The 1980s were a golden age in regards to amazing real life musicians showing up as themselves on the silver screen. We’re talking scenes where fictional characters are in a club or at a concert and in the background some buzz-worthy musician is performing. Such performances are often superfluous to the plot, but add atmosphere to a scene or allow a director to show off his or her hip musical tastes. We have combed through decades of movie clips to highlight the 30 performances that were most iconic. To be clear, this isn’t about scenes featuring fictional bands or moments from music documentaries.
