Best 80s New Wave

Duran Duran's first few were pretty great. I agree with all listed except that DM's pre-Violator stuff so much better. I know Violator got them new fans but Black Celebration, Music For The Masses, 101 Live...all way better IMO

Totally agree with DM early albums---I love Music for the Masses. I saw that concert with OMD back in'88. DD's Rio is excellent as well.

Actually the preferred vehicle for these artists is actually the 12" single!

The impact and sound quality of "Duel" in a clean 12" is visceral
https://www.discogs.com/Propaganda-Duel/release/29009

And this is a demo disc of the first order
https://www.discogs.com/a-ha-Crying-In-The-Rain/release/1255568

Most of these releases are dirt cheap and will wipe the floor with both the originals or any reissue

@folkfreak So true about the 12" singles (Blue Monday?) and Duel single. Do you have Propaganda's remix album Wishful Thinking? Soooo good! 

Yep, got that one (haven’t listened to it in an age though so you reminded me to dig it out) -- plus all the New Order singles, a full run of Stone Roses and Ride, every 12" Madonna ever put out (through 2005 or so) etc -- guess you can tell how old I am!

But in a slightly different vein, and on 10" and 12" -- these are both beautiful
https://www.discogs.com/Virginia-Astley-A-Bao-A-Qu/release/1752426
https://www.discogs.com/Virginia-Astley-Tender/release/1236406

@folkfreak Yep, I have the NO 12" singles and a few Madonna 12" singles from the 80s. I was also into OMD, Blancmange and Trevor Horn's ZTT project back then: 
-FGTH
-Propaganda
-Grace Jones
-Art of Noise

Good stuff!!!

@pdreher Good List!! I love OMD's Sugar Tax from '91 even though Paul Humphries wasn't on that release.

I used to despise all those bands. Gave my little sister no end of grief over those Duran Duran girly boys. (At the time I was into Led Zep, The Who, Rush, U2, REM, Sabbath and various other heavy metal stuff.)

But now I like some stuff by Squeeze, The Cure and Depeche Mode.

Also I saw a recent Duran Duran concert on TV and they put on quite a show. They were very precise, very tight and very energetic. Still not a DD fan but props to them for not just phoning it in the way a lot of older bands do there days.

Does A-Ha count as new wave? I liked them at the time.

My top 5 are:

1) Echo & The Bunnymen
2) Psychedelic Furs
3) Talking Heads
4) XTC
5) Crowded House

I grew up in the punk explosion era in England which then led to a lot of new wave.

In no order.

Human League.
Ultravox
Simple minds
Aha
Talking Heads
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Depeche Mode



And the list could go on!

How can we not include:

• Roxy Music-Avalon or Flesh and blood
• Berlin
• Haircut 100
• The Fixx- Reach the beach

ABC
Spandau Ballet
Thompson Twins
Spoons
Men without Hats
Men at Work
China Crisis
Bugles
Thomas Dolby
After the Fire
Tears for Fears
Pete Shelley
Billy Idol
Visage
Flock of Seagulls
Boy George
Soft Cell
Yaz
Devo
Rational Youth
Howard Jones
Wang Chung
Eurythmics


just to name a few that have been missed, I have all the albums on Japanese vinyl and 90% of the 12 inch singles...

I thought DM Construction Time Again, Duran Duran Rio, Tears for Fears The Hurting and Human League Dare were the great albums of the period that you could listen to from end to end both sides...

The Two-tone ska revival hit North America in the early 80’s...it was a fun period for music and rock n roll struggled a bit with Queen, Rush, VH and Tom Petty resorting to synths in order to get radio play...a difficult time for guitarists (learning keyboards) and drummers (learning drum program machines). Amazingly Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel morphed into synth-pop dance crooners a la Human League style and became even more successful than prog rock band they left.

Who started it all - David Bowie I think with Ashes to Ashes....

What about The Cars?

One of my fave Cars song is 'Touch and go'. Visage 'Fade to grey' is one of the finest early new romantic songs from 1980. Midge Ure wrote it then went on to Ultravox. Vienna is one of their best songs. Architecture & Morality by OMD is a classic album, too.

@shadorne Great list!! The bass line in China Crisis' Fire and Steel is so good! How could I forget Yaz?! Upstairs at Erics is one of my fav albums. I have more 12" singles than albums but I'm getting a lot of reissues on vinyl.

Echo and the Bunnymen
Squeeze
Split Enz
The Style Council
English Beat

Love Love the following:
Simple Minds
China Crisis
Echo
Orange Juice
Propaganda
Alphaville
Depeche

Propaganda "A Secret Wish," the 12" remixes, and live.
Depeche Mode
Psych Furs
Love and Rockets
Sisters of Mercy
The Mission UK
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Peter Murphy/ Bauhaus
OMD
Dead Can Dance
The Cure
Cocteau Twins
The Chameleons
New Order

Some of these bands were a sub-genre of New Wave.

We can't forget about Milli Vanilli! Oh wait nevermind they faked all of their stuff.

Always liked Squeeze. Never thought of them as new wave though.

The Beat (English Beat)
Talking Heads
The Fixx
General Public
Blondie
The Tourists
Martha and the Muffins

oh, the benefits of a good record shop in my high school days....

B-52s?  Anyone?

I have a vague recollection of Rock Lobster blaring in the background in an addled daze of alcohol. In the early 80's maybe. 

But you wouldn't call that new wave, would you?

I saw UK Squeeze in ’77 in a small NYC club. They were part of the punk invasion and were cursing and spitting on the crowd ala Sex Pistols. It was an ugly scene.

Their early stuff is not at all like the band who later became Squeeze.

It seems that a number of punkers changed their colors. When Billy Idol was with Generation X he used to spew vitriol over Led Zep as a commercial sell out. I guess he finally figured out how wallets get lined.

Very true, n80. I'm trying to think of other bands from the 1st wave who changed their colours.

I love
The Cars - Heartbeat City

Wow- lowrider. The chameleons “script of the bridge” is still one of my all time favs. I have it on vinyl and cd. I didn’t think anyone would name them. Good on ya mate. 

N80,

my opinion, for what it’s worth, is that the B-52s are quintessentially New Wave.  Kitschy, but New Wave.  Right along with Adam and the Ants.  

@n80 @lowrider57  Another band that changed its colors was Ministry---remember the album With Sympathy? Very 'new wave' synth pop---then they went hard core industrial. 

The B-52's Whammy was very new wave---Legal Tender was a great song.

Sparks w/Jane Wiedlin--Cool Places

Shock to not see any mention of Missing Persons!
They were my favorite New Wave 80’s band.

Also loved Aha, Ultravox, Talk Talk, The Cars and Real Life

Crowded House

N

Don't forget:
The The - Soul Mining
Blancmange - Happy Families
Japan - Gentleman Take Polaroids, Tin Drum
Modern English - After The Snow
Gang of Four - Entertainment
The Teardrop Explodes - Kilamangarro
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures, Closer

@jplunkettj Blancmange is such an underrated 80s band. When I first heard 'Don't tell me' in a club back in the day, I immediately went out and bought the 12" single.

Let's not forget Nina Hagen! 

how about  Yaz, Upstairs at Eric's 

@vespacraig1966 Absolutely---You & Me Both was also a good album. Early Bananarama and Dead or Alive were huge club acts. You can't turn on a radio in the summer and not hear 'Cruel summer' somewhere.

First off: I'm really impressed that both of my favorite Canadian bands (Martha & Muffins and The Spoons) were mentioned. Also, big props for the multiple mentions of Propaganda.

Secondly: It's hard to believe that no one has mentioned the following well known acts: Concrete Blonde, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, The Jam, Midnight Oil, Pretenders, REM, The Replacements, Smithereens and X.

But, here's some lesser known acts worth mentioning:

Bongos
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
The Church
Dada
Divinyls
Everything But The Girl
Fetchin' Bones
Gene
Gene Loves Jezebel
Go Betweens
Grapes of Wrath
PJ Harvey
Robyn Hitchcock
Hoodoo Gurus
House of Love
Housemartins
Hunters & Collectors
Icehouse
Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
Ocean Blue
Pixies
Prefab Sprout
Pylon
Railway Children
Romeo Void
Sidewinders
Talk Talk
Throwing Muses
Translator
Vigil

Lastly, for you China Crisis fans, you should seek out their live "Acoustically Yours" CD that was released in 2014. 


 

@mitchagain  Great list!! I love M & M---Echo Beach and Black Stations/White Stations. I've got CDs or vinyl of just about every artist you listed. Honorable mentions:
REM (early)
Prefab Sprout
Icehouse
Romeo Void
Ocean Blue
The Beloved
Erasure
Pete Shelley
Art of Noise
The Pretenders
Camouflage

@mitchagain Another Canadian band that I liked from the same era as Martha and the Spoons was THE PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. I AM AN ADULT NOW was the song.

The Cars

Phychadelic  Furs

Got me thinking of others  to mention:
Kissing The Pink - Naked
B-Movie - Remembrance Day
Lene Lovich 
Phil Manzanara - K Scope, Listen Now, 801Live
Brian Eno- Before And After Science
Bill Nelson - Quit Dreaming and Get On the Beam, The Love That Whirls
U.K. (New Wave or prog rock?)
A compilation cd set called Hardest Hits Modern Rock of the 80's has a very good set of songs.
Also a box set called Left Of The Dial is very good.

We should never forget this British band.

Boomtown Rats.

Fronted by our very own Sir Bob Geldof instrumental in the absolutely monumental Band Aid project which brought many musicians together for one common humanitarian cause.

Hats off to you indeed Sir Bob!

@jplunkettj Kissing the Pink (KTP) was a cool band---I remember the club mix of Certain Things are Likely

@yyzsantabarbara I had the first 3 Pursuit of Happiness records, and I thought their debut ("Love Junk") was by far their best effort. My favorite cuts from that were: "She's So Young," "Tree of Knowledge" and "Ten Fingers."

@jplunkettj Your two compilation recommendations look good. I recommend the "POPTOPIA: Power Pop Classics of the 70's - 80's & 90's (3 single discs put out by Rhino Records). Excellent songs, booklet and packaging on all three.