3cd set exploring the arrival of synth pop and the dawn of a new musical era.

58 tracks marking the transition of electronic pop from the outer reaches of eccentricity and novelty to the very heart of a musical mainstream it would quickly dominate.

A treasure trove of household names - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Human League, Ultravox, Toyah, Spandau Ballet, Kim Wilde, Philip Lynott, The Buggles – and Underground Figureheads - Fad Gadget, Suicide, M, John Foxx, D.A.F., Dalek I Love You, Visage, The Residents, Yello – alongside forgotten gems and lesser-known curios.

Brought to you by the team behind the critical and commercial hits ‘close to the noise floor’ and ‘electrical language’!

Sleevenotes by ‘electronic sound’ magazine’s Mat Smith.


As the dust settled following the punk rock explosion, countless new genres began to solidify and coalesce. Chief among these, in a field of its own, was Synth Pop – a suitably descriptive umbrella for the new electronic pop sound which had emerged over the previous couple of years.

Originally considered a novelty, or perhaps the eccentric sound of the laboratory technician, 1980 saw Synth Pop shake off the stigma and become the most vital, modern and energetic musical movement on the planet. From upbeat disco evolutions to ice cold post-punk expressions, dancefloors, record racks and the music press soon filled with unusual and futuristic new artists, many of whom found homes with major labels, a long way from the independent DIY aesthetic which predominated.

‘Musik Music Musique’ captures a snapshot of this milestone moment in music. Independent novelties and curiosities sit alongside big budget pop perfection. Artists who would go on to sell millions take their first steps into this new landscape whilst others make the briefest contribution before the wave moves on. For every too-cool-for-school Human League there is a so-far-out-it’s-in Yello. For every Kim Wilde a Kevin Harrison. In retrospect, the speed at which these new instruments and production techniques were absorbed by such a variety of artists astounds and confounds.

Not to be confused with so many synth-pop-by-numbers budget releases, ‘Musik Music Musique’ is an essential and insightful compendium of a place and time unique in musical chronology. Within a year, electronic pop was the rule rather than the exception, but for now it was as cutting edge and unfamiliar as anything heard since Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville first unveiled his Phonautograph in 1857.

- 1 -
1. Messages - Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark
2. Musik, Music, Musique - Zeus
3. Coitus Interruptus - Fad Gadget
4. Computed Man - Xynn
5. Metal Love - Rod Vey
6. Performance Vendor's Box - Gina X
7. Lawnchairs - Our Daughter's Wedding
8. Tokyo Science
9. Only After Dark - the Human League
10. Victims of the Riddle - Toyah
11. Dct Dreams - Nick Nicely
12. Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne - Suicide
13. Waiting - Ultravox
14. Money - Moebius
15. Falling Years - the Fallout Club
16. Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel - Der Plan
17. No, Nothing, Never - Dark Day
18. Sons and Lovers - Hazel O'Connor
19. Sympathy - Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls
- 2 -
1. Glow - Spandau Ballet
2. Official Secrets - M
3. Chip N Roll - Silicon Teens
4. Galactica - Rockets
5. Tuning In Tuning On - Kim Wilde
6. European Man - Landscape
7. Can't You Take a Joke? Ha Ha Hi Hi! - Henriette Coulouvrat
8. A Circuit Like Me - the Metronomes
9. No One Driving - John Foxx
10. Kebabtraume - D.A.F.
11. Harmonitalk - Gary Sloan and Clone
12. Yellow Pearl - Philip Lynott
13. Dalek I Love You (Destiny) - Dalek I
14. Mannequin - Taxi Girl
15. This World of Water - New Musik
16. Quiet Life - Japan
17. Chase the Dragon - Kevin Harrison
18. Diskomo - the Residents
- 3 -
1. Astroboy (and the Proles On Parade) - Buggles
2. Mannequin - Berlin Blondes
3. A Certain Way To Go - the Passage
4. Between - Sic
5. Bimbo - Yello
6. Images of Delusion - Genocide
7. The Lonely Spy - Lori and the Chameleons
8. Lucy - Craze
9. I'm a Computer - the Goo-Q
10. Doctor ...? - Blood Donor
11. Brushing Your Hair - Alex Fergusson
12. Drawn and Quartered - the Korgis
13. Mind of a Toy - Visage
14. D'ya Think I'm Sexy - British Standard Unit
15. Living Wild - Mataya Clifford
16. Private Lives - Systems
17. The Eyes Have It - Karel Fialka
18. Suis-Je Normale - Nini Raviolette
19. China Blue Vision - Eyeless In Gaza
20. The Russians Are Coming - the Red Squares
21. Dampfriemen - La Dusseldorf