Inspired by great 1960s West Coast bands like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, the Bangles brought a jangly Rickenbacker folk-rock flavor to '80s rock. The L.A.-based band had its own top-notch songwriters in Susanna Hoffs and Debbi Peterson, but m…

Cyndi Lauper started her recording career in 1980 as the singer for retro-'50s group Blue Angel. In 1983, her first solo album SHE'S SO UNUSUAL made the big-voiced New Yorker a superstar. Her impressive pipes and colorful image should have shot her i…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The siren-voiced Pat Benatar leapt onto the music scene in the late '70s, when hard rock was still pretty much a boys' club. She made a strong impression. On in-your-face hits like "Heartbreaker" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," Benatar issued chall…

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 …

After getting his start with '70s punks Generation X, singer Billy Idol left the band for a solo career in the early '80s. An early MTV darling (with his peroxide-blond spikey hair and "rough boy" looks), Idol merged his punk roots with top-40 hooks,…

The duo of Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox hit the bullseye in 1983 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," and the Eurythmics soon became pop idols. With edgy synthesizers, crisp dance beats, and Lennox's powerhouse voice, they created a distinctive s…

The Norwegian synth-pop trio A-Ha burst onto the pop scene in 1985 with their debut single "Take On Me" reaching the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Equipped with good looks, pop hooks, and a groundbreaking video, A-Ha proved to be i…

The word "genius" may be used a little too freely when describing pop musicians, but many would have to agree that Prince is deserving of such an accolade. Since his 1978 debut album, the Minneapolis-based multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/singer has …

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…

The Clash was one of the first and most important British punk bands. In the 1970s, they were the Beatles to the Sex Pistols' Stones, and went on to incorporate elements from all the roots music they loved--reggae, rockabilly, soul, blues--without ev…

Although "Come On, Eileen" will forever be the song that people associate with Dexy's Midnight Runners, the British '80s outfit was more than a one-hit wonder. Leader Kevin Rowland combined his American soul music obsession with the DIY attitude of p…

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…

This US band's career falls into two distinct halves; the Knack-like pop of the 70s dressed in tight red leather pants, and the near stadium rock-like success of the early 80s. The Romantics started out as four factory workers from Detroit, Michigan;…

After leading the group Zoot, Australian pop-rocker Rick Springfield started a solo career in the early 1970s. But because of label troubles, he forsook music for acting. His visibility as a regular on the popular soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL enabled …

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…

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…