4 Debut Albums That Made 1982 a Special Year in Music

Each calendar year, bands and solo acts release debut albums. Most of these records fail to get much attention from the masses. But now and then, they break through and immediately introduce themselves to the world.

1982 was a particularly strong year for debut albums. In fact, we can’t imagine that era without these four standout first albums being a part of it.

‘Business As Usual’ by Men At Work

Even before many of the so-called British New Wave bands came bounding onto American shores with their hits, the Aussies from Men At Work beat them to the punch. Technically, Business As Usual made its first appearance in Australia in 1981, but it didn’t secure its US release until April of ’82. It was an almost instant sensation. The band projected levity in their videos, with frontman Colin Hay immediately standing out with his off-kilter charisma. But there were serious themes hidden between the lines of massive hits “Who Can It Be Now” and “Down Under”. In addition to Hay’s ingratiating vocals, the touches added by multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham helped to set these tracks apart.

‘Asia’ by Asia

The 80s were a fascinating time when it came to the phenomenon of the supergroup. And Asia helped get that ball rolling. Four individuals who had, for the most part, made their bones in prog rock bands in the 70s assembled to form this group. Their mission was to take the melodic moments that songs by their earlier outfits had cultivated and trim the fat. And it worked like a charm. The power chords provided by Steve Howe that start the lead single “Heat Of The Moment” immediately made this band arena rock-adjacent. But you could also hear some of the old ambition in tracks like the synth-driven “Only Time Will Tell”. MTV ate it up too, making these rock veterans seem like hot newcomers.

‘Marshall Crenshaw’ by Marshall Crenshaw

Almost every new artist that came down the pike in 1982 seemed to be focused on pushing music forward into a brave new world. Marshall Crenshaw flew in the face of that by daring to concentrate on the old-fashioned charms of songcraft. Maybe that prevented Crenshaw from coming up with a massive hit off the album. “Someday, Someway”, the breakthrough single from the record, barely eked into the Top 40. But you could make a fair argument that this record has a ton more staying power than some of the glitzier LPs released within the same time period. And it also helped Crenshaw build a long-running career out of the same attributes that grace this wonderful album.

‘The Lexicon Of Love’ by ABC

It seemed like each band that arrived from Great Britain in the 80s came with its own calling card. In the case of ABC, it was their willingness to take old-school elements like disco beats and sweeping strings and adorn them with more modern, synthy flourishes. Give credit to them for their ability to make a full-length album that was gloriously free of filler. That’s not an accomplishment to be taken for granted when you compare it to the output of other British New Wave bands of that time. On top of that, the singles were fantastic. “Poison Arrow” and “The Look Of Love”, which put Martin Fry’s bold pronouncements on modern romance front and center, still sound gloriously dynamic and timeless today.

Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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