A Different Light – The Bangles

This is the album that launched the Bangles to superstardom with the singles Manic Monday originally written by Prince and the wonderfully quirky Walk Like An Egyptian, a song that got dance steps in a jiffy and everyone wanted to learn the Tutankhamen dance.

Whitney Houston –Whitney Houston

This is the debut album from Whitney Houston released in 1985, an album that probably has her best work because the song structures were simple and it helped to launch her career into new heights.

LongPlay Album - Stars on 45 (Vol II) - Various Artists

This was the second album by the Dutch sound-alike studio group Stars on 45 released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in August 1981. In India it was released under the label MIL (Music India Limited) and received critical appreciation for the music and non – stop continuity.

Sun City - Artists United Against Apartheid - Various Artists

Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by Little Steven aka activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker to protest against apartheid in South Africa.

Stars on 45 –The Album - By Star Sound - Various Artists

Bringing back the 80s sound, this is one of my oldest LPs in my collection. This was also the very first LPs I had when I first started collecting vinyl back in the 1990s, and I played it constantly, because of it funky beat and non – stop melody, not forgetting the Beatles selection all over it. I loved this album the very first time I heard it.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – John Lennon

This was the end of swinging 60s and the world’s biggest band, The Beatles had split at the peak of their career and their fighting best. (In fact, while I write this, Peter Jackson’s documentary on the subject ‘Get Back’, has just been released). And the members started on their individual journeys. John Lennon, the founder of the band released his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band on 11th December 1970.

Inflammable Material - Stiff Little Fingers

With the take off of punk music and culture in 70s Britain, where bands like The Sex Pistols, Clash, X-Ray Spex etc. achieved fame, fortune and notoriety, other bands emerged in the UK that unfortunately did not achieve the same levels of fame but were equally talented and wielded a similar sense of anti establishmentarianism, protest and angst in their lyrics, music and live shows. One such band was Stiff Little Fingers, Ireland's answer to their more famous British counterparts.

Graceland – Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s body of work, whether initially with Art Garfunkel (Tom & Jerry and later Simon & Garfunkel) or later as a solo artiste, isn’t huge in number, but it’s pretty huge in quality. Just consider songs like Homeward Bound, Sounds of Silence, Boxer or Graceland…they are all modern-day pop anthems. This great singer-songwriter turned 80 last month and I felt like writing a review of his path breaking solo LP, ‘Graceland’.

Skatetown U.S.A – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Various Artists

This 1979 film featured almost non-stop synchronized music, much by popular disco and pop artists from the mid and late 1970s. Most of this music is for those who love disco. After Saturday Night Fever, you can surely say that this movie was the best of the disco themed movies. Unlike SNF, this movie took the tact of most other disco films and tried to capture the fun side of disco and believe it or not, it succeeds, where many others failed. As with any musical, the dance numbers and songs make this movie and really make you want to dance and sing along and if you know to roller skate all the better.

Staying Alive - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Various Artists

This sequel to the immensely popular 2 x LP ‘Saturday Night Fever’, many say this film lacks the box-office clout of the original and the soundtrack album was likewise a disappointing seller, but it actually contains some of the better Bee Gees work of the '80s, notably the sad ballad Someone Belonging to Someone. While SNF not only made John Travolta a star, it also escorted the music to new levels, discotheques, nightclubs and into the glare of the mainstream music.