I know, I know, U2, Simple Minds, Duran Duran and The Alarm all rolled into one, but I really liked (and continue to) that song and the album it was on:
The 80s were very much my formative years as far as musical tastes go (thanks , oh goodness thanks, to the older kids in Scouting/summer camp; I dread what I'd be into otherwise), but I never heard of these guys. Maybe they just never made it over the ocean .... or those older kids saw through them (they appear to be kinda pop distilations of the other bands you mention, heavily produced and somewhat manufactured looking - check out the melodramatic, even by 80s standards, moves in the first minute of that vid). Kinda like Loverboy or A Frankie Goes to Hollywood that takes themselves too seriously. Also I can't stand that production style; very few songs from that period can overcome my hatred of it.
Love is classic, as mentioned in another thread I have just about every 12" version of SSS ever released including a demo version from era of the Cult's first record (Dreamtime; never really caught on, I think the producer just didn't klnow what to do with a green gothic rock band; Love hit the nail on the head). I played it for a friend recently to show them how gothic they really used to be before Rick Rubin took over the production of Electric and made it into an archetype of rock riffage vs (and I'll admit that many Cult fans would flame me for this) the indulgent wankfest that the original 'Manor Sessions' for that record were... and what subsequent albums returned to; Sonic Temple wasn't too bad but then recording Ceremony in LA just brought it all back - I blame LA [read: coke]).
The 80s for me, besides the obvious huge acts (Clash, Cult, Cure.... what's with all the Cs... Joy Division/New Order, Depeche Mode, Smiths.. you all know them all) there were some really influential (to my generation of musicians) gems that aren't quitre as well known. Like this one, which I think is the best of Joy Division and Talking Heads rolled into one.... still has that annoying mid-trebly bass tone though (I can forgive them for it; not as bad as most of their contemporaries in that regard anyways):
and these guys:
Basically after Joy Division, The Cure owes these last 2 a bit of money (so to speak, not literally... though I do maintain that Plainsong is an obvious rip off of JD's Atmosphere, right down to the wind chimes).
and my guilty pleasures (trying to get my band to do a punkish cover of the TT track actually.... yeah there's that annoying dated bass sound again, which always makes me picture some guy wearing a boutique Fenderish active bass up under his armpits, but the songwriting makes up for it by a country mile):
