Taylor Dayne Returns with Every Beat of Her Heart
November 25, 2025
Taylor Dayne is in awe of 80s fans. The singer, songwriter and actress was particularly dazzled by those she met when she sailed on the 2020 voyage of The 80s Cruise.
“Oh, goodness!” She began. “There are hardcore fans, and then there are hardcore 80s fans. There’s so much music and so many artists that you realize you’re part of such a family of musicians that when you become the soundtrack for people’s lives, it’s quite unbelievable.”
Taylor is returning to the high seas with us in 2026 and bringing along her huge catalog of hits. She was omnipresent on the charts in the second half of our decade, demolishing records by charting seven straight singles in the Top 10 including “Prove Your Love,” “Don’t Rush Me, “You Will Lead You Back,” and, of course, her biggest anthem, “Tell It To My Heart.”
But despite her near instantaneous success, Taylor says it came with a lot of hard work earlier in her career.
“It was an overnight success on some levels, but for me, it was that little girl who was fighting her way to be seen all these years,” she said. “I learned my chops in the clubs and went to everything from Bitter End, Bottom Line, CBGBs, I saw everything. I lived it. You know, I was a New York girl.”
Taylor was my guest on the Stuck in the ’80s podcast. Below are the highlights from our conversation. (Click here for the full interview.)
Steve Spears: You’ve talked about the hustle of those early days. Is it true you recorded the lyrics for “Tell It To My Heart” at 5 in the morning?
Taylor Dayne: “Oh, yeah. This was during the times during a studio where we could afford to be in there. I worked in a Russian nightclub in Brighton Beach. My typical Friday, Saturday, Sunday didn’t end till 3 or 4 am. And so doing the vocals at 5:00 was no big deal. That was our life.”
And then fast forward to 1988 and you’re opening for Michael Jackson on the European leg of his “Bad” tour. That had to be surreal.
“Oh my goodness, it was past surreal. I was like, ‘Bye-bye Russian club!’ ”
I can’t wrap my mind around what it’d be like opening for MJ in those massive European stadiums.
“I think I threw up and s–t myself the first time I was walking out because it sounds like the Coliseum, like the roar of lions. That’s what the sound of all these people sound like.”
How do you do it? Do you focus on the first five rows? How do you look at a 100,000 people and sing in front of them?
“The little person inside you says ‘What am I doing here? Do I deserve this? What is this?’ I have to deal deeply with issues about feeling deserving of something like this and not just taking it for granted. It was frightening. But behind me was my family, my band.”
If you could go back in time to 1988 and tell yourself something or do one thing differently, what would it be?
“It’s taken me years to build the sustainability. Years and years and years of really working on mental, emotional, spiritual health, and feeling deserving. Not everything adds up, but you have to add up. You have to find the worth. You have to develop that strength.”
You’ve been incredibly open about your health struggles and your battle with colon cancer. What advice do you have for fans our age who can sometimes be reluctant about seeking help from health professionals?
“Early detection saved my life. That’s it in a nutshell. At 53, I think I got a colonoscopy. I pushed it off. We all do. I listen and follow and educate myself daily. And I have no problem talking about it, a disease of colon cancer, where you lose people too quickly because it’s not detected. All our ignorance and all our life gets caught up with us – that’s what probably prevents a lot of us or reluctancy to get in there.”
You wear your heart on your sleeve. I think that’s one of the qualities your fans admire most about you.
“My fans have made that a complete safe place for me. I let them know: Lead with power lead with your strength, and don’t give up. They know that they come to my show, and there’s power and energy for days.”
Steve Spears is the creator and co-host of the Stuck in the ’80s podcast, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Steve and co-host Brad Williams host Big 80s Trivia on each voyage of The 80s Cruise. Find out more at sit80s.com.