Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - C
    Artists - C Music - 1980s 3 Mins Read

    Cyndi Lauper

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Irritating, unsexy and unable to pronounce her R’s, Cyndi Lauper was one of the biggest stars of the early MTV era, selling five million copies of her debut album, She’s So Unusual (1983), as well as scoring a string of four Top Ten Hits including major hits Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (possibly one of the songs of the 80s) and Time After Time.

    Lauper’s thin, girlish voice and gleefully ragtag appearance became one of the most distinctive images of the early 80s. Across America, legions of teenage girls were dressing like Lauper and using Girls Just Wanna Have Fun as their anthem.

    cyndi_400

    At first, her music was a bright, colourful fusion of new wave, reggae and pop.

    Both her image and her music helped popularise the image of new wave in the USA, making it an acceptable part of the pop landscape.

    But Cyndi did not follow through on the success of She’s So Unusual, choosing instead to turn toward middle-of-the-road balladry and mainstream pop.

    Her first album, however, remains a benchmark of the early 1980s.

    Born in Queens, New York, in 1953 and raised in Brooklyn, Cyndi Lauper dropped out of high school in her late teens and began singing in a number of local cover bands.

    In 1977 she began writing songs with keyboard player John Turi. They formed a duo called Blue Angel and gained a following in the New York area, culminating in their eponymous debut album in 1980.

    By 1983, Cyndi was singing solo in clubs and restaurants and at the end of the year she released her debut album after her manager/boyfriend David Wolff managed to secure her a deal with Portrait.

    cyndi18

    Helped by heavy support from MTV for the first video from the LP, the record became a major chart hit in 1984. Unfortunately, she was not able to maintain her popularity after the first album.

    In 1985 she released The Goonies R Good Enough, the theme to a children’s adventure film.

    In 1986 she released her second album, True Colors, and while it was successful (with the title track reaching #1), the softer, adult-contemporary sound lost Lauper her hardcore legion of fans.

    Her career continued to lose momentum as her feature film debut in Vibes (1988) bombed.

    Her third album, A Night To Remember suffered disappointing sales (with the exception of the single I Drove All Night). The next year she severed her relationship with Wolff and married actor David Thornton.

    After a few years off, Lauper returned in 1993 with Hat Full Of Stars. The record stiffed at #112.

    The following year, the hits compilation album 12 Deadly Cyns And Then Some reached #2 in Britain while a remixed Girls Just Wanna Have Fun also became a number one hit in the UK.

    Apart from the handful of 80’s singles, Cyndi also briefly made professional wrestling hip mid-decade by casting Captain Lou Albano in her music videos and promoting WWF matches.

    Cyndi eventually returned to the arenas – In 1999 she joined Cher as the opening act on her Believe Tour – and divides her time between music and her husband and their son, Declyn.

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
      Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
      There are many female musicians, but few genuine female rockers. Joan Jett bucked this trend and pursued straight-ahead rock and…
    • Band Aid
      Band Aid
      Bob Geldof (ex-Boomtown Rats) was watching television in October 1984 when he saw the news reports on the famine crisis…
    • Aerosmith
      Aerosmith
      Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the 1970s, setting the style and sound of American…
    • Outfield, The
      Outfield, The
      The Outfield formed in East London and began recording during the mid-1980s. In 1986, their single Your Love went into…
    • 808 State
      808 State
      With their sample-driven dance music, the pioneering Manchester-based 808 State was one of the first house groups to release trance/ambient…
    • Len Bright Combo, The
      Len Bright Combo, The
      'Wreckless' Eric Goulden scored a huge hit in 1977 with Whole Wide World which, if anything, simply compounded his insecurity, which in…
    • Prince
      Prince
      His name was Prince, then it wasn't, then it was again. One of the most fascinating artists of the Eighties,…
    • Screaming Blue Messiahs, The
      Screaming Blue Messiahs, The
      The Screaming Blue Messiahs came preachin' out of London in 1983 with a bible full of blues, rock 'n' roll,…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleChad & Jeremy
    Next Article Crime & The City Solution

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Mr Topaze (1961)
      Though he rarely mentioned his debut feature as a director after […]
    • High Anxiety (1977)
      Nobel prize-winning Harvard professor of psychiatry Richard […]
    • A Current Affair
      1 9 7 1 – 1 9 7 8 (Australia) 1 9 8 8 – current […]
    • Empire Road
      1 9 7 8 – 1 9 7 9 (UK) 15 x 30 minute colour episodes The […]
    • War Of The Worlds (1953)
      Loosely adapted from H.G. Wells’ classic novel of the same […]
    • Sabrina
      Sabrina (her real name was Norma Sykes – the name Sabrina […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.