Pretty In Pink (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

John Hughes had helped Simple Minds score their first American hit with The Breakfast Club, but Pretty in Pink was where the filmmaker fully embraced his left-of-the-dial aesthetic. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's longingly romantic "If You Leave," Suzanne Vega's angst-ridden piano ballad "Left of Center," and The Psychedelic Furs' elegant re-recording of the title track captured intense adolescent emotions for an entire generation. The album also helped Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths, and New Order widen their mainstream profile.