

We watched the kids transform before our eyes, but we simply didn’t know if any of these newfound identities would stick for longer than a weekend. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was the perfect match for John Hughes’s gorgeous teen study The Breakfast Club. Can you honestly say you’ve never air-guitar-ed along to those opening two chords? Or yelped along to Jim Kerr’s outrageous “Hey! Hey! Hey! Heeeey!” chant that immediately follows? Yet part of the song’s tremendous power is the way it keeps pulling away just as its excitement peaks: “Will you walk away?” murmurs Kerr as the song faux-fades, before its final climax. There are some truly great songs on this list, but none that strike at your emotional jugular quite the way “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” does-right from the get-go. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds ( The Breakfast Club, 1985) Written by Michael Chen, Brent DiCrescenzo, Andrew Frisicano, Sophie Harris, Oliver Keens, James Manning, Tristan Parker, Amy Plitt, Joshua Rothkopf, Hank Shteamer, Steve Smith, Sarah Theeboom and Kate Wertheimer. Fans of Madonna, Prince, Starship and-hell yes-Kenny Loggins, get ready. A note on our selections: We’ve featured only tracks made in the ’80s, so while old soul classics like “Stand by Me” and “Do You Love Me?” loomed large in some ’80s movies, we’re sticking with the acid-washed denim ’80s hits. So in this spirit of joy, we’ve put together a list of the all-time greatest songs from ’80s movies for your delectation and delight. Who can imagine John Hughes’s canon of ’80s movies without their glorious new wave soundtracks? Or the late, great Harold Ramis’s masterpiece, Ghostbusters, without its ectoplasmically wonderful anthem? Bustin’ makes everybody feel good!

In the grand and ridiculous prom that was the ’80s, music and movies were king and queen, coming together for a perfect, soft-focus tumble. Sure, there have been classier, deeper, artier, weirder eras-in fact, probably any other decade you care to name in the past century is cooler than the ’80s-but that’s precisely why ’80s parties are the most fun (soundtracked by our 50 best '80s songs playlist of course). Robert C.If there’s one word that captures the feel of the 1980s in pop culture, it’s joy.Brendan Perry – Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, Hurdygurdy, Instrumentation.Lance Hogan – Guitar, Percussion, Guitar (Bass).Lisa Gerrard – Percussion, Vocals, Instrumentation, Yang Chin.Andrew Claxton – Tuba, Keyboards, Trombone (Bass).John Bonnar – Percussion, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals, Viol."The Snake and the Moon" (Edit) – 4:13 – 1996."How Fortunate the Man with None" – 9:09 – 1993.

