Album Genre: New Wave

True is the third studio album by British band Spandau Ballet. It was released in March 1983. While Spandau Ballet’s first two albums earned them European popularity, True made them worldwide stars and was heavily influenced by jazz, soul, and R&B. It reached No. 1 on the UK charts, the top 20 in the United … Read more

Synchronicity is the fifth and final studio album by The Police, released on June 1, 1983. The band’s most popular release, Synchronicity includes the hit songs “Every Breath You Take”, “King of Pain”, “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, and “Synchronicity II”. The album’s title was inspired by Arthur Koestler’s The Roots of Coincidence, which mentions Carl … Read more

It’s not quite right to say that the Go-Go’s’ 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat, is where new wave caught hold in the U.S., but it’s not quite wrong, either. Prior to this, there had certainly been new wave hits — Blondie had been reaching the Top Ten for two years running — but the … Read more

‘Til Tuesday’s debut album, Voices Carry, contains hip photo imagery (Aimee Mann’s smile on the back is priceless and beautiful) and excellent songwriting, all credited to drummer Michael Hausman, guitarist Robert Holmes, keyboard player Joey Pesce, and bassist/singer Aimee Mann. The follow-up would be more specific as to who wrote what. While most bands from … Read more

Rio is the second studio album by the British rock band Duran Duran, originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982. It reached #2 in the UK and #1 in Australia. The album was re-released in the United States in November 1982. It earned a Gold disc on 1 March 1983, and went Platinum on 26 … Read more

After the commercial success of Quick Step and Side Kick, the band worked once again with producer Alex Sadkin at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. The first single to be released was “Hold Me Now”, which reached the no. 4 position in the UK in November 1983. Four other tracks were released from the … Read more

Duran Duran is the debut album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released worldwide in 1981. The album reached #3 on the United Kingdom charts and remained in the UK Top 100 for 117 weeks, achieving platinum status by December 1982. The initial United States release was unsuccessful, but the album was reissued … Read more

A Flock of Seagulls is the eponymous debut album by the New Wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 on Jive (see 1982 in music), and featured the international hit single “I Ran (So Far Away)”, which reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and New Zealand, as well as #1 … Read more