Soft Cell take it for me here.
Although not the first band to use snyth pop, they took it to a new level and created a song in Tainted Love(which had extra meaning due to the rise of Aids and HIV) that summed up the 80s perfectly.
On that subject, are Frankie Goes to Hollywood available in this region?
"Frankie Goes To Hollywood" were never nominated, I'm afraid, and thus will not be a part of this tournament. I venture to guess they wouldn't have lasted too long, but they would have made a nice addition.
As far as this match-up goes, I want to vote for Living Colour. Honestly, one of my favorite bands of the 80's and 90's, and one of the most underrated.
Maybe I play too much into the effect Vernon Reid had on the landscape of both race and rock in the 80's and 90's, since much of what he accomplished centered around creating an avenue for African-American musicians breaking through to play hard rock and heavy metal music while much of the United States assumed them pigeon holed into Rap and R&B.
Having co-formed the "Black Rock Coalition," Reid used his almost supernatural guitar prowess to bring together other rockers of color, and form the appropriately titled band "Living Colour." With Mick Jagger (a friend and fan) helping steer the ship, LC busted out with the album "Vivid" in 1988 and found mainstream success when MTV started rotating the video for "Cult of Personality" later that year. They went on to tour with Guns N Roses and The Rolling Stones.
I personally find it ironic that Living Colour, a band who took on racism and Eurocentrism in the US, toured with The Rolling Stones, a band whose success was based on stealing music from black artisits in the 50's and 60's.
Sadly, LC will go down as a one-hit wonder, but you cannot deny the influence Vernon Reid and his band mates (once including Lenny Kravitz) had on the rock landscape, helping pave the way for such rockers as Sevendust's LaJon Witherspoon.
