3 Soft Rock Songs From 1988 That Every 80s Kid Still Knows Today
This piece revisits three soft rock songs from 1988 that remain widely recognisable to those who grew up in the 1980s, highlighting Phil Collins' "A Groovy Kind Of Love", Chicago's "Look Away" and Cheap Trick's "The Flame". Each track topped the charts on release and has endured as a defining example of the era's softer, romantic rock sound, distinct from the heavier and more electronic music also popular at the time.
Phil Collins' hit featured on the soundtrack to his film Buster, which he also starred in, alongside other songs he wrote for the record; the track itself was written by others. Chicago's "Look Away", penned by Diane Warren, spent two weeks at number one and proved to be the band's last chart-topper for nine years, until 1997's "Here In My Heart". Cheap Trick's "The Flame", written by Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham, appeared on the album Lap Of Luxury and remains the only song by the band to reach number one, despite their many other hits.
- Three 1988 soft rock hits still resonate with 80s music fans today
- Phil Collins' song featured in his film Buster, though he didn't write it
- Cheap Trick's "The Flame" was their only-ever number one single
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Phil Collins, Chicago and Cheap Trick were all established acts by 1988, but each scored a chart-topping single that year in the softer, more melodic "soft rock" style, a gentler counterpart to the heavier and synth-driven sounds also dominating the decade. The songs in question are Collins' "A Groovy Kind Of Love", Chicago's "Look Away" and Cheap Trick's "The Flame".
Each track has its own backstory: Collins' song came from the soundtrack to Buster, a film he starred in; Chicago's hit was written by prolific songwriter Diane Warren; and Cheap Trick's ballad, though not written by the band, became their only number one despite a long career of other hits. All three reached the top of the charts on release and have remained familiar to listeners who grew up in that era.
The piece looks back at why these particular songs have stuck in the public memory decades on, tracing their chart success and origins rather than reporting any new development.