“Here comes the 21st Century,” Debbie Harry assuredly sang nearly three decades ago on her solo disc Def Dumb And Blonde, “it’s gonna be so much better for a girl like me.” With the turn of the century well behind us now, that gleeful prediction has certainly come true: Singer-songwriter Harry, guitarist and co-writer Chris…
Men Without Hats – Ivan Eugene Doroschuk, born 9 October 1957, is an American-born Canadian musician. He is the lead vocalist and founding member of Men Without Hats, best known for the hit song “The Safety Dance”. NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, THEY TOLD THE WORLD, “YOU CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO” — AND THE…
Simple Minds are one of the UK’s most successful bands, having achieved six No.1 albums as well hitting the top spot in countless other territories including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people say to me what Simple Minds are you talking about?…
English electronic music band formed March 1980 in Basildon, Essex, and named after a popular French fashion magazine. The group’s original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals, occasional songwriter since 2005), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andy Fletcher (keyboards), and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter from 1980 until 1981). Depeche…
Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk band Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s. When Joy Division’s Ian Curtis tragically took his own life, the remaining trio, Bernard Sumner (guitarist), Peter Hook (bassist) and Stephen Morris…
It all started in 1976 as Easy Cure, formed by Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) along with schoolmates Michael Dempsey (bass), Lol Tolhurst (drums), and local guitar hero Porl Thompson. They began writing and demoing their own songs almost immediately, playing throughout 1977 in Southern England to an ever-growing army of fans. In 1978 the ‘Easy’…
Australian band Kids in the Kitchen exemplified the ’80s sound: well-packaged funk and dance-pop characterized by synth sounds and smooth production. Mushroom’s White label signed up the fledgling band after they had been together for only eight months. Their first two singles were an immediate success: “Change in Mood”/”Far From Where” (October 1983) and “Bitter…
The Lords of the New Church released their eponymous debut LP on July 6, 1982. Punk had been declared “deceased”, so Stiv Bators had to go somewhere, so he teamed up with guitarist Brian James who was at a loose end after leaving The Damned. The product was a hybrid fusion of post-punk new wave…
Frank Weyzig was born on July 5th 1957. Frank started his music career with Dutch electronic wave legend ‘Clan of Xymox’ from way back at the time they were signed with the infamous English 4AD label in the mid-eighties. Frank played his guitar & keyboard parts on the famous debut album in 1985 and joined…
“Being Boiled” the debut release by The Human League was first released on June 30, 1978. Lo-fi electronic releases were almost the norm in ’78, The Normal, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Thomas Leer et. al. presenting themselves. There was a second release also on Fast Product in August 1982. “Being Boiled” was a premier release…