Post-Punk

Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album Live at the Witch Trials. Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke the band recorded for Rough Trade and acted as backing band for the Velvet Underground's Nico before a 25-year period of intermittent activity and fluctuating line-ups.

Having left the Fall, Bramah teamed up with another two former Fall members, keyboardist Una Baines, and guitarist Rick Goldstraw, as well as bassist Steve Toyne and drummer Ian Rogers (AKA Joe Kin). John Cooper Clarke suggested the name 'The Blessed Orchids' but according to Bramah, Goldstraw mis-remembered it as 'The Blue Orchids' and the name stuck.

Lene Lovich is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and made her a leading figure of the new wave music scene.

LiLiPUT, initially known as Kleenex, were a Swiss punk rock band formed in Zürich in 1978. The band experienced numerous line-up changes throughout their existence, with bassist Klaudia Schiff being the only constant member of the band over their entire history. Guitarist Marlene Marder joined the group shortly after their formation, and remained a member until their 1983 split. LiLiPUT's final line-up consisted of Schiff, Marder, and lead vocalist Astrid Spirit, and it was in this incarnation that the band recorded their only full-length studio albums, Liliput (1982) and Some Songs (1983).

According to AllMusic, LiLiPUT "made some of the best, most adventurous, most exhilarating, and most critically derided music" of the punk rock era.

The 39 Clocks waren eine Underground-Band aus Hannover. Zusammen mit Nova Express, The Beauty Contest, Shiny Gnomes, Multicoloured Shades, den Kastrierten Philosophen und Yellow Sunshine Explosion rechnet man sie zu den Neo-Psychedelic-Bands des deutschen 1980er-Jahre Underground.

1980 erschien ihre 7-Inch DNS bei dem unabhängigen Plattenlabel No Fun Records, 1981 ebendort auch ihre LP Pain It Dark. Später wurden 39 Clocks-Platten auf dem eigenen Label „Psychotic Promotion“ und beim Hamburger Indie-Label What’s So Funny About veröffentlicht.

Kennzeichen der Band war ihre optisch von Velvet Underground, musikalisch aber von amerikanischen Garagenrock der 1960er-Jahre beeinflusste psychedelische Direktheit, die vergleichsweise simple eingesetzte Produktionstechnik (4-Spur-Gerät u. ä.), sowie die etwas „schräge“ Verwendung der englischen Sprache, teilweise ähnlich dem so genannten Denglisch. Optisch traten sie immer in schwarz und mit Sonnenbrillen auf und prägten Sätze wie „Schwarz-Weiß-Fernseher zeigen bessere Filme als Farbfernseher“. In Abgrenzung zum eher melodischen Psychedelic Rock nannten sie ihre Musik „Psycho-Beat“. Im Rückblick sprechen heute manche von den 39 Clocks als „deutsche Velvet Underground“ – ein Vergleich, den das Duo stets zurückwies. Einen Rockpalast-Auftritt wie die hannoverschen Kolleginnen von Hans-A-Plast hatten die 39 Clocks zwar nie, vergessen wurden sie aber dennoch nicht ganz. 1998 fand z. B. ein Titel der 39 Clocks auf dem Soundtrack des Films 23 – Nichts ist so wie es scheint Verwendung. Außerdem erinnert man sich der Vorreiter der deutschen „Psychedelic Renaissance“ wieder im Rahmen des Versuchs, Hannover zur kommenden Pop- und Rockmetropole zu stilisieren. Dabei werden die 39 Clocks zusammen mit Mainstream-Produkten, wie Scooter und Mousse T., genannt, eine zumindest befremdliche Mixtur.

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.

Malaria! was an experimental electronic band from West Berlin formed in 1981 by Gudrun Gut and Bettina Köster following the dissolution of Mania D with Karin Luner, Eva Gossling later Die Krupps and Beate Bartel (of Liaisons Dangereuses). Other members included Manon P. Duursma, Christine Hahn, and Susanne Kuhnke (also a member of Die Haut). They are most often associated with Neue Deutsche Welle and post-punk.

Malaria!'s most popular record was New York Passage (produced by Eric Dufaure for Cachalot Records), which was top 10 in both U.S. and European independent charts and led to a tour with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and Nina Hagen.

There are videos for the songs "Geld/Money", "Your Turn to Run", and "You, You" (directed by Anne Carlisle) along with a live video for "Thrash Me" featured in a German documentary called Super 80.

Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packaged into numerous collections, and they remain one of the more well-known bands of the early Batcave scene and have reformed for new albums and touring at various times since the early 1990s.

The original lineup was Andi Sex Gang (vocals, guitar), Dave Roberts (bass), Terry McLeay (guitar) and Rob Stroud (drums). They were a dramatic band, relying on heavy bass, tribal drumming, sudden mood shifts, dramatic vocals and a cabaret sound (influencing the rise of the later dark cabaret scene). The band's first release was a cassette-only live album, Naked, in 1982. The Beasts EP, their first vinyl release, followed the same year after they signed to the Illuminated label. The band's only studio album from their original period together, Song and Legend, was released in 1983, reaching the top of the UK Indie Chart and spawning the single "Sebastiane". Stroud departed to form Aemoti Crii, to be replaced by former Theatre of Hate drummer Nigel Preston, who played on the band's next single, "Mauritia Mayer", before himself being replaced by former Death Cult drummer Ray Mondo. Roberts left in late 1983 to form Carcrash International, and the line-up settled to Andi, McLeay, Cam Campbell (bass) and Kevin Matthews (drums), a change forced by Ray Mondo's deportation to his native Sierra Leone.

The Au Pairs were a British post-punk band that formed in Birmingham in 1978 and continued until 1983. They produced two studio albums and three singles. Their songs were said to have "contempt for the cliches of contemporary sexual politics" and their music has been compared to that of the Gang of Four and the Young Marble Giants. The band was led by Lesley Woods, who was once described as "one of the most striking women in British rock".

Au Pairs formed in Birmingham in 1978. Their first album, Playing with a Different Sex, is considered a post-punk classic, with strong, sarcastic songs such as "It's Obvious" and "We're So Cool" taking a dry look at gender relations. Other songs, such as "Armagh"—with its refrain, "we don't torture"—criticized the British government's treatment of Irish Republican prisoners during the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Virgin Prunes were an Irish rock band formed in 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1991.

Danielle Dax (born 23 September 1958) is an English experimental musician and producer most active from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s.

She was born Danielle Gardner, in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Dax's first performance on stage in London was when she was a pre-teen. She sang in Benjamin Britten's opera, Noye's Fludde (Noah's Flood), at the Royal Albert Hall. Preceding this, the first time Dax appeared on stage was at the age of three as an orange Jelly Baby on the Southend bandstand.

After a short modelling career (she won the "Miss Evening Echo" competition in 1976), Dax made her 'pop' musical debut in 1979, within three weeks of joining the group Amii Toytal and the Croixroads - this was a pseudonym for the Lemon Kittens - as keyboardist, flautist and saxophonist. It was their first gig and took place at Reading University's Student Union 'Airport' Bar. Karl Blake from the Lemon Kittens had met her some three weeks earlier after he read an article about her in a local newspaper. Blake was in urgent need of an artist, so he attended the next meeting of Dax's arts group and was introduced to her. Upon learning that she could also play saxophone and flute, he immediately recruited her for the band; in addition, he also got her to agree to do the cover artwork for the planned release. She ended up doing the cover artwork for all of Lemon Kittens releases.

Colin Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire.

Newman was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1954 and grew up in Newbury, Berkshire. He later attended the Watford School of Art.

In 1976 Newman formed the band Wire and was its main songwriter, singer and guitarist. Their first performance was on 1 April 1977 at the London nightclub Roxy. At the start, the band was considered a part of London's punk rock scene but later reached critical acclaim for their massive influence on post-punk, new wave and alternative rock. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo album, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet record label. The album veered from extremely skewed pop to more mainstream numbers, such as "Order for Order", which was compared by some to Gary Numan. A track from the demos for this LP (but not included on the original vinyl release), "Not Me", was covered by This Mortal Coil on their It'll End in Tears LP; This Mortal Coil then covered the A-Z track "Alone" on their second album Filigree & Shadow. Newman's second LP, the entirely instrumental Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish, in which all the tracks were titled for numbered fish, was released on the 4AD Records label in 1981. A third LP, Not To, which along with original compositions reworked a number of tracks originally written for Wire, was released in 1982 on 4AD.

Suicide was an American musical duo composed of vocalist Alan Vega and instrumentalist Martin Rev, intermittently active between 1970 and 2016. The group's pioneering music utilized minimalist electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers and primitive drum machines, and their early performances were confrontational and often ended in violence. They were among the first acts to use the phrase "punk music" in an advertisement for a concert in 1970—during their very brief stint as a three-piece including Paul Liebegott.

Though never widely popular among the general public, Suicide have been recognized as among the most influential acts of their era. Their debut album Suicide (1977) was described by Entertainment Weekly as "a landmark of electronic music", while AllMusic stated that it "provided the blueprints for post-punk, synth pop, and industrial rock."

Bauhaus are an English rock band, formed in Northampton, England, in 1978. The group consists of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band were originally named Bauhaus 1919 in reference to the first operating year of the German art school Bauhaus, although they shortened the name within a year of formation. One of the pioneers of gothic rock, Bauhaus were known for their dark image and gloomy sound, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, and funk.

Their 1979 debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is considered one of the harbingers of gothic rock music and has been influential on contemporary goth culture. Their debut album, In the Flat Field, is regarded as one of the first gothic rock records. Their 1981 second album Mask expanded their sound by incorporating a wider variety of instruments—such as keyboards, saxophone and acoustic guitar—and experimenting with funk-inspired rhythms on tracks like "Kick in the Eye". Bauhaus went on to achieve mainstream success in the United Kingdom with their third album, The Sky's Gone Out, which peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart in 1982. That same year, they also reached No. 15 on the Singles Chart with a standalone cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust", earning them an appearance on Top of the Pops. During recording sessions for their next album, Murphy fell ill and spent much of his time away from the studio, leaving the rest of the band to compensate for his absence. This created a rift between the singer and his bandmates, culminating in the group's dissolution on 5 July 1983, one week before Burning from the Inside was released. Featuring the hit single "She's in Parties", it would be their final studio album composed entirely of new material for a quarter century.

Ausgang was an English gothic rock band formed in Birmingham, England in 1983.