Perhaps one of the greatest success stories of the 1980s, Liverpool group Frankie Goes To Hollywood, were more than a mere pop group, they were…
Browsing: New Wave
As inner-city Britain rioted in 1981, The Specials had just topped the UK charts with the doomy and foreboding Ghost Town. And then they split up . .…
Forged in the crucible of late 70s student politics, marked by a determination to think beyond the badly-played heavy metal that passed for much of…
Gary Numan (real name Gary Anthony James Webb) joined The Lasers as a guitarist and rapidly took over the helm of the punk band, who,…
Identical twins Jay (John) and Mike Aston enjoyed cult appeal as Gene Loves Jezebel in the UK goth community but achieved greater success in America. The…
After the break-up of The Beat in 1983, vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger decided to continue working together in a new venture. They joined…
The Go-Go’s formed in 1978 as The Misfits – The line-up, at the time, consisted of Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Caffey…
Even in 1976, blue-eyed soul boy and ex-mod Graham Parker was seen as not quite of the top drawer, although he frequently came very close.…
Formed in Kent in 1980, Haircut 100 lit up the charts in 1981 and 1982 with music so cuddly and safe it could only have…
Glenn Gregory, the only son of a steelworker, was born in Sheffield and grew up on the Flower Council Estate in Shire Green, one of…
High Wycombe School music teacher and part-time rock band member (he was briefly in a Canadian prog rock band called Warrior) Howard Jones paid for his…
A lead singer with pierced nipples and half a head of hair, and two bits of Sheffield totty, discovered dancing in a disco. The band…
With or without his backing band The Blockheads, Ian Dury was a formidable performer in the early days of punk’s metamorphosis into New Wave. A pub rock veteran…
Icehouse came into being when Australian group Flowers signed a global recording deal with Chrysalis Records and were compelled to change their name in 1981 for…
Tim, Andy and Jon Farriss formed The Farriss Brothers with school friends Michael Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Beers in Australia in 1977. A year…
Formed in Boston, Mass. in the late 60’s from two rival local bands (The J Geils Blues Band and The Hallucinations), The J Geils Band…
Paul Weller (born John William Weller) and Rick Buckler met at school in Woking, Surrey, in 1975 and played music together during their lunch hours. The…
Aussie band Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons could almost have been Graham Parker and the Rumour under another name. They also sounded like Elvis…
Born in August 1955, Midlander Joe Jackson was a music college graduate (he studied piano at London’s Royal College of Music) and cabaret arranger before…
Joy Division formed in Manchester, England, in January 1977 originally as The Stiff Kittens, then Warsaw. The name they finally settled on came from House of…