'80s music icons at the Big Dome

MANILA, Philippines - What makes ’80s New Wave music unforgettable? From the mostly keyboards-and-drum machine instrumentation, the larger-than-life videos, to the over-the-top fashion, it was an era defined by individualism and innovation.

The sound. The acts that emerged in the ’80s sought to move away from the raw and rebellious punk music in the late ’70s to something more sophisticated with angst only in undertones. New Wave bands such as Duran Duran, The Human League and Tears for Fears and even solo artists such as Adam Ant, Howard Jones and Prince used cold-sounding synthesizers to signal detachment from the rest of the world while allying with technological advancements. The ’80s also saw the birth of 12” remixes, the of studio tricks that would give birth to the rise of Auto-Tune some two decades later.

The look. The adage “image is everything” is so ’80s. With the advent of MTV, it wasn’t enough that the artists sound right, they must look the part, too. Many of the images presented in ’80s music videos were colorful, exotic and fantastic. It was all about “ambience, ambience, ambience.”

The fashion. Men with eyeliners on, women in pants. Lingerie worn outside without shame and sequined gloves galore. Hair dyed in “red, gold and green” and pants tucked inside boots. Back to the future? No, just back to the ’80s. Many say that contemporary acts Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani channel the ’80s. Do they? If their fashion sense is daring, spunky and over-the-top, then the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

The concert. On Oct. 10 at Smart-Araneta Coliseum, relive the ’80s during the one-night-only concert of three icons from that decade, namely Human League, Howard Jones and Belinda Carlisle.

Carlisle brings her vault of hits including Mad About You, I Get Weak, Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Leave A Light On, I Get Weak, Summer Rain, etc. She will also sing hits of her former group The Go-Go’s, such as Head Over Heels, Turn To You, We Got The Beat and Our Lips Are Sealed.

Jones, on the other hand, will have fans grooving to his smash songs Life In One Day, Things Can Only Get Better, Everlasting Love, What Is Love, New Song and his worldwide No. 1 ballad, No One Is To Blame.

Completing the troika is The Human League with their hits Together In Electric Dreams, Human, Don’t You Want Me, (Keep Feeling) Fascination, Lebanon and Mirror Man.

The Human League, Belinda Carlisle and Howard Jones joint concert in Manila is being presented by Ovation Productions and Smart in cooperation with ETC, 2ndavenue, Universal Channel, Jack TV and The Rockwell Club. The media partners and other sponsors are The Philippine STAR, Business World, Monster Radio RX 93.1, 97.9 Home Radio, Mellow 94.7, 105.1 Crossover, MYX Music Channel, Optima Sign Solutions, RJ 100 and Top 40 T-shirts. Get your tickets via Ticketnet at tel. no. 911-5555. Tickets are at P7,000, P6,500, P4,500, P3,500, P2,500, P1,500 and P500.