star trekkin

5 Funny 80s Songs We Shouldn’t Forget

80's Music May 16, 2022

When it came to music, we like to say that the 80s had the best music ever. However despite the epic songs we still jam to till this day, there were also quite a few songs from the 80s that were hysterically funny because they were hysterically awful!

Arguably, the most important event to affect music throughout the 1980s was the cable network MTV (Music Television) launch. MTV was the first network to exclusively showcase music videos, making its premiere on August 1, 1981.

Music videos offered new opportunities to add humor into the mix, and many artists took full advantage of this. So what were the funniest songs of the 1980s? There were quite a few to choose from, but here are our top five funny songs of the 80s, from both sides of the Atlantic.

1. Brat – Chalk Dust (The Umpire Strikes Back)

The Brat was a collective nickname by British comedians Kaplan Kaye and Roger Kitter. The comedy duo released Chalk Dust (The Umpire Strikes Back) poking fun at American tennis star John McEnroe and his total meltdown. This meltdown followed an umpire’s decision at Wimbledon.

The entire song is the interaction between McEnroe (Roger Kitter) and the referee (Kaplan Kaye). The song reached, at its highest, number 19 on the UK Charts in the summer of 1982. The song was also a hit in Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.


2. Black Lace – Agadoo

Yet another track from the UK (the Brits seem to be experts at producing silly songs), Agadoo was voted as the #4 most annoying track of all time in an online poll. “Agadoo” recorded by Black Lace, is a party “Europop” song, a cover that was released in 1984.

Agadoo reached its highest position on the UK Charts at #2, where it remained for a total of 30 weeks. Amazingly, it went on to become the eighth best-selling single of 1984 in the United Kingdom (and sold more than one million copies worldwide), despite the fact that BBC Radio 1 did not include it on the official station playlist.

Colin Gibb and Alan Barton were the only two members of Black Lace. The fact that people bought it in large numbers and liked it was probably the funniest aspect of this song.


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3. The Firm – Star Trekkin’

The biggest chart hit for the comedy act, The Firm, “Star Trekkin” parodies the mania for Star Trek with impersonations of most of the main characters (Kirk, Uhura, Spock, Bones, and Scotty).

Though it gained extensive exposure on numerous radio stations throughout the US, the song did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. One of the song’s catchphrases, “It’s life, Jim, not as we know it”, became so popular that it was thought to be from the TV series, but really began with “Star Trekkin'”.

However, despite not reaching the charts in the USA, the song did chart in a variety of places including the UK, Japan, and Australia (where it reached #3). The single sold over a million copies globally.


4. Men Without Hats – Safety Dance

Now that we’ve gotten past the silly, let’s move on to the weird. In 1982, the band Men Without Hats from Canada released a single titled “Safety Dance.” The song made its debut in the Canadian Top 50 in February of 1983 and reached its highest position of #11 on May 14 of that year.

Safety Dance was released in the US on March 16, although it did not make its way onto any charts in the United States until later. When it eventually did, the record became an even larger hit than it had been in Canada, lasting a total of four weeks in September and October 1983 at its highest rank of #3, which had been the previous peak.

The film includes clips of Morris dancers, Mummers, a Dwarf, Punch, and Judy, as well as a maypole. It was shot in the English county of Wiltshire, specifically in the town of West Kington.


5. “Weird Al” Yankovic – Eat it

Weird Al” Yankovic was a challenging option, not because the song does not meet the requirements, but more because it was tough to decide which of his releases should be included on the list.

He is an American singer, musician, record producer, and actor who is best known for his funny songs that make fun of modern culture and frequently parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. He is a multi-instrumentalist and has worked in a variety of other creative fields as well.

“Eat It” was published in 1984 and was a spoof of Michael Jackson’s song “Beat it”. The lyrics of the song convey the scenario of a frustrated parent who is trying to convince their fussy youngster to eat something. The song was a financial and critical triumph, and it even won some awards.


So those are our picks for some of the funniest songs from the 1980s. Hopefully you remember a few of them, and hopefully they made you laugh and remember a simpler and cooler time that was the 1980s.

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