My 80s Playlist: Richard Marx chooses his favourite 80s songs from Prince to Aerosmith

Virgin Radio

11 Nov 2022, 15:33

As an eighties icon himself, Richard Marx knows a thing or two about what made music so iconic throughout the era. 

The singer-songwriter released his own debut album in 1987, and what followed was a slew of Top 10 hits, including Don’t Mean Nothing, Should’ve Known Better and Endless Summer Nights. 

A couple of Grammy Awards and another number one album later, Richard entered the next decade as a bonafide hit maker, and as a master of music during that time, who better to run through a list of 80s favourites than with Richard himself. 

Richard sat down with Steve Denyer at the Top of the Tower for another week of My 80s Playlist on Virgin Radio 80s Plus, and ran through 10 of his all-time favourite tunes from the decade!

Here is Richard Marx's 80’s Playlist 

Red Rain - Peter Gabriel

The very first track from Peter Gabriel’s seminal solo album, So, had a massive impact on Richard, especially as it came out just when the singer was signing his very own record deal. 

He explained: “I was living in LA and I stood in line outside this record store on Melrose Avenue, waiting for it to open at 10am because I was afraid that they were going to sell out of the Peter Gabriel CD, and I needed to hear it immediately. 

“I waited outside in a line of people and got in and I got the CD, I raced home. And I had a really nice little stereo system. And I put my headphones on. And I put on the album. The first track is red rain.”

Only 22 at the time, Richard said he started to cry upon hearing the first notes, because he found it “so masterful.”

He added: “To this day. I can't listen to Red Rain without feeling emotional. It's his voice. It's his piano playing. It's the drum track. It's the whole vibe of that track. I still to this day don't really even know what it's about. It just moves me, his voice moves me.”

Higher Love - Steve Winwood

1986 track Higher Love, by Steve Winwood, was the artist’s highest charting single in the UK and landed him two Grammy Awards.

It’s certainly a song that got stuck in Richard’s head, as he explained: “Higher Love is a perfect song. I’m very jealous of that song. 

"There's no description or definition or formula. In the case of higher love,  it's a brilliantly written lyric that perfectly matches the celebration of Steve's Music. It's a record that I just never tire of, and I've heard that song thousands of times.”

Purple Rain - Prince

We all know the absolutely iconic Purple Rain by Prince - it’s hard to imagine the 80s without it. 

Released in 1984, the undeniable hit used rock, R&B and gospel elements to make one of the most memorable power ballads of all time. 

For Richard, he can’t think about Purple Rain without reminiscing about recording some new music right down the corridor from where the Raspberry Beret singer was also completing a new record. 

Richard elaborated: “We had been told that we were not to make eye contact with Prince or to address him in any way. When they said that to me, I looked at them and I said, ‘are you putting me on?... Are you kidding me? So I was like, ‘I can't wait to run into Prince. I'm going to get right in his face.”

“I see this purple Rolls Royce pull up. Big giant bodyguard gets out, and out comes Prince in full Prince regalia. As you would expect….I think he was wearing a cape. And I was like, ‘oh, okay, here we go.’ He comes up and just as I'm about to say something, he looks at me and goes, ‘Richard! How are you doing, man? Oh, I really liked that last album.’ I turned into a total fanboy. I walked away going, ‘he's the coolest!’”

Conviction of the Heart - Kenny Loggins

Speaking of becoming a fanboy, Kenny Loggins was another massive inspiration for Richard. 

He shared: “When I was in high school, I bought Kenny Loggins' Keep The Fire album. I guess it would have been 1978, 1979, and I memorised every note, and I memorised every piece of arrangement. But more importantly, when I was 16,17, I was starting to write songs. But as a singer, I finally heard a voice that I wanted to emulate. I thought that Kenny Loggins, he could sing rock, he could sing R&B. He had an amazing falsetto.”

Taken from his 1991 album Leap of Faith, Richard was particularly drawn to the track Conviction of the Heart, which was hailed as an anthem of the environmental movement. 

For Richard, it was another classic by a favourite artist. He added: “This particular song, which I've been honoured to sing with him live several times, I just think it's an anthem and I think it's really fun for me to become friends with a hero who turns out to be a wonderful guy. We've written some really wonderful songs together and I just think the world of him."

What It Takes - Aerosmith 

Another power ballad Richard can’t live without is What It Takes by rockers Aerosmith.

Speaking of lead singer Steven Tyler, the singer described him as “the greatest rock singer ever.”

“What It Takes, it's a great song. It's a great vocal performance, but the bridge to the song, it's a masterclass in rock songwriting. And I again, I've heard it 1000s of times, and I listen to it again right now.”

Hysteria - Def Leppard

Taken from their 1987 album of the same name,  Def Leppard broke out of the rock charts and onto the mainstream with cutting edge track, Hysteria. 

Hysteria was a song that Richard literally took on the road with him, and he remembered the moment he picked up the CD Walkman to be able to listen to it while out on tour. 

Buying a pair of speakers to play the track out loud with his band while taking some downtime, Richard reminisced: “[My band and I] listened to the Hysteria album from beginning to end. I remember like the opening track is a song called Women. The first thing you hear is…this amazing guitar tone. It's an indelible memory in my mind. It was inspiring to all of us. I just remember thinking this is the best album I've ever heard in my life at that time. And still in my top three.”

Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner 

1981 classic Waiting For A Girl Like You by Foreigner got the Stranger Things treatment earlier this year when it was used by the Netflix sci-fi series. 

Back in the day, the chart-topper was the band’s biggest hit before their 1985 number one smash hit I Want To Know What Love Is. 

With such a resurgence in classic 80s tracks making it back into charts with the likes of Stranger Things seeking out songs to use within their shows, it’s no wonder host Steve asked if it could happen to one of Richard’s tracks.

Endless Summer Nights was used within horror flick Fresh, starring Sebastian Stan, and Richard is more than up for 80s hits getting a refresh in today’s pop culture. 

“It's an incredible resurgence…. for Lou Gramm, one of the greatest rock singers of all time. There's just such a vibe about the song Waiting For A Girl Like You. I tried to copy it. My entire writing career, I failed every time.”

I Feel For You - Chaka Khan 

Queen of Funk herself Chaka Khan has made Richard’s list with her incredible 1979 cover of Prince track, I Feel For You. 

The number one track went on to become one of her most popular tunes, landing at number one in the US and UK. 

For Richard, he’s always been impressed by the versatility of Khan, who was able to switch from funk, to soul and R&B with complete ease. 

“[I Feel For You] was a hybrid,” he explained. “It was kind of hip hop, total R&B. But Chaka Khan transcends all styles. She transcends genres. Like Chaka Khan is also a rock singer. If you think about it, she could sing anything. She sings beautiful ballads. She sings funky R&B stuff better than anybody else. But she's also got that powerful rasp and her range is unheard of.”

Heart Of The Matter - Don Henley

And finally, Heart Of The Matter by Don Henley made it only Richard’s playlist for being, as he puts it, “a perfectly constructed, perfectly written song.”

The 1990 ballad also had an acoustic cover released alongside the Eagles, and has been covered by numerous artists since. 

Speaking about the track, the Now and Forever singer said: “It's a perfectly written song sung by a perfect singer Don Henley is as good as it gets. As a singer, great production, emotional, great lyric, indicative of that whole album, the building the perfect beast album is is just amazing.”

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