Lists
150 Movies, 81 Music Artists, 54 Shows, 5 Books, 3 Authors
Echo & the Bunnymen is an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.
The Birthday Party were an Australian post-punk band, active from 1977 to 1983. The group's "bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on blues, free jazz, and rockabilly, provided the setting for vocalist Nick Cave's disturbing tales of violence and perversion. Their 1981 single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential on the emerging gothic scene. Despite limited commercial success, The Birthday Party's influence has been far-reaching, and they have been called "one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s."
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker in May 1978. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member.
Following Lydon's departure from the Sex Pistols in January 1978, he sought a more experimental "anti-rock" project and formed PiL. That year PiL released their debut First Issue (1978), creating an abrasive, bass-heavy sound that drew on dub, noise, progressive rock and disco. PiL's second album Metal Box (1979) pushed their sound further into the avant-garde, and is often regarded as one of the most important albums of the post-punk era.
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. Q magazine included John McKay's guitar playing on "Hong Kong Garden" in their list of "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever", while Mojo rated guitarist John McGeoch in their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on "Spellbound". The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion and conventional morality".
Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London, England in 1982. The current lineup of the band consists of Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend. Five of the group's albums and 12 of their singles reached top 20 positions in the UK indie charts in the period up to 1987.
Alien Sex Fiend were formed by Nik Wade (Nik Fiend), Christine Wade (Mrs Fiend), David James (Yaxi Highrizer) and Johnny Freshwater (Johnny Ha-Ha) in late 1982 at the Batcave club in London (where Nik worked). The band became known in the gothic scene for its dark, electronic industrial-leaning sound, heavy samples, loops, dub remixes and manic vocals. Wade had previously been a member of the Alice Cooper-influenced bands the Earwigs and Mr & Mrs Demeanour, and later the punk band Demon Preacher (later known as the Demons).
Warsaw was the planned debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, while they were briefly associated with RCA Records. Recorded in May 1978, it comprised eleven tracks now known collectively as the "RCA Sessions". However, the band were disappointed with the label's post-production work and the deal fell through, the album being scrapped.
Four of the songs recorded during the RCA sessions had previously been recorded at the end of 1977, and it was these older recordings that the band would release the following month as their debut An Ideal for Living EP.
The RCA sessions circulated on bootlegs for years, generally bearing the Warsaw title, until the tracks were licensed for a commercial release in 1994, appearing alongside "As You Said" from the 1980 "Komakino" single, as well as the band's first recorded music, the five "Warsaw Demo" tracks from 1977, which were noted on the sleeve as "bonus tracks".
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company WEA. Currently, the band are a touring outfit only.
The group has released three original studio albums: First and Last and Always (1985), Floodland (1987), and Vision Thing (1990). Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer-songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machine called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity throughout. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The members regrouped after the disbandment of their previous band Joy Division due to the death by suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. They were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order's integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and they worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville.
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from the 1980s British independent music scene.
Peter John Joseph Murphy is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the vocalist for the post-punk goth rock band Bauhaus. After Bauhaus initially disbanded, Murphy formed Dali's Car with Japan's bassist Mick Karn and released one album, The Waking Hour (1984). He later went on to release a number of solo albums, including Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (1986) and Love Hysteria (1988). In 1990, he achieved mainstream success with his hit single "Cuts You Up", which topped the American Modern Rock Tracks for 7 weeks. His album Deep also reached No. 44 on the Billboard 200. In 1992, Murphy released Holy Smoke, which reached No. 108 on the Billboard 200 chart along with lead single "The Sweetest Drop", which peaked at No. 2 on the American Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 2002, Murphy released Dust with Turkish-Canadian composer and producer Mercan Dede, which utilizes traditional Turkish instrumentation and songwriting, abandoning Murphy's previous pop and rock incarnations, and juxtaposing elements from progressive rock, trance, classical music, and Middle Eastern music, coupled with Dede's trademark atmospheric electronics. In 2014, he released Lion, produced by Killing Joke's Youth, which reached No. 173 on the Billboard 200.
Tones on Tail was a British post-punk band formed in 1982, originally as a musical side project of Daniel Ash of the gothic rock group Bauhaus. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop."
While still a member of Bauhaus, Ash formed Tones on Tail early in 1982, originally as a duo with Glenn Campling, an art school friend and flatmate who had also been a roadie for Bauhaus. The band's name was a reference to the way calibration tones were recorded on the "tail" of reel-to-reel tape.
The pair issued their debut eponymous EP on 4AD in March 1982, followed by the single "There's Only One!", released by Beggars Banquet Records on 24 September. Ash sang and played guitar, Campling played bass, and both played percussion and keyboards.
Gang of Four are an English post-punk band, formed in 1976 in Leeds. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. There have been many different line-ups including, among other notable musicians, Sara Lee, Gail Ann Dorsey, and Mark Heaney. After a brief lull in the 1980s, different constellations of the band recorded two studio albums in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2006 the original line-up was reunited; Gill toured using the name between 2012 and his death in 2020. In 2021, the band announced that King, Burnham, and Lee would be reuniting for a tour in 2022 with David Pajo on guitar.
The band played a stripped-down mix of punk rock, funk and dub, with a lyrical emphasis on the social and political ills of society. Gang of Four are widely considered one of the leading bands of the late 1970s/early 1980s post-punk movement. Their debut album, Entertainment!, was ranked by Rolling Stone as the fifth greatest punk album of all time and at number 483 in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2004, the album was listed by Pitchfork Media as the 8th best album of the 1970s and, in 2020, by Pop Matters as "Best Post Punk album ever". Their early 80s albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. David Fricke of Rolling Stone described Gang of Four as "probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll.".
The Glove was a 1983 English musical collaboration and recording project by the Cure's Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees' Steven Severin. They released one studio album, Blue Sunshine, in 1983 as part of Severin's solo deal with Polydor. The latter came up with the band name, the album title and the blue/yellow sleeve concept, as Smith had to leave the project before completion due to prior commitments with the Cure.
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Toby Dammit (United States) and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). Described as "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward", they have released seventeen studio albums and completed numerous international tours.
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the subculture that eventually formed around the genre.