While the vocal power, stage presence and charisma of a good frontperson is always handy when making a career in pop, there were enough examples in the 80s to prove that record-buyers were happy to enjoy an opportunity to appreciate the material without distraction. House, jazz-funk and classical acts often relied wholly on the musicians’ craft, while singerless TV themes and film scores also grabbed a lot of attention. So, here’s our Top 20 instrumentals of the 80s, all of which needed to make the Top 40 to qualify – and where there are samples or random outbursts, we’ve included them if we can imagine Smash Hits not needing to publish a lyric sheet…
2O JAZZ CARNIVAL AZYMUTH