Fade To Grey: New Pop Sound Of The Eighties

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We all fade to grey, that is what this mixtape is all about! 😊 The tracks by Plastic Estate and Reeve Stimpson are brand new, but they recapture the 'new pop' sound of the eighties wonderfully. You have to watch Reeve Stimpson’s accompanying video on YouTube as well.

The songs by Weekend and Chas Jankel are from the compilation Heaven Sent - The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983. The term ‘new pop’ was coined by NME journalist and co-founder of record label ZTT, Paul Morley. According to him it was any forward-thinking British music of the early 1980s that was anti-establishment in outlook and not ‘rockist’ (macho men with guitars) or clearly punky. I broadened his definition a little bit by adding some eighties (and new!) indie pop that sounds exactly like the music that Paul Morley originally had in mind.

Peter Godwin started as one half of Metro in the 1970s (the other half was Duncan Browne, known for his classic The Wild Places). The next decade he became a frontrunner of electro pop, making it big with hits like Images Of Heaven, Emotional Disguise and Baby's In The Mountains, all produced by Georg Kajanus (Sailor). Last week the 2CD Peter Godwin: The Polydor Years came out. It contains his albums Emotional Disguise and Correspondence in full, plus all the spin-off singles and remixes from his time at Polydor, between 1981 and 1983. According to Cherry Red Records, he was "one of the stylish lynchpins of the burgeoning New Wave / New Romantic scene" at the time.

Next up is a Cashbox chart for Mixcloud subscribers only, followed by one from its main competitor Billboard for all listeners.

Tracklist:

ABC – Tears Are Not Enough (1981)
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin ‎– The Locomotion (1986)
Jona Lewie – You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties (1980)
Plastic Estate – Kind Of Love (2024)
Men Without Hats – Safety Dance (1982)
Culture Club – I'll Tumble 4 Ya! (1983)
Weekend – Past Meets Present (1982)
The Dugites – In Your Car (1980)
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Rattlesnakes (1984)
Del Amitri – Nothing Ever Happens (1989)
Black – Wonderful Life (1987)
China Crisis – Black Man Ray (1985)
John Foxx – Europe After The Rain (1981)
Peter Godwin – Baby's In The Mountains (1983)
Reeve Stimpson – Over Me (2024)
The Stranglers – Skin Deep (1984)
Stephen TinTin Duffy – Kiss Me (1985)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Talking Loud And Clear (1984)
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World (1985)
Chas Jankel – Questionnaire (1981)
Modern Romance – Everybody Salsa [Eddy’s Edit] (1982)
Visage – Fade To Grey (1980)