Best Bass line from the 80's.....

[Jim_F]

I love a lot of the 80s basslines (those were the years I first started clubbing)
from ABC (listening to them as we speak) through to japan / Gary Numan etc. and of course John Taylor / Duran Duran / Power Station, imho a very under-rated bass player - through to Chic / Sister Sledge - you can't beat a bit of Nile and 'Nard ...

 

[olorin]

wow oyu guys brought this one all the way back!!! INXS...seriusly check those bass lines out from kick they are really fun to play. " I need you tonight..."

Holla!

 

[nd_2_no_bassist]

I would have to say Big Bottom!!!! However Higher Ground by TRHCP and Billy Jean are catchy bass hooks as well!

 

[SteveB]

Hmm.. "Chelsea Monday" by Marillion comes to mind. (Or anything from their albums in 1983, 1985 and 1987). Pete Trewavas is really a great bass player and most of you have probably never heard of him.

 

[bovinehost]

"Beat It".

 

[roburado]

"Beat It".

That's a good one, especially with your avatar.

 

[silverburst]

I'm sure this is somewhere in the thread, but the Power Station's version of "Bang a Gong", with Tony Thompson on drums and John Taylor on bass has to qualify.

RIP and God bless, Tony.

 

[jaylegroove]

Did anyone mention "Too shy" by Kajagoogoo ?

The song by itself was ***SELF-CENSORED***, but the bass line was top notch, IMO.

 

[Jim_F]

Nick Beggs - great bass player.

He's done a lot of sessions for some very big names since his Kajagoogoo days. Also writes for various bass magazines and teachers too I believe ...

 

[DTG]

80 music is just class from the mighty Maiden to Wham (have a listen to the bass in any wham song you will open your eyes)

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Pink Floyd – Money

Give it away – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Under Pressure - Queen

Don’t give up – Peter Gabriel

Le Freak- Chic (anything by Bernard Edwards)

listen to how tight the bass is in Van Halen jump.

dont forget Thin Lizzy!!!!!! Philo was a Bass Hero of mine, chinatown was a great album,but he would be known more for his early stuff
check out
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unnh0T2Ftro&mode=related&search="]YouTube - Thin lizzy - Dancing in the moonlight[/ame]

or just for you Jack- the cowboy song

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgST27FIzNg&mode=related&search="]YouTube - Thin Lizzy - Cowboy song ( live at the Sydney Opera House)[/ame]

prob more the late 70s but still had a good run in the 80s too

 

[timmy5strings]

That and most Smiths tunes. This Night Has Opened My Eyes, This Charming Man, etc. etc.

Andy Rourke has a buffet of great bass lines
Frankly Mr Shankly
The Queen is Dead
Headmaster Ritual
Barbarism Begins at Home

 

[MingusBASS]

+1 The Smiths always had great bass lines.

 

[robelinda2]

Genesis- Land of Confusion. Great syncopated bass riff in the verses, i always ask bass players to play it, hardly any of them do! wimps.

 

[dlloyd]

80 music is just class from the mighty Maiden to Wham (have a listen to the bass in any wham song you will open your eyes)

Some of these aren't exactly 80s lines...

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

1977

Pink Floyd – Money

1973

Give it away – Red Hot Chili Peppers

1991

Under Pressure - Queen

That's an eighties one (1981)

Don’t give up – Peter Gabriel

That too (1986)

Le Freak- Chic (anything by Bernard Edwards)

1978

listen to how tight the bass is in Van Halen jump.

1984

dont forget Thin Lizzy!!!!!! Philo was a Bass Hero of mine, chinatown was a great album,but he would be known more for his early stuff
check out
YouTube - Thin lizzy - Dancing in the moonlight

1977

or just for you Jack- the cowboy song

YouTube - Thin Lizzy - Cowboy song ( live at the Sydney Opera House)

1976

 

[DTG]

your right.........

mind you my copy of johnny the fox says 10/76

guess they where just the bands that i was into in the 80's but thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[pepperman]

This is the one that immediately came to my mind:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzymBKGV8rw"]YouTube - The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another[/ame]

I just LOVE this song!

 

[Frankie5Angels]

"Glittering Prize" - Simple Minds.

 

[SteveB]

Pepperman, I was just about to chime in to add "Saved by Zero" from the Fixx, when I read that you also mentioned a Fixx tune! Cool!

 

[bovinehost]

One of the best bands that are not actually the Beatles - XTC.

They released "Oranges and Lemons" in early 1989. Colin Moulding did some great work on that record:

- The Mayor of Simpleton
- Merely A Man
- Poor Skeleton Steps Out (don't try this at home)
- Across This Antheap

"Skylarking" was also an 80s album and Colin slayed on that one, too.

- Season Cycle
- Earn Enough For Us

There was lots and lots of bad music during the 80s, but that's true of every decade and it gets way too much attention. The 70s had some horrible stuff! The 60s, too!

But XTC has always been reliable, thank goodness.

Stand up, Colin Moulding fans!

 

[MMTODD]

Perhaps a bit obscure but there are a ton of great bass lines on Nick Heyward’s “North Of A Miracle” album. This album turned me onto 1.) Pino Palladino and 2.) Music Man basses. Definitely worth a listen if you can find it. Geoff Emerick and Heyward produced it and Pino’s lines are singing, tastefully, throughout the album.