It could be argued that the true harbingers of new pop were M’s ‘Pop Muzik’ and The Buggles ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, but if new pop had an architect it was Paul Morley, NME writer supreme at a time when the weekly music press mattered more than ever before or since. In December 1980, reacting against post punk’s perceived miserablism and doomy seriousness, he called for an ‘overground brightness’ to ‘bring life back to the radio' and ‘make the single count’.
In reality, even if it hadn’t been defined as such, new pop had already emerged in the disjointed strands of post punk; Japan and Adam Ant, the early electro pop of Gary Numan and OMD, the indie pop ideal of Postcard and Orange Juice, and Malcolm McLaren and Bow Wow Wow’s playful celebration of sun, sea and cassette piracy.
Suddenly, following Morley’s manifesto, the ‘pop’ word was everywhere as groups began to embrace the healthiness of pop rather than the darker conditions of post punk. Thereafter, the peak of new pop came remarkably quickly as a horde of new sonic terrorists seized control of the mainstream. In a glorious eighteen month stretch between the spring of 1981 and the autumn of 1982, non-stars went supernova if only for a moment, innovation went down with a spoonful of sugar and all the old babies were thrown out with the bath water.
To varying degrees, all of these new groups had grasped the importance of image and its power to seduce and motivate. They had all coated their music in a commercial sheen, some pursuing a ‘sugared pill’ strategy while others reveled in sonic luxury for the sheer glam thrill of it all. While on the surface they appeared as a ‘punk never happened’ scenario, a retreat into escapism, in truth they were furthering punk’s original mission, albeit in a much transformed context.
New Pop sounded utopian and it was, but as early as 1983, there was an ever increasing sense that the new pop dream had already turned sour. Scritti Politti, ABC, Human League, Soft Cell, The Associates and the other creative bright sparks who had pioneered it all had been displaced by the clones and opportunists who had little or no connection to punk. The utter deluge of Eurythmics, Wham’s, Culture Club’s, Flock Of Seagulls and Kajagoogoo’s diluted the impact and it all became too shiny, too false, and too fucking meaningless.
In the end, new pop’s ultimate mischief and undoing came from Frankie Goes To Hollywood. An apocalyptic gay disco army, they were new pop with a punk hard-on although their reign would be shortlived. They were far too intense and brazen for Thatcher’s children who once again began to feel the comforting pull of terminal mediocrity. All of a sudden Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young and the sanctimonious saving of starving children in Africa seemed a much safer bet!
01. M ‘Pop Musik’ (March 1979 Chart Peak #2)
02. GARY NUMAN ‘Cars’ (September 1979 Chart Peak #1)
03. JOHN FOXX ’Burning Car’ (July 1980 Chart Peak #35)
04. ADAM & THE ANTS ’Kings Of The Wild Frontier’ (July 1980 Chart Peak #48)
05. U2 ‘I Will Follow’ (October 1980 Chart Peak N/A)
06. VISAGE ‘Fade To Grey’ (December 1980 Chart Peak #8)
07. ULTRAVOX ‘Vienna’ (January 1981 Chart Peak #2)
08. HEAVEN 17 ‘(We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thing’ (January 1981 Chart Peak #45)
09. BOW WOW WOW ‘W.O.R.K.’ (March 1981 Chart Peak #62)
10. DURAN DURAN ‘Careless Memories’ (April 1981 Chart Peak #37)
11. SPANDAU BALLET ‘Chant No. 1’ (July 1981 Chart Peak #3)
12. THE HUMAN LEAGUE ‘Love Action’ (July 1981 Chart Peak #3)
13. SCRITTI POLITTI ‘The 'Sweetest' Girl’ (August 1981 Chart Peak N/A)
14. ALTERED IMAGES ‘Happy Birthday’ (August 1981 Chart Peak #2)
15. TEARDROP EXPLODES ‘Passionate Friend’ (September 1981 Chart peak #25)
16. ORANGE JUICE ‘L.O.V.E. Love’ (October 1981 Chart Peak #65)
17. THE HUMAN LEAGUE ‘Open Your Heart’ (October 1981 Chart Peak #6)
18. ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK ‘Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)’ (January 1982 Chart Peak #4)
19. DEPECHE MODE ‘See You’ (January 1982 Chart Peak #6)
20. SOFT CELL ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ (February 1982 Chart Peak #3)
21. THE ASSOCIATES ‘Party Fears Two’ (February 1982 Chart Peak #9)
22. ABC ‘Poison Arrow’ (February 1982 Chart Peak #6)
23. JAPAN ‘Ghosts’ (March 1982 Chart Peak #5)
24. SIMPLE MINDS ‘Promised You A Miracle’ (April 1982 Chart Peak #13)
25. THE ASSOCIATES ‘Club Country’ (May 1982 Chart peak #13)
26. DEPECHE MODE ‘Leave In Silence’ (August 1982 Chart Peak #18)
27. ABC ’All of My Heart’ (September 1982 Chart Peak #5)
28. SOFT CELL ’Where The Heart Is’ (November 1982 Chart Peak #21)
29. SIMPLE MINDS ‘Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)’ (November 1982 Chart Peak #36)
30. U2 ‘New Year’s Day’ (January 1983 Chart Peak #10)
31. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN ‘The Cutter’ (January 1983 Chart Peak #8)
32. ORANGE JUICE ‘Rip It Up’ (February 1983 Chart Peak #8)
33. WAH! ‘Hope (Faded)’ (February 1983 Chart Peak #37)
34. NEW ORDER ‘Blue Monday’ (March 1983 Chart Peak #9)
35. ART OF NOISE ‘Beat Box’ (December 1983 Chart Peak #92)
36. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN ‘The Killing Moon’ (January 1984 Chart Peak #9)
37. SCRITTI POLITTI ‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)’ (March 1984 Chart Peak #10)
38. PROPAGANDA ‘Dr Mabuse (A Paranoid Fantasy)’ (March 1984 Chart Peak #27)
39. NEW ORDER ‘Thieves Like Us’ (April 1984 Chart Peak #18)
40. FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD ‘Two Tribes’ [Hibakusha Mix] (June 1984 Chart Peak #1)