Depeche Mode (French for "hurried fashion") was one of the first and best of the British synth-pop bands, combining breathless, melodic pop with perky electronics. With main songwriter Vince Clarke's departure for Yaz, Martin Gore took the reigns, an…

They'll forever be known for their infamous flowerpot hats, but more importantly, Devo was one of the architects of American new wave in the late 1970s and early '80s, whether spastically deconstructing the Stones' "Satisfaction" or churning out irre…

One of this UK band's principal assets is the androgynous persona of Pete Burns (b. 5 August 1959, Port Sunlight, England; vocals) who had fronted Liverpool's Mystery Girls in 1977, then Nightmares In Wax, in which he was accompanied by Mick Reid (gu…

At the dawn of the 1980s, Duran Duran was part of Britain's "futurist" or "new romantic" scene, which merged glam-rock attitude with disco beats and synthesizers to form an intensely fashion-conscious variant on new wave. With their good looks and po…

Formed in the mid-1980s, the British electropop dance duo Pet Shop Boys neatly summed up the age of WALL STREET player Gordon Gecko's greed-is-good dictum and Ronald Reagan's trickle-down economics policy in one of their early singles, "Opportunities…

Although the press and public were initially focused on singer Debbie Harry's model-like good looks, Blondie was one of the first new wave bands of the 1970s to experiment with other musical styles. Beginning as part of the '70s CBGB scene in New Yor…

This new-wave electro-pop act from Liverpool, England, had remarkable success in the USA before finding a large following in Britain. The band comprised Mike Score (b. 5 November 1957; keyboards, vocals), Ali Score (drum machine, vocals), Paul Reynol…

Though not quite one-hit wonders, the Knack will forever be associated with one song--the herky-jerky, stuttering smash "My Sharona." Part of the American power-pop movement that never quite took hold, the group reached dizzying overnight success in …

This London, England-based new wave pop band was formed from the ashes of the Intellektuals and 57 Men. Originally called Huang Chung, they comprised Jack Hues (vocals/guitar), Nick Feldman (bass) and Darren Costin (drums). After four tracks featured…

Nerdy-cute Thomas Dolby became an unlikely 1980s icon thanks to his unique presence in MTV videos, and his penchant for catchy synth hooks and danceable programmed beats. The keyboardist/programmer got his start in the late '70s with Bruce Woolley an…

Eschewing everything but the pursuit of fun, Athens, GA's B-'52s burst onto the New Wave scene in 1979. Their mix of '50s/'60s kitsch and pure pop instincts produced some classic campy tunes ("Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho"). The band's popularity hi…

Born in the early 1980s out of the ashes of U.K. post-punk pioneers Joy Division, New Order became one of the first electro-pop bands to find mainstream success in the US. Their single "Blue Monday" was a landmark in dance music, and subsequent recor…

Madness took its cue from other British ska revivalists such as the Specials and the Selecter, but where those bands took aim at social issues, Madness went in for goofy fun. In the early days of MTV, the group had several stateside hits, but nothing…

With their minimalist electronic approach and lyrics preoccupied with the seedier side of sensuality, the British duo Soft Cell were unlikely pop stars. Nevertheless, that's what they became in the early '80s, boosted by their massive hit "Tainted Lo…

French pop group Mickey 3Ds lead singer Mickey grew up loving rock roll Meeting drummer Jojo in the mid-90s the two formed Mickey 3D and started playing bars around southern France before issuing a demo in 1996 1999 saw their debut album Mistigri To…

In the U.S., synth-pop pioneer Gary Numan only had one hit, 1979's new wave smash "Cars," but in his homeland of Britian he was a major pop star. As one of the first pop/rock artists to focus on synthesizers rather than guitars, Numan was enormously …

Talk Talk began as an early-1980s synth-pop band in the style of Duran Duran. It didn't take long for the group's aesthetic ambitions to come to the fore, though. By the mid-'80s, their music was full of jazz-tinged ambience and extended instrumental…

Debuting in 1978, the Boston-based Cars managed to acheive both massive commercial success and New Wave credibilty with their mix of power pop, Roxy Music-influenced art-rock, and melodic synth hooks. Despite his fame, leader Ric Ocasek proved to be …

Their innovative rock/reggae fusion, superb songwriting, and crossover appeal put the Police light-years ahead of many of their 1980s new-wave colleagues in terms of artistic resonance. Emerging just after the punk explosion of the late '70s, the tri…

Stuart Adamson (b. William Stuart Adamson, 11 April 1958, Manchester, England, d. 16 December 2001, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; guitar/vocals) formed Big Country in June 1981 upon his departure from Scottish new wave outfit the Skids. His first recruit wa…