“True”
by Spandau Ballet
from the album True
1983
Buy the album on Amazon

A quintessential classic 80’s song. There are songs that fit that description in all the wrong ways. This is not one of them. Unless you just have never heard it before, as soon as those breathy sighs start, I don’t think there’s a person who doesn’t love this song. It’s pure class (just look at the singer in the video!) and romance.

Surprisingly (to me), this is a pretty recent addition to my karaoke repertoire. I always liked the song, but it was always on the fringes of my memory. I’d like it if it came on the radio, but then would promptly forget it. Many moons ago when Lance and I used to go to our old favorite spot all the time (IZU4EVA), there was occasionally another regular there. Tataneesha (sp?) had great taste in song selections and was fun to chat with, but this was her magnum opus. Her performances completely elevated this song for me.

Even once we stopped going there, it still took a while for me to think about giving this a try. It must have come up on shuffle one time and triggered something in me. To be fair, another of our crew would occasionally sing it, but it wasn’t really “his”. I listened the hell out of it until I felt confident, and finally gave it a shot. It was immediately added to my permanent list.

This is the song of songs to sway to in the dark at a high school dance, awkwardly wrapping your arms around your date, or standing depressed on the side while you watch others do it. And not just because of John Hughes. Or maybe entirely because of him.