80s Songs That Were Actually Covers (And You Had No Idea) | G33Z3R Radio
Published July 2, 2026
80s Songs That Were Actually Covers (And You Had No Idea)
Some of the biggest hits of the 80s weren't original. They were covers — reimagined, reproduced, and re-released so effectively that the originals disappeared from public memory.
Here are 15 songs you thought were 80s originals. They weren't.
1. "Tainted Love" — Soft Cell (1982)
Original: Gloria Jones (1964)
Gloria Jones recorded it as a Northern soul track in 1964. It flopped. Marc Almond and Dave Ball turned it into a cold, pulsing synth-pop anthem that peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 and spent 43 weeks on the UK charts. The original is warm and soulful. The cover is icy and mechanical. Both are perfect.
2. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" — Cyndi Lauper (1984)
Original: Robert Hazard (1979)
Robert Hazard wrote and recorded it as a straightforward rock song from a male perspective. Lauper flipped the gender, slowed it down, added synths, and turned it into a feminist pop anthem that peaked at #2 on the Hot 100. Hazard's version sounds like a completely different song.
3. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" — Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (1982)
Original: The Arrows (1975)
The Arrows — a British glam rock band — recorded it in 1975. Joan Jett saw them perform it on TV, learned the song, and recorded a version that spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. Her version defined the song so completely that most people don't know The Arrows exist.
4. "It's My Life" — Talk Talk (1984)
Wait — this one actually IS an 80s original. The cover came later: No Doubt covered it in 2003 and introduced it to a generation that never heard Talk Talk's synth-pop version. Mark Hollis wrote the original, which peaked at #31 on the Hot 100 but was a much bigger hit in Europe. Sometimes the cover makes you forget the original was the real deal.
5. "Hazy Shade of Winter" — The Bangles (1987)
Original: Simon & Garfunkel (1966)
Simon & Garfunkel's version was a deep cut from 1966. The Bangles turned it into a driving power-pop track for the "Less Than Zero" soundtrack, peaking at #2 on the Hot 100. The Bangles' version has twice the energy and none of the folk-rock gentleness.
6. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" — Simple Minds (1985)
This one's technically an original — it was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff specifically for "The Breakfast Club." Simple Minds didn't even want to record it. They thought it was too poppy for their post-punk sound. It hit #1 on the Hot 100 and became their only US hit. Sometimes resistance is futile.
7. "Cruel Summer" — Bananarama (1984)
This IS an original — written by the band with Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. But many people assume it's a cover because Ace of Base later released their own version, and because the song has been reused so many times (most recently in "Cobra Kai") that it feels like it's always existed. Bananarama wrote it. End of story.
8. "Always Something There to Remind Me" — Naked Eyes (1983)
Original: Lou Johnson (1964) / Sandie Shaw (1964)
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, it was first recorded by Lou Johnson and became a UK #1 for Sandie Shaw — both in 1964. Naked Eyes turned it into synth-pop, peaked at #8 on the Hot 100, and made it sound like it was invented in 1983. The Bacharach melody survived every production change thrown at it.
9. "I Think We're Alone Now" — Tiffany (1987)
Original: Tommy James and the Shondells (1967)
Tommy James took it to #4 in 1967. Twenty years later, a 16-year-old mall-touring pop singer named Tiffany took it to #1 on the Hot 100. Same melody, completely different era. Tiffany's version was produced by George Tobin with a drum machine and synths. The original had a garage-rock stomp.
10. "Venus" — Bananarama (1986)
Original: Shocking Blue (1970)
The Dutch rock band Shocking Blue hit #1 with it in 1970. Bananarama's Stock Aitken Waterman-produced version hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 1986 with a completely different arrangement — Hi-NRG dance-pop instead of psychedelic rock. Both versions hit #1. Different decades, different sounds, same hook.
11. "I Melt with You" — Modern English (1982)
This IS an 80s original — not a cover. But it gets included on "covers" lists sometimes because its melody feels so timeless that people assume it must be older. Modern English wrote it. It peaked at #78 on the Hot 100 but became one of the decade's most beloved songs through movie placements ("Valley Girl") and radio play.
12. "The Tide Is High" — Blondie (1981)
Original: The Paragons (1967)
A Jamaican rocksteady song from 1967. Debbie Harry and Blondie reimagined it as a new wave pop track, and it hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 1981. The reggae feel remained, but the production was pure early-80s pop. Atomee later covered it again in 2002.
13. "Hangin' Tough" — New Kids on the Block (1989)
This IS an original — written and produced by Maurice Starr. But it sounds so much like the pop-funk tracks that came before it that people sometimes assume it's a cover of something. It hit #1 on the Hot 100 and turned NKOTB into the biggest boy band of the decade. No sample, no cover — just peak 1989.
14. "Red Red Wine" — UB40 (1988)
Original: Neil Diamond (1968)
Neil Diamond wrote and recorded it in 1968. Tony Tribe did a reggae version in 1969. UB40 based their version on Tribe's reggae arrangement, hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 1988, and most people have no idea the song was written by the "Sweet Caroline" guy.
15. "Putting on the Ritz" — Taco (1983)
Original: Irving Berlin (1929)
An Irving Berlin standard from 1929, covered in a synth-pop arrangement by a Dutch-Indonesian singer named Taco. It peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 with a music video full of top hats and art deco choreography. The song was 54 years old when Taco made it a hit again.
What Counts as "Original"?
The 80s blurred the line between cover and original. Some of these songs were so thoroughly reinvented that calling them "covers" almost isn't fair. Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" and Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love" are the same song in name only. The melody connects them. Everything else is different.
That's what the best covers do — they don't copy; they translate.
Hear the Originals and the Covers
G33Z3R Radio has content spanning 1960 to 1999 — which means both the originals and the covers are in there.
- 1964 on G33Z3R → — Gloria Jones, Burt Bacharach era
- 1967 on G33Z3R → — Tommy James, The Paragons
- 1982 on G33Z3R → — Soft Cell, Joan Jett, Modern English
- 1987 on G33Z3R → — Tiffany, The Bangles
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