Information about Music Of The United Kingdom (1980s)

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Part of a of articles on British music

BPI • OCC

Charts Singles chart (#1s; Records) Albums chart (#1s) Download chart (#1s)

Awards BRIT Awards • Mercury Prize NME Awards

Periods Pre-1950 • 1950s & 60s 1970s • 1980s 1990s - Present

Origins England • Scotland • Wales • Caribbean

Genres Classical • Britpop • Hip-hop Opera • Rock • Jazz

Major music publications NME • Melody Maker Music Week • Record Collector Record Mirror • Record Retailer Smash Hits • Sounds

Other links • Festivals •

Timeline 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 2006 • 2007 • ()

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In the early 1980s in the United Kingdom, punk rock diversified into genres such as Gothic rock (e.g. Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure) and New Wave (e.g. Adam & the Ants). The rebellious punk aesthetic was adopted by a group of independent record labels and bands playing distinct and uncompromising alternative rock arose. By the end of the 1980s, alternative rock in the United Kingdom had split into multiple genres, including dream pop, twee pop, shoegazing and space rock. In the mid to late 1980s, techno and house music (originating in Detroit and Chicago respectively) influenced many British musicians and DJs. By the end the 1980s, a uniquely British spin on house music, known as acid house, had emerged as a result of the underground rave scene. Early pioneers of this sound were 808 State, A Guy Called Gerald, LFO and Orbital.

Club scene and dance culture

At the beginning of the 1980s, many night clubs in major UK cities such as London played hip hop, electro and rare groove, and a few clubs laid northern soul. Late in the decade, the house music and rave scene dominated British dance culture. American house music hit the British charts in 1986, but British club DJs were often unwilling to play the music. Those who did, such as Colin Faver and Mike Pickering, found a hostile audience. Around that time, British DJs Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway, Johnnie Walker and Danny Rampling, were vacationing in Ibiza, where an Italian DJ named Alfredo was spinning a variety of Italian disco, industrial music, soul and alternative rock tracks. When the DJs returned to the UK, they founded new clubs, such as Rampling's Shoom, Oakenfold's Spectrum and Holloway's The Trip. These clubs quickly became popular. In 1989, several promoters realized that space was too limited for clubs to contain all the people who wanted to attend, so they founded outdoor raves such as Sunrise and Energy. These raves had up to 20,000 attendees, and spawned stories in the tabloid press about violence and drug use. Around this time, acid house and rave music entered the British pop charts, led by Orbital, 808 State, Nightmares on Wax and LFO.

Indian music in the UK

Following the success of Alaap's 1979 Teri Chunni de Sitare, numerous bands sprang up playing traditional and pop bhangra music. Apna Sangeet, Chirag Pehchan, Sangeeta and DCS were among the most popular artists of the period. By 1982, bhangra was the most popular music among British Asians. Bhangra raves were popular in the mid-1980s, and Asian teens danced all day (not at night) while DJs such as X-Executive Sounds and Hustlers Convention played bhangra alongside hip hop, soul and other genres. Multitone Records began to release remix albums, and bhangra picked up influences from hip hop and soul. 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.

British soul

The early 1980s saw the first major British soul acts, such as Sade ("The Sweetest Taboo", "Smooth Operator"), Loose Ends ("Hangin' on a String [Contemplating]"), Imagination ("Just an Illusion") and Billy Ocean. Another 1980s British soul-influenced band was the new wave band Style Council, formed by Paul Weller of The Jam. Later in the decade, newer British soul artists who found mainstream success included Lisa Stansfield and Soul II Soul. Late-1980s pop-soul bands included Eurythmics ("Missionary Man"), Wham! ("Club Tropicana"), Culture Club ("Church of the Poison Mind") and Simply Red ("Holding Back the Years").

Alternative rock

In the wake of the 1970s punk rock boom, several music genres developed that took elements of punk rock in new directions. New Wave was especially popular in the United Kingdom, and other genres had underground followings, fomenting the alternative rock boom of the 1980s. The Smiths emerged as one of the most important 1980s alternative rock bands. The Manchester band played guitar-based pop music that was influenced by the 1960s rock scene, especially the songwriting of Ray Davies and John Lennon. Although The Smiths had only two top ten hits, Johnny Marr's innovative guitar work helped inspire the ringing sounds of jangle pop and other trends, while Morrissey's clever lyricism earned him a legion of fans.

Folk rock and punk fusions

By the early 1980s, folk rock no longer had mainstream popularity, but it continued to evolve in new directions as part of an underground scene. The middle of the decade saw two performers bring folk fusions back to pop audiences. Billy Bragg and The Pogues became popular symbols of the post-punk era. The Oyster Band and Dick Gaughan emerged with limited mainstream appeal. In the 1980s, Irish folk music had an influence on stars such as U2, The Levellers and Sinéad O'Connor.

Gothic rock and post-punk

Gothic rock came into its own in the late 1980s British alternative rock scene, led by bands such as The Cure. The Cure drew on dark and gloomy predecessors to compose punk rock-inspired songs with intense energy beneath the calm of poetic lyrics and droning soundscapes. Although The Cure initially achieved little mainstream success, the band inspired some very popular late-1980s bands such as The Mission and The Sisters of Mercy. Joy Division rivalled The Cure in popularity and innovation, with a more pop-oriented post-punk sound. However, Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis, committed suicide in May 1980 and the band continued in a more dance-oriented direction as New Order, bringing elements of alternative rock to the burgeoning house music scene.

The Jesus and Mary Chain became popular in the 1980s, combining guitardistortion and airy harmonies with psychedelic drones inspired by American protopunk icons The Velvet Underground. The band XTC was unique among British alternative rock bands in that they found far more fame in the United States than in their homeland. The lush, psychedelic soundscapes of their later albums, such as 1987's Skylarking, inspired the next decade's indie rock and power pop. The Soft Boys also found more commercial success in the US than in the UK, and launched the solo career of Robyn Hitchcock; who found a cult following in England following the 1988 album Globe of Frogs. The Housemartins arose in the late 1980s, playing a more sophisticated and accessible version of The Smiths' alternative rock.

Madchester and shoegazing

One of the most influential bands of the early 1980s British alternative rock scene was Stone Roses, who played neo-psychedelic rock fused with the energy of alternative rock. Inspired by the Stone Roses, bands such as Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets (mostly Manchester)-based, reinvented psychedelic dance music in a modernized form called Madchester. Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays proved was one of the most influential Madchester artist. His typically British cryptic lyrics were mixed with dance-oriented music. In spite of predictions, Madchester was unable to flourish in terms of commercial success. The Stone Roses were stuck with a lawsuit that took two years to resolve, and Ryder's drug problems caused Happy Mondays to run out of steam. Shoegazing bands arose in the late 1980s, inspired by the shimmering, distant and dissonant vocals of the band My Bloody Valentine. The genre was named after the bands' tendencies to hold low-energy performances, head bowed low and staring at their shoes. My Bloody Valentine saw some mainstream success in the late 1980s and inspired bands such as Ride, Lush and the Boo Radleys.

See also

• Music of the United Kingdom (1950s and 60s)
• Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
• Music of the United Kingdom (1990s-2000s)