New Romantics
A list of New Romantic albums can be found HERE
New romanticism emerged in the UK music scene in the early 80s as a direct backlash against the austerity of the punk movement. At various times it became a catch-all term for quite disparate bands working within the pop world, and consequently works better as a description of a specific time rather than sound or style. Where punk railed against life on England's council estates, the new romantics celebrated glamour; ostentatious clothes and hedonism.
The coming of age of the video as a promotional tool was important to the development of new romanticism as were the outlandish haircuts (A Flock of Seagulls ) the frilled shirts (Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet) and the fact that men could be seen wearing mascara (practically everyone involved). Guitars, though present, were subordinate to synthesizers.
The movement's early fulcrum was Stevo (Steven Pearse), whose Some Bizzare Album compilation in 1980 introduced such artists as Classix Nouveaux, Blancmange, Depeche Mode and Soft Cell. Centred on London clubs such as Blitz, this new gaggle of groups was at first termed 'futuristic'. The Human League had been active for some time in Sheffield but in a new incarnation perfectly amalgamated simple song ideas with basic keyboard skifis to define the essential new romantic blueprint. Adam And The Ants were historically linked with punk, as were, more obliquely, Culture Club, though both found a place on the fringe of the movement as a platform for major chart success.
If the most obvious historical ancestor of new romanticism was David Bowie, then Japan were his closest living relatives, aping even his fascination with the Orient. The two biggest stars were undoubtedly Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. The former wrote classic pop hooks with casual ease for much of the period, though Spandau Ballet were always more visually than aurally appealing, despite the occasional winning single (the melodrama of 'True' was resonant enough for PM Dawn to make it rap's first new romantic sample).
Of less enduring fame or substance were Classix Nouveaux, Visage and A Flock Of Seagulls, despite the latter breaking through in the American market. Nevertheless, several exceptional singles were left behind that effectively defined the times, and it was to no great surprise that the movement was revisited in 1995 with the development of the 'Romo' scene.
Text taken from The Virgin Encylopedia of Eighties Music.
Allmusic says this:
The New Romantics were a peculiar subgenre of new wave. Wearing heavy makeup and dressed in stylish clothing, the new romantics took not only their visual cues from David Bowie and Roxy Music, but also their musical cues. Drawing from Station to Station/Low-era Bowie and latter-day Roxy Music, new romantics created a sleek, synthesized, and danceable form of pop that was designed to be fashionable and transient. More than any other post-punk genre, new romantics relied on style and glamour. Duran Duran was the ultimate new romantic group, and they were the only one to become superstars.
Here is a partial list of bands that were considered New Romantics
ABC
Heaven 17
Haircut 100
Gary Numan
Duran Duran
A Flock of Seagulls
The Human League
Japan
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Soft Cell
Spandau Ballet
Visage
Naked Eyes
Marc Almond
Associates
Adam and the Ants
The Blow Monkeys
Ultravox
Furniture
Kajagoogoo
Limahl
Orlando
