t make the list as they were all mostly in career slumps at the time. Cheap Trick, Van Morrison, and even Black Sabbath (who released basically a Tony Iommi solo album but the record company forced him to call it Sabbath) didn’t make the list. And I liked that Sabbath album.

McCartney didn’t make the list as he was really at his low point career wise with Press To Play, which was a huge disappointment. You want synth and drum machines, Paul was here for you in an embarrassing grasp for current credibility. Thankfully he made a comeback. Clapton put out August, produced by Phil Collins, and it still leaves me cold.

Although admittedly Neil Young, Rod Stewart and Bob Dylan were at career lows as well and they’ve all got songs on the list. I’ll admit that two of those artists are here because of that college romance I mentioned… those song have a certain sentimental value to me. I omitted some of the legends to make room for what was then currently popular at the time. Who knows if I made the right decisions?

As usual I followed my self-imposed ground rules. While there are a few songs here from soundtracks, I typically only include songs from albums released by the artist in the calendar year we’re looking back to. I probably miss a stray single here and there, especially when we look back to the 70s when stray singles were more prevalent.

I think that especially in the case of ’86 there’s going to be a song or two you the reader might think is criminally omitted. If so, suggest it in the comments section and I’ll add it to the Spotify Playlist. These are “our” playlists. But there are only so many of these I feel like typing and you probably don’t feel like reading much more than what I’ve listed.

Listen in order, shuffle, season to taste. Hopefully if you don’t dig what I’ve done you’ll build your own playlist. Or as a recent commenter said, hopefully you’ll “pilfer a song or two” for your listening pleasure. Our goal here is to turn you onto something you haven’t heard, or haven’t heard in a while and possibly might have forgotten.

That ex college girlfriend I mentioned… I ran into her again when I was 30. She was a huge Sting fan in college. And at the time Sting had just put out a great new album. I asked her what she thought of it and she had no idea he was even still recording. Sometimes life and work get in the way of our rock n roll. I’m just trying to bring it back to the front and center.

Enjoy this one. Here’s the playlist, with each song listed with my pithy comments below. And please remember, when listening, “Everybody have fun tonight, everybody Wang Chung tonight”:

• Peter Gabriel, So, “Sledgehammer” – Iconic song, iconic video. This is the track that made Gabriel a big star in America. I had to start with this one.
• Van Halen, 5150, “Best Of Both Worlds” – From Sammy Hagar’s debut in VH… I’d be lying if I said this one didn’t remind me of that ol’ college romance.
• Ozzy Osbourne, The Ultimate Sin, “Shot In The Dark” – I saw Ozzy in Wichita for the first time on this tour. I love this song.
• Jackson Browne, Lives In The Balance, “For America” – Jackson’s first foray into politics in his music. This song is more relevant today than it was 40 years ago.
• Prince, Parade, “Kiss” – Who doesn’t love Prince doing a falsetto. From a movie I didn’t particularly care for…
• The Rolling Stones, Dirty Work, “One Hit To The Body” – Great rock song from a criminally overlooked Stones album. They broke up for 3 years after this album. We all need a break sometimes.
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tuff Enuff, “Tuff Enuff” – Not crazy about this one but felt it had to be included, it was everywhere.
• The Bangles, Different Light, “Walk Like An Egyptian” – Who amongst us didn’t have a crush on Susanna Hoffs?
• The Firm, Mean Business, “All The King’s Horses” – I’m probably the only person who loved the Firm. Sure it wasn’t Zeppelin or Bad Co, but Page/Rodgers made a good team.
• Elvis Costello, King Of America, “Brilliant Mistake” – From the first of two LPs from Elvis! What a year!
• Steve Earle, Guitar Town, “Guitar Town” – Country/country rock sneaking back into vogue!
• Depeche Mode, Black Celebration, “A Question Of Time” – I wish I’d gotten into Depeche a lot earlier. This is a great album/song. They just dropped a great new track, “Universal Soldier.”
• Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark, Pretty In Pink (OST), “If You Leave” – This and the next few songs represent the 80s sound I was hearing/remember from ’86.
• Pet Shop Boys, Please, “West End Girls” – I always liked this song. I never would have admitted that in ’86. “No, no, I’m listening to Zeppelin.”
• Husker Du, Candy Apple Grey, “I Don’t Want To Know If You’re Lonely” – Great track here from a band that was probably unknown to us back then.
• Metallica, Master Of Puppets, “Master Of Puppets” – I saw Metallica opening for the aforementioned Ozzy. Long haired guys shaking their heads in front of white crosses. Very heavy. I’m not sure we realized the greatness we were seeing.
• Judas Priest, Turbo, “Turbo Lover” – Judas Priest were just always present.
• Bob Seger, Like A Rock, “Like A Rock” – The last LP from Bob I really connected with. Great slide guitar here.
• Joe Cocker, Cocker, “You Can Leave Your Hat On” – This was the official welcoming song for women at the small house me and 4 other guys lived in… not that many women were brave enough to come to our place.
• David Bowie, Absolute Beginners Soundtrack, “Absolute Beginners” – I think this song is a little gem of a tune. People bag on Bowie’s 80s post Let’s Dance, but there are diamonds in the rough.
• Bodeans, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, “Fadeaway” – Was completely unaware of this great track or great band until the Rock Chick turned me onto them 14 years later.
• Journey, Raised On Radio, “Be Good To Yourself” – Journey had lost me by this time but I do remember digging this song. Good advice too.
• Siouxsie & the Banshees, Tinderbox, “Cities In Dust” – Wonderful track I included on my Playlist: Songs About the City.
• Bruce Hornsby & the Range, The Way It Is, “Every Little Kiss” – There may have been bigger hits on this album, but this song is sensational.
• GTR, G.T.R., “When The Heart Rules The Mind” – Who could forget GTR? Steve Howe (Yes) and Steve Hackett (Genesis) together in one band!
• Lou Reed, Mistrial, “Tell It To Your Heart” – Disappointing album but I still love this one song.
• 38 Special, Strength In Numbers, “Somebody Like You” – This may have been the last gasp from these guys, I don’t know. The song was very popular.
• Poison, Look What The Cat Dragged In, “Talk Dirty To Me” – Hair metal anthem.
• AC/DC, Who Made Who, “Who Made Who” – This was the first AC/DC song in several years that had actually got me excited about them again.
• Run-D.M.C. (featuring Aerosmith), Raising Hell, “Walk This Way” – Didn’t like this at the time, but now realize it was just another stepping stone in Aerosmith’s comeback.
• Europe, The Final Countdown, “The Final Countdown” – I feel like this song is iconic.
• The Fixx, Walkabout, “Secret Separation” – I really like the Fixx. The lead singer was like, 10 feet tall.
• Queen, A Kind Of Magic, “A Kind Of Magic” – From basically what was a soundtrack for one of my all time favorite movies, Highlander. 
• Emerson, Lake & Powell, Emerson Lake & Powell, “Touch And Go” – Palmer wasn’t available so they got another “P” drummer to fill in. Prog rock!
• Genesis, Invisible Touch, “Land Of Confusion” – A track still relevant today. Maybe more so.
• Cinderella, Night Songs, “Nobody’s Fool” – From their great debut! I like these guys.
• Glass Tiger, The Thin Red Line, “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” – Bryan Adams produced this but listen at your own risk. Hear it once and it bores into your brain.
• The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead, “Bigmouth Strikes Again” – Iconic alternative rock.
• Rod Stewart, Every Beat Of My Heart aka Rod Stewart, “Every Beat Of My Heart” – This album was a gift from my college roomie. And yes it’s weak but again, sentimental to me.
• David Bowie, Labyrinth Soundtrack, “As The World Falls Down” – A friend turned me onto this somewhat obscure ballad. It’s wonderful
• Eurythmics, Revenge, “Missionary Man” – This punchy rock song really made me a fan of the Eurythmics.
• Queensryche, Rage For Order, “Walk In The Shadows” – Another great track I was barely aware of in college.
• Steve Winwood, Back In The High Life, “Split Decision” – There were bigger hits on this LP, but with Joe Walsh co-writing and playing slide guitar, I had to choose this one. “One hand puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse,” could describe me in those days.
• Crowded House, Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Iconic ballad.
• Bob Dylan, Knocked Out Loaded, “Brownsville Girl” – Terrible album. But this epic song, cowritten by playwright Sam Shepard was a masterpiece. “The only thing we knew about Henry Porter was that his real name was not Henry Porter…” Strange Gregory Peck obsession.
• David Lee Roth, Eat ‘Em And Smile, “Goin’ Crazy (From The Heat)” – Roth’s solo LP debut! Steve Vai on wicked guitar!
• Billy Joel, The Bridge, “A Matter Of Trust” – After that Innocent Man dreck, it was great to hear Billy do a rock song. I saw him on this tour!
• Neil Young, Landing On Water, “Touch The Night” – Great song from an album I wish he’d have recorded with Crazy Horse.
• R.E.M., Life’s Rich Pageant, “Superman” – Lead singer Michael Stipe only sings harmony here, it’s bass/keyboards Mike Mills who sings lead. A throwaway that became a minor hit!
• Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet, “Wanted Dead Or Alive” – Who didn’t love this cowboy song!
• Huey Lewis & The News, Fore!, “Jacob’s Ladder” – Huey was under a lot of pressure to deliver after the success of Sports. This track was written by Bruce Hornsby (who I saw play it live) and it’s always been a favorite.
• Paul Simon, Graceland, “Graceland” – The title track from one of Simon’s most iconic albums. I remember hearing it for the first time when my roomie Drew brought it home.
• Status Quo, In The Army Now, “In The Army Now” – This is just a great song.
•  Triumph, The Sport Of Kings, “Somebody’s Out There” – Triumph started to fade around this time, but I still bought this album. Still have it too.
• Tina Turner, Break Every Rule, “Typical Male” – Well, I felt compelled to put the late Tina’s tune on here. Admittedly, I’m more a fan of her earlier stuff.
• The Human League, Crash, “Only Human” – I used to sing this at top volume to irritate my roommates after I’d drunkenly done something stupid.
• Talking Heads, True Stories, “Wild Wild Life” – From David Byrne’s ill-fated movie project. He had to agree the Heads would do the soundtrack to get the deal done.
• Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Blood And Chocolate, “I Want You” – Intense love song here. We’ve all been there.
• Ric Ocasek, This Side Of Paradise, “Emotion In Motion” – The Cars were on hiatus this year and there were Cars solo projects everywhere.
• Alice Cooper, Constrictor, “He’s Back(The Man Behind The Mask)” – I had completely forgotten about this one! The more Alice Cooper I hear, the more I love Alice Cooper.
• Boston, Third Stage, “Amanda” – After an astonishing 8 years away they came back with… this? Who amongst us didn’t change the lyrics to, “I want to take you by surprise and kiss you on the thighs, Amanda.”
• Ratt, Dancin’ Undercover, “Slip Of The Lip” – Hair Metal was having a moment.
• Iron Maiden, Somewhere In Time, “Wasted Years” – I was so put off by these guys scary monster act, I shied away from this great song. Love it now!
• Iggy Pop, Blah Blah Blah, “Real Wild Child (Wild One)” – From his last project with Bowie.
• John Fogerty, Eye Of The Zombie, “Change In The Weather” – From an uneven album he pulls this great chooglin’ blues tune out of nowhere. One of his best solo tracks.
• Benjamin Orr, The Lace, “Stay The Night” – The Cars bass man’s only big hit. Great song.
• Wang Chung, Mosaic, “Everyone Have Fun Tonight” – This track was so popular it was once quoted on Cheers. 
• Pretenders, Get Close, “Don’t Get Me Wrong” – I’ve always loved this song from an album I sort of overlooked.
• Billy Idol, Whiplash Smile, “To Be A Lover” – Great song but an uneven album. I own it on vinyl still. One of Billy’s best tracks.
• XTC, Skylarking, “Dear God” – Heavy song that pretty much sums everything up to me.
• Eddie Money (featuring Ronnie Spector), Can’t Hold Back, “Take Me Home Tonight” – Eddie brought in some song doctors to help him write songs for this comeback album that I will always have a soft spot for. Ronnie Spector could have been put to more use here… love her voice though.
• Beastie Boys, Licensed To Ill, “Fight For Your Right” – I’d have told you in ’86 that these guys were gonna be a one-hit wonder. I would have been wrong. Who’d have thought it’d be a KC Chiefs/Travis Kelce anthem in the 2020’s.
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Live 1975 – 85, “War (Live)” – I hear Bruce is dusting off this cover for his new tour. “Blind faith in your leaders, or anything, will get you killed.” We should have listened to him in ’86.
• Stevie Ray Vaughan, Live Alive, “Superstition (Live)” – SRV doing a song written for Jeff Beck by Stevie Wonder. What’s not to love!
• Robert Cray, Strong Persuader, “Right Next Door (Because Of Me)” – Not the biggest hit on the album, but what a great, smooth tune. Blues was back, baby! “She was just another notch on my guitar…”
• Duran Duran, Notorious, “Notorious” – I had an argument years later with a waitress about this song. She said it was by Loverboy, I said Duran Duran. We were both right… and each talking about a different song. Love this track… the Loverboy, not so much.
• Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Good Music, “Roadrunner” – Joan and her band doing a Modern Lovers cover! Oh yes!
• Rainmakers, The Rainmakers, “Let My People Go-Go” – Local KC rock band made good!
• Chris Rea, On The Beach, “On The Beach” – I know literally nothing about Chris Rea, but I love everything I’ve heard from him.
• Bonnie Raitt, Nine Lives, “No Way To Treat A Lady” – This track is proof that they didn’t know how to produce her in the 80s. They took a blues woman who plays a spectacular slide guitar and glossed her over. I blame her producer.
• The Smithereens, Especially For You, “Behind The Wall Of Street” – Great East Coast rock band who should have been much bigger.
• The Call, Reconcile, “I Still Believe (Great Design)” – A great song and a great band the Rock Chick turned me onto. I think these guys are Irish.
• The Pogues, Poguetry In Motion, “A Rainy Night In Soho” – Speaking of Irish vibes… I just discovered this wonderful track via a Springsteen cover of it, and I’m obsessed now. It’s the perfect end to our lookback!

That’s our 1986 look back. As I said, if there is a song or two I missed – and having cut over 80 tracks, I know I missed quite a few – let me know and I’ll add it. I’m always looking for thoughts on how to make this playlist feel more like the year the songs were taken from and I’m open to suggestions.

While we’re 40 years on we still face a lot of the same problems we had back then. Many of the issues were actually created for us by the regime in ’86. At least we have this great rock n roll music to help us as we try to find our way back to the light. Hang in there.

Turn this up loud and again, “Wang Chung tonight,” baby! Cheers!