191-471: The Second British Invasion was a sharp increase in the popularity of British synth-pop and New Pop artists in the United States. It began in the summer of 1982, peaked in 1983, and continued throughout much of the 1980s. MTV began in 1981. Its popularity was the main catalyst for the second British Invasion. According to Rolling Stone , British acts brought a "revolution in sound and style" to
382-564: A Bad Name " displaced the Human League's " Human " atop the Hot 100. Such developments eventually led to decreased visibility of new music. 1987 saw only seven British acts on the Hot 100's top 40 in January, and new music exposure on MTV was limited to the program The New Video Hour . In 1988, British acts rebounded with twelve singles topping the chart that year . As late as the mid-1990s,
573-666: A Doughnut" in particular was an early techno-pop fusion track, which made early use of a music sequencer . Izitso reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, while the song "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" was a top 40 hit. That same month, the Beach Boys released their album Love You , performed almost entirely by bandleader Brian Wilson with Moog and ARP synthesizers, and with arrangements somewhat inspired by Wendy Carlos's Switched-On Bach (1968). Although it
764-638: A Kill " to the 1985 James Bond film of the same name . This single was the first Bond theme to go to number one on the US charts, and was at the time the joint highest-placed Bond theme on the UK chart where it reached number two. It was the last single the band recorded as the original five-piece for close to twenty years. As a follow-up to the Christmas 1984 Band Aid single, Duran Duran performed in front of 90,000 people (and an estimated 1.5 billion TV viewers) at
955-661: A Prayer " gained momentum in North America, and a special US remix of the song became a single in January 1985. It peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. A live version of the song was used for the single's B-side, taken from the concert video footage for Arena / As the Lights Go Down . During this period, all of the band members became heartthrobs for many of their young teenage fans. After
1146-542: A background in musical theatre, released his own synth-driven re-imagining of Irving Berlin's " Puttin' On the Ritz "; resulting in a subsequent long-play, After Eight , a concept album that takes music of 1930s sensibilities as informed by the soundscape of 1980s technology. The proliferation of acts led to an anti-synth backlash, with groups including Spandau Ballet, Human League, Soft Cell and ABC incorporating more conventional influences and instruments into their sounds. In
1337-484: A craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series I Love the 80s . Released afterward in 1984, " Careless Whisper " by George Michael also scaled the Hot 100. At the Second Invasion's height, during a five-month period, UK acts claimed nine out of the eleven Hot 100 number-one hits, from Simple Minds' " Don't You (Forget About Me) " through to Dire Straits ' " Money for Nothing ". During the second week of that period,
1528-638: A duo where their partner played all the instrumentation. Although synth-pop in part arose from punk rock , it abandoned punk's emphasis on authenticity and often pursued a deliberate artificiality , drawing on the critically derided forms such as disco and glam rock . It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in jazz , folk music or the blues , and instead of looking to America, in its early stages, it consciously focused on European and particularly Eastern European influences, which were reflected in band names like Spandau Ballet and songs like Ultravox's " Vienna ". Later synth-pop saw
1719-458: A few gigs with this line-up Wickett left the band in late 1979. Wickett was replaced by Roger Taylor's friend and former singer of The Scent Organs Jeff Thomas. In early 1980, they became the resident band at the city's Rum Runner nightclub. They were doing jobs at the club and began rehearsing and regularly playing at the venue. Curtis was unhappy with the Rum Runner club scene and left
1910-533: A few tracks on guitar, and hired Steve Ferrone to play drums while they searched for replacements. In September 1986, Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons and Frank Zappa 's band) was hired as a session guitarist. With Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor, he recorded the rest of the Notorious album, which was released in October 1986. The black-and-white documentary film Three to Get Ready chronicled
2101-448: A hit with their debut single " The Promise ". Several German synth-pop acts of the late 1980s included Camouflage and Celebrate the Nun . Canadian duo Kon Kan had major success with their debut single, " I Beg Your Pardon " in 1989. An American backlash against European synth-pop has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock and roots rock . In the UK
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#17327753897712292-430: A large number of acts, a number of them enjoying huge mainstream popularity in the country, like Beograd , Laki Pingvini , Denis & Denis , and Videosex . In the mid-1980s, key artists included solo performer Howard Jones , who S.T. Erlewine has stated to have "merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-'60s pop", (although with notable exceptions including
2483-499: A large number of music videos from British new wave acts. The Buggles ' 1979 hit " Video Killed the Radio Star " was the first music video shown on MTV in the U.S. To the surprise of the music industry, when MTV became available in a local market, record sales by acts played solely on the channel increased immediately and listeners phoned radio stations requesting to hear them. Also in 1981, Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM began
2674-410: A live drummer. They hired Roger Taylor , a former member of various local bands (most recently The Scent Organs who also played at Barbarella's), while John Taylor switched to bass guitar. In September 1979, this incarnation of the band recorded a four-track demo including an early version of " Girls on Film " co-written by Andy Wickett. Soon afterwards Alan Curtis was recruited as lead guitarist. After
2865-460: A major influence on early British synth-pop acts. The development of inexpensive polyphonic synthesizers, the definition of MIDI and the use of dance beats, led to a more commercial and accessible sound for synth-pop. This, its adoption by the style-conscious acts from the New Romantic movement, together with the rise of MTV , led to success for large numbers of British synth-pop acts in
3056-575: A major influence on subsequent synth rock. In 1971, the British film A Clockwork Orange was released with a synth soundtrack by American Wendy Carlos . It was the first time many in the United Kingdom had heard electronic music . Philip Oakey of the Human League and Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire , as well as music journalist Simon Reynolds, have cited the soundtrack as an inspiration. Electronic music made occasional moves into
3247-506: A major influence on the later synth-pop sound. David Bowie 's Berlin Trilogy , comprising the albums Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), and Lodger (1979), all featuring Brian Eno, would also be highly influential. The Cat Stevens album Izitso , released in April 1977, updated his pop rock style with the extensive use of synthesizers, giving it a more synth-pop style; "Was Dog
3438-406: A member of the group, found a minimoog left behind in the studio by another band, and started experimenting with it. This led to a change in the album's sound to electronic new wave. Numan later described his work on this album as a guitarist playing keyboards, who turned "punk songs into electronic songs". A single from the second Tubeway Army album Replicas , " Are Friends Electric? ", topped
3629-432: A mile-high, porcelain skin—and they all knew how to apply make-up better than most women I knew'" Nina Blackwood , MTV VJ Explaining why another British Invasion was taking place, one record-industry insider stated, "For whatever psychological reason, there is a very vocal and influential Anglophile rock audience that salivates to hits from abroad." All of this activity and the unusually high turnover of artists in
3820-457: A more conventional drum sound. Lyrics were generally more optimistic, dealing with more traditional subject matter for pop music such as romance, escapism and aspiration. According to music writer Simon Reynolds , the hallmark of 1980s synth-pop was its "emotional, at times operatic singers" such as Marc Almond , Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox . Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of
4011-575: A new movement called New Romantic that would fit the band perfectly and invited her to meet them at the Rum Runner. Shortly after signing the recording contract with EMI, Duran Duran went to London to record their debut album with producer Colin Thurston , and initial plans for an independent release of the songs " Planet Earth " and "Is There Anyone Out There?" on the Tritec Music label were scrapped. The band's debut album, Duran Duran ,
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#17327753897714202-527: A number of highly successful concert tours and the 2004 album Astronaut , which reached number three in the UK and top 40 in numerous other countries. The album's lead single " (Reach Up for The) Sunrise " was an international dance hit, and reached number five in the UK. Andy Taylor left again in 2006, and the band have released five additional albums, with the most recent being Danse Macabre in 2023. According to Billboard , Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records. They achieved 30 top 40 singles in
4393-410: A number of shows at smaller venues that the band had played on both sides of the pond when they first got together in the early 1980s. In August, the band were booked as presenters at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , only to be surprised with a Lifetime Achievement Award . They also received a Lifetime Achievement award from Q magazine in October, and the equivalent Outstanding Contribution award at
4584-439: A part. Whatever the reason, Duran Duran switched managers frequently and undertook periods of self-management in the later stages of their career. In addition, EMI fired its president and went through a major corporate restructuring that summer and seemed to have lost interest in promoting the band. According to Rhodes the band needed to break up in order to come back together stronger. The next album Big Thing (1988) yielded
4775-495: A record label willing to gamble on the band's comeback, so Duran Duran went on tour to prove the drawing power of the reunited band. The response of the fans and the media exceeded expectations. The band played a handful of 25th-anniversary dates across 2003, starting with two arena dates in Tokyo filled to capacity. Tickets sold out for each show within minutes, and celebrities turned out en masse for reunion dates. Amongst these were
4966-518: A recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the band would be
5157-402: A return to the layered experimentation of Big Thing , with intricate guitar textures and processed vocals. The track " Out of My Mind " was used as the theme song for the film The Saint (1997), but the only true single to be released in the United States was the quirky " Electric Barbarella ", which is one of the first singles ever to be sold online. The music video for this single, featuring
5348-581: A rock concert to occur anywhere within the grounds or buildings and another groundbreaker for Duran Duran. On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed a unique live set with Duran Duran for an exclusive, invitation-only performance. Together, they showcased specially re-worked versions of some of Duran Duran's classic hits re-created by Ronson, along with tracks from Red Carpet Massacre . Le Bon also performed songs from Ronson's latest album, Version (2007), as one of Ronson's featured guest vocalists. Unlike
5539-428: A series of hit singles, beginning with their debut single " Planet Earth " and the UK top five hit " Girls on Film " in 1981. They would soon be followed into the British charts by a large number of bands utilising synthesizers to create catchy three-minute pop songs. In summer 1981 Depeche Mode had their first chart success with " New Life ", followed by the UK top ten hit " Just Can't Get Enough ". A new line-up for
5730-539: A series of landmark releases within the genre, including the 1980 hit singles " Messages " and " Enola Gay ". OMD became one of the most influential acts of the period, introducing the "synth duo" format to British music. Vince Clarke , who co-founded the popular synth-pop groups Depeche Mode , Erasure , Yazoo and the Assembly , has cited OMD as his inspiration to become an electronic musician. Bandleaders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have been described in
5921-400: A sexy robot purchased and played with by band members, had to be censored before airing on MTV, but there was little of the controversy that had surrounded "Girls on Film". "Electric Barbarella" peaked at number 52 in the US in October 1997. Although Medazzaland was released in the US in October 1997, the album was never released in the UK. "Electric Barbarella" was later released in the UK as
Second British Invasion - Misplaced Pages Continue
6112-633: A shift to a style more influenced by other genres, such as soul music . Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, around the same time as rock music began to emerge as a distinct musical genre. The Mellotron , an electro-mechanical , polyphonic sample-playback keyboard was overtaken by the Moog synthesizer , created by Robert Moog in 1964, which produced completely electronically generated sounds. The portable Minimoog , which allowed much easier use, particularly in live performance
6303-520: A single from the 1998 Greatest compilation album and peaked at number 23 on the UK chart in January 1999. The group played a set at the Princess Diana Tribute Concert on 27 June 1998 by special request of her family. Duran Duran parted ways with Capitol/EMI in 1999, although the label has since used Duran Duran's back catalogue to release several compilations of remixes and rare vinyl-only B-sides. The band then signed what
6494-538: A single year. The band made music headlines by deciding to release the "Union of the Snake" video to MTV a full week before the single was released to radio. They followed up with " New Moon on Monday ", which reached number nine in the UK. Their next single " The Reflex ", taken from Seven and the Ragged Tiger and given a significant remix overhaul by Nile Rodgers of Chic fame, became their first number one hit in
6685-410: A solo album in 1986 called Thunder . The band resorted to legal measures to get him into the studio but after numerous delays they let him go at last. He played on only a few songs on the next album, including "A Matter of Feeling", whilst the disagreements were being settled. Without a guitarist or a drummer, Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor had producer (and former Chic guitarist) Nile Rodgers play
6876-759: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in 1978 in Birmingham , England, with Taylor's art school friend Stephen Duffy , naming their band after "Dr. Durand Durand", Milo O'Shea 's character from the science fiction film Barbarella (1968), the day after the film was broadcast on BBC on 20 October 1978. The three of them (Taylor on guitar and vocals, Rhodes on synthesizer and tapes, Duffy on vocals and bass) played their first gig on 5 April 1979 at
7067-561: A step toward maturity...they managed to catch a trend on the upswing, perhaps "Notorious" suggests that for late 1980s grit and pessimism is coming into style." Another factor was the band's dismissal of early managers, the Berrow brothers. There was no announcement of the reasons for the decision, but disagreements over money, and the brothers' involvement in Le Bon's yachting adventures (they were co-owners of Drum ) were thought to have played
7258-488: A style of electronic dance music influenced by synth-pop and funk that led to the emergence of Detroit techno in the mid-1980s. The continued influence of 1980s synth-pop could be seen in various incarnations of 1990s dance music, including trance . Hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep have sampled 1980s synth-pop songs. Popular artists such as Rihanna , UK stars Jay Sean and Taio Cruz , as well as British pop star Lily Allen on her second album, have also embraced
7449-573: A style that was highly successful on the US dance charts, but by the end of the decade, the synth-pop of bands such as A-ha and Alphaville was giving way to house music and techno . Interest in synth-pop began to revive in the indietronica and electroclash movements in the late 1990s, and in the 2000s synth-pop enjoyed a widespread revival and commercial success. The genre has received criticism for alleged lack of emotion and musicianship; prominent artists have spoken out against detractors who believed that synthesizers themselves composed and played
7640-587: A supposedly temporary split into two side projects. John Taylor and Andy Taylor wanted to break away from the Duran Duran sound and pursue hard rock material; they collaborated with lead vocalist Robert Palmer and Chic 's drummer Tony Thompson to form the rock/ funk supergroup the Power Station , releasing two top 10 singles. Le Bon and Rhodes wanted to further explore Duran Duran's atmospheric aspect and formed Arcadia , releasing one album ( So Red
7831-541: A synthesizer, I’m going to have you. Video Killed the Radio Star is putting musicians out of business." 1980 also saw the release of where "Video Killed the Radio Star" came from, the Buggles' debut album The Age of Plastic , which some writers have labeled as the first landmark of another electropop era, as well as what for many is the defining album of Devo's career, the overtly synth-pop Freedom of Choice . The emergence of synth-pop has been described as "perhaps
Second British Invasion - Misplaced Pages Continue
8022-613: A synthwave song by the Weeknd, peaked at number one in 29 countries, including the United States, in early 2020; and later became the Billboard number-one greatest song of all time in November 2021. This wave of revival not only popularized established acts but also enabled new artists like Dua Lipa , whose retro-influenced album Future Nostalgia won multiple awards and was hailed for its energetic embrace of vintage pop sounds. Meanwhile, indie artists such as M83 continued to explore
8213-479: A teen "hysteria" similar to Beatlemania during the first British Invasion. Newsweek magazine ran an issue which featured Annie Lennox and Boy George on the cover of its issue with the caption "Britain Rocks America ;– Again", while Rolling Stone would release an "England Swings" issue in November 1983. The following April, 40 of the top 100 singles were by acts of British origin. In 1983,
8404-457: A very sensational and erotic piece that would be for clubs, where it would get shown uncensored just to make people take notice and talk about it. The video was heavily edited for MTV. The album peaked in the UK top twenty at number three. Later in 1981 the band embarked on their first United States club tour followed by more dates in Germany and the UK. This second tour of Britain coincided with
8595-633: A wave of riots sparked by unemployment and racial tension, including those of Moss Side and Toxteth . The band played Birmingham the day after the Handsworth riots . The band also began writing and demoing songs for a new album. In November 1981, they released a new single, the disco -influenced " My Own Way ", that reached number 14 in the UK, followed in early 1982 by the recording of their second album at AIR Studios in London. In May 1982, Duran Duran released their second album, Rio , which entered
8786-420: A wider audience, resulting in music that, while having no specific sound, was characterized by a risk-taking spirit within the context of pop music. Rock-oriented acts that knew how to use video, such as Def Leppard , Big Country and Simple Minds , became part of the new influx of music from Britain. Early in 1983, radio consultant Lee Abrams advised his clients at 70 album-oriented rock stations to double
8977-588: The Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks in 2010. She also used the genre on her comeback single " Die Young ". Mainstream female recording artists who have dabbled in the genre in the 2010s include Madonna , Taylor Swift , Katy Perry , Jessie J , Christina Aguilera , and Beyoncé . In Japan, girl group Perfume , along with producer Yasutaka Nakata of Capsule , produced technopop music combining 1980s synth-pop with chiptunes and electro house from 2003. Their breakthrough came in 2008 with
9168-570: The BRIT Awards in February 2004. The pace picked up with a sold-out tour of America, Australia and New Zealand. The band played a full concert at a private tailgate party at Super Bowl XXXVIII , their performance of "The Wild Boys" broadcast to millions during the pre-game show. A remix of the new track " (Reach Up for The) Sunrise " was released on many TV shows in February while magazines hailed (the modern "Fab Five") Duran Duran as one of
9359-538: The Billboard US Dance chart in November and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, Duran Duran's highest chart position since "A View to a Kill" in 1985. A second single, " What Happens Tomorrow ", debuted at No. 11 on the UK chart in February. A 5.1 mix of Astronaut was created by Jeremy Wheatley for the dual-disc release of Astronaut . The CD side contains the album as-is and
9550-598: The Billboard top ten. Duran Duran's glossy videos would come to symbolise the power of MTV. Billy Idol became an MTV staple with 1983's " White Wedding " and 1984's " Eyes Without a Face ", and his second studio album Rebel Yell (1983) sold two million copies. Pop rock songs that topped the charts included Bonnie Tyler 's " Total Eclipse of the Heart ", John Waite 's " Missing You ", and Robert Palmer 's " Addicted to Love ". Spandau Ballet 's ballad " True " became one of
9741-630: The Birmingham Polytechnic . Soon after, they were joined by Simon Colley on clarinet and bass. John (then going by his first name Nigel) was the guitarist at this point. After a few gigs, including a performance at Barbarella's in Birmingham opening for the band Fashion , Duffy and Colley left the band in June 1979. Taylor and Rhodes then recruited lead vocalist Andy Wickett (formerly frontman of TV Eye ) and decided that they needed
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#17327753897719932-469: The Japanese Albums chart. Much like Japan, Korean pop music has also become dominated by synth-pop, particularly with girl groups such as f(x) , Girls' Generation and Wonder Girls . In 2020, the genre experienced a resurgence in popularity as 1980s-style synth-pop and synthwave songs from singers such as the Weeknd who gained success on international music charts. " Blinding Lights ",
10123-644: The Live Aid charity concert at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, on 13 July 1985 while their Bond song held the top spot on the American charts. It was not intended to be a farewell performance—the band planned only to take a break after four years of non-stop touring and public appearances—but the original five did not play live together again until July 2003. During their Live Aid set, Le Bon inadvertently hit an off-key falsetto note in
10314-685: The Make Some Noise campaign sponsored by Amnesty International . Their version later appeared on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur as an iTunes exclusive bonus track. They also performed at two high-profile events – the Nobel Prize Awards and the 2006 Winter Olympics . After a couple of weeks of songwriting in Northern California, the band began working with producer Michael Patterson in London, and continued intermittently for
10505-471: The New Romantic movement. Despite synth-pop's origins in the late 1970s among new wave bands like Tubeway Army and Devo, British journalists and music critics largely abandoned the term "new wave" in the early 1980s. This was in part due to the rise of new artists unaffiliated with the preceding punk/new wave era, as well as aesthetic changes associated with synth-pop's movement into the pop mainstream. According to authors Stuart Borthwick and Ron Moy, "After
10696-489: The New Romantic scene, Duran Duran were innovators of the music video and a leading band in the MTV -driven Second British Invasion of the US in the 1980s. By 1984, the band had achieved levels of fame similar to Beatlemania . The band's first major hit was " Girls on Film " (1981), from their self-titled debut album , the popularity of which was enhanced by a controversial music video. The band's breakthrough second album
10887-525: The Pop Trash tour. Cuccurullo then announced on his website that he was leaving Duran Duran to resume work with his 1980s band Missing Persons . This announcement was confirmed the next day by Duran Duran's website, followed a day later by the news that John, Roger and Andy had rejoined. To fulfill contractual obligations, Cuccurullo played three Duran Duran concerts in Japan in June 2001, ending his tenure in
11078-581: The Rio album did not do well in the United States. EMI in the UK had promoted Duran Duran as a New Romantic band, but the New Romantic movement was barely known in the US, and EMI's American subsidiary Capitol Records was at a loss about how to sell them. After Carnival (an EP of Rio 's dance remixes) became popular with DJs in the fall, the band arranged to have most of the album remixed by David Kershenbaum . In June 1982, Duran Duran appeared for
11269-407: The Rock of the '80s format, which would make it the most popular station in that city. With British artists featuring heavily on the station, Rick Carroll of KROQ states, "There wasn't American product worthy of being played every three hours, so we had to look and listen to British imports to fill the void." In 2011, The Guardian felt that the launch of MTV (one of the paper's "50 key events in
11460-844: The Spice Girls were identified as part of the Second British Invasion; and prominent British acts such as Oasis , Blur , Take That , and the Verve (some of whom were associated with the Britpop movement in their native United Kingdom) had some limited success in the U.S., albeit less than their 1980s predecessors. US hits from these bands included " Wannabe " (Spice Girls), " Wonderwall " (Oasis), " Song 2 " (Blur), " Back for Good " (Take That), and " Bitter Sweet Symphony " (the Verve). Over time British acts became less prevalent on
11651-546: The UK Singles Chart (14 of them top 10) and 21 top 40 singles in the US Billboard Hot 100 . The band have won numerous awards throughout their career: two Brit Awards including the 2004 award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, two Grammy Awards , an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Video Visionary Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards . They were also awarded
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#173277538977111842-636: The UK Top 40 chart in late June 1982, and its accompanying music video received frequent rotation on MTV by early July. Duran Duran's subsequent singles, " Save a Prayer " and " Rio ", also did exceptionally well, peaking at number two and number nine on the UK Top 40 chart, respectively. On 3 July 1982, the Human League 's " Don't You Want Me " started a three-week reign on top of the Billboard Hot 100 . The song got considerable boost from MTV, and has been described by The Village Voice as "pretty unmistakably
12033-508: The synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock , electronic , art rock , disco , and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk . It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in
12224-454: The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time. Duran Duran were among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes . Before the days of digital synthesizer and easy audio sampling , they created multi-layered arrangements of their singles, sometimes recording entirely different extended performances of the songs in the studio. These "night versions" were generally available only on vinyl as b-sides to 45 rpm singles or on 12-inch club singles until
12415-495: The 1980s wore on, US rock, heavy metal , and pop music acts learned how to market themselves using video and making catchy singles. Martin Fry of the Second British Invasion group ABC says that "The reality was that Madonna , Prince and Michael Jackson did it better, bigger and more global than a lot of British acts." From 1983 to 1985, several glam metal acts dented the US charts and received some airplay on MTV, but heavy metal
12606-409: The 1980s, the introduction of dance beats and more conventional rock instrumentation made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Synthesizers were increasingly used to imitate the conventional and clichéd sound of orchestras and horns. Thin, treble-dominant, synthesized melodies and simple drum programmes gave way to thick, and compressed production, and
12797-578: The 1990s were Savage Garden , the Rentals and the Moog Cookbook . Electronic music was also explored from the early 1990s by indietronica bands like Stereolab , EMF , the Utah Saints , and Disco Inferno , who mixed a variety of indie and synthesizer sounds. Indietronica began to take off in the new millennium as the new digital technology developed, with acts such as Broadcast from
12988-594: The Bravery and the Stills all left their synth-pop sound behind after their debut albums and began to explore classic 1970s rock, but the style was picked up by a large number of performers, particularly female solo artists. Following the breakthrough success of Lady Gaga with her single " Just Dance " (2008), the British and other media proclaimed a new era of female synth-pop stars, citing artists such as Little Boots , La Roux , and Ladyhawke . Male acts that emerged in
13179-468: The British band Your Vegas . In June 2008, they played the Louvre in Paris in a fundraising effort that contributed to the restoration of a Louis XV drawing room. Guests dined, privately viewed some of the museum's artworks, then attended a performance by the band in the I.M. Pei -designed Pyramid du Louvre . The group's performance marked a first for the 18th-century museum which had never before allowed
13370-600: The British invasion but what about the Minutemen , Flesh Eaters , D.O.A. , Big Boys , and the Black Flag were the last American bands to get played on the radio please bring the Flag, please bring the Flag glitter disco synthesizer, night school all the noble savage drum drum drum" American punk band X from their 1983 song "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts". The commercial burnout of corporate rock around 1979 opened
13561-521: The British music press of the late 1970s and early 1980s for their German influences and characterised by journalist Mick Farren as the " Adolf Hitler Memorial Space Patrol". In 1983, Morrissey of the Smiths stated that "there was nothing more repellent than the synthesizer". During the decade, objections were raised to the quality of compositions and what was called the limited musicianship of artists. Gary Numan observed "hostility" and what he felt
13752-572: The British music press were convenient to obtain and where the New York Rocker warned that " Anglophilia " was hurting US underground acts. "Some fascinating new music began arriving on these shores; it was dubbed electropop , because electronic instrumentation — mainly synthesizers and syndrums — was used to craft pop songs. " Pop Muzik " by M was one of the first. There was a gradual accumulation of worthy electropop discs, though they were still mostly heard only in rock discos. But in 1981,
13943-559: The Communards . The Communards' major hits were covers of disco classics " Don't Leave Me This Way " (1986) and " Never Can Say Goodbye " (1987). After adding other elements to their sound, and with the help of a gay audience, several synth-pop acts had success on the US dance charts. Among these were American acts Information Society (who had two top 10 singles in 1988), Anything Box , and Red Flag . British band When in Rome scored
14134-703: The DVD side contains the 5.1 mix of the album in DVD Audio format along with some DVD footage and videos. After a world tour in early 2005, Duran Duran were presented with the PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the 2005 Ivor Novello Awards. Later that summer, the band headlined the massive Live 8 concert, Rome on 2 July 2005 in the Circus Maximus . In early 2006, Duran Duran covered John Lennon 's song " Instant Karma! " for
14325-732: The Dark (OMD) – to 'throw away their guitars' and become a synth act. Kraftwerk had its first hit UK record later in the year with " Autobahn ", which reached number 11 in the British Singles Chart and number 12 in Canada. The group was described by the BBC Four program Synth Britannia as the key to synth-pop's future rise there. In 1977, Giorgio Moroder released the electronic Eurodisco song " I Feel Love " that he had produced for Donna Summer , and its programmed beats would be
14516-511: The Dead Milkmen , took a satirical shot at the American subculture that followed British alternative/new wave. According to music journalist Simon Reynolds , a majority of acts that signed to independent labels in 1984 mined various rock influences and became an alternative to the Second Invasion. Reynolds named the Smiths and R.E.M. as the two most important " alt rock acts" among this group noting that they "were eighties bands only in
14707-486: The DuranCon fan convention that he was leaving the band "for good". His departure reduced the band to two long time members (Le Bon and Rhodes) and Cuccurullo, who decided to continue recording under the name Duran Duran. Freed from some internal writing conflicts, the band returned to the studio to rewrite and re-record many of the songs on Medazzaland (John Taylor's work remains on only four tracks). The album marked
14898-502: The Ground ", which consisted of woven snippets of the band's hits from the previous ten years, created and produced with John Jones , who began working with the band after the release of Big Thing . The single came and went with little fanfare, but the album became another major seller for the band. The 1990 release Liberty (a retreat from the experimentation of Big Thing ) failed to capitalise on any regained momentum. The album entered
15089-546: The Human League along with a new producer and a more commercial sound led to the album Dare (1981), which produced a series of hit singles. These included " Don't You Want Me ", which reached number one in the UK at the end of 1981. Synth-pop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981–2, with bands such as OMD , Japan , Ultravox , Soft Cell , Depeche Mode, Yazoo and even Kraftwerk , enjoying top ten hits. The Human League's and Soft Cell's UK number one singles "Don't You Want Me" and " Tainted Love " became
15280-525: The Police 's Synchronicity (1983) was number one on the Billboard 200 for 17 weeks, traded the top spot with Michael Jackson 's Thriller (1982) three times, and their song " Every Breath You Take " was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks and was the best-selling single in the US in 1983. U.S. radio stations that catered to black audiences also played Second Invasion acts. Music critic Nelson George ascribed this "reverse crossover" to
15471-470: The Pretenders , Gary Numan , Squeeze , and Joe Jackson ; the latter scored a new wave hit with " Is She Really Going Out with Him? " Scripps-Howard news service has described this success as an early stage of the invasion. Music videos, which had been a staple of British music television programmes for about five years, evolved into image-conscious short films. At the same time, pop and rock music in
15662-531: The Prince and Princess of Wales at the Dominion Theatre , and the second, a charity concert at Aston Villa's home ground . The band were under pressure to follow up the success of Rio , and the recording process took over six months as different band members went through bouts of perfectionism and insecurity. A newly decadent lifestyle and substance abuse issues for some members added complications. In
15853-465: The Ragged Tiger and Notorious , many of their teenage fans had grown up and the music was funkier, more mature, and less "pop", given the added experience of their work on Arcadia and Power Station and with other musicians. " Skin Trade " and " Meet El Presidente ", the two subsequent singles, made the charts but fared poorly compared to the band's earlier successes. Finally in late 1987, Sterling Campbell
16044-699: The Rolling Stones saw their popularity increase; a few acts that dated to the era of the original British Invasion, including George Harrison , the Kinks , the Hollies , the Moody Blues , and Eddy Grant , had their last major hits in this time frame. Counting his work with Genesis, Collins had more top forty hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1980s than any other artist. British progressive rock artists would achieve major chart success in
16235-573: The Rose ) and an accompanying single (" Election Day "). Contributors to that album included guitarist Masami Tsuchiya , bassist Mark Egan , percussionist David Van Tieghem , drummer Steve Jordan , Sting , Herbie Hancock and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd . Roger Taylor was a drummer for Arcadia as well as contributing percussion to the Power Station album. According to Rhodes, the two side projects "were commercial suicide... But we've always been good at that." The band regrouped to contribute " A View to
16426-551: The Timbaland tracks. Dom Brown is the featured guitarist on the album. In July 2007, the band performed twice at Wembley Stadium . Their first appearance at the stadium was the Concert for Diana which celebrated the life of Princess Diana almost 10 years after her death. The band performed " (Reach Up for The) Sunrise ", " The Wild Boys " and " Rio ". Their second appearance was at Live Earth concert, London . On 25 September,
16617-702: The Timberlake collaboration " Falling Down " was released as a download single on iTunes , and the band announced that they would play nine shows at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway to launch the Red Carpet Massacre album. The album launch was later extended to incorporate a show in London on 3 December 2007 and one in Dublin on 5 December 2007. In May 2008, they toured the US leg of their 2008 world tour and were supported by
16808-514: The Tritec Music company. In April 1980, guitarist Andy Taylor came from Newcastle upon Tyne to audition after responding to an advertisement in Melody Maker . Andy already had a lot of experience from playing with cover bands for years and although he came from a totally different rock music background his versatile playing style was seen as a perfect complement to the band. In May 1980, London vocalist and drama student Simon Le Bon
16999-416: The U.S. was undergoing a creative slump due to several factors, including audience fragmentation and the effects of the anti- disco backlash that reached its peak with Disco Demolition Night . Videos did not exist for most hits by US acts, and those that did were usually composed of footage from concert performances. When the cable music channel MTV launched on 1 August 1981, it had little choice but to play
17190-640: The UK Albums Chart at number four and peaked at number two the following week. The band scored three UK top 10 hits on the singles chart from the album with " Hungry Like the Wolf " at number five in June, " Save a Prayer " at number two in September and the title song " Rio " at number nine in December, while the earlier top 20 hit " My Own Way " was included in a re-recorded version on the album. With
17381-488: The UK album chart in the top ten, but faded away quickly. The singles " Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over) " and " Serious " were only mildly successful. For the first time, Duran Duran did not tour in support of an album, performing on only a handful of club dates and TV shows. Campbell left the band early in 1991, going on to work with Soul Asylum and David Bowie . The quartet of Le Bon, Rhodes, John Taylor and Cuccurullo would remain intact for six more years. In 1993,
17572-600: The UK and top 40 in the US. and Thompson Twins , whose popularity peaked in 1984 with the album Into the Gap , which reached No.1 in the UK and the US top ten and spawned several top ten singles. In 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (produced by Trevor Horn of the Buggles), with their first three singles, " Relax ", " Two Tribes " and " The Power of Love ", topping
17763-404: The UK chart. The music journalist Paul Lester reflected, "no band has dominated a 12-month period like Frankie ruled 1984". In January 1985, Tears for Fears' single " Shout ", written by Roland Orzabal in his "front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine", became their fourth top 5 UK hit; it would later top the charts in multiple countries including the US. Initially dismissed in
17954-415: The UK charts in the summer of 1979. The discovery that synthesizers could be employed in a different manner from that used in progressive rock or disco, prompted Numan to go solo. On his futuristic album The Pleasure Principle (1979), he played only synths, but retained a bass guitarist and a drummer for the rhythm section. A single from the album, " Cars " topped the charts. Numan's main influence at
18145-411: The UK want to be signed to communicate." The UK initially embraced what was called "new pop". However, by 1983, the song " Rip It Up " by Scottish rock band Orange Juice and "kill ugly pop stars" graffiti were expressions of both a backlash against the Second Invasion groups and nostalgia for punk. "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", which became an underground hit for Philadelphia punk group
18336-439: The UK was always more theatrical than its US counterpart. Parke Puterbaugh for Rolling Stone writes, "The runaway success in early '82 of ' I Ran (So Far Away) ' by A Flock of Seagulls was the icing on the cake. Fronted by a singer-synth player with a haircut stranger than anything you'd be likely to encounter in a month of poodle shows, A Flock of Seagulls struck gold on the first try. The message seemed abundantly clear: America
18527-702: The UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany, and Ratatat and the Postal Service from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely produced on small independent labels. Similarly, the electroclash subgenre began in New York at the end of the 1990s, combining synth-pop, techno, punk and performance art. It was pioneered by I-F with their track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1998), and pursued by artists including Felix da Housecat , Peaches , Chicks on Speed , and Fischerspooner . It gained international attention at
18718-504: The US (unlike the UK), where synth-pop is sometimes considered a "subgenre" of "new wave" and was described as "technopop" or "electropop" by the press at the time, the genre became popular due to the cable music channel MTV , which reached the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles in 1982. It made heavy use of style-conscious New Romantic synth-pop acts, with " I Ran (So Far Away) " (1982) by A Flock of Seagulls generally considered
18909-509: The US and number 13 in the UK. Both the band and the record label seemed to be caught by surprise by the album's critical and commercial success (number four in the UK, number seven in the US). John Taylor had been considering leaving the band but changed his mind. The band's largest tour ever, which included stops in the Middle East, the then recently de-embargoed South Africa, and South America,
19100-403: The US charts, and on 27 April 2002, for the first time in almost forty years, the Hot 100 had no British acts at all; that week, only two of the top 100 albums, those of Craig David and Ozzy Osbourne , were from British artists. Synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop ; also called techno-pop ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features
19291-569: The US during the Second British Invasion . The term "techno-pop" was coined by Yuzuru Agi in his critique of Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine in 1978 and is considered a case of multiple discovery of naming. Hence, the term can be used interchangeably with "synth-pop", but is more frequently used to describe the scene of Japan. The term "techno-pop" became also popular in Europe, where it started: German band Kraftwerk's 1986 album
19482-550: The US during the 1980s, such as Genesis with " Invisible Touch " reaching No. 1, Yes with " Owner of a Lonely Heart " achieving the same, and the Alan Parsons Project with " Sirius ", which would be used as entrance music by various US sports teams, notably the Chicago Bulls . "A revolution in sound and style—lying somewhere between artful ingenuity and pure pop fun — has taken root in this country over
19673-472: The US in the middle of the year with the addition of the new single " Is There Something I Should Know? ". Upon its release, this song entered the chart at number one in the UK (a rarity then and their first chart-topper in their home country) and reached number five on the American charts. During the promotion of this album, Rhodes and Le Bon were MTV guest VJs for a show, during which artist and admirer Andy Warhol dropped by to greet them. "Our first gigs in
19864-408: The US the following year. The success of synth-pop and other British acts would be seen as a Second British Invasion . In his early 1980s columns for The Village Voice , music critic Robert Christgau frequently referred to British synth-pop as "Anglodisco", suggesting a parallel to the contemporary genres of Eurodisco and Italo disco , both highly popular outside the US. Indeed, synth-pop
20055-518: The US. During the late 1980s, glam metal and dance music replaced Second Invasion acts atop the US charts. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, music from the United Kingdom was informed by the after-effects of the punk / new wave revolution. In 1979, " Roxanne " by the Police cracked the American Top 40, followed by the more modest chart successes of Elvis Costello , Sniff 'n' the Tears ,
20246-494: The United States were crazy and culty", Rhodes said later, "But when we came back after 'Hungry' was a hit, it was mayhem. It was Beatlemania . We were doing a signing of the 'Girls on Film' video at a store in Times Square . We couldn't get out of the store. The cops sealed off the streets." Also in 1983, Rhodes produced the UK number one and US number five hit " Too Shy " for English band Kajagoogoo and Andy Taylor became
20437-474: The United States. "The Reflex" was also their second and final UK number one and was successful in numerous other countries around the world. The band embarked on a global tour that continued throughout the first four months of 1984 including their first major stadium dates in America. A film crew led by director Russell Mulcahy followed the band closely, leading to the documentary film Sing Blue Silver and
20628-465: The accompanying concert film Arena . The live album Arena was also recorded during the tour and was released with the new single " The Wild Boys ", which went to number two on both sides of the Atlantic . In February 1984, the band appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and won two Grammy Awards in the brand-new Long Form and Short Form music video categories. Meanwhile, " Save
20819-459: The album Game , which led to a renewed interest in technopop within mainstream Japanese pop music. Other Japanese female technopop artists soon followed, including Aira Mitsuki , immi , Mizca , SAWA , Saori Rinne and Sweet Vacation . Model-singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu also shared the same success as Perfume's under Nakata 's production with the album Pamyu Pamyu Revolution in 2012, which topped electronic charts on iTunes as well as
21010-576: The album Duran Duran also began to achieve worldwide recognition. A headlining tour of Australia, Japan and the US was followed by a stint supporting Blondie during that band's final American tour. Diana, Princess of Wales declared Duran Duran her favourite band, and the band were dubbed "the Fab Five" by the British press, comparing them to the Beatles whose nickname was the Fab Four. At first,
21201-481: The album did not perform well. The dreamy single " Someone Else Not Me " lasted barely two weeks on the radio, although its video was noted as the first to be produced entirely with Flash animation. While supporting Medazzaland and Pop Trash , Duran Duran toured with bassist Wes Wehmiller and drummer Joe Travers. In 2000, Le Bon approached John Taylor with a proposal to reform Duran Duran's classic line-up. They agreed to part company with Cuccurullo after completing
21392-485: The amount of new music they played. Abrams stated, "All my favorite bands are English ... It's a more artistic place. Experimentation thrives there. Everything over here is more like McDonald's." During 1983, 30% of US record sales were from British acts. On 16 July 1983, twenty of the top forty singles were British, surpassing the previous record of 14 set in 1965; this tally was equaled the weeks ending 31 May – 7 June 1986. Culture Club, Spandau Ballet, and Duran Duran created
21583-421: The arrival of indie rock bands, particularly the Smiths , has been seen as marking the end of synth-driven pop and the beginning of the guitar-based music that would dominate rock into the 1990s. By 1991, in the United States synth-pop was losing its commercial viability as alternative radio stations were responding to the popularity of grunge . Exceptions that continued to pursue forms of synth-pop or rock in
21774-465: The band attracted critical attention, resulting in a bidding war between the record companies EMI and Phonogram . "A certain patriotism" toward the label of the Beatles led them to sign with EMI in December. A week later, the first article about Duran Duran in a national magazine appeared in Sounds . The members of Duran Duran had noticed that Betty Page (pen name for Beverley Glick) was writing about
21965-515: The band lost two of its core members to fatigue and tension in 1986. After Live Aid and Arcadia, Roger Taylor left the band and retired to the English countryside, suffering from exhaustion. Andy Taylor led the remaining members to believe he would return to work on a new Duran Duran album, even as he was signing a solo recording contract in Los Angeles with MCA Records , eventually releasing
22156-421: The band released a second self-titled album: this Duran Duran album is known as The Wedding Album (for Nick Egan 's cover art featuring the wedding photos of the band members' parents) to distinguish it from the 1981 release, and was produced and recorded with John Jones . The release of this first "comeback" album was delayed, with then manager at Left Bank, Tommy Manzi, later telling HitQuarters that this
22347-404: The band to form Dif Juz with his brother. Thomas was fired shortly after following disagreements and repeated arguments. The three remaining members started to look for a new lead vocalist and guitarist. The owners of the club, brothers Paul and Michael Berrow, became the band's management, paying them to work as doormen, disc jockeys (DJs) and barmen when they were not rehearsing, and also formed
22538-469: The band. Throughout 2001, 2002 and 2003, the band worked on writing new material, initially renting a house in Saint-Tropez where audio engineer Mark Tinley built a recording studio for their first serious writing session. They then returned to London to do some self-financed work with various producers (including old friend Nile Rodgers) and search for a new record deal. It proved difficult to find
22729-414: The beginning of the new millennium and spread to scenes in London and Berlin, but rapidly faded as a recognizable genre as acts began to experiment with a variety of forms of music. In the new millennium, renewed interest in electronic music and nostalgia for the 1980s led to the beginnings of a synth-pop revival, with acts including Adult and Fischerspooner . Between 2003 and 2004, it began to move into
22920-615: The best selling singles in the UK in 1981. In early 1982 synthesizers were so dominant that the Musicians' Union attempted to limit their use. By the end of 1982, these acts had been joined in the charts by synth-based singles from Thomas Dolby , Blancmange , and Tears for Fears . Bands such as Simple Minds also adopted synth-pop into their music on their 1982 album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) . ABC and Heaven 17 had commercial success mixing synth-pop with influences from funk and soul music . Dutch entertainer Taco , who has
23111-528: The boundaries of the genre, blending it with shoegaze and ambient music to create a complex, layered sound in their album Digital Shades Vol. 2 . The genre's adaptability and nostalgic appeal have contributed to its enduring presence and continued evolution in the music industry. Synth-pop has received considerable criticism and even prompted hostility among musicians and in the press. It has been described as "anaemic" and "soulless". Synth-pop's early steps, and Gary Numan in particular, were also disparaged in
23302-420: The charts caused a sense of upheaval in the US. Commentators in the mainstream media credited MTV and the British acts with bringing colour and energy back to pop music that had been missing since the 1960s, while rock journalists were generally hostile to the phenomenon because they felt it represented image over content and that the "English haircut bands" had not paid their dues. As the birthplace of glam rock
23493-582: The chorus of "A View to a Kill", an error that was trumpeted by numerous media outlets as "The Bum Note Heard Round the World" (in contrast to Freddie Mercury 's "Note Heard Round the World" at the Wembley Stadium Live Aid show). Le Bon later described the moment as the most embarrassing of his career. After releasing three studio albums and one live album in five years, each accompanied by heavy media promotion and lengthy concert tours,
23684-420: The commercial charts. "This is a finger, this is another... now write a song" —This quote is a take on the punk manifesto This is a chord, this is another, this is a third...now start a band celebrating the virtues of amateur musicianship first appeared in a fanzine in December 1976. British punk-influenced band Tubeway Army , intended their debut album to be guitar driven. In late 1978, Gary Numan ,
23875-451: The concert DVD Duran Duran: Live from London which was released in November. Finally, with more than thirty-five songs completed, the band signed a two-album contract with Epic Records in June, and completed the new album, now titled Astronaut . The album was released in October 2004 and entered the UK charts at number three and the US charts at number 17. The first single was " (Reach Up for The) Sunrise ", which reached number one on
24066-481: The dancibility of the songs. Another music journalist, Simon Reynolds , theorized that, just as in the first British Invasion, the use of African-American influences by British acts such as Eurythmics, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Paul Young , and Wham! helped to spur their success. George Michael 's band Wham! released the 1984 US chart-topper " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go "; its music video featured oversized message T-shirts created by Katharine Hamnett , starting
24257-503: The documentary film Extraordinary World , filmed a decade later, Rhodes described the effect on their sound as "barely controlled hysteria, scratching beneath the surface". The new album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), included the late 1983 hit " Union of the Snake " (with the soprano saxophone solo by Andy Hamilton ). With "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Rio", "Save a Prayer" and "Is There Something I Should Know?", Duran Duran now had five US Top Twenty hits from three different albums in
24448-405: The door for new music, most of which was from the UK. Giving a theory why this was the case, Polygram's Jaffe stated, "often bands you see in America are an amalgam of what they've heard on AOR radio. The motivation for American kids is, 'We want to be the next Van Halen and get rich'". Bob Currie, manager of A&R for EMI , added, "Bands in America want to be signed to make money, while bands in
24639-566: The early " dominatrix " image of the Eurythmics' Annie Lennox . In the U.S. this led to British synth-pop artists being characterised as "English haircut bands" or "art fag " music, though many British synth-pop artists were highly popular on both American radio and MTV . Although some audiences were overtly hostile to synth-pop, it achieved an appeal among those alienated from the dominant heterosexuality of mainstream rock culture, particularly among gay, female and introverted audiences. By
24830-435: The first band of the movement to have a hit single as the synth-driven " To Cut a Long Story Short " reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1980. Visage's " Fade to Grey ", characteristic of synth-pop and a major influence on the genre, reached the top ten a few weeks later. Duran Duran have been credited with incorporating dance beats into synth-pop to produce a catchier and warmer sound, which provided them with
25021-531: The first hit by a British act to enter the Billboard top ten as a result of exposure through video. The switch to a " new music " format in US radio stations was also significant in the success of British bands. Reaching No. 2 in the UK in March 1983 and No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later, Rolling Stone called Eurythmics' single " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) " "a synth-pop masterpiece". Bananarama 's 1983 synth-pop song " Cruel Summer " became an instant UK hit before having similar success in
25212-510: The first member of Duran Duran to get married. The band spent the next year as tax exiles , writing songs at a château in France where The Tube with Jools Holland filmed a documentary with the band in May 1983 before they flew to Montserrat and then Sydney to record and mix their third album. During the summer, they returned to the UK to perform two concerts, the first on 20 July in front of
25403-421: The first time on American television, performing "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" on Dancin' on Air , the forerunner to the national hit show Dance Party USA . Now promoted as a dance album, Rio was re-released in the US in November and began to climb the American charts six months after its European success. MTV placed "Hungry Like the Wolf" and several other Duran Duran videos into heavy rotation, pushing
25594-410: The floodgates opened, and "new music" at last made a mighty splash. The breakthrough song was " Don't You Want Me " by the Human League." —Anglomania: The Second British Invasion, by Parke Puterbaugh for Rolling Stone , November 1983. On 4 May 1982, Duran Duran released their second single " Hungry Like the Wolf " from the group's second studio album, Rio . The song peaked at number five on
25785-431: The genre as diverse but "characterised by a broad set of values that eschewed rock playing styles, rhythms and structures", which were replaced by "synthetic textures" and "robotic rigidity", often defined by the limitations of the new technology, including monophonic synthesizers (only able to play one note at a time). Many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce
25976-440: The genre. Duran Duran Duran Duran ( / dj ʊ ˌ r æ n dj ʊ ˈ r æ n / ) are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy , keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor . After several early changes, the band's line-up settled in May 1980 as Rhodes, Taylor, singer Simon Le Bon , guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor . Emerging as members of
26167-501: The greatest bands of all time. Duran Duran then celebrated their homecoming to the UK with fourteen stadium dates in April 2004, including five sold-out nights at Wembley Arena . The British press, traditionally hostile to the band, accorded the shows some very warm reviews. Duran Duran brought along band Goldfrapp and the Scissor Sisters as alternating opening acts for this tour. The last two shows were filmed, resulting in
26358-465: The group's management and himself, and he was also diagnosed with clinical depression connected with the death of his father. Dom Brown , who had previously toured with the band, again took over guitar duties and has been performing with them since. After Taylor's departure, the band scrapped the Reportage album. They wrote and recorded a new album titled Red Carpet Massacre (2007), which included
26549-555: The history of pop music") played "a huge part" in the second British invasion. More hints of the impending invasion were observed in 1981 on the dance charts. Only seven of the top thirty groups of the dance rock chart Rockpool were of American origin, while later in the year, 12-inch singles by British groups began appearing on the Billboard Disco chart. The trend was particularly strong in Manhattan where import records and
26740-427: The late 1980s and early 1990s releasing albums and singles to only moderate success. Their comeback album, 1993's Duran Duran (commonly called The Wedding Album ), featured two top ten worldwide hits " Ordinary World " and " Come Undone ". John Taylor left the band in 1997, though four years later, in 2001, a full reunion of the classic 1980–1985 line-up of Le Bon, Rhodes and all three Taylors took place, which led to
26931-406: The lyrics of " What Is Love? " – "Does anybody love anybody anyway?") and Nik Kershaw , whose "well-crafted synth-pop" incorporated guitars and other more traditional pop influences that particularly appealed to a teen audience. Pursuing a more dance-orientated sound were Bronski Beat whose album The Age of Consent (1984), dealing with issues of homophobia and alienation, reached the top 20 in
27122-538: The mainstream with Ladytron , the Postal Service , Cut Copy , the Bravery and the Killers all producing records that incorporated vintage synthesizer sounds and styles that contrasted with the dominant genres of post-grunge and nu metal . In particular, the Killers enjoyed considerable airplay and exposure and their debut album Hot Fuss (2004) reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 . The Killers,
27313-781: The mainstream, with jazz musician Stan Free , under the pseudonym Hot Butter , having a top 10 hit in the United States and United Kingdom in 1972, with a cover of the 1969 Gershon Kingsley song " Popcorn " using a Moog synthesizer, which is recognised as a forerunner to synth-pop and disco . The mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians such as Jean Michel Jarre , Vangelis , and Tomita . Tomita's album Electric Samurai: Switched on Rock (1972) featured electronic renditions of contemporary rock and pop songs, while utilizing speech synthesis and analog music sequencers . In 1975, Kraftwerk played their first British show and inspired concert attendees Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – who would later found Orchestral Manoeuvres in
27504-556: The media as "the Lennon–McCartney of synth-pop". Giorgio Moroder collaborated with the band Sparks on their album No. 1 In Heaven (1979). That same year in Japan, the synth-pop band P-Model made its debut with the album In a Model Room . Other Japanese synth-pop groups emerging around the same time included the Plastics and Hikashu . This zeitgeist of revolution in electronic music performance and recording/production
27695-609: The mid-1980s, synth-pop had helped establish the synthesizer as a primary instrument in mainstream pop music. It also influenced the sound of many mainstream rock acts, such as Bruce Springsteen , ZZ Top and Van Halen . It was a major influence on house music , which grew out of the post-disco dance club culture of the early 1980s as some DJs attempted to make the less pop-oriented music that also incorporated influences from Latin soul , dub , rap music , and jazz . American musicians such as Juan Atkins , using names including Model 500, Infinity and as part of Cybotron , developed
27886-446: The moment the Second British Invasion, spurred by MTV, kicked off". " Tainted Love " by Soft Cell also spent a record-breaking 43 weeks on the Hot 100. The September 1982 arrival of MTV in the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles led to widespread positive publicity for the new "video era". By the fall, " I Ran (So Far Away) " by A Flock of Seagulls , the first successful song that owed almost everything to video, had entered
28077-533: The monochrome blacks and greys of punk/new wave, synthpop was promoted by a youth media interested in people who wanted to be pop stars, such as Boy George and Adam Ant ". The New Romantic scene had developed in the London nightclubs Billy's and the Blitz and was associated with bands such as Duran Duran, Visage , and Spandau Ballet . They adopted an elaborate visual style that combined elements of glam rock , science fiction and romanticism . Spandau Ballet were
28268-438: The most played songs in US history. Girl group Bananarama had hits with " Cruel Summer " and " Venus ", the latter reaching number one. New music became an umbrella term used by the music industry to describe young, mostly British, androgynous , and technologically oriented artists such as Culture Club and Eurythmics . Many of the Second Invasion artists started their careers in the punk era and desired to bring change to
28459-450: The music press as a "teeny bop sensation" were Norwegian band a-ha , whose use of guitars and real drums produced an accessible form of synth-pop, which, along with an MTV friendly video, took their 1985 single " Take On Me " to number two in the UK and number one in the US. Synth-pop continued into the late 1980s, with a format that moved closer to dance music, including the work of acts such as British duos Pet Shop Boys , Erasure and
28650-461: The music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were "typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic 'progression' to speak of". Early synth-pop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Common lyrical themes of synth-pop songs were isolation, urban anomie , and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow. In its second phase in
28841-471: The next several months. At one point, they reported having had fifteen tracks nearly complete for an album tentatively titled Reportage , but no further news emerged from the band for months afterward. In September, the band held meetings in New York City with Justin Timberlake and producer Timbaland with an eye to a potential collaboration and were soon reported to have completed three songs with
29032-617: The original artists). The album also marked the temporary return of former drummer Roger Taylor, who joined the band in studio to play drums on " Watching the Detectives " and "Perfect Day" (as well as a cover of " Jeepster " by T. Rex that did not appear on the album). In a video interview provided with the album's electronic press kit , Reed said he considered Duran Duran's version the best cover ever done of one of his songs, and they received praise from Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for their cover of Led Zeppelin 's " Thank You ". After
29223-513: The past year and a half. Much like the first great explosion of pop culture upon mass consciousness, which commenced with the Beatles' arrival in America in February 1964, the primary impetus for all this has been emanating from the far side of the Atlantic. We are, as X gripes so loudly, in the throes of the second British Invasion." "The guys were so beautiful. Not handsome in the classic 'movie star' way, but actually pretty—lush lips, cheekbones
29414-513: The period 1976–77 was initially hostile to the "inauthentic" sound of the synthesizer, but many new wave and post-punk bands that emerged from the movement began to adopt it as a major part of their sound. British punk and new wave clubs were open to what was then considered an "alternative" sound. The do it yourself attitude of punk broke down the progressive rock era's norm of needing years of experience before getting up on stage to play synthesizers. The American duo Suicide , who arose from
29605-407: The popularity of synth-pop was fading and losing fans to other momentum-gaining music genres at the time, such as hip hop , techno and alternative rock . After touring for the album finished, the band regained a five-man membership as Cuccurullo and Campbell were made full members of Duran Duran. The compilation album Decade was released late in 1989, along with the megamix single " Burning
29796-417: The post-punk scene in New York, utilised drum machines and synthesizers in a hybrid between electronics and post-punk on their eponymous 1977 album . Around this time, Ultravox member Warren Cann purchased a Roland TR-77 drum machine , which was first featured in their October 1977 single release " Hiroshima Mon Amour ". Be-Bop Deluxe released Drastic Plastic in February 1978, leading off with
29987-404: The producer, including a song with Justin Timberlake . On 25 October 2006, Duran Duran parted company with Andy Taylor once again. In an official announcement on their website, the band stated that an "unworkable gulf" had developed between them and Taylor and that "we can no longer effectively function together". It was noted by Andy Taylor in his book Wild Boy that tensions had arisen between
30178-480: The promo tour for Thank You was completed, John Taylor co-founded the B5 Records label, recorded a solo album, founded and toured with the supergroup Neurotic Outsiders , and reunited the Power Station, though the project proceeded without him when he had to withdraw to deal with his divorce. Finally, after struggling for months to record the next album, Medazzaland , in January 1997, John Taylor announced at
30369-420: The prosaic, foursquare appearance of the American bands, such acts as Duran Duran seemed like caviar. MTV opened up a whole new world that could not be fully apprehended over the radio. The visual angle played to the arty conceits of Britain's young style barons, suggesting something more exotic than the viewer was likely to find in the old hometown." "I hear the radio, it's finally gonna play new music you know
30560-404: The recording of the album, legal tensions, and preparations for the tour. Although the song " Notorious " was a US and UK top ten hit, the album was a relative failure globally, reaching number 16 in the UK and spending one week in the top 50 album chart. The band found they had lost much of the momentum and hysteria they had left behind in 1985. In the three years between the release of Seven and
30751-527: The release of UK band the Human League 's debut single " Being Boiled " and The Normal 's " Warm Leatherette ", which both are regarded as seminal works in early synth-pop. Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire are also regarded as pioneers of the late 1970s that influenced the emerging synth-pop in Britain. In America, post-punk band Devo began moving towards a more electronic sound. At this point synth-pop gained some critical attention, but made little impact on
30942-538: The release of the compilation Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran in 1998. The band began 1983 at the Palladium in New York playing the MTV New Year's Eve Rock n' Roll Ball with "Hungry Like the Wolf" still climbing the charts in the US, and the American reissue of the "Rio" single to follow in March. To satisfy America's appetite for their music, the band re-released their eponymous first album in
31133-725: The same period include Calvin Harris , Empire of the Sun , Frankmusik , Hurts , Ou Est Le Swimming Pool , Kaskade , LMFAO , and Owl City , whose single " Fireflies " (2009) topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2009, an underground subgenre with direct stylistic origins to synth-pop became popular, chillwave . Other 2010s synth-pop acts include the Naked and Famous , Chvrches , M83 , and Shiny Toy Guns . American singer Kesha has also been described as an electropop artist, with her electropop debut single " Tik Tok " topping
31324-628: The sense of being against the eighties". The Second British Invasion had its most direct impact on US country music , which immediately prior to the Invasion was enjoying a brief renaissance of mainstream popularity buoyed by country pop crossover artists. By 1984, country's mainstream popularity had fallen to a level not seen since disco , and Music Row publishers responded by retrenching, promoting neotraditional country artists popular with country's fan base but with less appeal outside it. Country's crossover appeal would not recover until 1991. As
31515-559: The single " A View to a Kill " from the soundtrack of the James Bond film of the same title . Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor both left the band before the recording of their fourth album, Notorious (1986), which yielded the top ten title track . Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor initially continued as a core trio, before adding drummer Sterling Campbell and former Missing Persons guitarist Warren Cuccurullo as full-time members in 1989, though Campbell departed in 1991. The band spent
31706-464: The single "Electrical Language" with Bill Nelson on guitar synthesizer and Andy Clark on synthesizers. Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with their self-titled album (1978) and Solid State Survivor (1979), developed a "fun-loving and breezy" sound, with a strong emphasis on melody . They introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music , and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts. 1978 also saw
31897-454: The single and album into the US top twenty in early 1983. The ballad "Save a Prayer" also did well. "The band was a natural for music television," noted Rolling Stone . "They may be the first rock group to ride in on a video wave." The album ultimately peaked at number six in the US and remained on the charts there for 129 weeks. In 2003, Rio was listed at number 65 in the NME 's list of
32088-421: The single most significant event in melodic music since Mersey-beat ". By the 1980s synthesizers had become much cheaper and easier to use. After the definition of MIDI in 1982 and the development of digital audio , the creation of purely electronic sounds and their manipulation became much simpler. Synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s, particularly through their adoption by bands of
32279-400: The singles " I Don't Want Your Love " (number four in the US), and " All She Wants Is " (the last top ten hit in the UK until 1993). The record was experimental, mixing influences from house music and raves with Duran's atmospheric synth-pop and the creative guitar work of Cuccurullo (now a full band member), as well as more mature lyrics. By the end of 1989 and at the start of the 1990s,
32470-466: The songs. Synth-pop music has established a place for the synthesizer as a major element of pop and rock music , directly influencing subsequent genres (including house music and Detroit techno ) and has indirectly influenced many other genres, as well as individual recordings. Synth-pop is defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers , sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described
32661-464: The time was the John Foxx -led new wave band Ultravox who released the album Systems of Romance in 1978. Foxx left Ultravox the following year and scored a synth-pop hit with the single " Underpass " from his first solo album Metamatic in early 1980. In 1979, OMD released their debut single " Electricity ", which has been viewed as integral to the rise of synth-pop. This was followed by
32852-587: The title tracks of St. Elmo's Fire (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986), respectively (the former reaching number one). Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – who had been an early presence in the invasion – entered the top five with the "zeitgeist-capturing" hit single " If You Leave ", which plays prominently during Pretty in Pink ' s climactic "prom scene". During the Second British Invasion, established British acts such as Queen , David Bowie , Paul McCartney , Phil Collins , Rod Stewart , Elton John , and
33043-593: The tour, Roger Taylor was married in Naples , Italy, and Rhodes wed in London, wearing a pink velvet tuxedo and top hat. At the end of 1984, the group featured on the Band Aid benefit single " Do They Know It's Christmas? " along with other popular British and Irish musical acts. Le Bon sang fourth on the song, after Paul Young , Boy George and George Michael sing their lines. Even with Duran Duran on hold, band members were soon anxious to record new music, leading to
33234-556: The week ending 25 May 1985, eight of the top ten singles were by UK acts. Tears for Fears ' " Shout " spent three weeks at number one. "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which features in The Breakfast Club (1985), rendered Simple Minds the first British act to achieve a Hot 100 hit with a single taken from a Brat Pack film soundtrack; subsequent artists included John Parr and the Psychedelic Furs , who recorded
33425-399: Was Rio (1982), a worldwide hit. The songs " Hungry Like the Wolf " and " Rio " featured cinematic music videos directed by Australian film maker Russell Mulcahy and became two of their biggest hits. Their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger , became their only UK number one album and featured the US and UK number one single " The Reflex ". In 1985, the band topped the US charts with
33616-402: Was "ignorance" regarding synth-pop, such as his belief that people "thought machines did it". OMD frontman Andy McCluskey recalled a great many people "who thought that the equipment wrote the song for you", and asserted: "Believe me, if there was a button on a synth or a drum machine that said 'hit single', I would have pressed it as often as anybody else would have – but there isn't . It
33807-558: Was all written by real human beings". According to Simon Reynolds, in some quarters synthesizers were seen as instruments for "effete poseurs", in contrast to the phallic guitar. The association of synth-pop with an alternative sexuality was reinforced by the images projected by synth-pop stars, who were seen as gender bending , including Phil Oakey 's asymmetric hair and use of eyeliner, Marc Almond 's "pervy" leather jacket, skirt wearing by figures including Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and
33998-451: Was due to industry resistance to the revival of the band, who he said would rather focus on "the next hip band". Listener demand for leaked single " Ordinary World " forced it onto radio playlists months earlier than planned; it reached number three on the US chart and number six in the UK and won a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for song writing. " Come Undone ", primarily written by Cuccurullo, with lyrics by Le Bon, made number seven in
34189-571: Was encapsulated by then would-be record producer Trevor Horn of the Buggles in the single " Video Killed the Radio Star "; the song topped the UK charts in October 1979 and it also became an international hit; two years later it was the first song aired on MTV. Geoff Downes , keyboardist for the Buggles, states, "When we did a rerecorded version for Top of the Pops , the Musicians’ Union bloke said, "If I think you’re making strings sounds out of
34380-491: Was halted after seven months when Le Bon suffered from strained vocal cords . After six weeks' recuperation, the band performed intermittently for another five months, including appearances in Israel, Thailand, and Indonesia. In 1995, the band released the cover album Thank You . Songs from Thank You included covers of Lou Reed 's " Perfect Day " and Melle Mel 's " White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) " (with backing vocals from
34571-466: Was highly praised by some critics and musicians (including Patti Smith and Lester Bangs ), the album met with poor commercial reception. The album has been considered revolutionary in its use of synthesizers, while others described Wilson's extensive use of the Moog synthesizer as a "loopy funhouse ambience" and an early example of synth-pop. Early guitar-based punk rock that came to prominence in
34762-519: Was hired as a session drummer. Subsequently, Duran Duran struggled to escape the teen idol image and gain respect among critics with more complex music. The new serious image was not accepted at first and their popularity began to wane. Rolling Stone said, "In their search for musical maturity, the surviving Durans have lost a good deal of their identity." In contrast the New York Times said, "Duran Duran's newfound disillusionment may mark
34953-403: Was intended to be a three-album contract with Disney Music Group 's Hollywood Records , but it lasted only through the poorly received 2000 album Pop Trash . This slow-paced and heavy album seemed out-of-keeping with earlier band material. Rhodes' intricate production and Cuccurullo's songwriting and experimentation with guitar sounds and time signatures were not enough to hook the public, and
35144-586: Was made with directing duo Godley & Creme in August. The video was filmed just two weeks after MTV was launched in the United States. The band expected the " Girls on Film " video to be played in the newer nightclubs that had video screens or on pay TV channels like the Playboy Channel . Kevin Godley explained the thinking behind it: We were very explicitly told by Duran Duran's management to make
35335-496: Was ready for anything—the stranger, the better. And Britain, home of the brave new world of pop, has kept lobbing them over." With the emergence of MTV, Jerry Jaffe, head of A&R at Polygram , stated, "I think the kids who watched it felt that there was something more than what they were being spoon-fed on local radio stations. Radio stations, for the first time, were getting requests for songs they were not playing." Puterbaugh writes, "The British won out here, hands down. Next to
35526-635: Was recommended to the band by an ex-girlfriend who worked at the Rum Runner. The band were immediately impressed by Le Bon and soon completed their first composition with the new line-up, "Sound of Thunder", featuring lyrics by Le Bon. Duran Duran's first performance with the lineup of Le Bon, Rhodes and the three Taylors was on 16 July 1980 at the Rum Runner. Duran Duran spent the next months writing, developing and demoing their songs and performed in clubs around Birmingham and London. In September 1980 they had written all of what would become their debut album. Touring as an opening act for Hazel O'Connor ,
35717-438: Was released on the EMI label in June 1981. The first single, " Planet Earth ", had reached the United Kingdom's top 20 at number 12 in February. A follow-up, " Careless Memories ", released in April, stalled at number 37. The third single, " Girls on Film ", was released in July and went to number 5 in the UK. The video, featuring topless women mud wrestling , pillow fighting and stylised depictions of other sexual fetishes ,
35908-400: Was still seen as a genre limited in popularity to teenage boys. In the spring and summer of 1986, acts associated with the Second Invasion continued to have chart success, with eight records reaching the Hot 100's summit. That fall, Bon Jovi 's third studio album Slippery When Wet topped the Billboard 200 and spent eight non-consecutive weeks there, and the leadoff single " You Give Love
36099-457: Was taken up across the world alongside the continuing presence of disco , with international hits for German synth-pop as well as Eurodisco acts including Peter Schilling , Sandra , Modern Talking , Propaganda , and Alphaville . Other non-British groups scoring synth-pop hits were Men Without Hats and Trans-X from Canada, Telex from Belgium, Yello from Switzerland, and Azul y Negro from Spain. The synth-pop scene of Yugoslavia spawned
36290-413: Was titled Techno Pop ; English band the Buggles has a song named "Technopop" and Spanish band Mecano described their style as tecno-pop. "Synth-pop" is sometimes used interchangeably with " electropop ", but "electropop" may also denote a variant of synth-pop that places more emphasis on a harder, more electronic sound. In the mid to late 1980s, duos such as Erasure and Pet Shop Boys adopted
36481-438: Was widely adopted by progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes . Instrumental prog rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands like Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , Can and Faust to circumvent the language barrier. Their synthesizer-heavy " Kraut rock ", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music ), would be
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