The Y! Music Playlist Blog

The official “New Wave Sissy Boy 80s Hits You Were Afraid To Admit You Liked In High School” playlist

I published my first playlist to the web almost 4 years ago on June 12, 2004. And this is the very same list which kicked off a playlisting obsession for me.

When I was in grade school during the late 1970's classic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin ruled the hallways. Tough guys wore black concert t-shirts looking to pick a fight with anyone who had the slightest propensity toward disco -- another major pop genre of the time.

Disco was eventually slayed by rock & roll and no one dared admit owning a Village People or Gloria Gaynor album, although almost everyone did.

Then the 80's came and with them came "new wave", a genre that was neither outright ridiculed by the rock & roll set, nor embraced. But a new invention called cable television gave MTV an opportunity to bypass previous methods of getting music out to the masses and new wave took off.

However, many of us who were raised on the classic rock or first wave punk of the 1970's had trouble admitting that we were attracted to the music of Culture Club, Kajagoogoo or Wham!

But we were...

This is the ultimate 80's new wave guilty pleasures playlist. All the sissy boy hits we secretly loved in high school, but were never man enough to admit until grunge killed pop metal.

The official "New Wave Sissy Boy 80s Hits You Were Afraid To Admit You Liked In High School" playlist

1. Too Shy - Kajagoogoo

2. No One Is To Blame - Howard Jones

3. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club 

4. Poison Arrow - ABC 

5. Save A Prayer - Duran Duran

6. Careless Whisper - Wham!

7. Hold Me Now - The Thompson Twins

8. If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 

9. Blasphemous Rumours - Depeche Mode

10. Tainted Love - Soft Cell

11. It's My Life - Talk Talk

12. More Than This - Roxy Music 

13. I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock Of Seagulls

14. Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes

15. Perfect Way - Scritti Politti

16. West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys 

17. Only You - Yaz

18. Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

19. Safety Dance - Men Without Hats 

20. Love Plus One - Haircut 100

21. True - Spandau Ballet 

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