The 80s were a wild time. From the massive improvements in technology (with the introduction of home computers, consoles and portable phones), to the civil wars that still have an impact today, to the everlasting power of 80s pop culture, this time is well regarded and considered one of the most influential in media, especially within the current time period. Musically the influence of the 80s is extremely noticeable with the synthpop and nu disco revival of the 10s and 20s. Alongside this was a rise in androgyny amongst celebrities. Be it through power dressing, glam makeup & hair or avant garde performance art, there was a small but influential movement that has affected queer history positively. This rate will explore four of these individuals that are synonymous with the word androgyny in pop culture.

Annie Lennox, Grace Jones, Prince & David Bowie. All four of these artists have majorly impacted pop culture and helped move the public perception of gender and sex in a more progressive direction. From normalising a more masculine look for women to defying what is expected from a man, these four artists pushed the button on gender issues. Not only that, their push for progressiveness, be it putting a spotlight on black artists and issues affecting black communities in the US or helping shape the second wave of feminism. The impact of these artists is still felt today in both society and among the current batch of musicians.

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart burst onto the scene with the single Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) with a stunning video where Annie Lennox dazzles sporting a bright ginger buzzcut and a mens suit. The video and Annie’s look became one of the most talked about pop culture moments of 1983 with it seeing heavy play on MTV. This androgynous style remains one of Eurythmics signature looks with the ginger short hair being replicated in many tracks throughout the 80s. It broke the mould for what was expected from a female performer and raised the bar for so many other artists. The media went into a frenzy about this new look with Annie becoming the biggest new thing that every magazine wanted to have. This remained the case for Touch, Eurythmics' follow up album with a signature synth pop sound that didn’t shy away from experimentation.

Being the followup to the massive hit that was Sweet Dreams was always going to be tough but Eurythmics hit it out of the park with this album. Continuing the experimental style that Dave Stewart loved, this album contains some of the greatest hits of the duo. Heavily leaning into the new wave sound, Touch remains one of the most consistent Eurythmics albums and a fan favourite.

1. Here Comes the Rain Again

2. Regrets

3. Right By Your Side

4. Cool Blue

5. Who’s That Girl?

6. The First Cut

7. Aqua

8. No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)

9. Paint A Rumour

The impact of Miss Grace Jones on pop culture cannot be understated. Starting out as a model, her androgynous looks gave her plenty of attention, becoming a star in the Parisian modelling scene. During this time, she often performed and attended in gay clubs which was a major influence on her first few singles and albums In 1981, Nightclubbing was released cementing Grace Jones as a multi talented artist, reaching the top 10 and critical praise from critics. Nightclubbing remains one of the most influential albums of all time; it also pushed Grace Jones to new heights as a model, artist and actor. The popularity of this album and Grace Jones’ look paved the way for her within the movie industry. Grace Jones’ influence extends to the modern era with some of the biggest stars of the past 40 years taking cues from her, including Annie Lennox, Beyoncé and FKA Twig. A true trailblazer held to a high regard by everyone.

Unlike her previous albums, the club sound isn’t the main draw of Nightclubbing. Rather, this album pulled from her Jamaican roots alongside the prominent sounds featured in black clubs such as funk to create an album that is still regarded as one of the greatest of all time to this day. It’s full of confidence in the diverse sounds put on display without a drop in quality. It embodied why Grace Jones was so popular in the modelling and club scene and allowed her to shine.

1. Walking in the Rain

2. Pull Up to the Bumper

3. Use Me

4. Nightclubbing

5. Art Groupie

6. I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)

7. Feel Up

8. Demolition Man

9. I’ve Done It Again

One of the most flamboyant artists of all time, Prince is considered one of the most prominent androgynous icons due to his fashion sense and wide vocal range. Considered one of the greatest performers of all time, Prince made a name for himself with his 3rd album Dirty Mind, which showcased his androgynous style and musical talent beautifully. It also showed controversy around his work with a lot of sexually explicit and controversial lyrics, something that is consistent within his work throughout the years. The reception to his looks and lyrics inspired Controversy. This album also began the purple era that has become synonymous with Prince. These two albums alongside 1999 placed the spotlight on Prince, who continued to move from strength to strength throughout the 80s & the rest of his career while maintaining his flamboyant androgynous style. His influence has been felt on the entire music industry from Bruno Mars to Lady Gaga to Lenny Kravitz to Beck; there are countless people who have been influenced by Prince.

Controversy was the much anticipated followup to Dirty Mind and it didn’t disappoint. Leaning more into a ‘political standpoint’ Controversy touched on many topics that were relevant at that period of time. Whether these were about his sexuality, his explicit lyrics, the US political climate or his complicated relationship with religion. It’s sexually charged, envelope pushing music in a way that only Prince could do. Leaning into the funk and new wave sound that was becoming popular, Prince traverses various topics with his signature flair, some creating more controversy than the album that inspired it.

1. Controversy

2. Sexuality

3. Do Me, Baby

4. Private Joy

5. Ronnie, Talk to Russia

6. Let’s Work

7. Annie Christian

8. Jack U Off

David Bowie is probably the most famous musician that comes to mind when the word androgynous comes up. A powerhouse in the industry, this forward thinker made headlines and captivated the world when the persona of Ziggy Stardust came out in the 70s. Flamboyant with long hair, this canonically alien superstar was one of the key factors in Bowie’s meteoric rise, despite the abuse he received due to looking feminine at the start of this era. It signalled a change in the public perception of gender and remains one of the most iconic personas to come out of the music industry (with a certain lightning bolt portrait being one of the most recognisable symbols in the world). The androgynous look took a backseat as Bowie’s career as he leant more into a pop sound but the flamboyance still remained. Looking into the current stars of the music industry, it’s difficult to find one that didn’t take influence from Bowie’s music, fashion or stage presence.

Following the success of Heroes and Scary Monsters, Bowie looked for inspiration in the pop music scene. Far from the Art Rock he was known for, Bowie enlisted the help of the legend Nile Rodgers to create an album that would stand out as a pop album and it worked. Becoming his best selling album, Let’s Dance brought a new level of fame for Bowie which became both a blessing and a curse for his career. This new wave driven album contains some of Bowie’s greatest tracks.

1. Modern Love

2. China Girl

3. Let’s Dance

4. Without You

5. Ricochet

6. Criminal World

7. Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

8. Shake It

• Every song must be listened to and rated. Any ballots with missing scores will be rejected

• Decimal places to one digit is allowed (7.5, 4.8 etc.) Any scores with 2 or more decimal places (7.54, 4.86) will be rejected.

• You can give one song a 0 and one song an 11. These are optional, you can use these for your favourite and least favourite song.

• You can leave comments on songs by adding it after your score e.g.

Annie Christian: 10 Annie are you okay?

• You can also leave a comment after the album by adding a : and writing a comment e.g.

Album: Touch: Why does this not have a title track