1981 in Music

MTV launches and a new visual age of pop begins.

On August 1, 1981, MTV switched on with The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' and rewrote the rules of pop. Image and choreography became as important as the song. British acts who had invested in stylish promo videos suddenly had a direct line into American living rooms, and a 'second British invasion' began to take shape.

Trends of 1981

New romantic exploded with Spandau Ballet, Visage and early Duran Duran. Synth-pop hardened into mainstream success with The Human League's 'Don't You Want Me'. Post-punk fragmented into the dance-floor experiments that would become New Order, while hardcore punk gathered force in Los Angeles and Washington DC.

Key albums

• Dare — The Human League
• Speak & Spell — Depeche Mode
• Architecture & Morality — OMD
• Movement — New Order

Key songs

• Don't You Want Me — The Human League
• Tainted Love — Soft Cell
• Just Can't Get Enough — Depeche Mode
• Under Pressure — Queen & David Bowie

Artists of 1981

• The Human League — Became global pop stars with the chart-conquering Dare.
• Soft Cell — 'Tainted Love' became the synth-pop signature of the year.
• Depeche Mode — Debut album launched a four-decade electronic career.

Legacy

1981 is the year music became television. The artists who learned to perform on camera — Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, Madonna a year later — defined the visual grammar of the entire decade.

All years 1980–1989 · 80s charts by year

Compiled and fact-checked by the RADIO 1980 Editorial Team. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.