Top 8

(Images c/o Getty)
With Prop 8 (which amends the California Constitution to eliminate the right of gay couples to marry statewide) passing this morning, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on a decade when, at the very least, same-sex musical marriages were sanctioned -- no, actually applauded.

While politically we're a lot better off today with more hate crime legislation in place, “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” recognized civil unions, the repeal of sodomy laws, and even gay marriage in Mass. and Conn., creatively we seem to have taken a few steps back as same-sex duos have fallen from favor.  Let's be honest, most of the following creative couplings (whether gay, straight, or both) would be snubbed as "too gay" by today's MTV generation.

But getting back to the Metrosexual 80's, when eye liner made the man, here is my list of the Top 8 same-sex duos of the 80's:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
1. Erasure
After straight multi-instrumentalist Vince Clarke left seminal electronic outfits Depeche Mode and Yazoo, he banded with openly gay vocalist Andy Bell in 1985 to form his most long-lasting group, Erasure, the dance pop duo, who've triumphed for 23 years now in the U.K. But U.S. audiences probably remember them best for 1988's "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect," and later for their 90's mid-tempo hit "Always" and for Bell's brave decision to come out as HIV positive in 2005.

                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                   
2. The Communards
In 1984, another OUT singer and falsetto Jimmy Somerville (pictured right) found international fame as part of the Bronski Beat trio with the "Smalltown Boy" single, about a boy who was disowned by his family for being gay, off the band's debut LP "The Age of Consent," most famous for its inner sleeve, which listed the varying ages of consent for consensual gay sex around the world. The following year, he joined with pianist Richard Coles to form The Communards, whose sophisticated dance-pop ruled the U.S. dance floors with Top 5 covers of two disco classics: Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way" and Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye."

                                                                                                                                                      
3. Soft Cell
The British synth-pop duo composed of gay singer Marc Almond (pictured left) and straight keyboardist Dave Ball may have only lasted for four years (1980-84), but their hit "Tainted Love" remains a dance party favorite to this day. But don't neglect other less popular songs by the groundbreaking twosome such as "Sex Dwarf," "Seedy Films," and "Bedsitter."

4. The Pet Shop Boys
From 1981 till today vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe have revolutionized dance pop, starting with 1984's "West End Girls" and subsequent hits like "Opportunities," "Always On My Mind," and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," before venturing into disco, house and techno with 1994's "Absolutely Fabulous" remix and tackling such issues as the gay experience and the AIDS crisis. Best of all, while platonic, they've proven that gay partnerships do in fact work out.

                                                   
                                                               
5. Sparks                                 
Brothers Ron and Russell Mael were a struggling art pop band until disco producer Giorgio Moroder put them on the musical map (at least in the U.K.) with "No. 1 Song in Heaven" "Beat the Clock," and "Tryouts for the Human Race," back in 1979. But it was their 1983 new wave hit "Cool Places," a duet with the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin, which nearly reached the U.S. Top 40, that became the band's biggest hit stateside.

6. OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's 1985 pop song "So In Love" may have dented U.S. charts and 1986's poignant ballad "If You Leave" off the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack may have taken straight bandmembers Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey to the U.S. Top 4, but it's earlier albums like "Organisation" (1980), "Architecture and Morality" (1981), "Dazzle Ships" (1983), and "Junk Culture" (1984) that contain some of the duo's most interesting experimental material from "Enola Gay" to "Genetic Engineering" and finally the ballad "Souvenir" with its homosocial video.

7. Wham!
In the five years (1981-86) that gay singer George Michael (pictured left) and straight instrumentalist Andrew Ridgeley performed as Wham! they scored a slew of hits including "Wham Rap!" "Wake Me up Before You Go Go," "Everything She Wants" and "Careless Whisper" off 1984's "Make it Big" LP and forged a popular solo career for George Michael, who began exploring gay imagery on his "Faith" album, before finally coming out of the bathroom in 1998.

8. Tears for Fears
Most famous for pop hits like "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout" off 1985's "Songs From the Big Chair" as well as 1989's "Sowing the Seeds of Love" single, straight duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's best album, in my opinion, was 1982's "The Hurting," which featured "Mad World." Some of you might remember the track from the "Donnie Darko" (2001) soundtrack.

Other notable same-sex duos of the decade in no particular order include:

• Hall & Oates
• Naked Eyes
• Eric B. & Rakim
• Yello
• Blancmange
• The Buggles
• DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
• Indigo Girls
• Wendy and Lisa
• The Associates
• Go West
• Air Supply.

Comments

[bk]

Wendy & Lisa are great. They say they will release a new album online at wendyandlisa.com in December, to be followed with a CD release in February 2009. Their Facebook page has a couple of free downloads http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-and-Lisa-Official-Artist-Page/21076963749