How New Wave Ruled The 1980's 

Hello All! Just wanted to correct something. In the Roxy Music section I mention that Brian Eno produced David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy which he did not do. While Eno was a heavy collaborator, songwriter, and influence on the sound and style of those albums he technically does not have a producer credit. The producer credit goes to Tony Visconti. Apologies for any confusion

I was 20 years old in 1980, and started working at a record store. Music was my life for the following decades. I was so into New Wave, and it's still my favorite genre of music all these years later. I was able to see many of these bands live at the time, and I cherish the memories. It warms my old black heart to see a thoughtful video essay about my lifelong favorite music. I think anyone interested in getting into New Wave should make a playlist of all the songs you featured as a starting point. Great job on the essay, you have a new subscriber.

Thanks for mentioning A Flock of Seagulls in a good light. The band has been unfairly labeled a one hit wonder . Go beyond the haircuts and you'll discover their first three albums are actually quite good.

Today is my 61st birthday. One of the only things I enjoy about growing older is this type of retrospective - hearing thoughts from a modern perspective on pop culture from back in "my" day. Their legacies, their places in history. It's a feeling of having one foot in the past and one in the future. The 80s really were a fun time to be young. Fashion was ridiculous, music was exciting, there was a "do your own thing" vibe in the air, and it seemed like something fresh and new to see or hear would pop up all the time. I remember going to Record World and buying record albums of bands that I'd seen on MTV (later cassette tapes for my boombox and Walkman!) I really can't describe how exciting it was to discover people like Prince, U2, Blondie, the Police, and so many others. Then again, all young people know that feeling - when you branch out from music you grew up with to music that you're discovering on your own, but not only that - you're discovering who you are in part through that music. Thank you for the walk down memory lane; this was a well researched and enjoyable video, and I'm going to check out your post-punk video next.

Watched it right to the very end. I’m 61, and lived through all this glorious music! Great video!

Adam And The Ants, Bow Wow Wow, The Police, Blondie, The B-52’s, The Human League, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Go-Go’s, Missing Persons, Talking Heads, Devo, Psychedelic Furs, Culture Club, Grace Jones, Prince and The Revolution, Haircut 100, The Fixx, JoBoxers, Depeche Mode, ABC, INXS to name a few were one of my favorite new wave bands and artists.

It's amazing how you can talk in depth about a musical genre you weren't even born to appreciate when it was around. Trust me; it was a brilliant time musically to be alive. many of those acts are in their 60s and 70s now and still have it.

I was a teenager in the 80's . This was very special to me . Thanks

Missing Persons, Smithereens, Talking Heads, The Fixx, OMD, The Go-Go's, Tears for Fears, The Cure All good stuff

Some mention of Sparks (another group dating from the 70s glam era that were highly influential on this genre) and Oingo Boingo (Elfman's old group before he turned to movie scoring) would have been in order. Also, no mention of KROQ. That's a radio station in Los Angeles that was playing THIS music even when nothing else was, including MTV, and was secretly instrumental in launching it into American popular consciousness.

New wave is basically Punks that went to college and got nerdy.

Truly a great era in modern music history. Besides having a cool and novel musical sound these groups seemed to have a real sense of style and theatricality and were often good performers as well as musicians. A movement in which imagination and pioneer spirit truly abounded and ruled the scene.

From someone who lived through this time you did any excellent job.

I love it when the algorithm serves up gold like this.

Just as I was thinking to myself "no one ever mentions Aztec Camera in videos about New Wave history"...but then you DID! They are my absolute favourite, but they're so often overlooked. Roddy Frame is a ridiculously talented songwriter. He was a guitar prodigy, too! I still have all of Aztec Camera and RF's solo stuff on heavy rotation in my home/car!

In the 80s, New Wave was what you listened to when you weren't listening to Hair Bands, Rap, Club Music, actual Punk, or any indescribable sound which there were many...and trying to decide what you liked more! 80s had so many genres at once it was a feast for the ears and tickled any taste. I guarantee anyone not familiar with the real diversity of sound then would find a dozen or more artists they'd fall madly in love with.

duran duran will always be number one in my heart but i also LOVE LOVE LOVE til tuesday, missing persons, the go go's and adam ant also dude this video was really good. appreciate it keep doing it !!!!

The Ramones performed on the Sha Na Na show once. Bowser called them new wave. Punk was seen as a dirty word, so the mainstream media and radio between 79-81 were calling everything new wave. Even the Dead Kennedys were labeled new wave. As the 80s wore on, new wave adjacent bands (goth, industrial, post punk) along with hardcore and post-hardcore punk, jangle pop, noise, and early dream pop became the backbone of UK indie and American college radio. The original alternative music scene.

This is a fantastic well put together video/documentary, well done 👍

The 80's will never be matched for variety , and quality of the music produced in that decade .

Songs From The Big Chair is the greatest pop album ever made, great video!

Excellent work young man! as a guy who grew up in the 70/80's I think you got exactly right the feelings and sentiments of that era and for that you get a salute o7! I just wish you could have added another one of Trevor Horns big succeses Frankie Goes To Hollywood! How massive that band was in the 80's can't be denied. First 3 songs no 1's in the UK. I thought they deserve a wee mention! Overall your good work gets a 9/10 for me thoroughly enjoyed it!

It's worth knowing that Gary Numan is still performing, and his voice is just as spectacular as it was in the 80s.

Missing Persons deserve much more fame & attention than they received at the time. The story of how they started in 1980 is truly a fascinating one (4 out of the original 5 band members performed with Frank Zappa). Dale Bozzio’s unique voice & appearance has had a strong influence on many female artists since. Her then-husband Terry is also a phenomenal drummer on the level of Stewart Copeland & guitarist Warren Cuccurullo went on to replace Andy Taylor in Duran Duran when MP first broke up in 1986. I think 1984’s Rhyme & Reason is as good of an album as 1982’s Spring Session M, contrary to what the critics said at the time

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you for this trip back to my teen years! (Graduated in 1985) Music was what absolutely ruled our lives, and I was a total New Wave kind of girl. Soft Cells album Nonstop Erotic Cabaret played on repeat, and I saw Missing Persons live. As a matter of fact, my best friend (since we were 7) and I are going to see Adam Ant tomorrow night! Sorry for the novel, lol.

Very enjoyable for someone born in the mid-70s like me. I will always have a soft spot for 80s synth pop.

The Stranglers were criminally under rated. Before Hugh got locked up for being a rabid junkie, they took loads of punk, lo fi, raggae and baroque and made some very good pop songs.

This video covers all the music of my high school years, back when MTV played music videos 24/7. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

I'll never forget the first time I heard 'Are Friends Electric?' in 1979. That was my musical Year Zero.

Man, I really want to thank you for putting this video together as it took me back in time to a lot of groups I enjoyed listening to.

I feel Sparks should have also gotten a mention in the proto new wave section, they were doing that kind of stuff before it was even really a thing and was probably a large contributor as to why they didn't gain commercial success at the beginning.

The Jam? Have you mentioned them? English Beat? I think you need to do a 3 hour version. I have some quibbles but overall a very good effort. Oh and for goth... The Cult

Black US music in the UK. 60's into 70's, a cult scene now called called Northern Soul, think music snobbery personified as DJs in the UK hunted down dance floor fillers from the USA, specifically Stax, Motown and adjacent labels. Specifically looking for what was known as "Slipped Discs", singles that failed despite being good and no word of a lie, the more obscure, the harder failing, the better! That is the scene where Soft Cell picked up on Tainted Love as they were both regulars at those club nights. Dexy's Midnight Runners was another band that explicitly owed their formation to that scene. You had Spandau Ballet claiming to be Soul Boys at heart (as can be seen with True), Paul Young's whole career was about reviving lost songs by Black American artists. In working class areas, the pubs would have soul records on the Jukebox and they would get worn out regularly (Punk etc, that was for kids and art school students, maybe coffee shops). You also had a Reggae scene here, mostly thanks to Island Records. Our ears were primed for what was to come. With unsegregated radio in the UK, black artists started getting radio play, even on BBC radio 1, the national pop station (which was not just the chart). And we are not talking revivals via re-release of 60's songs. End of the 70's and early 80's, even though disco was generally a has been elsewhere you had Black R&B artists like Odyssey and Shalamar who were largely ignored in the USA being a big deal here in the UK for about 3 or 4 albums each. With the Electro Funk more came through, mostly one hit wonders. Forrest with "Rock the Boat" Rockers Revenge with "Walking on Sunshine" being constructed out of samples/pastices of other Electronic R&B tracks (That is was an Arthur Baker side project totally flew over our heads at the time), even Sylvester would have more than one hit here in the UK.

Excellent job for an overview from a person who was not around at the time, about a "genre" that if you ask 100 people to define you will get 100 different answers.

Loved New Wave in late 70's and was kind of alone in my neck of the woods with only Rolling Stone to guide me and then MTV came on cable and I realized I was NOT alone - then so many great years of seeing these bands on TV. Actually SEEING your favorite artists perform was nearly impossible unless you saw them live, before MTV. New Wave was in some ways so mature and Avante Garde with its somewhat non-conformist themes but seems so sweet and innocent now - such a lovely view of the world and it filled me with hope as a young man.

This was such a well made video and very well explained! I’ve been looking for a channel that dives into music history in this way and was happy to find this channel. I’d love to see more videos like this for other genres!

just wanna say that this is the most perfect video essay i've seen. it's the perfect length and it focuses on something that i LOVE to learn about. thank you for this i am def subscribing

SPARKS, how can you not mention the brothers Ron and Russell Mael. They fit into every sub-genre you cover AND are influential heroes to most of these artists. Have you seen the Edgar Wright documentary “ The Sparks Brothers”

I lived through - and loved - all of this. *Very* well done, young man.

Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, very important to early electronic and the only place I heard industrial music at the time!

Very good video. I'll add a couple of things to be pedantic... First - definitions - in the UK 'New Wave' referred to most of the eclectic music that followed Punk, but by something like '82 the term 'New Pop' had replaced it, with 'New Romantic' being a specific sub genre which occurred between the two. In the US the term 'New Wave' was more or less applied to all the bands who got big via MTV. It would also be worth adding how influential the first version of Ultravox was to many early synth acts (like Gary Numan), and mentioning how important both Midge Ure (Ultravox's replacement lead singer after John Foxx went solo), and Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode's synth player on their first album) were to music in the first half of the 80's. And finally, I will say one band that should have been mentioned but wasn't - an act who also - like Depeche Mode - really got big in the US at the end of the 80's - was 'The Cure'. Minor quibbles all. Again - very good vid. PS: OMD.

Great video!!! It was great to see the history laid out the way you did. I was in High School from 1979 to 1983 so this was MY music. Your video brought back so many memories. I didn't know the back story of New Wave. Once, maybe in the late 80's, I heard the song "moving in stereo" by the Cars. I was shocked it came out in 1978. At the time I was thinking it was way ahead of it's time because it sounded so new wave. But watching your video gives me the actual answer. I lived in NJ for 10 years from 2011 to 2021. My landlord had worked at MTV in 1981 when it started. He had a lot of great stories, and my ex partner worked at MTV from 1986 to 2007. I miss the era of New Wave SO MUCH! Music is mostly crap to me today. I guess I'm just like all the older folks that look back at the music of their youth as the best music. In 1983 when I graduated from HS, I took a cross country trip with a friend to CA. Our top song of the trip was "Sex, I'm a" by Berlin, next was "Safety Dance" by Men without Hats, and third was "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant. Oh, and who could ever forget "Sweet Dreams were made of this" by the Eurythmics, which was beyond 1st.....Oh man, I'm forgetting "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde, which I'm not sure is New Wave.....Oh, in the fall, after that trip, I had my first great sexual experience to the song "King of Pain" by the Police. I don't think that was new wave either.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Matching your headgear to a phaser pedal in the background is goated

DEVO MENTIONED

Such a fantastic job!! Truly your best work so far. Absolutely amazing and informative! Thank you 😊

As someone who lived through that glorious era and has loved it since the beginning, you did a GREAT job breaking it down. You covered it as if you were there as well. Keep up the great videos!

This is pretty good bro. I missed a lot of this while it was happening. It was like drinking from a firehose. Glad to hear you mention XTC. I didn’t miss that one. 😁

Ive been WAITING for this one.

Great video!

This is so well written! Thank you!

Excellent video man, Thank you

So nostalgic! Amazing job!

great video and an awesome intro to new wave!! My favourite new wave groups would have to be DEVO (nice energy dome btw), talking heads, XTC, the B52's, the buggles, split enz, wall of voodoo, gary numan, elvis costello andddd sparks! If you'd classify sparks as new wave that is, they did influence almost everyone from around that era so i'd highly recommended checking them out if you haven't already!!

effing tremendous content. thank you!

your deep dive here is incredible. thank you, brother

Great video on the New Wave movement! Depeche Mode's longevity shows great lyrics and songsmith outlast music trends.

Great video. I recommend you give Talk Talk a listen. Amazing band

Reeeeally nice and professional presentation, thank you much!

Great job dude. I truly enjoyed this.

Very thorough. The music I grew up with and you hit the highlights ... and some pretty deep cuts as well - Orange Juice, man! That is a comparatively obscure one. This is a great series and I get the sense we may be kindred spirits.

To Depeche Mode myself I just can't get enough of new wave music in all its forms. To save up enough scratch to buy a copy of Dare back in the day was a defining moment for me.

Thanks so much for this! 😊

This was a great video. Glad you popped up in my feed.

"...playing shows with the likes of Iggy Pop, and Siouxie and the Banshees. Not at the same time. Could you imagine?" Yes, I could, and I imagine that combination would be utterly epic, and very, very intense. I want to thank you for that thought.

Nice video. I'd like to see your take on The Jam and the Two Tone bands - The Specials, Madness, The (English) Beat, The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers. Speaking of The Specials, Terry Hall co-wrote Our Lips Are Sealed with Jane Wiedlin. Also, Scritti Politti never gets mentioned with the other new wave artists but Cupid and Psyche 85 was a great record.

Wonderful video and great history!

Great job! Excellent video

Where’s the Australian artists like INXS, Midnight Oil,Men at Work, Spit Enz and the Divinals that are totally ignored in this video because they are not American or British

Love seeing 70s Roxy Music acknowledgement

Great video! New Wave was such an influential part of growing up in the 80s. Thank goodness I grew-up in the 80s. #generation_X

Interesting. Heavy metal fan. Did not realize that all these great pop songs were in the category of new wave. Cool video

Favorite New Wave artist: Simple Minds.

My favorite is Depeche Mode. Close second is New Order.

Having grown up with all this music, it was awesome to hear the history laid out in such a fun and informative manner. Great work.

This is the first video I’ve watched of yours. I loved it and can’t wait to watch more.

Another great video! The music nerd in me loved your new wave family tree chart! Ps. Do you know the New Zealand band Split Enz? They were also around in that golden age of Post Punk/New Wave, I think you would like them. ‘One Step Ahead’, ‘My Mistake’ and ‘Dirty Creature’ are my fave tracks, cool goofy film clips too ☺️

Thanks. Great work. I lived through the period during my formative years and you covered the key players well. Still think I lived in a golden age of popular music. I saw Adam Ant, who was not respected like some of those others, BUT he was great live, and the songs were not far off XTC style/quality. Really good. I also saw New Order at the peak of their powers in 87 - they forged a few different kinds of "Sound" (indie guitar, goth, electropop) which were imitated by U2, Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche. Killing Joke were great live. I saw Gary Numan play with The Church, great. This is an unhumble-brag. A gen x clinging to this life raft. Regrets? I wish I had seen XTC (who stopped doing gigs early) and The Pixies.

This is a fantastic video. Thank you !

Well done on the research, very thorough. Cheers.

I remember the name New Wave came about referencing the British Invasion of the 60's was the first wave and this is the new wave.

I feel sorry for those that didn’t live it. It was a BLAST! The 80s: _Lived ‘em. Loved ‘em. Miss ‘em._

Thank you. This is excellent and truely insightful content.

I can't believe I actually enjoyed this video. I was 14 when I heard the Sex Pistols for the first time. I had known all about glam rock like the New York Dolls, etc.. I used to listen to Rodney Bingenheimer on his radio show Rodney on the Rock, which was KROQ in LA. I listened to everything that was avant-garde, and if course to everything you featured and then some. I have tried listening to other videos about new wave, and they are very condescending, even down right insulting to people of my generation. Your video was fun, and informative.

Missing Persons and Wall of Woodoo

Xtc, The Jam, Police, English Beat, The Specials, The Selector…any 2 Tone band for that matter…pub rockers: Graham Parker, Costello, J. Jackson, Nick Lowe, Rockpile, Stiff Records, The Clash…

This was great content. I was there for the early 80s explosion and you articulate that era the best. Thanks!

That was fun! Thank you! 🙏 🎉🧚‍♀️💜

Top of the Pops in the UK, artists would often record in a studio earlier in the day the track they would mime to. To appear on it meant you were in the living rooms of at least a 1/3rd of the country! In the 70's, 80's and 90's for a band to consider itself to have "made it" in the UK, a band/artist needed to score the trilogy, a TotP appearance, a John Peel Session (John Peel was a big deal for indie and alternative music, his radio show broke dozens of bands, record 3-5 songs in a studio for special broadcast), front cover of one of the big 3 music press weeklies. That now all 3 are gone, no band can truly make it in the UK.

The Go-Go's hit,"Our Lips Are Sealed", was a song by Fun Boy Three, a group created by Terry Hall from The Specials. Bananarama did the backing vocals for Fun Boy Three.

Glad to find someone like you who shows such competence, extensive research and passion about the music i grew up with back then

loved your video. Thank you ❤

how did he know I'm handsome?

DEVO MENTIONED!! 🥔🥔‼️‼️ ARE WE NOT MEN???💥

You did a phenomenal job with this! It was a magical time to come of age. It’s always nice to see newer generations appreciate our music.

Fantastic video!

Rip It Up by Orange Juice, both name checked and sound checked Buzzcocks song boredom... The line "My favourite song is Boredom", followed by the jarring guitar line were both inspired and copied from Buzzcocks, check the two songs out back to back and you will hear it. Also you had Japan on your visualiser... They deserve a whole video of their own. If you don't know their full back catalogue and what they produced later, you are missing out on some amazing musicses.

I can't really say a favorite new wave band because it's changed so many times. Top 3 would be New Order, The Police, and Duran Duran i guess. Am curious where you would put Squeeze on this list as I've always considered them one of the pioneer groups but not sure the dates hold up for that idea?

Absolutely subbed! This is my second vid of yours I’ve seen, (was searching post-punk history), and you’ve nailed it to the wall! Summer of 1981, I was about to start 8th grade when 8-1-1981 occurred. Rad days, indeed!🤘🔥😎

Wow!!! Great job Enjoyed it