I’m putting together the definitive 1980s New Wave/New Romantics song list and I wanted to solicit other suggestions. As you can see, I’m going for a particular genre/sound, not just what was popular in the time period. And for those of you album listeners, I would love to hear your ideas about songs that perfectly reflected the genre though they never made it to a single.
“Working for the Weekend” - Loverboy
“Tainted Love” - Soft Cell
“Always Something There to Remind Me” - Naked Eyes
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” - Simple Minds
“If You Leave” - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
“Come On, Eileen” - Dexy’s Midnight Runners
“True” - Spandau Ballet
“I Melt With You” - Modern English
“I Don’t Like Mondays” - Boomtown Rats
“Pretty in Pink” - Psychedelic Furs
“Working for the Weekend” is pure 80s beer-commercial rock; I’d dump it from your list.
My thoughts:
“Kids in America,” Kim Wilde
“Never Say Never,” Romeo Void
“I Know What Boys Like,” The Waitresses
“Rock Lobster,” B-52s
“This Must Be the Place,” Talking Heads
“Satisfaction,” Devo
“Generals and Majors,” XTC
I would have picked Hot Girls In Love rather than Working for the Weekend, but that’s just me. And if you’re making a mix tape or want to capture the sound, you’ve got to find a sound bite from Big Fun’s smash hit single, Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It). And there’s got to be some Depeche Mode you can throw in there. For those who care, their name roughly translates as “Fast Fashion” (with an implication of something “rushed” or “hurried”). Now you know.
“Girls on Film”-DuranDuran
“New Life”-Depeche Mode
“Enola Gay”-OMD
“Don’t you want me”-Human League
"Best Friend’s Girl-Cars
“Heart of Glass”-Blondie
“Senses working overtime”-XTC
“Once in a Lifetime”-Talking HEads
“Echo Beach”-Martha and the Muffins
“Turning Japanese”-The Vapors
This thread is bringing back some fond memories, as I was in college from 1982 -1987. The fond memories aren’t of the music, which pretty much sucked in my opinion, but of the other times. College=fun.
You might want to throw on some early Echo and the Bunnymen (“Over the Wall,” or “A Promise”) wouldn’t be too bad.
Problem is your choices all aren’t new romantics or new wave. Try these bands…of course it helps what YOU consider New Romanticism which isn’t the same as “New Wave” to mean.
Duran Duran
Alphaville
Spandau Ballet
Flock of Seagulls
Human League
Heaven 17
Depeche Mode
Yazoo
Ultravox
China Crisis
“Wild, Wild Life” and “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads
“Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club
“Situation” by Yaz
“One Night in Bangkok” by Murray Head
“It’s Too Late” and “People Who Died” by the Jim Carroll Band
“88 Lines About 44 Women” by the Nails
“Moving in Stereo” by the Cars
Thanks for all the suggestions. For those who suggest more bands I should consider, could I ask you to identify particular tracks? Also, would anyone like to take a crack at defining “New Wave” and “New Romantic”? I’ll go along with dropping “Working for the Weekend.” And, yes, I am planning an eventual mix tape.
Oooh, some good ones here. Of the bands that have been mentioned with no particular songs, my picks would be:
“Forever Young” (12-inch remix) - Alphaville
“I Ran” - A Flock of Seagulls
“We Live So Fast” - Heaven 17
“You Spin Me Round” - Dead or Alive
Depeche Mode is a toughie, because I like a bunch of their songs… for now I would pick “Master and Servant.”
Other things that come to mind:
“Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” - Icicle Works
“King in a Catholic Style” - China Crisis
“So Alive” - Love and Rockets
“Cities in Dust” - Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Killing Moon” - Echo and the Bunnymen
“West End Girls” - Pet Shop Boys
“Heaven” - Psychedelic Furs
“Feels Like Heaven” - Fiction Factory
“The Bottom Line” - Big Audio Dynamite
“Respect” - Erasure
“Suspicious Minds” - Fine Young Cannibals
“Tenderness” - General Public
“Are We Ourselves” - The Fixx
“Perfect Way” - Scritti Politti
“The Sun Always Shines on TV” - A-ha
“Love Vigilantes” - New Order
“Fade to Gray” - Visage
Boy, is this taking me back. If I get the chance later, I’ll go through my collection of 12-inches and dig up some more.
You can’t talk new romantic without including Adam and the ants … expecially during the pirate phase… Ant Music
As for the difference between new wave and new romantic, much of it is style/fashion. I think of new romantics as having more of the pirate/lace look going. It had a great deal of Glam influence (which also brought much of the adrogynous look)
New wave is more closely associated with Punk
There does seem to be some confusion if not overlap between the two genres. Some consider new romantic to be one of the substyles of new wave. But I don’t generally consider new romantic to be as political or as full of social commentary as some of the new wave music. (And the modern song which sums this up is song by They Might be Giants … XTC versus Adam Ant (content versus form)
Peter Gabriel - Shock The Monkey
Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio
Oingo Boingo - Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me (or something like that)
Groups like The Clash and The Ramones were considered punk in the 70’s but to me they kinda became “New Wave” in the 80’s. My 16 year old son has latched on these two groups as anthem groups which I find pretty interesting.
I’ll have to think about which tracks, but honestly any of those groups’ first LP or 12 inch or exteneded dance mixes would suit you fine.
For me New Romanticism wasn’t just the clothes, but how the music was created…any “true” New Romantic band must feature a synthesizer as it’s MAIN instrutment and sing songs of failed love, or love gone bad or love you can’t have… BYMMV of course.
Let me go: Heaven 17
Tell me why: Bronski Beat
Be Near Me: ABC ( Look of Love, Posion Arrow)
Love’s Great Adventure:Ultravox
Brand New Lover:Dead or Alive
Bizarre Love Triangle: New Order (Blue Monday, The Perfect Kiss)
Tainted Love: Soft Cell (must get extended version!)
Don’t go: Yazoo
All I ever wanted:Depeche Mode
If I get the chance later, I’ll go through my collection of 12-inches and dig up some more.