Which 80s and 90s songs should a cover band learn?
A spread across both decades and across pop and rock, so that you can lean either way once you see who is in the room. The 32 titles below are sorted into 80s pop, 80s rock, 90s rock, 90s pop and dance, and slow songs from both decades. Each was first released between 1980 and 1999, and the Year column lets you check the balance of a set at a glance. Most are by British, Irish and American acts; one is a Tagalog rock song from the Philippines.
The notes under "Where it fits" are our suggestions for where a song can sit in a set. They are not facts about the song, and the list is not a ranking or a measure of popularity. Titles, artists and years were checked against MusicBrainz or Wikipedia when this page was written. We list no keys or tempos, because bands change both.
80s pop
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go | Wham! | 1984 | Bright opener for a themed night |
| Take On Me | a-ha | 1985 | Needs a confident lead singer |
| Everybody Wants to Rule the World | Tears for Fears | 1985 | Breather between dance songs |
| Africa | Toto | 1982 | Late in the night, room sings |
| I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) | Whitney Houston | 1987 | Floor filler for the second half |
| Like a Prayer | Madonna | 1989 | Big finish to an 80s run |
| Don't You (Forget About Me) | Simple Minds | 1985 | Set closer |
80s rock
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer of '69 | Bryan Adams | 1984 | Safe early crowd-pleaser |
| You Shook Me All Night Long | AC/DC | 1980 | Straight rock after the break |
| I Love Rock 'n' Roll | Joan Jett & the Blackhearts | 1981 | Stomp-and-clap once the room is warm |
| Jessie's Girl | Rick Springfield | 1981 | One for an American crowd |
| Dancing in the Dark | Bruce Springsteen | 1984 | Guitars can stand in for the synth |
| Sweet Child o' Mine | Guns N' Roses | 1987 | Guitarist's spotlight, mid-set |
| Livin' on a Prayer | Bon Jovi | 1986 | Late peak; save the singer's voice |
90s rock
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Song 2 | Blur | 1997 | Short blast early in a set |
| Smells Like Teen Spirit | Nirvana | 1991 | Loud turn after a pop run |
| Zombie | The Cranberries | 1994 | Heavy slow-burner for a strong voice |
| What's Up? | 4 Non Blondes | 1992 | Room sings; place before the break |
| Basket Case | Green Day | 1994 | Quick burst late in the night |
| All the Small Things | Blink-182 | 1999 | Pop-punk singalong near the end |
| Ang Huling El Bimbo | Eraserheads | 1995 | Tagalog rock for a Filipino crowd |
90s pop and dance
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torn | Natalie Imbruglia | 1997 | Mid-tempo; suits an acoustic guitar |
| Wannabe | Spice Girls | 1996 | Party starter; share the vocals |
| ...Baby One More Time | Britney Spears | 1998 | Works as a rock arrangement |
| What Is Love | Haddaway | 1993 | Dance run, if someone has the riff |
| Livin' la Vida Loca | Ricky Martin | 1999 | Move the horn lines to guitar |
| I Want It That Way | Backstreet Boys | 1999 | Whole-room singalong, tongue in cheek |
Slow songs from both decades
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time After Time | Cyndi Lauper | 1983 | Slow dance to end the first half |
| With or Without You | U2 | 1987 | Slow build before a dance run |
| Purple Rain | Prince and the Revolution | 1984 | Long encore with a guitar solo |
| Nothing Compares 2 U | Sinéad O'Connor | 1990 | Quiet moment for the singer |
| Iris | Goo Goo Dolls | 1998 | 90s slow one for couples |
Start a setlist with these 32 songs
Opens StageFloww with the titles typed in. Free plan, no card. Search can miss a song, and you can add it by hand.
What does a running order that alternates decades look like?
This is a single long set of eighteen songs for a themed night. It moves in pairs: two from the 80s, then two from the 90s, so neither half of the room waits long. A slow song marks the halfway point, where you can take a break, and the last four swing between the decades one song at a time. Purple Rain is held back as the encore.
This running order is one suggestion built from the list above. Change it to suit your band and the room.
- Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
- Summer of '69
- Song 2
- Torn
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World
- Dancing in the Dark
- What's Up?
- Wannabe
- Time After Time
- You Shook Me All Night Long
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
- ...Baby One More Time
- Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Africa
- Livin' on a Prayer
- I Want It That Way
- All the Small Things
- Don't You (Forget About Me)
How does a four-piece band cover the keyboard and synth parts?
Guitar, bass, drums and a singer cannot play everything on these records, and nobody in the room expects them to. Go through the set one song at a time and put each keyboard part into one of three piles.
- The part is the hook. If people would hum the keyboard line before the vocal, somebody has to play it. That means a guitarist learning it note for note, or a keyboard player joining for the night. Take On Me and What Is Love sit in this pile.
- The part is a pad. Long held chords behind the band can go. Fill the space with a ringing guitar chord or a backing vocal.
- The part is a stab. Short horn or string hits move to the guitar, or the whole band accents them together.
Write on the chart who covers what. Two players reaching for the same line is worse than nobody playing it. If no one can cover a hook convincingly, choose another song: the two rock tables are guitar-led for that reason.
Some bands run the keyboard parts from a backing track. That is a decision about your act, and StageFloww does not play backing tracks.
How do you balance two decades in one night?
Ask the client for the age range of the guests before you write the set. In our experience people respond hardest to the songs of their own teenage years, so a room of fifty-year-olds and a room of thirty-five-year-olds want different halves of this list. With a mixed room, alternate as the running order does. Say the year from the microphone now and then; on a themed night that is part of the show.
Place the slow songs where a half ends, and never two in a row.
What does StageFloww do for a retro night, and where does it stop?
StageFloww, the setlist and stage-lyrics app, is where the finished order lives. Each song in the setlist builder carries notes, so "guitar takes the synth line" travels with the song to the stage, and the builder totals the minutes as you reorder. Save the set as a template and the next themed night starts from it. The Free plan covers 40 songs per setlist, which holds this list and a few spares.
Add the songs with song search while you have a connection. It will not find everything, so do it during the week and not at the soundcheck.
StageFloww does not rank songs, and it does not sort a set by decade for you: the alternation is yours to arrange. The set length calculator shows how many songs fill the time you are booked for, and StageFloww for cover bands covers the rest of a band's night.