1. Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (1985)

Kate Bush is a creative genius, writing groundbreaking music and creating fabulous stories with real emotion through her lyrics. Her 5th album was ‘Hounds of Love’ and was greeted with critical acclaim. Side one is an exhilarating song collection, from the haunting and successful single ‘Running Up That Hill’ to the layered heavy drum rhythms of ‘Hounds of Love’ and ‘The Big Sky’ and including the immense orchestral arrangement and storyline of ‘Cloudbusting’. Side two is more conceptial called ‘The Ninth Wave’ intertwining amazing vocal sounds and lyrical imagery taking you on a journey through the consciousness of man near death.

2. Gary Numan - Telekon (1980)

‘Telekon’ remains Gary Numan’s most intricate and musically detailed work, a dark and moody synthesiser sound that reflected his disillusionment in the pressure of being famous. It has haunting melodies and engaging sounds which merge into beautiful but often sombre songs. The release deliberately gave fans extra value by leaving the hit singles ‘We Are Glass’ and ‘I Die You Die’ off the original LP release to create space for more new tracks. I have never found an album that sounds similar to this one, with standout tracks that include the electric themed detail of ‘I Dream Of Wires’ alongside the soaring chords of ‘The Aircrash Bureau’.

3. Peter Gabriel - So (1986)

Peter Gabriel was destined to release a really classic album, and ‘So’ is a deep bass driven composition that quickly grabbed its place amongst the greats. The two most uplifting and up-tempo tracks ‘Sledgehammer’ and ‘Big’ are well known singles, but alongside these lie the equally convincing and slightly more evocative tempos of ‘Red Rain’, ‘In Your Eyes’ and ‘That Voice Again’. Two tracks have guest vocalists, the softness of Kate Bush on the heart-wrenching ‘Don’t Give Up’, and the more exploratory half spoken/sung ‘This Is The Picture’ with Laurie Anderson. Everything here is still topped by the thoughtful and laid back beauty of ‘Mercy Street’.

4. Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls (1985)

Bryan Ferry emerged from the already massively successful Roxy Music into a solo career which began with the album ‘Boys and Girls’. It continued the direction of Roxy Music’s final album ‘Avalon’ which incedently is also quite brilliant, a smooth chill out rhythmic experience. The singles released were ‘Dont Stop The Dance’ and ‘Slave To Love’ but musically the whole album is quite excellent with orchestral overtones and many layers and textures which create a soundscape to become completely emersed into. This is a cool album with neat cover pictures which set the scene perfectly into a sensual, laid back and extremely satifying experience.

5. Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark - Crush (1985)

After a string of great early albums Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark moved closer towards more mainstream popular songs with ‘Crush’, mixing a slightly harder edge with some great hit singles such as ‘So In Love’, ‘Secret’ and ‘La Femme Accident’. This album’s more edgy tracks include the amusing ‘Block Block Block’, the lovely lilting vocals of ‘Women III’, and the more aggressive sounds of ’88 Seconds In Greensborough’ and ‘Native Daughters Of The Golden West’. Two other tracks ‘Crush’ and ‘Lights Are Going Out’ are less like pop songs in their content and reminisce in style to earlier albums where the group try something a little different.

6. Ultravox - Rage In Eden (1981)

Rage In Eden was the second album following the recruitment of Midge Ure as lead singer, and the follow-up to the classic ‘Vienna’. This was Ultravox’s finest moment, the programmed heavy synthesizer baseline running throughout this record, overlaid with soaring chords and extra drums rhythms is exceptional. It is a consistent and ambitious piece, all the tracks fit together well alongside each other and at times run blended into each other. ‘The Voice’ and ‘The Thin Wall’ were both singles and are true masterpieces, both lengthy and engaging. There are also a couple of slower more unusual and haunting tracks on the album..

7. Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)

Roxy Music’s finest achievement for me was their finale ‘Avalon’. Very much in the mould that Bryan Ferry took forward into his solo career this is a moody, layered, synth masterpiece. The hypnotic mood of this album is one of the most captivating i have, each track flows into the next with rhythmical changes but retaining the dark element and great lead vocals. The style of this composition was hinted at before in previous releases such as ‘Dance Away’, ‘Aint That So’ and ‘Same Old Scene’ but this is where is came together all in once place, and with one of my favourite album covers too.

8. Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark - Architecture & Morality (1981)

OMD’s third album stands out as an exceptional creation, ‘Architecture & Morality’ is a somber affair, drawing you in with brooding sounds and creative musical journeys. The upbeat tracks ‘Georgia’ and elaborate drum layers of ‘Maid of Orleans’ are a stark contrast to the soulful ‘She’s Leaving’ and ‘Souvenir’. The more creative pieces such as ‘The New Stone Age’, the 8 minute meandering build up track ‘Sealand’ and the closing melodic ‘The Beginning And The End’ are really well created, and take unexpected directions. The cover is appealing, and has appeared in many different colours over the years.

9. Ultravox - Vienna  (1980)

This was the first album by Ultravox following the arrival of Midge Ure, and is generally speaking an up-tempo synthesizer album. ‘Astradyne’ is the opening 7 minute instrumental, a fabulous start which is quickly followed by a series of fast paced tracks including the excellent ‘New Europeans’ and ‘Sleepwalk’. The variation kicks in later on with the more repetitive basslines of the classic single ‘Vienna’ and the intruiging ‘Mr X’ both overlaid with intermittent chords and strong vocals. The closing track ‘All Stood Still’ is another great fast paced track with a rock style to it. This is a classic 1980’s album, and the one that brought Ultravox their biggest success.

10. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (1982)

The 5th and best album by Simple Minds, New Gold Dream was the release which kickstarted their huge success and was a forerunner for their more stadium filler band appeal. This album is more atmospheric than subsequent releases, with great music including instrumentals which was a trait of theirs that appeared frequently across their previous releases. The standout single was ‘Promised You A Miracle’ but every track is consistent across the album and blend well together with most being are over 5 minutes in length.

11. Visage - The Anvil (1982)

Visage was a New Romantic band formed in 1978 combining Steve Strange with amongst others the Ultravox members Midge Ure and Billy Currie. Their great opening album ‘Visage’ contained the famous single ‘Fade to Grey’, but their follow up album ‘The Anvil’ truly stands out as one of the best. It contains a rhythmic undercurrent feel from Ultravox but has much more of a dance mix initiated by Steve Strange’s nightclub roots. All but one track is upbeat, with the final track ‘Whispers’ a softer build up keyboard instrumental. The best tracks include ‘Damned Don’t Cry’, ‘The Anvil’, ‘Night Train, ‘The Horseman’ and ‘Look What They’ve Done’.

12. Kate Bush - The Sensual World (1989)

Hounds of Love was always going to be a hard act to follow and The Sensual World did not fare as well on its release. However for me it a grower, not as easily accessible immediately but with a darker and sensual mood it is supremely layered so that it really takes a good system to dig out all the elements. It has become a firm favourite from its hit title track through the excellent softer tracks ‘The Fog’  and ‘Reaching Out’ to the story of a man losing himself in his computer ‘Deeper Understanding’. The pacey track ‘Heads Were Dancing’ is a stereo masterpiece. Other great songs include ‘Never Be Mine’ and ‘This Womans Work’ and the use of viola and violins throughout is excellent..

13. U2 - War (1983)

The album when the promising band U2 came of age and produced a classic. With political statements being made in ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘New Years Day’, there is a complete contrast with the darker ‘Drowning Man’, the love song ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’ and the final Psalm based track ‘40’. Typically its hard to pick a best album by U2 with ‘The Unforgettable Fire’, The Joshua Tree’ and ‘Achtung Baby’ following on, but this remains the one i have the fondest memories of playing as a teenager.

14. Chris Rea - On The Beach (1986)

’On The Beach’ has always been a favourite album of mine, a melodic, almost laid back album, and always seem right to be played on a summers evening. With great flowing tracks from the opening trio ‘One the Beach’, ‘Little Blonde Plaits’ and ‘Giverny’, Chris Rea doesn’t hold back on the music, continuing tracks well after the vocals are over, such as on ‘It’s All Gone’ and ‘Just Passing Through’. Numberous instruments take centre stage during the album including saxaphone and a typical 80’s keyboard sound. The band play superbly on this album and make it a treat to listen to.

15. Gary Numan - Dance (1981)

Gary Numan turned to the ex Japan bass player Mick Karn to layer this record with a fretless base sound beneath his complex synthesizer rhythms, and added a splash of saxophone too. This album wrongly received criticism on its release as Numan moved away from his chart success style to make new music the way he wanted. As a result this release now stands the test of time as a more creative piece, and has two tracks approaching 10 minutes long in ‘Slowcar To China’ and ‘Cry The Clock Said’ which standing out as amazingly involving and clever pieces. The main single ‘She’s Got Claws’ did make a good chart run.