Guitar Hero 80s Full Track Listing | The British Contingent Preview

I’m a huge Guitar Hero fan, even though I joined the party late, receiving Guitar Hero II just last Christmas. Since then I’ve all but beaten the game with 5 stars on all Hard songs and only 5 left to do on Extreme, man they are tough! And then I got given Guitar Hero I for my birthday in April and am currently working my way through Extreme. I’m not quite good enough to yet appear on the Score Hero Hall Of Fame though sadly.

So why am I telling you this on a British music blog? Well, the next incarnation in the series Guitar Hero 80s (Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s to give it it’s full title) is due out on the Ps2 on July 24th. I’d thought we should take a look at the British songs and artists tracks featured, but first the full list courtesy of Wikipedia…

1. Opening Licks

* “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” - Quiet Riot
* “We Got the Beat” - The Go-Go’s
* “I Ran (So Far Away)” - A Flock of Seagulls
* “Balls to the Wall” - Accept
* “18 and Life” - Skid Row (encore)

2. Amp Warmers

* “No One Like You” - Scorpions
* “Shakin’” - Eddie Money
* “Heat of the Moment” - Asia
* “Radar Love” - White Lion
* “Because, It’s Midnite” - Limozeen (encore)

3. String Snappers

* “Holy Diver” - Dio
* “Turning Japanese” - The Vapors
* “Hold on Loosely” - .38 Special
* “The Warrior” - Scandal
* “I Wanna Rock” - Twisted Sister (encore)

4. Return of the Shred

* “What I Like About You” - The Romantics
* “Synchronicity II” - The Police
* “Ballroom Blitz” - Krokus
* “Only a Lad” - Oingo Boingo
* “Round and Round” - Ratt (encore)

5. Relentless Riffs

* “Ain’t Nothin’ But a Good Time” - Poison
* “Lonely is the Night” - Billy Squier
* “Bathroom Wall” - Faster Pussycat
* “Los Angeles” - X
* “Wrathchild” - Iron Maiden (encore)

6. Furious Fretwork

* “Electric Eye” - Judas Priest
* “Police Truck” - Dead Kennedys
* “Seventeen” - Winger
* “Caught in a Mosh” - Anthrax
* “Play With Me” - Extreme (encore)

Wow, that’s quite an impressive list, although I must admit on first read through, I didn’t know a lot of the songs. After a bit of educating myself though, I can’t wait until the release of this latest game in the series.

So to the point of this post, and a look at the British contingent in the game. Some of the YouTube videos I’ve used aren’t of the best quality, and have some serious lag on them.

This is ‘I Ran (So Far Away)’ by A Flock of Seagulls, a group I’m not too aware of I must admit. The song is from 1982, and although I didn’t recognise the name, as soon as I heard the vocal I recognised it.

This isn’t the first time it’s been used in a video game either, as it was used as the theme for ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’. The band are best remembered for lead singer Mike Score’s distinctive hairstyle, which has been mentioned in ‘Friends’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘The Wedding Singer’.

Here we have ‘Heat of the Moment’ by Asia, a progressive rock super group. The band were made up of members of Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and The Buggles.

This was their first single, released on 1982, when it reached number 4 in the US charts. I have heard this song but it’s not one of my favourites in the game and seems a bit boring to be a main song in a Guitar Hero game.

Now we’re talking! This is The Vapors with ‘Turning Japanese’. Not only is it one of my favourite games but it’s also reason enough on it’s own to buy Guitar Hero 80s. The Vapors were a New Wave band from the South of England, and this was pretty much their only hit.

It was released in 1980 and has since been covered and used in TV shows and films many times. From watching the video, I absolutely can’t wait to play this in Guitar Hero, and think it’ll be the highlight of the game for me.

The Police are back! Not only in real life now that they have reformed, but also in Guitar Hero. Following on from ‘Message in a Bottle’ from Guitar Hero II, this is ‘Synchronicity II’, not my favourite Police song but a strong choice none the less. I would have put a few choices ahead of it in my wish list of songs, but it’s still class and fits the game well.

The Police basslines are notoriously simple and repetitive, as anyone who played Message in a Bottle in Co-Op mode could attest to, but the lead is always fun to strum to.

And here’s one for the moshers amongst you, as we have ‘Wrathchild’ by Iron Maiden. The band always remind me of Spinal Tap, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as ‘The Tap’ rock!

With Bruce Dickinson as front man, they rocked throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s and are still going today. Wrathchild is from the ‘Killers’ album released in 1981 and is a good fit for the game. I must admit the song passed me bybut I was only 4 when it was released so you’ll have to excuse me that.

And so we come to the last British song in the game, ‘Electric Eye’ by Metal Gods Judas Priest. This is the only song I couldn’t find a YouTube preview for, so instead you are treated to a live version of the song. This appears on the last setlist in the game and I can see why as it’s a classic piece of rock goodness.

Judas Priest were formed in 1968 in Birmingham, England and incredibly are still going strong (although probably tamer than before) now. This is another song which has already appeared on the Ps2, being featured on the V-Rock station in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. It rounds the game out perfectly, and I can’t wait to rock out to it.

While this game is only really a filler while we wait for Guitar Hero III (already confirmed to have ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ by Muse in it), I will be queuing up on the day of release to get hold of a copy. The British contingent is good, making up about 20% of the game’s track list, and I hope I’ve given you a taster of the goodness to come at the end of July.