You might want to start at A Condensed History Pt. 1<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, 1979 was an important year but it was 1980 that remains the most important for me as, this is where I met mu<\/a>, who became and remains, my wife \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iron Maiden released \u201cIron Maiden\u201d, The Clash released \u201cSandinista!\u201d, Bowie released \u201cScary Monsters (and Super Creeps)\u201d, Adam & the Ants released \u201cKings of the Wild Frontier\u201d. This shows just four examples of the diversity in what was happening in popular culture. The most important album from my perspective was \u201cKings of the Wild Frontier\u201d. It\u2019s not a favourite album and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever replayed it since those days in 1980. It will become apparent why it is so important in a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Punk as an idea was still a force but evolution was inevitable as the music industry started to chase the next thing with even more fervency that it had done in the past. Before you knew it, the New Romantics would be here with a flamboyance. I had little to do with Prog at this point. Pink Floyd released \u201cThe Wall\u201d in 1979 and I had of course heard \u201cwe don\u2019t need no education\u2026\u201d played out across the airwaves but it didn\u2019t mean anything much to me at the time. The release of the film in 1982 meant it was an ongoing force throughout that time but I had a filter on. I focused upon specific things. There was so much going on, you had to. More importantly, funds were, as they always have been and still are, limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so, to Adam & the Ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was living in Huddersfield, in my bedsit and I went up to the Poly Halls of Residence which were not very far. Just up the road, along a pathway and there they were. There was a disco on this particular evening, not a gig and it was here that I met mu for the first time. I was going to see Adam & the Ants at the Top Rank in Sheffield. Mu had noticed me, at some point leaving the Chemistry building previously. Someone told her I was going to get tickets and that she should ask that I get her one as well. She did, I did and we went to see them on the \u2018Frontier\u2019 tour along with her friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1980<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I somehow left a jacket or jumper with mu and had to go back up and collect it the next day. The rest, as they say was history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a spaghetti Bolognaise made with sprouts, 24 hrs spent together with a trip to Manchester and then, the rest of our lives\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n After this initial meeting, we were an inseparable item. mu loved my stereo. We followed music from now onward, together. Music had been and would always continue to be an important force in my and now our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bands of interest in the 1980\u2019s, in this post Punk era included Adam & the Ants (as previously mentioned), Spear of Destiny, Southern Death Cult\/The Cult (a favourite band), The B52\u2019s (style), The Cure (oh, so good), Echo & the Bunnymen, Gang of Four, XTC (more about them later) and New Order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Order\u2019s post Punk assault, hot on the back of Joy Division\u2019s tragic demise, with the loss of Ian Curtis brought about the next change in my musical appreciation. New Order were the band that bridged Punk and Electronic music. For me, they brought the punk ethic and led it, Pied Piper-like into Dance music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially, they were dark and brooding. Peter Saville\u2019s artwork help build this aesthetic and with tracks like \u201cEverything\u2019s Gone Green\u201d in 1981, the mystique made this a favourite band. I owned and still have FACT. 50c 1981 MOVEMENT on tape. I also owned Fact 100c & Fact 200c on tape. I still have Fact 100c but only the case for Fact 200c, the tapes were later stolen when our car was broken into \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got to see New Order live in 1984.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Order were important to me then and I never fell out of love with them. As we moved into the 2019s-2020s, a further found love with them developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1984<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of Bowie\u2019s Diamond Dogs and the track \u201c1984\u201d, 1984 seemed like a lifetime away. However, before I knew it, we were in 1984 and listening to different music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1985 The Smiths were riding high on the back of \u201cMeat is Murder\u201d and The Cure released \u201cThe Head On The Door\u201d. Two other albums were released that year but they were two I didn\u2019t have any connection with, until much later. Those albums were: Iron Maiden – \u201cLive After Death\u201d and Marillion – \u201cMisplaced Childhood\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n This would be a recurring factor throughout the coming years of the decade, there would be albums released that passed me by. Much later, I would come across a band or album (discovered anew or rediscovered) and take to it at that time. I see that as I look back, I consume music almost retrospectively. Not exclusively however, there were\/are some things I jump on just prior to release (the power of hype?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1986 my daughter was born and 1989 my son was born therefore the late \u201880\u2019s and the early \u201890\u2019s were a busy time. There would have been music in there and I\u2019ll approach that, using the records and CDs I still own, to jog my memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1989 saw start of The Orb\u2019s rise to fame as chill out room favourites and chart ‘successfuls’. Prince\u2019s soundtrack to the Batman film was important. I still own this on tape (one of the few tapes I own, that survive to this day).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here ends A Condensed History Pt. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next post – <\/em>A Condensed History Pt. <\/em>4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n1980 – 1990<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An Important Year<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
We Were Kings of the Wild Frontier<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
In Concert – Part III<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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16 November 1980 at Top Rank Sheffield.\n\n
Post Punk<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
A New Order<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
In Concert – Part IV<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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22 August 1984 at Golddiggers, Chippenham, England.\n\n
13 Nov 1984 at Golddiggers, Chippenham, England.\n\n
Albums – Two In Particular<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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