I was roughly 15-years old at the time this song came out and at once it became my essential training song.  Back in those days I felt reasonably confident I was just a few short years away from making my debut as a WWF superstar and the future tag team partner of Mr. Wonderful Paul Ordnoff (I always wanted to be a heel). While visualizing my worldwide squared circle supremacy, I went as far to envision “The Final Countdown” as my theme song while strutting down to the ring—greeted by a rousing course of boos.

In reality this song wasn’t really intended to get aspiring athletes fired up.  Inspired by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, it’s actually about taking a trip to Venus and leaving planet Earth behind—or something like that.

Who really gives a shit anyway?

Whether Europe intended so or not is irrelevant.  “The Final Countdown” became the backbone of sports anthems at arenas everywhere and remains so over 30 years later.

They keyboard riff at the beginning is one of the coolest things I’ve heard in my life.  It deserves to be on my countdown for that alone.  Everything about “The Final Countdown” is outstanding. It’s on the National Honor Society of all 80s music that’s gloriously cheesy.

Chart Success: It reached number-eight on the Billboard Top 100 and remained on the chart for 18 weeks. It didn’t finish in the 1986 year-end Billboard Top 100, which is clearly some bullshit.  It did finish number-one on the Netherlands year-end charts and third in France because both countries are way cooler.

Great Lyrics: If I had paid better attention as a 15-year old, I’d have put the curling bar down and wondered what the fuck this song is even about.

“We’re heading for Venus (Venus)
And still we stand tall
‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us (seen us)
And welcome us all, yeah
With so many light years to go
And things to be found (to be found)
I’m sure that we’ll all miss her so”

Fun Fact: On of the all-time bogus fabrications is that Europe is a one-hit wonder with this song. It even made VH-1’s list of 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.  “The Final Countdown” wasn’t even their biggest hit on the album!  “Carrie” reached as high as number-three on the charts, and “Rock the Night” was a third hit that cracked the Billboard Top 30.

YEAR RELEASED: 1982

NOTABLE TRACKS “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”, “Time (Clock of my Heart)”, “Take Control”

ALBUM MVP: “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”

WHY I LOVED IT:  This was the Culture Club’s debut album and to call it a guilty a pleasure is an understatement. Let’s keep things real here—back in late 1982 as an 11-year old it wasn’t exactly manly to like groups like Culture Club, featuring a lead singer literally dressed like a girl.  It was a different world in those days and Boy George’s appearance was far more unique than would be so today. More importantly the group’s sound was a far cry from most groups I enjoyed then, such as Styx, Journey and REO Speedwagon.  Despite all that I really enjoyed this album, probably more than I should’ve.  Even as a pre-adolescent teen I found “Do You Really Want To Hurt” as kind of heartbreaking.  It got re-popularized years later thanks to Adam Sandler’s  The Wedding Singer movie. Now that I think about it Sandler deserves a lot of Culture Club credit to a newer generation because he featured “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’ in his Billy Madison movie. I loved “Time (Clock of my Heart)”.  It was chic back then to ridicule groups like Culture Club but don’t allow prejudice to stand in the way of quality music. It doesn’t get anymore 80’s than Culture Club, man—and I love it.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS:  The album reached No.14 on the United States Billboard Top 100 and enjoyed even more success around the world—reaching number-two in Canada, New Zealand and France while peaking at three on Sweden and Norwegian charts.  “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “Time (Clock of my Heart)” were both monster singles, each reaching number-two on the Billboard Hot 100. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” was the group’s third top 10 hit from the album, peaking at nine.

FUN FACT:  Courtesy of Songfacts.com on their hit single “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me:  “This was Culture Club’s first single released in the United States. It was a huge and unlikely hit for the British band, who embarked on an American tour in 1983 to gain traction in that country. The song crossed over to Adult Contemporary radio, where most listeners had no idea the lead singer dressed like a girl. MTV, whose library was mostly British bands when they launched, had acclimated their US audience to guys in makeup, so Culture Club wasn’t so shocking on the channel and the group developed a huge audience of young people who liked the sound and the look.

The “look” was authentic: Boy George had been wearing makeup and women’s clothes since his school days, and while he exaggerated it for publicity, it was his preferred style. In a 1983 Trouser Press interview, the singer explained: “I wear my hair this way ’cause it makes my face look longer, my hat because it makes me look taller, black clothes because they make me look thinner, and makeup because it makes me look prettier.”

YEAR RELEASED: 1989

NOTABLE TRACKS: “Another Day in Paradise”, “I Wish It Would Rain Down”, “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven”, “Do You Remember”, “Hang In Long Enough”

ALBUM MVP: “Another Day in Paradise”

WHY I LOVED IT:  This was Collins’ fourth studio solo album after leaving Genesis and you can make a strong case it was the most refined of his four.  “Another Day in Paradise” may not my favorite Phil Collins tune but it’s easily in my top five. It addresses social issues, something I don’t recall Collins abundantly speaking to before this track. It deservedly won a Grammy. “I Wish It Would Rain Down” is a sappy, gloomy love song that gives you all the feels. As a whole I’m not sure this is one of the archetypal 80’s cheesy pop albums we often associate the decade with. There’s a lack of good natured fun and a bit more substance on this effort, at least in my opinion. Having said that there is that one constant, where few if any 80s pop albums had the mega production that always seemed to accompany something Phil Collins put out.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS:  “…But Seriously” is barely eligible to be considered an 80’s album, being released just before decade’s end on November 20, 1989.   This is the most commercially successful album of Collins career, as it sold over four million copies in the United States, reached number-one on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for three weeks, and produced a mind-blowing four top-five hits. “Another Day in Paradise” reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the 1991 Grammy for Record of the Year. “I Wish It Would Rain Down” peaked at three on the Billboard Hot 100 while “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven” and “Do You Remember” both maxed out at four. “Hang In Long Enough” even got in on the action, hitting No. 23 on billboard.

FUN FACTS:  From Heavy.com: “Phil Collins net worth is a staggering $250 Million. His royalties around his eight solo studio albums that have sold 33.5 Million units in the US, and about 150 million worldwide make him one of the best-selling artists in the world. Collins is also one of three artists to have sold 100 million + records both as solo artists and as principal members of a band, the list includes Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. He has won seven Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards, an Oscar, and a Disney Legend Award.