PRETTY IN PINK – 40 YEARS LATER
In this episode of Turn The Beat Around we celebrate one of the most beloved teen films — and one of the most influential alt‑pop soundtracks — of the 1980s: Pretty in Pink (1986). John Hughes’ suburban‑romance classic starred Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer and James Spader, but it was the music that turned the film into a generational touchstone.
We explored how the soundtrack became an even bigger success than the movie itself, climbing to No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart in 1986 and introducing Australian audiences to a wave of British new‑wave and post‑punk acts.
From the Psychedelic Furs’ title track to OMD’s era‑defining “If You Leave,” this episode revisits the songs that shaped the emotional architecture of the film and helped define teen culture in the mid‑80s. A soundtrack that inspired a generation, and still stands as one of the decade’s most enduring alt‑pop compilations.
- PRETTY IN PINK Psychedelic Furs
- ROUND AND ROUND Belouis Some
- DO WOT YOU DO INXS
- POSITIVELY LOST ME The Rave-Ups
- LEFT OF CENTER Suzanne Vega featuring Joe Jackson
- WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD Danny Hutton Hitters
- SHELLSHOCK New Order
- BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
- GET TO KNOW YA Jesse Johnson
- RUDY Talk Back
- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET ME GET WHAT I WANT The Smiths
- GODDESS OF LOVE OMD
- IF YOU LEAVE OMD
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