After the Sex Pistols, six musical years that go in all directions (4)

 Donna Summer, et "I Feel love", recorded in Germany, only with synthesizers by Giorgio Moroder. She was in a good mood that day...

The groups of the New Wave that followed 1977 already had a past, but they found in this period an exciting maturity. We will not dwell on the history or their path, but some cities were the place of their development like Sheffield, Manchester, Coventry, and obviously London. The New Wave, or post punk, is a chapter too important and diversified to be developed in a single post, but just to remember, here are some trends that have entered the English decade of the 80’s (we will not include the American stage, even if it forged ties with the British, mainly following the «groove» of the disco which, from 1977 to 1979, invented a music and a lifestyle inherited from the German Giogio Moroder, and its hypnotic rhythms entirely designed by its synthesizers, on which Dona Summer («I Feel love») seemed to be in a special sensual mood!). And while the Kraftwerk synthesizers, which made the sound of many English bands, stay far from American sounds, the post punk found in the american black scene, links that it did not cultivate with the US «white» scene. Add to that a strong influence from Jamaica, and we have three ingredients that made the days of the best New Wave English names.

Before citing some trends, it is rather surprising to note, as was said in the preceding text, that once the late 1980s and the exhaustion of most of the groups that delighted England and Europe, there was an abandonment of the «look», which characterized this decade, and we saw the appearance of artists who could be described as «punk», musically! 
This seemingly anachronistic fact is due to the fact that they did not focus on any attitude, but that they were real musicians who played a rock without concession. These ensembles exist until today and are known as part of the «Oi! » scene. Do not ask me why this name, which found its American correspondent in the hardcore. That late punk music was quickly associated with musicians from the popular class, close to hooliganism. 

                     Ex-ultravox, John Foxx was one of the most inventive with his unlikely machines

To get back to “post punk”, starting in 1978, synthesizers became democratic, polyphonic and dominated John Foxx’s cold wave, The Human League (in his first two non-commercial albums), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the dark, more melodic, Soft Cell (sado maso gay electro trend!) or Gary Numan, who behind a cold look lined up a series of irresistible hits. And there were many others. 

 "No Stop Erotic Cabaret", first album of Soft Cell, with Marc Almond and Dave Ball, and the famous "tainted love"

But the guitar kept its place with a gothic scene led by The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees or Bauhaus. Quite close to them, a dark and depressive scene with Joy division, Sister of Mercy or Cockteau Twins appear at the same time. 

Hard to be more Gothic, Siouxsie Sioux...

                                         .... or suicidal with Joy Division, and its leader Ian Curtis (left)

On the other hand, the New Romantics targeted the charts with their pop glam dancing, like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, or others who had a single hit career like Visage, all children of David Bowie, at a time when the clips, and therefore the visual, equaled the music (for the best of them). 

 the success of Duran Duran was not far from the Beatlemania, at least the time of three albums

 Adam & the Ant integrated tribal rhythms into their first two excellent records, which brought them an originality that the others did not have

The time was full of marquis clothes, jabots, high boots and pirate costumes as worn by Adam and the Ants, a band whose first two albums will be remembered. Soon after, a light «sylvestre» pop was born, whose best representatives were China Crisis, Aztec Camera, Haircut 100, or Tears for Fears. In the midst of these dozens of bands, a few free electrons, sometimes electronic, sometimes more organic like Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche mode, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, XTC, Paul Haig, the Scots of Big Country and Simple Minds, The Pretenders, Thomas Dolby, The The, The Irish preachers of U2, and of course The Police. 

 Like many of these bands, Simple Minds, released 4 great unknown records, and lost its originality from its first success, "Don’t you".

                   Japan was considered like a New Romantic band, but their music was much more sofisticated

The New Wave became really mainstream, and the bands became more pop and commercial, like Culture Club, Yazoo, Kajagoogoo, or Bananarama. It was the beginning to feel exploitation at the expense of creation. Sometimes it was also the limit of the good taste. Even if bands like ABC, Swing out Sister, The Style Council, Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Wham!, drinking at the source of the «black funk», came with irresistible “skuds” that gave them access to the first places of the English and European charts. 

Plastic funk? ABC was one of the English bands to confess his love for the black funk US

Finally, in a more art-rock niche, along the lines of Eno and Roxy Music, Japan was unparalleled, and Talk Talk would distinguish itself in 1986 with “The Colour of Spring”.

And to finish on a very skilful and childish note, a series of groups were going to shock the young people on the dance floors: Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, or The Specials, were making the ska reborn, 1950’s frenzied style in Jamaica, then under English tutelage, through the 2-tone label. The ska, long before reggae, which dates back to the late 1960s, was meant to be multiracial, hence the record covers dominated by black and white checkers.

The Specials, and the checkered design of the 2-tone label

Around 1985, however, the drop in quality still saw the appearance of some cult groups, I mean “one” group, The Smiths, one of the greatest English quartet (very English!), which proved that with a classical formation: guitar (Johnny Marr), bass, drums and vocals (Morrissey), we could still invent a poetry that took to the guts, and this, in only 4 albums and about twenty singles. 

 The Smiths, led by Morrissey (text) and Johnny Marr, four albums that were indispensable between 1984 and 1987

It is on purpose that I will not quote major American groups, to avoid an indigestible enumeration, but we will come back to that. The purpose of these 4 (long) posts was to evoke initially the overestimation of the punk movement, which was not a real one, but which had the merit to show to all these artists, some of whom will become immense. It is however surprising that musical literature has long denigrated this first half of the 1980s, calling it artificial, but we must go back to the time and imagine (I remember very well!), that synthesizers were not unanimous. Even a non-musician, succeded to create the sound of a orchestra with three fingers! But the balance of time restored things to their importance, and it will be left to Malcolm Mc Laren’s protégés (and other less important groups), that it will accelerate the outbreak of the New Wave under its various expressions…or maybe not!!  Whatever... If it was the case, that is not a lesser credit!