80s pop bands with killer bassists

[FromTheBassMent]

Japan

This^^^, and if you can find it, Dali's Car (a one-off collaboration with Peter Murphy and Mick Karn... it's got some of the most mind-blowing fretless playing I have ever heard).

Oh, and check out some of Haircut 100's stuff, deeply rooted in Cuban and Brazilian grooves (no, I'm not kidding).

 

[chuck norriss]

Dali's Car is on Spotify. I love Peter Murphy but I couldn't get into Dali's Car. Yes the fl work is a lot of fun & way out front.

 

[carsbybigd]

Kyle Henderson of The Producers

Nick Ferber of The Sheiks

 

[Funky Ghost]

John Deacon had some iconic pop/rock bass lines in the 80's
Randy Jackson was throwin' down pretty hard too

 

[chuck norriss]

Good bass work on Peter Murphy's first album (& most of his albums), Should the World Fail to Fall Apart--if you can handle that 80's new wave sound.

 

[ERIC31]

Took long enough....


Leigh Gorman is a very underrated bassist. I'm always surprised his name doesnt come up often on this forum. And of course David Barbe lifted lots of his beats on african music.

Funky!!

 

[T-MOST]

Duran Duran

 

[kodiakblair]

Johnny McElphone bass player with Altered Images, Hips way and Texas. Very underrated player.

 

[king_biscuit]

Killer 80s pop bass begins and ends with Mark King and Level 42!

 

[10cc]

The Bongos - Rob Norris. Killer band

 

[10cc]

Alex Roelofs from The Nits

 

[peledog]

Not sure if these bassists were mentioned, but...

Les Nemes




Deon Estus



A young Jools Holland introduces them. The shorts...ouch.

 

[squidtastic]

+1 on Mick Karn, a unique fretless player(with Japan, solo, and various projects with Peter Murphey/Dali's Car, Midge Ure, Bill Nelson, Gary Numan, Kate Bush)
+1 on Paul Raven---Killing Joke's "Night Time" a quintessential 80's album that featured a tune called, oddly enough, 'Eighties', which was heavily borrowed from by Nirvana for 'Come As You Are'; his predecessor, Youth, was no slouch either
+1 on Graham Maby w/Joe Jackson; he navigated lots of Latin style lines when JJ went in that direction

then...

Norman Watt-Roy with Ian Dury, his shining moment was 'Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick'
Dave Allen, first with Gang Of Four, then Shriekback(who featured a lot of groove/world rhythms); key tune: 'My Spine Is The Bassline'---that just about sums it all up
Sarah Lee, DA's replacement in Go4, played with Robert Fripp for a while before that, then later in the B-52's
Tina Weymouth always had tasty melodic lines in Talking Heads(who also explored world rhythm later on)and Tom Tom Club
JJ Burnel with the Stranglers always had great grindy Entwistle-like lead bass lines on their earlier stuff; they got more synthy as the decade wore on, be he always delivered; key early tracks:'Peaches', 'Nice And Sleezy'(technically 70's, but who's counting?)
Colin Moulding with XTC was a McCartney for the New Wave, perfect melodic lines in very quirky songs

For pure African stuff, do not fail to check Fela Kuti(so many albums, but "Black President" will get you going), and King Sunny Ade(start with the album "Juju"), not to mention the compilation, "Incredible Beat Of Soweto"

I think you nailed it!

Another shout out for Moulding; his consistently lyrical, rhythmic lines have been an endless source of inspiration for me. And speaking of African...


One bass line that stuck in my head from the 80s was Cube's "Love's Taboo" -- don't know anything else by them, but this line was really memorable:


And Heaven 17's bassist was awe-inspiring. This track alone is endlessly "shedable", but you could listen to just about anything by them:

 

[adi77]

Deon Estus

 

[Narc_x]

IMHO that Cube's tune is really nothing special: very flimsy bass line...besides I even doubt it was a real bass guitar, sounds more like a synth.

Curiosity Killed the Cat's bass player (I guess his name was Nick) was kinda cool

 

[Milk]

Johnny McElphone bass player with Altered Images, Hips way and Texas. Very underrated player.

Never thought id see his name pop anywhere around here. I love Altered Images. I wouldnt call him a killer bassist but he has some good bassline in a typically post punk kind of style (like for happy birthday, melodic high notes). I can say theres at least one song i wrote specifically inspired by one of his bassline.

I thought he mainly played guitar in Texas though.

 

[kodiakblair]

Never thought id see his name pop anywhere around here. I love Altered Images. I wouldnt call him a killer bassist but he has some good bassline in a typically post punk kind of style (like for happy birthday, melodic high notes). I can say theres at least one song i wrote specifically inspired by one of his bassline.

I thought he mainly played guitar in Texas though.

I was thinking more his days with Hipsway. Scotland had some great pop acts in the 80's but you're right Milk maybe not a killer bass player.
Ask The Lord is a quality tune though.

 

[Bob_Ross]

My eyes are kind of glazed over from reading through this entire 8-page thread, so forgive me if he was mentioned already:

Curt Smith from Tears For Fears

he played some very punchy, driving, yet quirkily angular lines on their more uptempo tunes...I especially loved the bassline to "Head Over Heels"

 

[othefool]

Nice topic...I kinda...grew up...in the 80s.

My first thought was John Taylor and DD...and I have often sang the praise of Simon Gallup.

But as I was thinking back to the 80s, two bassists stood out:

Norwood Fisher, of Fishbone. Truth and Soul came out in 1988: Bonin' in the Boneyard; nuff said.

and the winner is:

Flea.

Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987, I heard in 1988) and Mothers Milk (1989) fueled my youth, and young bassist ambitions. He kinda changed the world, IMHO.

full disclosure: I turned 18 in 1990, so I skew towards the end of the decade, but before that I have to say Simon.

All the other suggestions are good too!

 

[Craig T Vector]

Also the bass player from Christian Death from the "Only Theater of Pain" album and the live alnum. Awesome stuff

Whoa! Totally agree. James McGearty was the bassist for this recording. Very solid work, yet simple enough for a novice like me to learn at the time. Fretless and awesome!