Stay ConnectedThe longest-running ’80s podcast—featuring interviews with music legends, movie stars, and MTV icons. Deep dives, debates, and Gen X nostalgia every week.
Hosted by Steve Spears and Brad Williams, the show blends sharp takes with insider stories from the people who lived it. From ’80s music and movies to MTV culture and pop culture history, each episode goes deeper than nostalgia to uncover what made the decade unforgettable.
Copyright: Copyright © 2017 CLNS Media Network | North Station Media, LLC All Rights Reserved
We honor the 30th anniversary of Conan the Barbarian and seek the answer to the riddle of steel. Includes trivia quiz, MMM, What Makes Spearsy Cry and Name That '80s Tune
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Rock Dinosaurs of the '80s part 4, including The Who, Chicago and The Monkees.
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We've interviewed a lot of ’80s stars over the years.
Usually, however, they don't walk into the room.
In this classic episode of Stuck in the ’80s, Cheap Trick frontman Robin Zander pays us an in-person visit to talk about the band's remarkable career and an upcoming St. Petersburg concert built around one of Cheap Trick's most beloved albums: Dream Police.
Yes, Robin Zander was sitting there with us.
We attempted to behave professionally.
Released in 1979, Dream Police technically arrived just before our favorite decade began.
We're claiming it anyway.
After all, Cheap Trick entered the ’80s riding the enormous momentum created by Cheap Trick at Budokan and Dream Police, and the band's music would remain a fixture of rock radio throughout the decade.
The Dream Police album gave us the unforgettable title track, complete with one of those choruses that practically demands to be shouted rather than sung.
It also produced “Voices,” a gorgeous Zander-led ballad that showed another side of a band best known for its high-energy power pop.
Other tracks including “Way of the World” and the nearly 10-minute “Gonna Raise Hell” demonstrated just how ambitious Cheap Trick could be.
And then there was that album cover.
White suits. Black shirts. Rick Nielsen looking exactly like Rick Nielsen.
No further explanation required.
Cheap Trick has always been a band filled with distinctive personalities.
Rick Nielsen had the sweaters, the baseball caps and an apparently unlimited supply of guitars. Bun E. Carlos looked like someone's accountant who had accidentally wandered behind the drum kit.
And out front was Robin Zander.
Zander possessed — and still possesses — one of rock's great voices, equally capable of delivering the power of “Dream Police” and the vulnerability of “Voices.”
That versatility became even more apparent as Cheap Trick moved through the ’80s.
The decade wasn't always smooth sailing for the band, but Cheap Trick eventually staged one of rock's great comebacks with 1988's Lap of Luxury.
“The Flame” became the band's first No. 1 hit, while their cover of Elvis Presley's “Don't Be Cruel” reached the Top 10.
Suddenly, a band that had already survived one era of rock stardom had found another.
Our conversation with Zander centers on the upcoming St. Petersburg performance celebrating Dream Police, but when you've got the lead singer of Cheap Trick sitting in front of you, there's an awful lot of musical history to discuss.
We talk about the album, the songs and life inside a band whose influence stretches far beyond its chart history.
Cheap Trick has always occupied a fascinating place in rock music. They could be heavy without really being heavy metal. They could write enormous pop hooks without sounding like a traditional pop band. Punk and alternative musicians loved them. So did arena-rock fans.
And somehow, through all of it, Cheap Trick always sounded like Cheap Trick.
That's no small accomplishment.
Neither is getting Robin Zander to drop by for an in-person episode of Stuck in the ’80s.
We'd like to say we played it cool.
You'll have to listen and decide for yourself.
Want to spend a week surrounded by the music, stars and fellow fans of our favorite decade? Join Stuck in the ’80s aboard The ’80s Cruise, where we host trivia, live events, podcasts and plenty of other ’80s fun at sea.
When booking your cabin, use promo code STUCK to receive $250 in onboard credit.
The Dream Police probably won't arrest you for booking a cabin.
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Rock Hall of Fame, Madonna in Super Bowl, under-loved Christmas movies.
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For millions of fans who grew up during the late 1970s and 1980s, the voice of Steve Perry became inseparable from the soundtrack of their lives. As the frontman of Journey, Perry helped create some of the most iconic arena-rock songs ever recorded, combining emotional vulnerability with powerhouse vocals that still define classic rock radio decades later. This week on the Stuck in the ’80s Podcast, Spearsy sits down with Steve Perry for a rare and deeply personal conversation covering music, heartbreak and his return to recording after years away from the spotlight.
During the interview, Steve reflects on the early formation of Journey and the unlikely rise of the group from progressive-rock roots into one of the biggest arena-rock bands of the MTV era. Spearsy and Steve revisit classic songs like Don't Stop Believin', Faithfully and Open Arms while discussing the creative chemistry that made Journey such a dominant force in rock music.
The conversation also explores the internal conflicts and personal pressures that eventually fractured the band. Steve speaks candidly about fame, exhaustion and the emotional toll of carrying one of the most recognizable voices in popular music during an era built around relentless touring and nonstop public attention.
Along the way, the interview becomes surprisingly intimate as Steve discusses his love life during the 1980s, the loneliness that sometimes accompanied fame and the personal experiences that shaped many of Journey’s most emotional songs. Spearsy and Steve also discuss his return to music after years away from the industry and the challenge of reconnecting with creativity after such a long absence.
Like many landmark Stuck in the ’80s interviews, the episode becomes about more than nostalgia — it becomes a reflection on identity, vulnerability and the emotional connection audiences continue feeling with the artists who helped soundtrack their lives.
If you love classic rock, arena-rock ballads, MTV nostalgia and behind-the-scenes conversations with one of the defining voices of the 1980s, this episode belongs in your playlist.
The Stuck in the ’80s Podcast has spent nearly 20 years celebrating the music, movies, television and pop culture of the greatest decade ever. Support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive livestream hangouts, behind-the-scenes content and merch for longtime listeners.
And don’t forget: Spearsy and Brad will once again be part of The 80s Cruise, the ultimate floating celebration of ’80s music and nostalgia. Use promo code STUCK when booking your cabin to receive up to $250 in onboard cabin credit while sailing with fellow Gen X fans and enjoying performances and appearances from many of the decade’s biggest artists.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
One song. One movie. One raised fist in the air.
Few moments connect ’80s music and movies quite like Simple Minds' “Don't You (Forget About Me)” playing over the final scene of The Breakfast Club.
In this classic Stuck in the ’80s interview, we talk with Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr about the Scottish band's journey from post-punk beginnings to international stardom and the song that became an unofficial anthem for an entire generation.
Simple Minds formed in Glasgow in the late 1970s, with Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill at the heart of the band.
By the early ’80s, they had developed a growing following in Europe with albums including Sons and Fascination, New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) and Sparkle in the Rain.
Songs such as “Promised You a Miracle” and “Waterfront” established Simple Minds as a major band in the U.K.
American superstardom, however, would arrive courtesy of a high-school detention.
Written for the soundtrack to John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, “Don't You (Forget About Me)” wasn't actually written by Simple Minds.
In fact, the band initially resisted recording it.
Good thing they changed their minds.
The song reached No. 1 in the United States in 1985, while its appearance at the end of The Breakfast Club permanently linked Simple Minds with one of the decade's defining teen movies.
Even today, it's difficult to hear the song without picturing Judd Nelson's John Bender walking across a football field and raising his fist into the air.
Simple Minds proved their American breakthrough wasn't a one-song fluke with 1985's Once Upon a Time.
“Alive and Kicking” became another major U.S. hit, followed by songs including “Sanctify Yourself” and “All the Things She Said.”
By the middle of the decade, Simple Minds had grown from an experimental Scottish post-punk band into an arena-filling rock act.
In our Jim Kerr interview, the Simple Minds singer looks back on that evolution, the band's ’80s success and the strange journey of a song they didn't write — and initially didn't want to record — becoming the track millions of people associate with them most.
More than four decades later, we haven't forgotten.
Apparently the song worked.
Want to spend a week surrounded by ’80s music, stars and fellow fans? Join Stuck in the ’80s aboard The ’80s Cruise for trivia, live events, podcasts and plenty of other decade-inspired fun at sea.
Use promo code STUCK when booking to receive $250 in onboard credit.
Don't you forget about us.
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A Halloween tribute to our favorite vamp movie, 1987's The Lost Boys
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Rock dinosaurs of the '80s, part 3
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If you were a teenager in the early ’80s, there was a decent chance you had a favorite member of Duran Duran.
Maybe you were a Nick Rhodes person. Perhaps John Taylor was more your speed. Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor certainly had their supporters.
And then there was Simon Le Bon.
The voice. The hair. The clothes. The occasionally dangerous enthusiasm for yachts.
As frontman of Duran Duran, Le Bon became one of the most recognizable faces of the ’80s — leading a band that didn't simply succeed during the MTV era.
They helped define it.
In this classic episode of Stuck in the ’80s, we talk with Simon Le Bon about Duran Duran's remarkable career, the songs that became part of the soundtrack of the decade and what it was like experiencing Duranmania from the middle of the storm.
Le Bon joined Duran Duran in 1980, completing the classic lineup with Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor.
The band's self-titled debut arrived in 1981 and included “Planet Earth” and “Girls on Film,” giving British audiences an early look at a band that seemed to understand both the sound and the visual possibilities of the new decade.
Then came Rio.
And everything changed.
Released in 1982, the album produced “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Save a Prayer” and the title track — songs that remain essential pieces of the ’80s soundtrack.
But the music videos made Duran Duran something even bigger.
While plenty of bands treated videos as promotional clips, Duran Duran made mini-movies. They traveled to exotic locations, worked with director Russell Mulcahy and created the kind of cinematic adventures that practically demanded heavy rotation on the new MTV.
Suddenly, millions of American teenagers knew exactly what a yacht near Antigua looked like.
By the time Seven and the Ragged Tiger arrived in 1983, Duran Duran had become a phenomenon.
“The Reflex” gave the band its first No. 1 single in the United States. “Union of the Snake” was another major hit. Concerts were filled with screaming fans, and comparisons to Beatlemania didn't seem entirely ridiculous.
Then came “The Wild Boys,” the James Bond theme “A View to a Kill” and the band's appearance at Live Aid.
For a few remarkable years, Duran Duran seemed to be everywhere.
But being everywhere has consequences.
The five-man lineup splintered as John and Andy Taylor formed The Power Station while Le Bon, Rhodes and Roger Taylor created Arcadia.
When Duran Duran returned, it was as a trio.
And they kept going.
One of the interesting things about revisiting Duran Duran decades later is realizing how easy it was to underestimate them.
The clothes, videos and screaming fans sometimes distracted critics from the music itself.
But those songs lasted.
“Rio” still sounds fantastic. “Save a Prayer” remains gorgeous. “Ordinary World,” arriving in the early ’90s, proved the band could survive long after the New Romantic movement and the first wave of MTV had passed.
And at the center of it all was Le Bon's unmistakable voice.
Our conversation gives us the opportunity to talk with the man who sang some of the defining songs of our favorite decade — and who experienced a level of fame that very few performers ever encounter.
For Duran Duran fans, that's reason enough to revisit this classic interview.
For us?
We're just impressed we managed to talk with Simon Le Bon without spending the entire interview shouting:
“Please, please tell me now!”
Want to spend a week surrounded by the music, stars and fellow fans of our favorite decade? Join Stuck in the ’80s aboard The ’80s Cruise, where we host trivia, live events, podcasts and plenty of other ’80s fun at sea.
When booking your cabin, use promo code STUCK to receive $250 in onboard credit.
We can't promise Simon Le Bon will be standing on the bow of a yacht.
But there will definitely be a boat.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
There are ’80s songs you remember.
And then there are ’80s songs that seem to have been permanently installed in your brain sometime around 1983.
“I Melt With You” is one of those songs.
That opening guitar riff starts, Robbie Grey begins singing, and suddenly we're back in a decade of mixtapes, John Hughes movies and radio stations that somehow made British New Wave sound like the natural soundtrack to being an American teenager.
In this classic episode of Stuck in the ’80s, we talk with Robbie Grey, founder and lead singer of Modern English, about the band's beginnings, the creation of its signature song and what happens when one recording takes on a life far bigger than anyone could have anticipated.
Modern English didn't begin as the bright, romantic pop band that some casual listeners might assume from their biggest hit.
Formed in England in the late 1970s, the group emerged from the post-punk scene and developed a darker, more experimental sound. Its debut album, Mesh & Lace, arrived in 1981 and sounded considerably different from the Modern English most American listeners would soon discover.
Then came After the Snow in 1982.
And tucked inside was a song called “I Melt With You.”
Everything changed.
The song wasn't originally a massive American chart hit in the traditional sense. Instead, it became something more unusual: a record whose cultural footprint kept growing long after its initial release.
MTV helped.
So did the 1983 movie Valley Girl, where “I Melt With You” became forever linked with Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman and one of the decade's quintessential teen romances.
Over time, the song simply refused to go away.
For a song that sounds so relentlessly joyful, “I Melt With You” has always had a darker undercurrent.
Grey has explained that the lyrics were inspired partly by fears surrounding nuclear war — a very real anxiety for anyone who lived through the Cold War ’80s.
Which means one of the decade's most romantic-sounding songs isn't quite the uncomplicated love song many people assume it is.
That's very ’80s when you think about it.
Catchy chorus. Upbeat guitars. Existential dread.
Dance accordingly.
The challenge for Modern English was the same one faced by plenty of artists who suddenly found themselves associated with a single gigantic song:
What happens next?
The band continued recording throughout the decade, releasing Ricochet Days in 1984 and Stop Start in 1986. Songs such as “Hands Across the Sea” showed there was considerably more to Modern English than the hit that dominated American perceptions of the group.
But “I Melt With You” kept growing.
It returned to radio. It appeared in movies, television shows and commercials. New generations discovered it. Modern English even recorded new versions of it.
At some point, it stopped simply being a hit single and became part of the permanent soundtrack of the decade.
In our conversation, Grey talks about that unusual journey, the band's post-punk origins and what it's like to have created a song that people still want to hear more than 40 years later.
And we understand why.
There are plenty of songs that remind us of the ’80s.
“I Melt With You” makes us feel like we're back there.
Want to spend a week surrounded by ’80s music, stars and thousands of people who won't complain when “I Melt With You” comes on for the 4,000th time?
Join Stuck in the ’80s aboard The ’80s Cruise, where we host trivia, live events, podcasts and plenty of other ’80s fun at sea.
When booking your cabin, use promo code STUCK to receive $250 in onboard credit.
We'll stop the world and cruise with you.Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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