Music of the United Kingdom (1980s)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from sub-genres and what is now classed as World music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synth pop. In the early years of the decade, while sub-genres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success. The advent of MTV and cable video helped spur what has been seen as a Second British Invasion in the early years of the decade, with British bands enjoying more success in America than they had since the height of the Beatles' popularity in the 1960s. However, by the end of the decade a fragmentation has been observed, with many new forms of music and sub-cultures, including Hip Hop and House music, while the single charts were once again dominated by pop artists, now often associated with the Hi-NRG hit factory of Stock Aitken Waterman. The rise of the Indie rock scene was partly a response to this, and marked a shift away from the major music labels and towards the importance of local scenes like Madchester and sub-genres, like gothic rock.
See also
- 1980s in music
- Music of the United Kingdom (1950s)
- Music of the United Kingdom (1960s)
- Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)
- Music of the United Kingdom (1990s)
- Music of the United Kingdom (2000s)
