Happy Thursday, MBC Fam! 🎶
There are some songs you hear once and suddenly… BOOM! You’re back there.
Back in the car with the radio turned up way too loud.
Back in your bedroom making a mixtape.
Back in front of the television waiting for your favourite music video to come on.
Back when choosing your favourite song meant rewinding a cassette tape, recording it off the radio, or patiently waiting for the DJ to stop talking over the intro! 😂
And let’s be honest — the ’80s and ’90s gave us some seriously unforgettable pop music.
Big vocals. Big hair. Big ballads. Big choruses. And music videos that somehow managed to make us all believe we could dance like the people on MTV.
So, for this Thursday, I thought it was time to dust off the nostalgia box and take a trip back through seven pop songs from the ’80s and ’90s that still have the power to make us sing, smile, reminisce… and occasionally question some of the fashion choices we made along the way. 😂
I’ve picked seven songs that each have their own little story — and there are a few fun facts hiding in here that you might not know.
So turn up the imaginary cassette player, grab your hairbrush microphone and let’s go!
1. Richard Marx – “Right Here Waiting” (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E2EHVxNAE
Let’s start with one of those songs that practically invented the phrase “90% emotion, 10% actually being able to sing it properly.”
Released in 1989, Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting” became one of those huge romantic ballads that seemed to be everywhere.
And if you were around at the time, chances are you heard it at least a thousand times.
The song reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and became one of Marx’s signature songs.
💡 Fun fact!
“Right Here Waiting” was actually written by Richard Marx for his wife at the time, Cynthia Rhodes, while she was away filming.
Talk about setting the romantic standard!
Imagine receiving a song like that instead of a text saying:
“Miss u ❤️”
😂
The song became particularly memorable because it was so simple and emotional. No complicated production was needed to make the message work — just piano, vocals and that unmistakable ’80s/early-’90s ballad atmosphere.
🎤 MBC question:
Did you have a favourite Richard Marx song?
Was it:
❤️ “Right Here Waiting”
🎸 “Hazard”
🎶 “Endless Summer Nights”
💔 “Now and Forever”
Or was Richard Marx simply not your cup of tea?
2. John Farnham – “You’re the Voice” (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbkOZTSvrHs
Okay Australia… this one is compulsory.
If the opening of “You’re the Voice” doesn’t make you want to grab an imaginary microphone and sing at full volume, I’m not sure what will! 😂
Released in 1986, John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice” became one of the biggest songs in Australian music history.
It spent seven weeks at No. 1 in Australia, while the album Whispering Jack spent an incredible 25 weeks at No. 1.
But here’s one of my favourite facts about the song…
💡 Fun fact!
That iconic bagpipe section?
Yep. John Farnham wanted bagpipes in the song.
He had been inspired by AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)” and wanted a bagpipe element included.
And it didn’t stop there.
A car door slamming in a garage was also recorded and used to create part of the drum sound in the introduction.
How brilliant is that?
Imagine explaining that recording session today:
“Okay, John, we need a car door.”
😂
The song went on to win the 1987 ARIA Award for Single of the Year and became an Australian musical institution.
MBC question:
Be honest…
How far into “You’re the Voice” do you get before you start singing along?
The first chorus?
The opening?
Or are you already standing on the couch pretending you're John Farnham? 😂
3. Bette Midler – “Wind Beneath My Wings” (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAzMRKFX3c
From one powerhouse vocalist to another…
Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” is one of those songs that can go from “Oh, I remember this!” to “Why am I suddenly emotional?” in approximately 30 seconds.
Released in 1989 as part of the soundtrack to the film Beaches, Bette’s version became a massive hit and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
💡 Fun fact!
Here’s something you might not know:
Bette Midler wasn’t the first person to record the song.
The song was written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley, and it had already been recorded by several artists before Bette's version became the definitive one for many listeners.
And when it became associated with Beaches, the song took on an entirely different emotional life.
Suddenly, it wasn't just a beautiful ballad.
It was THE emotional ballad.
The sort of song you put on when you're feeling sentimental and then realise you've somehow gone through half a box of tissues.
😂
🎤 Your turn:
Who is your “wind beneath your wings”?
A partner?
A parent?
A best friend?
A sibling?
Or someone who helped you through a difficult chapter?
Tell us who deserves that song in your life. ❤️
4. Tina Arena – “Chains” (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jC9Insyzgc
If we're talking powerhouse vocals, we absolutely cannot leave Tina Arena out of this conversation.
And honestly, “Chains” still sounds fantastic.
Released in 1994, “Chains” became a career-defining song for Tina and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 6 in the UK, No. 20 in Canada and No. 38 in the United States.
Not bad for an Australian artist making a huge international impact.
💡 Fun fact!
“Chains” was co-written by Tina Arena alongside Pam Reswick and Steve Werfel.
It became such an important moment in her career that the song was later included in the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia collection.
And there's something about Tina's delivery that makes this song impossible to casually sing.
You don't just sing “Chains”.
You BELT “Chains.”
😂
You start politely…
…and five seconds later you're auditioning for Australian Idol in your lounge room.
🎶 MBC challenge:
Rate your “Chains” singing ability from 1–10.
1️⃣ Whispering into the hairbrush
5️⃣ Giving it a decent go
1️⃣0️⃣ Tina Arena has entered the building
Be honest!
🎤 5. Human Nature & John Farnham – “Every Time You Cry” (1997)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drf3LhQOFmM
Here's one for the Australian music lovers.
Before Human Nature became synonymous with spectacular vocal harmonies, Las Vegas shows and Motown classics, they were already making their mark in Australian pop.
One particularly special collaboration came in 1997 when Human Nature teamed up with John Farnham for “Everytime You Cry.”
The song reached No. 3 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and it remains Human Nature's highest-charting Australian single.
💡 Fun fact!
The song was actually originally recorded during sessions for John Farnham's Romeo's Heart album but was left unfinished.
It eventually found its way into the collaboration with Human Nature.
And what a combination it turned out to be.
Farnham's unmistakable voice alongside Human Nature's harmonies made the song feel like one of those quintessential Australian ’90s collaborations.
Throwback question:
If you could put two Australian artists from the ’80s or ’90s together for a brand-new collaboration, who would you choose?
And what would the song sound like?
I want to hear your dream Australian supergroup! 👇
6. Backstreet Boys – “I Want It That Way” (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fndeDfaWCg
Okay, MBC Fam…
Tell me why.
😂
You knew this one was coming.
The Backstreet Boys' “I Want It That Way” arrived in 1999 and became one of the defining pop songs of the late ’90s.
It reached No. 1 in more than 25 countries and became the group's signature song.
But here's where things get wonderfully confusing.
🤯 Fun fact!
The lyrics of “I Want It That Way” have been debated for years because…
they don't exactly make sense.
And the writers actually recorded an alternative version with different lyrics.
The song's writers, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, ultimately kept the version we know — even though the meaning of the lyrics didn't line up perfectly.
Carlsson described the writing as a play on words, and an alternate version of the song was recorded in 1999.
So all those years we've been passionately singing:
“Tell me why…”
Apparently we should have been asking the songwriters to explain themselves. 😂
🎤 MBC challenge:
Complete this sentence:
“Tell me why…”
I'll start:
…did we all suddenly think we could perform the entire Backstreet Boys choreography? 😂
Your turn!
7. B*Witched – “C'est la Vie” (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvjLgjtJKsc
And we're finishing this musical trip with pure late-’90s fun.
B*Witched – “C'est la Vie.”
This song arrived in 1998 and brought together pop, Irish charm, cheeky lyrics and choreography that somehow made us all want to dance along.
The song reached No. 1 in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, while reaching No. 6 in Australia and No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
💡 Fun fact!
“C'est la Vie” became B*Witched's debut single — and its cheeky double meanings famously went over many younger listeners' heads while their parents knew exactly what was going on. 😂
The music video was equally memorable, featuring the group in a sunny field, a puppy and plenty of playful mischief.
Very ’90s.
Very colourful.
Very “why did we all dress like that?”
😂
And here's another interesting milestone:
The success of “C'est la Vie” helped B*Witched become the youngest girl group at the time to reach No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
💚 MBC question:
Were you Team B*Witched?
Or were you more into:
🎤 Spice Girls
💃 Steps
👯♀️ All Saints
🎶 S Club 7
💙 Atomic Kitten
Or were you sitting there thinking:
“Give me a good old-school ballad any day.” 😂
🎶 Seven Songs. Two Decades. A LOT of Memories.
And there we have it!
Seven songs spanning the ’80s and ’90s — and somehow we've managed to go from romantic ballads to Australian anthems, powerhouse vocals, boy bands and cheeky Irish pop.
What I love about music from these decades is that the songs weren't just songs.
They were memories.
They remind us of people.
Places.
First loves.
Road trips.
School dances.
Family gatherings.
Late nights.
Old friendships.
And sometimes even versions of ourselves that we haven't thought about in years.
That's the magic of music.
A song can sit quietly on a playlist for decades and then, within the first few seconds of hearing it again, you're right back there.
And that's something I don't think we'll ever lose.
🎧 YOUR TURN, MBC FAM!
I've given you seven songs…
But I know you've got plenty more hiding in your musical memory bank!
👇 I want you to tell me:
🎵 Which ONE song from the ’80s or ’90s instantly takes you back?
And don't just give me the song title…
Tell me what memory it brings back.
Was it your first dance?
A school disco?
A family road trip?
A summer holiday?
Your first crush?
A song you played over and over?
Or simply something you used to blast while cleaning the house? 😂
And here's the BIG question…
🎤 If you could only keep ONE decade of pop music — the ’80s or the ’90s — which one are you choosing?
Team ’80s 🎸
or
Team ’90s 💿
I have a feeling this one could get interesting!
Drop your answer in the comments and let's see which decade wins the MBC throwback battle. 👇🎶
Until the next musical journey, keep those memories playing, keep discovering great music, and remember…
Music isn't just something we listen to — it's part of our story. ❤️
Thanks for hanging out with me for this Thursday throwback.
And just a little note from me before I let you go…
I also want to say a big apology for the delay with Episode 13 of the Music Beats Central Podcast. ❤️
I know it has been a little while since the last episode, and I really appreciate everyone who continues to support the podcast and check in for the next one.
I am working away on Episode 13, and I want to make sure it is something I'm genuinely happy to share with you rather than rushing it out just for the sake of it.
So please stay tuned, MBC Fam! 🎧🎶 Episode 13 will be coming your way soon, and I can't wait to have you listening again.
In the meantime, keep enjoying the music, keep discovering something new, and of course, keep those old-school favourites playing! ❤️
Thank you for being here and for continuing to follow Music Beats Central. It truly means so much.
Much love and ciao for now! 🎶❤️
Hanan x
🎧 Music Beats Central
Going beyond the charts and headlines
🌐 www.musicbeatscentral.com.au
