New Wave music

Originally, the term "new wave" was interchangeable with punk rock though they quickly diverged into two different, though related forms. New wave soon implied a less noisey, poppier sound, with less of punk's intentional crudity, though both were clearly a reaction to a sense that the music of the 1970s had become too slick and lacking in energy.

In the UK one of the first new wave groups, and ultimately the most successful in commercial and longevity terms was The Stranglers.

New Wave bands and artists:

• ABC
• Adam Ant
• A Flock of Seagulls
• Altered Images[?]
• Aztec Camera[?]
• The B-52's
• Bananarama
• The Bangles
• Berlin
• Better Than Ezra
• Big Country
• Blancmange
• Blondie
• Bow Wow Wow[?]
• Camper Van Beethoven
• The Cars
• Cheap Trick
• Culture Club
• Cyndi Lauper
• Dave Edmunds
• David Arkenstone
• Depeche Mode
• Dexy's Midnight Runners
• Devo
• Duran Duran
• The English Beat[?]
• Elvis Costello
• Erasure
• Eurythmics
• Fine Young Cannibals[?]
• A Flock of Seagulls
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• Gang of Four
• Gary Numan
• General Public
• The Go-Gos
• Graham Parker[?]
• Haircut 100
• Hall & Oates
• Heaven 17
• Human League
• Human Sexual Response[?]
• Ian Dury
• INXS
• The Jam
• Joe Jackson
• Joy Division
• King Bees[?]
• The Knack
• Lene Lovich
• Level 42
• Madness
• Marc Almond[?]
• Marshall Crenshaw[?]
• Men at Work
• The Modern Lovers
• Nick Lowe
• New Order
• The Only Ones[?]
• Orange Juice[?]
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• The Plimsouls
• The Police
• The Pretenders
• The Psychedelic Furs[?]
• Rockpile[?]
• R.E.M.
• Shriekback[?]
• Simple Minds
• Soft Cell
• Spandau Ballet
• The Specials
• Split Enz
• Squeeze
• The Stranglers
• The Stray Cats
• Talking Heads
• Television
• The The
• Thomas Dolby
• Thompson Twins[?]
• Til Tuesday
• Ultravox[?]
• Violent Femmes
• XTC
• Yazoo

Influences

• Patti Smith
• The Ramones
• Punk rock

See Also

• No Wave
• New Romantic