TOP 5 – Hayden East in the 80s

Mr Hayden East is DJing tomorrow night (Fri 6th) at everyone’s favorite place to be in Ponsonby – Golden Dawn – in support of Tono and the Finance Company (live).. we asked him to tell us his current top 5 and he told us his “80s New Years Eve” top 5…

1. Luther Vandross – Never Too Much (Never Too Much, 1981)
I find top five lists really hard to compile because I don’t listen to much new music, so most of this list is made up of the best songs I listened to on New Year’s Eve.
This was perhaps the best dance of the night. The song is great for its simplicity, but it really hangs on Vandross’s incredible vocal performance. The unsettling, camp intimacy of the video is pretty amazing as well.

2. Talking Heads – This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Speaking in Tongues, 1983)
I spent a stressful 10 minutes trying to find the perfect stroke-of-midnight song, before Reggie Blount (featured later in this list) calmly suggested what is perhaps the best ever new year’s song. It’s a great dance, but not too heavy. It has a real sense of nostalgia, and the lyrical sentiment perfectly reflects the peak of a night spent with the best of friends. It’s also one of the most memorable moments of my favourite music film, Stop Making Sense, where David Byrne dances with a lamp.

3. Michael Jackson – Baby Be Mine (Thriller, 1982)
I don’t know what the night would have been without the early 80s. The synths in this song are so addictive, especially the slightly-too-loud bass synth. It’s like the whole song is sitting atop a jelly foundation that wobbles in just the right way. Let’s have a sexy jelly party with MJ.

4. Grace Jones – Pull Up to the Bumper (Nightclubbing, 1981)
Another early-80s dance classic. More addictive synths, but it’s that iconic chorus guitar that really pulls you in. There’s also some really great 70s hangover horn sound effects, just incase your mind was getting a bit euphemistic at the thought of pulling up to Jones’s bumper.

5. Reggie Blount – Debbie
A good thirty-or-so years younger than the rest on this list, but it’s right at home. You could categorize this track as comedy, but I think that’d be a disservice to what a fucking great song it is. Reggie’s soundcloud is a hidden gem. Music needs more DI’d guitar.

Reggie Blount – Debbie by djdruckman