POSTPUNK TIMELINE

POSTPUNK TIMELINE This Timeline was left out of the US edition for reasons of space. What we have here is actually slightly longer than what ran in the Faber UK edition: it includes some political landmark dates and certain significant releases by mainstream pop stars that were ultimately edited out. 

1974 

 February 1974: The Residents debut album Meet The Residents 

1975 

 May 1975: Cabaret Voltaire play debut gig at a Sheffield student disco. May 1975: Talking Heads form September 3 1975. Throbbing Gristle officially formed. December 1975: Pere Ubu self-release their debut single, “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” on own Hearthan label 

1976 February 20th 1976: Rough Trade record shop opens in Ladbroke Grove, London W.11. February 1976: The Residents’s The Third Reich and Roll March 1976: Pere Ubu’s second single “Final Solution” July 1976: Debut issue of Mark Perry’s fanzine Sniffin Glue July 1976: Buzzcocks’ public debut--bottom of a Sex Pistols bill at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. August 1976: Rock Against Racism founded September 1976: Subway Sect and Siouxsie and the Banshees play their debut gigs at the 100 Club Punk Festival. October 18 1976: Throbbing Gristle’s official live debut at the ICA in London, playing at the opening party for COUM’s exhibition Prostitution. November 1976: Pere Ubu’s third single “Street Waves” December 1976: The Residents’s cover version of “Satisfaction.” 

1977 January 1977: Buzzcocks’s Spiral Scratch--their debut single and first release for their independent label New Hormones. January 1977: David Bowie’s Low February 14 1977: The B-52’s play debut gig at an Athens, Georgia house party. March 1977: Howard Devoto quits Buzzcocks March 1977: Iggy Pop’s The Idiot March 1977: Ultravox!’s self-titled debut album. April 1977: Desperate Bicycles debut single “Smokescreen” self-released on own Refill Records April 1977: Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express” and Trans-Europe Express May 1977: Subway Sect play Scotland and North of England as part of The Clash’s White Riot tour; also on the bill are The Slits, The Jam, and Buzzcocks May 1977: Adam and the Ants official live debut at the ICA restaurant. June 1977: Liverpool’s The Crucial Three--Ian McCulloch, Julian Cope, and Pete Wylie--split up without ever playing a single gig. July 1977: Devo make their New York debut July 1977: Desperate Bicycles’s second DIY single, “The Medium Was Tedium.” July 23 1977: Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” hits Number One in the UK and stays there for four weeks August 13 1977: Anti-Nazi League battle National Front marchers (and police) in Lewisham, South London September 1977: The Slits record four songs for a John Peel radio session, aired later that month. September 1977: Talking Heads’s debut album Talking Heads ’77. November 1977: Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks. November 1977: Suicide’s debut album Suicide November 1977: Wire debut LP Pink Flag. November 1977: Phil Oakey joins Sheffield band The Future, soon renamed The Human League. 

1978 January 14 1978: Sex Pistols end American tour at Winterland, San Francisco--band split up shortly after January 1978: The Mekons’s first single, “Never Been in a Riot”--also the debut release for Bob Last's label Fast Product January 1978: Warsaw play first gig as Joy Division. January 1978: Swell Maps self-release debut single “Read About Seymour” on own Rather label. February 1978: Rough Trade label inaugurated with Metal Urbain’s single "Paris Maquis” February 1978: Throbbing Gristle’s debut album Second Annual Report. February 1978: Magazine appear on Top of the Pops to perform “Shot By Both Sides” February 1978: Devo’s single “Jocko Homo” b/w ”Mongoloid,” first issued on their own Booji Boy label in late 1977, is rereleased by Stiff in the UK. March 1978: Subway Sect’s debut single, “Nobody’s Scared.” March 1978: The Normal’s “T.V.O.D”/”Warm Leatherette” is the debut release for Mute April 1978: Pere Ubu’s debut LP The Modern Dance, coincides with Datapanik in the Year Zero, the 12 inch EP gathering together the first three Hearthan singles April 30 1978: Anti-Nazi League’s 80 thousand strong carnival at Victoria Park, London. The bill includes X Ray Spex, The Clash, Steel Pulse, and Tom Robinson Band May 1978: No Wave five-day festival--Mars, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, DNA, Contortions, et al--at Artists Space in downtown Manhattan. May 1978: Alternative TV’s debut LP The Image is Cracked May 1978: Factory’s first “release”, FAC 1, is Peter Saville’s poster for May/June gigs events at The Factory club, Hulme, Manchester. One of them is Durutti Column’s live debut. June 1978: Joy Division releases their debut EP, An Ideal for Living, on their own label. June 1978 Devo play England’s Knebworth Festival June 1978: Magazine’s debut LP Real Life. June 1978: The Coventry Automatics change their name to The Specials July 1978: The Human League release their debut single, “Being Boiled” on Fast Product July 1978: Talking Heads’s second album More Songs About Buildings And Food July 15 1978: Rock Against Racism’s Northern Carnival in Alexandra Park, Manchester. Bill includes The Fall, Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke.August 1978: The Fall debut with Bingo-Masters Break-Out! EP August 1978: Siouxsie and the Banshees’ debut single “Hong Kong Garden” August 1978: Devo’s debut LP Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo September 1978: Wire’s second album, Chairs Missing. September 24 1978: Rock Against Racism’s massive Brockwell Park Carnival in London October 1978: Public Image Ltd’s debut single and Top 10 hit “Public Image” October 1978: Sid Vicious arrested in New York for fatally stabbing Nancy Spungeon. October 1978: Subway Sect’s second single “Ambition” October 1978: Gang of Four’s debut EP Damaged Goods October 1978: Cabaret Voltaire debut EP Extended Play. October 1978: Pere Ubu’s second album Dub Housing November 11 1978: Throbbing Gristle play Cryptic One Club, London; Genesis P-Orridge overdoses on pills. November 1978: The B-52s’ debut single “Rock Lobster” November 1978: Siouxsie and the Banshees’s debut album The Scream November 1978: Scritti Politti self-release debut single, “Skank Bloc Bologna” on their St. Pancras label. November 1978: The Mekons’ second single “Where Were You” December 1978: The Cure’s debut single “Killing an Arab”. December 1978: Throbbing Gristle’s D.o.A. The Third and Final Report December 1978: Public Image Ltd’s self-titled debut album. December 25/26 1978 Public Image Ltd make live debut with two gigs at London’s Rainbow December 1978: Factory’s first record release, A Factory Sampler: a double single featuring Joy Division, Durutti Column, Cabaret Voltaire, and John Dowie. Winter 1978/1979: “Winter of discontent” with major trade unions, including many public service workers, going on strike.

1979 

Jan>>Feb 1979: Shah of Iran driven into exile and Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile to lead the Iranian Islamic Revolution February 1979: Stiff Little Fingers’ debut Inflammable Material released by Rough Trade and goes straight in the pop album charts at #14--a breakthrough and triumph for the nascent independent label movement. February 1979: The Teardrop Explodes’ debut single “Sleeping Gas” released by Liverpool indie label Zoo. February>>March 1979. Animal Instincts tour of the UK starring The Pop Group, Alternative TV, Manicured Noise. March 1979: The Pop Group’s debut single “She is Beyond Good and Evil” March 1979: Alternative TV’s Vibing Up the Senile Man March 1979: The Fall’s debut LP Live at the Witch Trials March 1979: the Contortions’ Buy The Contortions and James White and the Blacks’ Contort Yourself released simultaneously March 25 1979: A showcase at London’s Lyceum Theatre with Gang of Four, Mekons, Human League, The Fall and Stiff Little Fingers is dubbed “The Gig of the Century.” March 1979: Echo & the Bunnymen debut with “Pictures on My Wall” on Zoo March 30th 1979: Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania nearly has a meltdown April 1979: The Human League’s The Dignity of Labour EP. April: Rock Against Racism’s massive Militant Entertainment tour featuring 30 bands including Gang of Four, Mekons, Ruts, Specials and Stiff Little Fingers. April 1979: The Pop Group’s debut album Y. April 1979: Specials start their own label, 2-Tone, and release a single with Specials’ “Gangsters” on one side and “The Selecter” by The Selecter on the flip. April 1979: the Raincoats debut single “Fairytale in the Supermarket” released on Rough Trade. May 3rd 1979: Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher elected as Prime Minister. May 1979: A Certain Ratio’s debut single “All Night Party” June 1979: Joy Division’s debut LP, Unknown Pleasures. June 1979: Cabaret Voltaire’s second single “Nag Nag Nag” June 1979: Public Image Ltd’s second single and Top 20 hit “Death Disco.” June 1979: Swell Maps’ debut LP A Trip to Marineville June 1979: The B-52’s self-titled debut LP June 30 1979: Tubeway Army’s “Are Friends Electric?” reaches #1 in the charts and stays there for four weeks. July 1979: The 2-Tone Concert at London’s Electric Ballroom features The Specials, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Madness, and Selecter. August 1979: Promoter Final Solution organises four nights of postpunk at London’s Prince of Wales conference centre--bands include Throbbing Gristle, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen, Essential Logic, and Ludus. August 1979: Rock Against Sexism gig at London’s Electric Ballroom, featuring Delta 5 and Gang of Four August 1979: Talking Heads’ third LP Fear of Music August 1979: The Flying Lizards’ “Money (That’s What I Want)” is a top 5 hit August 27 1979: The Zoo and Factory Label Day at Leigh--midway between Manchester and Liverpool--includes Joy Division, Orchestral Manoevures In The Dark, Echo & The Bunnymen, and The Teardrop Explodes September 1979: The Slits release debut LP Cut. September 1979: Sheffield’s Vice Versa--later to mutate into ABC-- release debut EP Music 4 September 1979: This Heat’s self-titled debut LP September 1979: Madness’s debut single “The Prince” September 1979: Bauhaus’ debut single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” September 1979: Siouxsie & The Banshees’ second album Join Hands September 1979: The first Futurama Festival held in Leeds with Joy Division high on the bill one night and PiL headlining the other. September 1979: Wire’s third album 154. September 1979: Pere Ubu’s third album New Picnic Time September 1979: The Residents’s Eskimo September 22 1979: Gary Numan’s “Cars” hits #1 September 1979: Gang of Four’s debut album, Entertainment! October 1979: The Fall’s second album Dragnet October 1979: The Human League’s debut LP Reproduction. October 1979: Joy Division’s “Transmission” October 1979: The Specials’ self-titled debut LP October 20 1979: The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star” is #1 October 1979: U2’s debut EP U2-Three. October 1979: Cabaret Voltaire’s debut LP Mix-Up. October 1979: Killing Joke’s debut EP Are You Receiving? October 1979: Adam and the Ants’s debut album Dirk Wears White Sox November 1979: The Pop Group’s “We Are All Prostitutes” November 9--13 1979: Wire play series of Dada-istic shows at the Jeanette Cochrane Theatre, London November 1979: Scritti Politti’s EP 4 A Sides November 1979: The Beat’s debut single and Top Ten Hit “Tears of A Clown” November 1979: The Mekons first album The Quality of Mercy is Not Strnen November 1979: Public Image Ltd’s Metal Box. December 1979: Delta 5’s debut single “Mind Your Own Business” December 1979: Throbbing Gristle’s 20 Jazz Funk Greats December 1979: A Certain Ratio support Talking Heads at London’s Electric Ballroom--their performance makes up one side of Factory’s cassette-only release The Graveyard and The Ballroom. December 1979: The Raincoats self-titled debut LP December 1979: Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ debut single “Dance Stance” December 1979: Rap hits the charts with Sugarhill Gang’s massive “Rapper Delight” December 21st 1979: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan leads to civil war there 

1980 

 January 1980: Durutti Column’s debut LP The Return of the Durutti Column. January 1980:Bow Wow Wow formed by Malcolm McLaren after stealing Adam Ant’s band February 2: The Specials’ The Special A.K.A. Live! EP hits #1 February 1980: Lydia Lunch’s Queen of Siam February 1980: Josef K’s debut single “Chance Meeting” February 29: Wire’s Dadaist extravaganza at the Electric Ballroom March 1980: Orange Juice debut with “Falling and Laughing" single on Postcard March 1980: The Slits and The Pop Group inaugurate Y Records with a joint single “In The Beginning There Was Rhythm” b/w “Where There’s A Will” March 1980: D.A.F. ‘s “Kebabtraume” on Mute March 1980: The Pop Group second album How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder March 16 1980: Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza play gig at Oundle public school, Peterborough, driving the boys into a frenzy. March 1980: Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” March 1980: Young Marble Giants’s debut album Colossal Youth. March 1980: Teardrop Explodes’s third single “Treason (It’s Just a Story)” March 22 1980: The Jam’s “Going Underground” hits #1 March 1980: The Cure’s “A Forest,” followed by Seventeen Seconds in April April 2/3/4: Factory Records showcase at The Moonlight in London, with Joy Division headlining all three nights April 1980: Delta 5’s second single “You” May 1980: The Fall’s live album Totale’s Turns May 3/May 10 1980: Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Geno” is Number One for two weeks May 1980: The Teardrop Explodes’s debut album Killimanjaro May 1980: Human League’s second LP Travelogue May 18 1980: Ian Curtis commits suicide May 1980: Pylon’s debut single “Cool”/”Dub” May 1980: Einsturzende Neubauten’s first single “Fur Den Untergang” May 1980: Suicide’s second album Alan Vega/Martin Rev May 1980: The Birthday Party’s self-titled debut album. May 1980: Magazine’s third album The Correct Use of Soap June 1980: Mission of Burma’s “Academy Fight Song.” June 1980: Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” which peaks at #13. June 1980: D.A.F.’s second album Die Kleinen und Die Bosen June 1980: Throbbing Gristle release Heathen Earth July 1980: Joy Division’s second album, Closer. July 1980: Cabaret Voltaire’s The Voice of America July 1980: Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ debut album Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. July 1980: Echo and the Bunnymen’s debut album Crocodiles July 1980: Bow Wow Wow’s debut single “C30 C60 C90 Go!” July 1980: New Order makes live debut at a Manchester club. August 1980: Jah Wobble officially announces his departure from PiL August 1980: Siouxsie and the Banshees’s third album Kaleidoscope. August 1980: The Associates‘ debut album The Affectionate Punch August 1980: Postcard Records releases Josef K’s “Radio Drill Time” and Orange Juice’s “Blue Boy.” August 1980: Devo’s “Whip It” is their first US hit August 1980: B-52’s second album Wild Planet August 23 1980: David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes” is #1 September 1980: The second Futurama Festival in Leeds-- Siouxsie & The Banshees headline one night. September 1980: Bush Tetras’s debut single “Too Many Creeps,” released by 99 Records. September 1980: Simple Minds’ third album Empires and Dance September 1980: Madness’s “Baggy Trousers” and second album Absolutely, both Top 3 hits September 1980: The Passage’s debut album Pindrop September 1980: The Specials second album More Specials October 1980: Soft Cell debut with the EP Mutant Moments. October 1980: Orange Juice’s third single “Simply Thrilled Honey” October 1980: A Certain Ratio’s “Flight” October 1980: The Residents’ The Commercial Album October 1980: Killing Joke’s self-titled debut album. October 26 1980. CND rally in Trafalgar Square protests stationing of Cruise Missiles in the UK. The Pop Group play their last live performance to 250,000. October 1980: Talking Heads’ fourth album Remain in Light. October 1980: Spandau Ballet’s debut single and #5 hit “To Cut A Long Story Short.” October 1980: Theatre of Hate debut “Original Sin.” October 1980: Factory release A Factory Quartet, a double album divided between four bands: Durutti Column, Kevin Hewick, Blurt, and Royal Family and The Poor October 1980: Unemployment rises to over two million. October 1980: Adam & The Ants’ “Dog Eat Dog” released and soon makes the Top 5 November 1980: Republican Ronald Reagan defeats Jimmy Carter and becomes President elect November 1980: U2’s debut LP Boy. November 1980: The Fall’s Grotesque (After the Gramme) November 1980: Bow Wow Wow’s Your Cassette Pet November 1980: Adam and the Ants’s Kings of the Wild Frontier. November 1980: Bauhaus’s debut LP In the Flat Field November 1980: PiL’s live album Paris Au Printemps. November 1980: The Blue Orchids debut with “The Flood” b/w “Disney Boys” November 1980: Husker Du self-release “Statues” on their own Reflex label. December 1980: Spandau Ballet go Top 5 with “To Cut A Long Story Short” December 1980: SST Records release The Minutemen’s EP Paranoid Time. 

1981 

 January 1981: The Fire Engines’ mini-LP Lubricate Your Living Room January 1981: Visage go Top 10 with “Fade To Grey” January 1981: The Virgin Prunes debut with Twenty Tens January 1981: Young Marble Giants split up January 1981: Clock DVA’s Thirst January 1981: New Order’s debut single “Ceremony.” January 1981: David Byrne & Brian Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts January 1981: Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth” hits the Top 20 January 1981: The Teardrop Explodes’s “Reward”, which becomes their first Top Ten hit January 1981: Stevo of Some Bizzare puts out the compilation Some Bizzare Album, featuring early tracks by Depeche Mode and Soft Cell. January 1981: NME and Rough Trade announce the C81 cassette, celebrating 5 years of RT and the independent label revolution February 1981: Heaven 17 debut with “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” March 1981: Altered Images’s debut single “Dead Pop Stars.” March 1981: Gang of Four’s second LP Solid Gold. March 1981: Orange Juice’s fourth single “Poor Old Soul” April 1981: The Associates’s “Tell Me Easter’s On Friday”, first of six Situation 2 singles that year April 1981: The Birthday Party’s second album Prayers on Fire April 1981: PiL’s third studio album Flowers of Romance. April 1981: The Fall’s Slates April 1981: Human League scores its first Top 20 hit with “The Sound of the Crowd.” April 1981: Madness’s “Grey Day” April 1981: The Cure’s Faith May 1981: A Certain Ratio’s debut album To Each… May 1981: The Beat’s second album Wha’ppen? May 1981: Echo and the Bunnymen’s second album Heaven up Here. May 1981: Au Pairs’ debut LP Playing with a Different Sex. May 1981: The Raincoats second album Odyshape May 1981: Magazine folds as Howard Devoto quits May 29 1981: Throbbing Gristle play final gig at Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco. June 1981: Depeche Mode score first hit with second single “New Life” June 1981: E.S.G.’s “You’re No Good/UFO/Moody” on Factory June 1981: Josef K’s debut album The Only Fun in Town June 1981: Duran Duran’s self-titled debut album. June 1981: Siouxsie & The Banshees’s fourth album Juju June 23 1981: Throbbing Gristle announce that “The Mission is Terminated” and split up June 1981: Noise Fest at White Columns gallery in downtown New York--nine evenings of neo-No Wave bands like Sonic Youth July 11/18/25 1981: Specials “Ghost Town” #1 for three weeks as inner city rioting rife across the U.K. July 1981: Mission of Burma’s Signals Calls and Marches. August 1981: Spandau Ballet go Top 3 with “Chant No. 1” August 1981: MTV premieres on American TV. August 1981: Cabaret Voltaire’s Red Mecca August 1981: The Human League reach #3 with “Love Action” September 5/12 1981: Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” #1 for two weeks September 1981: New Order’s “Everything’s Gone Green/Procession” September 19 1981: Adam Ant and The Ants’ “Prince Charming” hits #1 and stays there for four weeks September 1981: Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” is a big UK chart hit. September 1981: Heaven 17’s debut LP Penthouse and Pavement. September 1981: Simple Minds’s Sons and Fascination/Sisters Feeling Call twin-album October 1981: This Heat’s second album Deceit October 1981: Madness’s third album 7 October 1981: Altered Images score first hit with the massive “Happy Birthday,” peaking at #2 October 1981: Bow Wow Wow debut LP See Jungle! See Jungle! October 1981: Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman” reaches #2. October 1981: Funboy Three, formed by Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Neville Staples after leaving The Specials, debuts with “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum.” October 1981: The Human League’s Dare. October 1981: Scritti Politti’s “The ‘Sweetest Girl’” October 1981: ABC’s debut single “Tears Are Not Enough” October 1981: U2’s second album October November 1981: New Order’s first album, Movement. November 1981: Haircut 100’s “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)” is Top 5 hit. November 1981: Black Flag’s debut album Damaged November 1981: D.A.F.’s Gold Und Liebe. December 12 1981: The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” hits Number One where it stays for five weeks, becoming the UK Christmas #1 

1982 

 January 1982: The Slits split. January 1982: Meat Puppets’ debut LP Meat Puppets I January 1982: Orange Juice’s debut album You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever. February 1982: Kraftwerk at #1 with “The Model” February 1982: The Associates penetrate UK top ten with “Party Fears Two.” February 1982: 23 Skidoo’s Seven Songs. February 1982: Bow Wow Wow finally score a hit with “Go Wild In The Country”, which reaches #7 March 1982: The Fall’s Hex Enduction Hour. March 1982: ABC’s “Poison Arrow” is a #6 hit. March 1982: Simple Minds go Top 20 with “Promised You a Miracle.” March 1982: Japan’s single “Ghosts” cracks Top Ten. April 1982: British Electric Foundation’s Music of Quality and Distinction. April 1982: Pigbag’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” enters the pop charts on its way to #3. April 1982: Martin Hannett instigates lawsuit against Factory April 1982: Scritti Politti’s “Faithless” April 1982: The Cure’s Pornography April 1982: Culture Club debut with “White Boy” April 1982: Killing Joke’s third album Revelations April 1982: New Order’s “Temptation” April>>May 1982: The Falklands War May 1982: The Blue Orchids’s debut album The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) May 1982: Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” and Rio. May 1982: The Associates’ Sulk. May 21st 1982: The Hacienda, a Manchester nightclub owned by Factory Records and New Order, opens May 29 1982: Madness “House of Fun” hits Number One June 1982: ABC’s “The Look of Love” reaches #4 and Lexicon of Love is released to massive acclaim June 1982: Wham!’s “Wham Rap” June 1982: Birthday Party’s Junkyard. July 1982: The Cocteau Twins debut album Garlands July 1982: The Batcave club opened by Specimen as a dark haven for the emerging Goth nation August 7 1982: Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen” hits Number One where it stays for four weeks August 1982: Scritti Politti’s debut LP Songs to Remember. September 1982: Simple Minds’ New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84). September 1982: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” is Top Ten hit October 1982: The Smiths make their live debut at a Manchester club. October 23 1982: Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” hits #1 and stays there for three weeks October 1982: Bauhaus score first hit with cover of “Ziggy Stardust” November 1982: Orange Juice’s second LP, Rip It Up. November 1982: Siouxsie & The Banshees’s A Kiss In The Dreamhouse November 1982: Virgin Prunes If I Die, I Die album November 1982: Sisters of Mercy’s “Alice” November 1982: Psychic TV, the new band formed by TG’s Genesis P-Orridge and Peter Christopherson, debut with Force the Hand of Chance. November 1982: Malcolm McLaren’s “Buffalo Gals.” November 1982: Teardrop Explodes split. December 1982: Southern Death Cult’s debut single “Fatman” 

1983 

January 1983: Echo & The Bunnymen’s third album Porcupine and first Top Ten hit with “The Cutter” February 1983: Positive Punk is NME’s cover story with writer Richard North including Southern Death Cult, Blood and Roses, Brigandage, Specimen, and Sex Gang Children as part of the genre--better known as Goth February 1983: U2’s third album War. “New Year’s Day” goes Top 10 February 1983: The Birthday Party’s The Bad Seed EP March 5 1983: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is Number One, kicking off the year of Thriller-mania March 1983: Orange Juice finally score a Top Ten hit with “Rip It Up” March 1983: Eurythmics go Top Ten with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” March 1983: New Order’s “Blue Monday” May 1983: Sisters of Mercy’s The Reptile House EP May 1983: Heaven 17 finally score a hit single with #2 smash “Temptation” June 9th 1983: Margaret Thatcher is re-elected as prime-minister; The Labour Party receive only 28 percent of the vote. June 1983: Keith Levene quits PiL June 1983: The Birthday Party split August 1983: Depeche Mode reaches #6 with “Everything Counts” August 1983: New Order’s “Confusion” August 1983: Cabaret Voltaire’s major label debut The Crackdown August 1983: The Art of Noise’s Into Battle with the Art of Noise EP--the debut release for ZTT. September 1983: PiL’s “This Is Not A Love Song” reaches #5 September 24 1983: Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon” hits #1 and stays there for six weeks October 1983: Frankie Goes to Hollywood release “Relax.” October 1983: Cocteau Twins release Head Over Heels and the Sunburst and Snowblind EP October 1983: Sisters of Mercy’s “Temple of Love” November 1983: The Birthday Party’s final EP Mutiny! November 1983: ABC’s Beauty Stab November 1983: The Immaculate Consumptives--Marc Almond, Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch and Jim Thirlwell--perform in New York November 1983: The Smiths’s second single and first hit “This Charming Man” 

1984 

January 1984: Einsturzende Neubauten’s Concerto for Voice and Machinery at London’s ICA triggers an audience riot. January 28 1984: Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” hits #1 where it stays for five weeks. March 12 1984: Miners's Strike begins April 1984: Scritti Politti have a top ten hit with major label debut “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)” April 1984: Echo & The Bunnymen’s fourth album Ocean Rain April 1984: Meat Puppets’ Meat Puppets II May 1984: Human League’s “The Lebanon.” May 1984: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” kicks off the year of Born In The USA-mania June 1984: Nick Cave debuts solo career with “In the Ghetto” and From Her To Eternity June 16 1984: Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Two Tribes” hits #1 where it stays for nine weeks July 1984: Prince’s “When Doves Cry” goes Top 5 September 1984: U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” goes Top 3 September 1984: Husker Du’s Zen Arcade and The Minutemen’s Double Nickels On the Dime released by SST on same day October 1984: U2’s The Unforgettable Fire November 1984: Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To the Pleasuredome November 1984: Ronald Reagan re-elected after defeating Democratic nominee Walter Mondale Nov>December 1984: Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” is massive worldwide hit December 1984: Band Aid’s famine in Ethiopia charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” features the aristocracy of British New Pop--Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, et al. 

1985 

 March 3 1985: Miners's Strike ends in defeat March 1985: Sisters of Mercy’s First and Last and Always April 1985: Meat Puppets’ Up On The Sun May 1985: The Cult, formerly Southern Death Cult, score first chart hit with “She Sells Sanctuary” June 1985: Scritti Politti’s Cupid and Psyche ‘85 June 7 1985: Wire reform to play first gig in five years with a show at the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford October 1985: Grace Jones’ “Slave to the Rhythm”