The Most Popular 80s Wedding Songs For The Ultimate Retro Playlist

Details: Category: wedding songs

Few decades have done more for music than the Eighties - it gave us the Walkman, MTV, the mullet, and most importantly of all, some of the most beloved hit songs ever to feature on an 'oldies but goldies' playlist.

Whether you're a New Romantic, a Hair Metaller or an old-school hiphopper at heart, there's no feeling quite so powerful as nostalgia - which is exactly how you and your wedding guests want to feel on a day spent looking back at where you came from as you set off to where you're headed.

So strap on your shoulder pads, inflate your parachute pants and moonwalk down the aisle with our ultimate retro playlist of the most popular 80s wedding songs:

80s First Dance Songs

If you and your beloved are 'True' eighties fans, there's no other way to officially kick off your wedding reception than to the tune of a solid 'Gold' 80s classic - preferably by Spandau Ballet.

The first song for your first dance will set the tone for the rest of the night - feel free to keep your song choice romantic, like Lionel Richie and Diana Ross did on 'Endless Love', but if that's not your style, there are plenty of new wave songs ('Take On Me' by Aha, anyone?) that would each make a great first dance song.

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With such a rich list of power ballads and great love songs perfect for slow dancing, head-banging rock anthems and floor fillers like Thriller with ready-made dance routines, you can't go wrong with any of the below for your first dance song - the hardest part will be stopping your guests from joining in whilst you and your new spouse share your moment in the spotlight!

True - Spandau Ballet
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Take On Me - Aha
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Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
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Every Breath You Take - the Police
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I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
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There is a Light That Never Goes Out - the Smiths
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Lovesong - the Cure
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Eternal Flame - the Bangles
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Tainted Love - Soft Cell
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Only You - Yazoo
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You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Hall & Oates
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Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
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Don't You Want Me? - the Human League
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Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
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Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
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Iconic 80s Pop Songs

The charts in the nineteen eighties were studded with stars: Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson were the undisputed titans of pop for almost the entire decade.

With music videos inspiring artists to look, as well as sound, as unique as they could, fashion in the pop world reached dizzying new heights of wonderful weirdness. In no other era would we have found so many frilly shirts, skirts and lycra tights - but we all loved it anyway!

You won't have any trouble getting your guests to report to the dance floor with such clear invitations as 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' by Whitney Houston and 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie - and what girl - or guy, for that matter - could resist dancing to Cyndi Lauper singing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'?

Play any wedding song on our iconic 80s pop song playlist and take your guests with you on a journey that celebrates your individuality whilst having an absolute blast:

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
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Let's Dance - David Bowie
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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
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Like a Virgin - Madonna
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Kiss - Prince
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Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
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Gloria - Laura Branigan
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What's Love Got To Do With It? - Tina Turner
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Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
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Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
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Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
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Rio - Duran Duran
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A Little Respect - Erasure
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Small Town Boy - Bronski Beat
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Venus - Bananarama
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80s Rock Songs

The rock music of the 80s was big - big hair, big choruses and even bigger guitar solos to fill out those twenty-plus-thousand-seater stadiums.

Whether you stuck with Queen as they broke free from their classic sound and image, kept it rough and ready like Def Leppard, or just wanted to have a good time and look like it too, like glam-rockers Mötley Crüe, there's no denying that rock had well and truly made its way into the mainstream and into the hearts and homes of every misfit kid and frustrated parent!

The best choruses have lyrics everyone can sing along to - you don't have to hear Joan Jett a hundred times to join in when she declares 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'. Plus, can you really throw a wedding party without playing 'White Wedding' by Billy Idol?

Get your air guitars at the ready and throw your fists in the air for these awesome 80s rockers:

Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
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Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
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Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
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Summer 0f '69 - Bryan Adams
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You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
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Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
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I Want To Break Free - Queen
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Girls, Girls, Girls - Mötley Crüe
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Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer
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Jump - Van Halen
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Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
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Rock the Casbah - The Clash
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Jesse's Girl - Rick Springfield
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Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
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Poison - Alice Cooper
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80s Movie Soundtracks

Many of our most treasured 80s songs, from our memorable introduction to the Breakfast Club with 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' to Baby getting out the corner for some Dirty Dancing to '(I've Had) The Time of My Life', will forever be associated with classic movies from that era.

And that's not even to mention songs and movies of the same name that go so hand in hand, it's hard to imagine one without the other - no wedding playlist would be complete without Ray Parker Jr.'s 'Ghostbusters', and we ain't afraid to say it.

We were also given some of our most hummable movie theme tunes during this decade (most of which being written by John Williams, of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and E.T. fame) - so if you want to invite your friends to the premiere of your Hollywood love story, pick out a few choice soundtrack pieces from our list:

Ghostbusters (from Ghostbusters) - Ray Parker Jr
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(I've Had) The Time of My Life (from Dirty Dancing) - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
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Don't You (Forget About Me) (from the Breakfast Club) - Simple Minds
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The Power of Love (from Back to the Future) - Huey Lewis and the News
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Eye of the Tiger (from Rocky) - Survivor
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Up Where We Belong (from An Officer and a Gentleman) - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
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What a Feeling (from Flashdance) - Irene Cara
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Footloose (from Footloose)- Kenny Loggins
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Flying Theme (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) - John Williams
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Take My Breath Away (from Top Gun) - Berlin
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Two Hearts (from Buster) - Phil Collins
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Magic Dance (from Labyrinth) - David Bowie
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The Heat is On (from Beverly Hills Cop) - Glenn Frey
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Kiss the Girl (from the Little Mermaid) - Samuel E. Wright
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Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Mannequin) - Starship
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80s Wedding Bands

If you're really looking to go all-out 80s on your wedding day, why not consider an 80s party band to get your guests in the mood. With a set list crammed with well-known synth pop and 80s rock classics, they'll guarantee to keep the dance floor rockin'!