ELECTRIC albion
The dawn of UK synthpop, in seven 7-inchers, by Danny Eccleston.
THROBBING GRISTLE United
(Industrial, 1978)
From the start, UK synth-pop juggled themes of innocence and control, man and machine. The papery electro-snare and Genesis P. Orridge’s slurred vocal suggest sickness under the skin, while Aleister Crowley casts a shadow over the “love is the law” refrain.
THOMAS LEER Private Plane
(Oblique, 1978)
Scot Thomas Wishart built this half-lit slice of paranoid pop in his flat while his girlfriend slept – hence the tentative, muted vocals. Control, hate, alienation seep in and out: if this private plane is a symbol of success, it’s one he, and you, are barred from.
THE HUMAN LEAGUE Being Boiled
(Fast Product, 1978) Genocide – a jolly subject of early synth-pop – is lent gloomy popability by the Phil Oakey baritone. The Human League, recently sprouted from The Future, flagged Sheffield as an electro hotbed – home to Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire and, later, Heaven 17.
THE NORMAL Warm Leatherette (Mute, 1978)
The darkly sexy masterpiece that crashed into the future OMD’s world like the J.G. Ballard auto wreck invoked in Daniel Miller’s coldly-intoned lyric. Miller’s Mute label would prove a hothouse of synth-pop: Silicon Teens, Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode and more would follow.
CABARET VOLTAIRE Nag Nag Nag
(Rough Trade, 1979)
The Cabs’ Stephen Mallinder has described this narky fuzz-fest as a northern electro take on American garage psych, and you can sense the breakneck wubba-wubba propulsion of The 13th Floor Elevators here (and The Red Krayola’s Mayo Thompson co-produced).
TUBEWAY ARMY Are “Friends” Electric?
(Beggars Banquet, 1979)
A bloke who might be a mannequin sing-talks in ersatz Transatlantic of how technology blurs the lines between what’s real and what’s not (what’s new, eh?). The epic sound and discordant riff does the rest. The Heartbreak Hotel of synth-pop.
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK Electricity (Factory, 1979)
OMD had their own dedicated release on Factory (FAC 6) before Joy Division. This version – a tad harsher than the one on the debut album – mints their style: insane catchiness, ambivalent appreciation of technology (“Never more to be free”) and all.