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The Best 80s Based Station I Ever Heard

J

Jay F

and it's not American, it's JOE-FM/Belgium. This segue explains why I love this station...
Kid Creole and the Coconuts-Annie I'm Not Your Daddy into Dionne Warwick-Heartbreaker. Now that's variety, a song too hip for the room into a song that is totally taboo to play on U.S stations other than Adult Standards. They play tons of songs I haven't heard since they were current. It's funny, some of the songs I thought were just OK when they were new sound great to me now...for example..Paul McCartney-My Brave Face.

Here are some of my favorites I heard them play

Bomtown Rats-I Don't Like Monday's
Sheena Easton-Morning Train
Whispers-And The Beat Goes On
Bonnie Tyler-It's A Heartache
Terence Trent D'Arby-Wishing Well
Culture Club-Do You Really Want To Hurt me
Musical Youth-Pass The Dutchie
Roxy Music-Avalon
OMD-Forever Live and Die
Patrick Hernandez-Born To Be Alive

They played some songs that were hits in Europe that I never heard before that were amazingly good

Kylie Minogue-Better The Devil You Know
The Pasadenas-Riding On A Train
Mika-Relax Take It Easy
The Real Thing-You To Me Are Everything
Anastacia-Not That Kind

If you like a huge variety of 80s (and other decades sprinkled in) including lot's of long forgotten songs you will enjoy this station. If you search joe fm belgium you will find several links to listen live.
 
Jay F said:
They played some songs that were hits in Europe that I never heard before that were amazingly good

Kylie Minogue-Better The Devil You Know
The Pasadenas-Riding On A Train
Mika-Relax Take It Easy
The Real Thing-You To Me Are Everything
Anastacia-Not That Kind

If you like a huge variety of 80s (and other decades sprinkled in) including lot's of long forgotten songs you will enjoy this station. If you search joe fm belgium you will find several links to listen live.
Click to expand...

Any time anyone starts going on about how you can't play "deep cuts" that weren't hits, I'm tempted to point out how many songs were hits in Europe but were never even released in the US.
 
In Portland, Oregon, Charlie Fm 97.1 plays a good variety of 70's, 80's and 90's, like Jack FM.
Since they can't use Jack FM for an image, they chose charlie. Click below to check out my station playing 50's to 90's top 40!
 
radioray said:
Its not an 80s station if its playing Mika who had hits over the past few years (in Europe).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSK91mUNLU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaEPCsQ4608&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWiccrTB4LM&feature=channel
Click to expand...

It's 80s based, at least 50%, maybe 2/3rds 80s But they also play everything from 60s to currents.

European stations are fascinating to me. I discovered an Netherlands station that classifies itself as an AC. Their biggest category of music seems to be 90s dance music, acts like ATC. But then out of nowhere they play the Carpenters. Compared to similar formats in the U.S they play songs that are both too cool and too uncool..all on the same station.
 
JOE FM just played a promo where they mentioned they play 60s-today, they played samples to represent each decade. 60s-Rolling Stones, 70s-Kiss-I Was Made For Loving You (a huge JACK FM song), 80s-AXL F theme, 90s and 00s were European hits I didn't recognize.

After the promo they played a total "Oh Wow" 80s song Pepsi and Shirlie-Heartache. Then another song you never hear...Olivia Newton John f/ELO-Xanadu.

JOE FM is by all means a Variety Hits station but unlike JACK FM (and other North American Variety hits stations) it is pop/dance based instead of rock (although they do play some rock).

I wonder how a more pop version of Variety Hits would go over in the U.S? I think they tried it in Memphis and it failed, I believe it was called KIM FM.
 
WAMS is The 80's Channel in Dover,DE/Ocean City, MD. Check them out online www.wamsfm.com. They have a great variety of 80's music and the old "flame thrower" jingles. I love Sat 10a-3p the old Rick Dees countdown from the 80's!
 
i was driving through Chattanooga Tennessee back in '03 and heard a really good one.

"You dropped a bomb on me" The Gap Band
"Burning down the house" Talking Heads
"Its My Life" Talk-Talk
"Istanbul, Not Constantinople" They Might be Giants
"Rock this way" Run DMC
"Time after Time" Cindy Lauper
"Eyes without a face" Billy Idol

Had the feel of Kid Kellys "Backtrax USA". Liked the variety!!

Now living here in FL the only 80's station is 101.5 The Point ( WPOI-FM) out of Tampa. Which is an alright station. Plays a lot of New Wave and Alternative Tracks. Just wish the variety was tuned up some more. Not to mention they got rid of a lot of the good 1977-1979 Tracks.
 
Another great Variety Hits European stream I found is RFM Classic/Netherlands

http://rfmmedia.nl/radio/index.asp

It's the last station listed on the index. Huge variety of eras and genres. 60s-90s, pop, rock, soul, dance, punk. Shocking segues such as 90s dance song "Sexy Eyes" by Whigfield into Jim Croce-Time In A Bottle. Lot's of 80s/90s songs you would hear on a U.S VH station (I Touch Myself, Let's Go All The Way) followed by Dorothy Moore-Misty Blue.

I especially like discovering European hits that never charted in the U..S. One I especially liked was Mac and Katie Kissoon-Sugar Candy Kisses. Another great one Carter USM-Were In Trouble. These songs could not be more different from each other too..one sounds like Peaches and Herb and the other like the Spice Girls.

As I'm posting this they are playing Marshall Hain-Dancing In The City. I only heard it on the radio once in the late 70s but it has stuck in my head ever since. I once posted about this song here on R-I a few years ago. This station/stream is amazing to me.
 
Hello,
actually here in Europe the high variety is quite "common" since the competition is not (and was not) as fierce as in the US. In several markets (Germany, Benelux, East European countries, etc) the active 80's music library of some market leader stations runs 3-5000 song deep (with "platooning" of course), the wow! factor is amazing. Yes, this is our goal; and according to the LAB's and other research this cuts through. On the other hand I've heard "several" rare/unknown but great songs in Canadian and Australian stations - we can play here.

The 80's pop/soft can be successfully combined with 90's dance/pop and some "whatever" compatible newer songs; this is a very effective combination here :)

For eg. this station I supervise now airing "The Box - My Dreams of You" then Men Without Hats - Safety Dance (as twofer), followed by Corona - Rhythm of the Night (original) and 23rd Underpass as new one... well overnight product :)

Best,
SIRatSIRSoft
 
Yep, "Holla holla hoe and a holla holla hee another holiday". 1987. Other Ones. Great Video too.
 
I remember that Other Ones tune quite well. Since San Francisco was without a traditional CHR station in 1987, I used to hear it on a low powered college station out of Fremont, CA called KOHL. It was a Top 40 formatted station and I believe it still is. I would love to hear "Don't Look Down" by Go West. That was out around the same time and I hav'nt heard that track in eons.
 
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