1 & UK No. The first band to owe their American success solely down to their glossy music video receiving heavy rotation on MTV were the synthpop band A Flock of Seagulls, whose single "I Ran (So Far Away)" reached No. These are some of the most underrated bands of the 80s to check out. [21][23][24], In the early 1990s, dance music saw more exposure at rock music festivals like Glastonbury and Reading. Stock Aitken Waterman had three of the most successful Hi-NRG singles ever with their productions of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (UK No. [2] The 4AD record label is the one most associated with dream pop, though others such as Creation, Projekt, Fontana, Bedazzled, Vernon Yard, and Slumberland also released significant records in the genre. History of Speed Metal The roots of speed metal came into being influenced by The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, popularly known as NWOBHM. Synthpop emerged from new wave, producing a form of pop music that followed electronic rock pioneers in the 1960s and 1970s like Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream, in which the synthesiser is the dominant musical instrument. 5. Other 1980s forms of British Indian music included the punk rock and rap of Aki Nawaz, the pop of Sheila Chandra, the hip hop of Joi Bangla and Osmani Sounds, and the ghazal/jazz fusion of Najma Akhtar. UK garage gave rise to subgenres such as speed garage and 2-step, and was then largely subsumed into other styles of music and production in the mid-2000s, including grime, bassline and dubstep. This British band was made up of guitarist Andy Cox, bassist David Steele and singer Roland Gift. Bands should be notable and linked to their articles which lists their English origins in the lead. It drew inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk. However stuck between these two eras was, in my opinion, British music's best period. [38] By late 1987, DJs like Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling were bringing the Ibiza sound to UK clubs like Shoom in Southwark (London), Heaven, Future, Spectrum and Purple Raines in Birmingham. [29], Extreme metal bands were rarely covered in mainstream media and rarely appeared on television. These are the top 100 artists of the 1980's. [28] Also significant were Sade, Swing Out Sister, Simply Red and toward the end of the decade, Lisa Stansfield. [39] Various Electronica styles were less well received in America then at home while genres that were popular in the United States such as nu metal were not picked up by UK artists. Music of Life went on to sign groups such as Hijack, the Demon Boyz, Hardnoise (later Son of Noise) and MC Duke. Babylon Zoo were yet another band that became one-hit wonders off the back of an advert, and like many of the bands … Influenced by David Bowie and Roxy Music, it developed glam rock fashions, gaining its name from the frilly fop shirts of early Romanticism. D. Helmsmondhalgh and C. Melville, "Urban Breakbeat culture: repercussions of Hip-Hop in the United Kingdom" in A. Mitchell, ed.. M. Gelfand, "Fat Boy Slim explains electronic dance music", in T. Cateforis, ed.. G. Wald, "Soul's Revival: White Soul, Nostalgia and the Culturally Constructed Past", M. Guillory and R. C. Green. [1] The movement developed as a reaction against various musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon from the United States. [16] Napalm Death inspired other British grindcore groups in the 1980s, among them Extreme Noise Terror,[16] Carcass and Sore Throat. [40], Having emerged from the post-punk and reggae scenes in the West Midlands in the 1970s, the ska revival associated with 2 Tone records was a remarkable commercial success in the early years of the 1980s. [7] Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that included clubs, various fashion trends and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s, gaining notoriety by being associated by several moral panics over suicide and Satanism. [13], In the 1980s, the new wave of British heavy metal broke into the mainstream, as albums by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon reached the British top 10.Many metal artists, including Def Leppard, benefited from the exposure they received on MTV and became the inspiration for American glam metal. Their artists dominated British pop music and the charts in the late 1980s, including Bananarama, Rick Astley and Australian actress Kylie Minogue. Top 100 Artists of the 90's based on sales, Billboard charts and airplay. It also became dominant for many New Romantic acts like Visage, Ultravox, Duran Duran and Japan. Drum and bass emerged from the London breakbeat hardcore and rave scene of the late 1980s. British artists, unlike many of their American counterparts, had learned how to use the music video early on. Paul Young Weeks charted: 84 No.of hits: 10 1)Wherever i lay my hat 2)Love of the common people 4)Come back and stay 4)Every time you go away 9)Everything must change 9)Im gonna tear your playhouse down 16)Tomb of memories 24)Wonderland 56)Some people 63)Why does a man have to be strong: Weeks charted: 84 No.of hits: 10 1. By the mid-1980s, bhangra was the most popular music among British Asians and a youth scene of daytime bhangra raves were a major part of a growing youth culture. Notable early gothic rock bands include Bauhaus (whose "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is often cited as the first goth record), Siouxsie and the Banshees (who may have coined the term), The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, and Fields of the Nephilim. Tubeway Army, a little known outfit from West London, dropped their punk rock image and topped the UK charts in 1979 with the single "Are Friends Electric? Named for the bandmembers' tendency to stare at their feet onstage, shoegazing acts like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and Lush created an overwhelmingly loud "wash of sound" that obscured vocals and melodies with long, droning riffs, distortion, and feedback. V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, D. Hesmondhaigh, "Indie: the institutional political and aesthetics of a popular music genre" in, "Crustgrind," "Grindcore Special" part 2, p. 46, G. Wald, "Soul's Revival: White Soul, Nostalgia and the Culturally Constructed Past. [25] Other clubs emerged to play the ever-splintering genres associated with the house music and rave scene, including hardcore techno, downtempo and trance, drum and bass and happy hardcore. [6] Scottish group Mogwai were among some of the influential post-rock groups to arise at the turn of the 21st century. Fine Young Cannibals. [45][46], By the mid-1970s, the demand among the relatively large Asian populations of many major British cities for familiar live music to entertain at weddings and other cultural occasions led to a flourishing Asian dance band scene, particularly bhangra from the Punjab which supported bands like Alaap, formed in Southhall in London and Bhujhungy Group from Birmingham. Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1990s continued to develop and diversify. Hi-NRG ("high energy") is high-tempo disco music (often with electronic instrumentation), as well as a more specific, derivative genre of electronic dance music that achieved mainstream popularity in the mid to late 1980s. [42] Madness managed to sustain a career that could still chart into the second half of the 1980s, but the 2-tone movement faded early in the decade, and would have a longer term effect through American bands of the third wave of ska. Another major milestone for house music was when "Jack Your Body" by American DJ Steve "Silk" Hurley became the first record from the genre to reach the number one spot in the UK Singles Chart in January 1987. Alternative rock reached the mainstream, emerging from the Madchester scene to produce dream pop, sh… UK garage originated from England, particularly in London in the early 1990s and emerged from styles such as garage house, R&B, jungle, and dance-pop, and usually features a distinctive 4/4 percussive rhythm with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals and snares, and sometimes includes irregular kick drum patterns. Unlike earlier Celtic rock and electric folk groups, folk punk groups tend to include relatively little traditional music in their repertoire, but instead usually performed their own compositions, often following the form of punk rock, using additional folk instrumentation, including, mandolin, accordion, banjo and particularly violin. Other key artists from the early to mid-1980s include Eurythmics, Talk Talk, A Flock of Seagulls, Tears for Fears, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Thomas Dolby, Thompson Twins, Bronski Beat, Heaven 17, Howard Jones, Blancmange and Erasure. [39] Oasis and Blur were not considered phenomenons but one-hit wonders stateside. [19] The most successful and influential act of the genre were the Spice Girls, who added well-aimed publicity and the ideology of girl power to their pop careers. After the lean years of the 1970s, there was something of a British jazz revival based in London's Soho in the 1980s. Browse the top 80s rock artists to find new music. However, by the end of the decade a fragmentation has been observed, with many new forms of music and sub-cultures, including hip hop and house music, while the single charts were once again dominated by pop artists, now often associated with the Hi-NRG hit factory of Stock Aitken Waterman. [27] The 1990s also saw the development and refinement of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), which borrowed from forms such as techno, drum and bass, and acid house music and introduced more abstract elements, including heavy use of digital signal processing. [13][14] Post-Britpop bands like The Verve, Radiohead, Travis, Stereophonics and Feeder, achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1982. Electronic rock bands like The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers began to achieve a high profile. [40] The jazz revival was by the appearance of a new generation of British jazz and fusion musicians, including members of the jazz groups Level 42, Incognito, Jazz Warriors (formed 1986), Courtney Pine, Gary Crosby, and later Soweto Kinch. It achieved some mainstream success in the 1980s and, particularly as the subgenre of Celtic punk, has been widely adopted in areas of the Celtic diaspora in North America and Australia and by many bands in continental central and eastern Europe. They are a band that will take Oasis (Another great band, but their heyday was in the 90's) place as the greatest British rock Band of their time. By 1997 Indian music artists such as Talvin Singh had become mainstream stars in the UK. Alternative rock reached the mainstream, emerging from the Madchester scene to produce dream pop, shoegazing, post rock and indie pop, which led to the commercial success of Britpop bands like Blur and Oasis; followed by a stream of post-Britpop bands like Travis and Feeder. ", prompting their singer, Gary Numan to go solo and release the album, The Pleasure Principle from which he gained a number one in the singles charts with "Cars". It may seem hard to … The '90s music scene was dominated by grunge and punk rockers. The British Invasion was fully underway and the music went worldwide – we’d probably say ‘viral’ now! [9], Indie or independent rock (often described as alternative rock in the U.S.), was a scene that emerged from post-punk and new wave eschewing the major record labels for control of their own music and relying on local scenes or national sub-cultures to provide an audience. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM. William John Paul Gallagher is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the frontman of the British rock band, Oasis. 1 & US No. The music press in the UK began to place more focus on shoegazing bands from the south of England and bands emerging through US grunge. [51]:392–393 MTV continued its heavy rotation of videos by Second Invasion acts until 1987. The independent rock scene that had developed in Manchester in the second half of the 1980s, based in The Haçienda nightclub and around Factory Records, dubbed Madchester, came to national prominence at the end of the decade, with the Happy Mondays, the Inspiral Carpets, and Stone Roses charting late in 1989. Mark Barry, Christian Burns, and Stephen McNally formed the late '90s-early '00s British boy band BBMak. The group saw its highs with a 2001 appearance on … [28] For the first time since the 1960s, there were also significant acts who specialised in soul. They had nine number 1 singles in the UK and US, including "Wannabe", "2 Become 1" and "Spice Up Your Life" from 1996. The following is a list of artists and bands associated with the new wave music genre during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s. [5] Early bands included The Pastels, Talulah Gosh and Primal Scream, and among the most commercially successful were Belle and Sebastian. D. Else, J. Attwooll, C. Beech, L. Clapton, O. Berry, and F. Davenport. For classical music, see. [1], Dream pop had developed out of the indie rock scene of the 1980s, when bands like Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Other acts and styles developed from the hip hop scene, resulting in new genres to describe them – for example Massive Attack[35] with trip hop, or Galliano with acid jazz. Britain had produced some blue-eyed soul singers in the 1960s, including Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield and interest had been maintained by figures such as David Bowie, but it was not until the 1980s that a clear genre of British soul music developed with flourishing soul scenes in major cities like London and Manchester, often with many black artists, supported by local and pirate radio stations. [4] The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s, in, tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes. [49], The Second British Invasion consisted of acts that came mainly out of the synthpop and new wave genres. [1] Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as The Mock Turtles, became part of a wider baggy scene. Below each artist's name are links to the year/s they entered the charts during the 80's. [12] Shoegazing bands dominated the British music press at the end of the decade along with the drug-fuelled Madchester scene. Not only was there a firm base of rappers in London – such as Blade, Black Radical Mk II and Overlord X – but many distinct scenes developed nationally. This time I wil not list a top 10, instead I will just list the awesome ones. In the 1980s, dance music records made using only electronic instruments became increasingly popular, largely influenced from the electronic music of Kraftwerk and disco music. [48] Multitone Records began to release remix albums, and bhangra picked up influences from hip hop and soul, producing groups like X-executive Sounds and Hustlers convention. [14][15][16][17], The success of American boy band New Kids on the Block from about 1989, led to replica acts in the UK, including Nigel Martin-Smith's Take That and East 17, competing with Irish bands Westlife and Boyzone. Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. This is a period that many remember fondly, and it became know for its vibrancy, extreme fashions, and its fun vibe. [1] The scene became the centre of media attention for independent rock in the early 1990s, with bands like World of Twist, New Fast Automatic Daffodils, The High, Northside, Paris Angels, and Intastella also gaining national attention. 3 Doors Down . [47], Alaap's 1979 album Teri Chunni de Sitare for Multitone records, mixed traditional dhol and tumbi with synthesisers and electro beats and was a surprise hit to those outside of the scene. Known for his erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style and abrasive attitude, he is one of the most recognisable figures in modern British music. [17], Folk punk or rogue folk is a fusion of folk music and punk rock, or occasionally other genres, which was pioneered by the London-based Irish band The Pogues in the 1980s. [51][54] MTV also managed to introduce British bands to the American mainstream that probably wouldn't have gained the publicity otherwise. [31] Even among the more 'serious' British groups such as Carcass or Gorerotted have displayed a tongue-in-cheek attitude. [1] The period of dominance was relatively short lived with The Stone Roses beginning to retreat from public performance while engaged in contractual disputes, the Happy Mondays having difficulty in producing a second album and Factory Records going bankrupt in 1992. [20] The dance-pop music of Frankie goes to Hollywood, initially controversial, gave them three consecutive number ones in 1984, until they faded away in the mid-1980s. Having enjoyed some success a number of indie acts were able to move into the mainstream, including early indie bands Aztec Camera, Orange Juice and The Smiths, followed by The Housemartins and James. Such music was originally born of and popularised via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s, and became the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene. It opened the door for a flood of Asian recording artists in the UK including Apna Sangeet, Chirag Pehchan, Sangeeta and DCS.[47]. [39] British "quirkiness" and regional sensibilities that once were considered strengths there were now considered weakness by the increasingly oligarchic American music industry that was interested in marketing to young teens. It was home to Derek B, the first UK rapper to achieve chart success. The group existed from 1977 to 1982. [4], Post rock originated in the release of Talk Talk's album Laughing Stock and US band Slint's Spiderland, both in 1991, which produced experimental work influenced by sources as varied as electronica, jazz, and minimalist classical music, often abandoning the traditional song format in favour of instrumental and ambient music. [8] Although its more popular bands were able to spread their commercial success overseas, especially to the United States, the movement largely fell apart by the end of the decade. Glam Rock. New Romantic music emerged in London nightclubs including Billy's and the Blitz Club towards the end of the 1970s. [18] Soon after, girl groups began to reappear, like the R&B act Eternal, who achieved a string of international hits from 1993. [36] The arrival, and sometimes mainstream success, of acts like Kate Rusby, Nancy Kerr, Kathryn Tickell, Spiers and Boden, Seth Lakeman, Eliza Carthy, Runrig and Capercaillie, all largely concerned with acoustic performance of traditional material, marked a radical turn around in the fortunes of British folk music. 8 in 1986), and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (UK No. S. Broughton, M. Ellingham, R. Trillo, O. Duane, and V. Dowell, British rock § Electronic rock in the early 1980s, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Watch How the People Dancing: Unity Sounds from the London Dancehall 1986-1989, "Spandau Ballet, the Blitz Kids and the birth of the New Romantics", "Songs of the Free - Gang of Four | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic", "Hard - Gang of Four | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic", "How an NME cassette launched indie music", "80s Radiomusic.com – Record Mirror Hi-NRG charts", "love songs are back again (medley) | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company", "self control | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company", "Stock, Aitken & Waterman | Biography & History", "Glossary Of Terms – 2: NWOBJP (the New Wave of British Jazz Pop)", "Low Life/British hip hop, UK hip hop: the story", "BBC News website, Massive Attack on the net", "Various Artists - Watch How the People Dancing: Unity Sounds from the London Dancehall 1986-1989", "Watch How the People Dancing: Unity Sounds from the London Dancehall 1986-1989", "100 & Single: The Dawning Of The MTV Era And How It Rocket-Fueled The Hot 100 Village Voice 29 July 2011", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_of_the_United_Kingdom_(1980s)&oldid=1000329907, Articles with dead external links from January 2021, Articles needing additional references from June 2011, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 17:39. American Music Club . [31], The British extreme metal scene produced bands of worldside significance and popularity such as Cradle of Filth. [56] In 1984, a majority of acts that signed to independent labels such as The Smiths were mining various rock influences becoming an alternative to the Second Invasion. 3. Some of the most successful post punk bands in the 1970s, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Psychedelic Furs, also continued their success during the 1980s. [28] In the 21st Century, bloggers and journalists have decided to categorise Sade and many of these blue-eyed soul singers/white soul[30] acts under new definitions such as the 'New Wave of British Jazz Pop'[31] and 'sophisti-pop',[32] though with the latter term some journalists have also included artists such as Kate Bush, ABC and Talk Talk, with the 'sophistication' coming from techniques used in the studio rather than a sophisticated jazz-pop/white soul sound. [35], Traditional folk music, having been in a slow decline from mainstream popularity since the 1970s, began to enjoy a resurgence in the 1990s, benefiting from the more general interest in World music. 's "Wham Rap! [32] Arguably this led to a creative renaissance, with British hip hop shifting from the hardcore American template and moving into more melodic territory. [14] However, as the subgenre fragmented into various subgenres, much of the creative impetus shifted towards America and continental Europe (particularly Germany and Scandinavia), which produced most of the major new subgenres of metal, which were then taken up by British acts. A British hip hop scene emerged in the early 1980s, largely based on American hip hop music at parties and club nights,[33] In this period some pop records dabbled with rap – such as Adam and the Ants' "Ant Rap" (1981), Wham! [37] One of the earliest and most influential UK house and techno record labels was Network Records (otherwise known as Kool Kat records) who helped introduce Italian and U.S. dance music to Britain as well as promoting select UK dance music acts. Former Wham! [26] The Bristol scene saw the development of trip hop, which mixed house and hip hop producing successful bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead. Pioneers included Visage and Ultravox and among the commercially most successful acts associated with the movement were Adam and the Ants, Culture Club, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. [31], By the early 1990s the British hip hop seemed to be thriving, with flourishing scenes in London, Bristol and Nottingham. [18] Other bands adopted some traditional forms of music, including sea shanties and eastern European gypsy music. New Romantic music often made extensive use of synthesisers. [37], By the latter half of the decade, British music was declining in popularity in the United States. [40] Initially this UK jazz dance scene was led by DJs like Paul Murphy, but it soon expanded to support live bands and to start its own record labels. [3], Initially dubbed 'C86' after the 1986 NME tape, and also known as "cutie", "shambling bands" and later as "twee pop",[4] indie pop was characterised by jangling guitars, a love of sixties pop and often fey, innocent lyrics. Based around The Haçienda, a nightclub in Manchester owned by New Order and Factory Records, Madchester bands such as The Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays mixed acid house dance rhythms with melodic guitar pop. These bands were soon joined by others including Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass and Elastica. The C86 cassette, released in 1986 by NME and featuring such bands as The Wedding Present, Primal Scream, The Pastels, and the Soup Dragons, was a major influence on the development of indie pop and the British indie scene as a whole. [51]:340, 342–3 In 1983, 30% of the record sales were from British acts. In the early 1980s hi energy disco had become popular in the gay scene of American cities like New York and San Francisco with acts like Divine, and The Weather Girls. Alice in Chains (reunited 2005) 4. 311 . [36] House music was strongly influenced by elements of soul and funk-infused varieties of disco. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube. [44] In the late 1980s, London also developed an early dancehall scene, as documented by the compilation album Watch How the People Dancing: Unity Sounds from the London Dancehall 1986-1989. Raves, many illegal, continued to be organised and the tension caused by police attention, new putative legislation aimed at organisers, and the increase of harder music, led many dance music fans to return to legal night clubs, where rave music had given way to progressive house. This London new wave group’s jazzy, hyper-polished sound took a magpie-like approach to early-’80s British pop music, borrowing the slinky horns and Roxy Music vibes of new romantic bands … This list was a bit harder to create considering the 80s don't have many of my favorite artists, and the rankings were hard as well, since depending on my mood some bands are more enjoyable than others. but pumping from your speakers most of … [10][11] Other forms of alternative rock developed in the UK during the 1980s. [39] The genre became more well known to the general public when it began to crossover into the mainstream singles chart around 1986, with the song "Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (featuring Darryl Pandy) generally being accredited as the first record to crossover from clubs to charts when it became a top 10 hit that year. [20] Another band that dominated the charts within the early to mid-1980s were Culture Club with a blend of soul, rock, pop, new wave and reggae gathered them nine top ten hits and two number ones until they broke up in 1986. Of course, you had your poppy girl and boy bands (Back Street Boys, Spice Girls, etc.) The rise of the indie rock scene was partly a response to this, and marked a shift away from the major music labels and towards the importance of local scenes like Madchester and subgenres, like gothic rock.[1]. [36], After the establishment of thriving south Asian music scenes in the 1980s, the 1990s saw Indian music reach the mainstream, particularly through a series of "post-Bhangra" fusions. [53] They were followed by bands like Duran Duran, whose glossy videos would come to symbolise the power of MTV. Soul II Soul's breakthrough R&B hits "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life" in 1989 have been seen as opening the door to the mainstream for black British soul and R&B performers.[28]. The first English house tune, "Carino" by T-Coy was released in 1986. B… Bands like The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers all enjoyed chart success, with Madness and The Specials managing number ones. [19], The British charts at the opening of the 1980s contained the usual mix of imports, novelty acts, oddities (including rock 'n' roll revivalist Shakin' Stevens) and survivors like Queen and David Bowie, but were dominated by post punk, and then from about 1981 by new romantic acts. While the singles charts were dominated by boy bands and girl groups, British soul and Indian-based music also enjoyed their greatest level of mainstream success to date, and the rise of World music helped revitalise the popularity of folk music. The Specials' "Ghost Town" (1981) is often seen as summarising the disillusionment of Thatcherite, post-industrial urban youth. Overall record sales rose by 10% from 1982. There were also more conventional pop acts, including Bucks Fizz, whose light lyrics and simple tempos gave them three number ones after their Eurovision Song Contest victory in 1981. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into sensual, sonically ambitious soundscapes. House music was a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA in the early 1980s. Among the most successful performers were The Levellers,[18] and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, who enjoyed a series of hits in the 1980s. A louder, more aggressive strain of dream pop came to be known as shoegazing; key bands of this style were Lush, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Alison's Halo, Chapterhouse, Curve and Levitation. These bands kept the atmospheric qualities of dream pop, but added the intensity of post-punk-influenced bands such as The Chameleons and Sonic Youth. There were also more straight forwardly new wave pop acts like The Human League as well as Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, and Yazoo. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at Last.fm. 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