1979: The End of A Decade

The Seventies are over. The three chord thrash of the punk rock brigade has all but fizzled out. I think Plastic Bertrand sealed their fate. Some of the original protagonists still remain but have already begun to reshape themselves for the next decade. Bands like Public Image Ltd, Adam and the Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Psychedelic Furs are breaking away from the old guard and creating new and innovative soundscapes. But most importantly Tubeway Army are No 1 with 'Are Friends Electric?'... and for the next few years, the sound of the crowd will be dominated by one note, one finger, keyboard riffs.


It seemed to me that in the seventies the music industry was black and white. Totally. If you were black you did soul, disco and reggae. If you were white you did anything you liked. Even bad reggae. There was no place for anyone else. Also boys were boys, girls were girls and anything else was swept under Cliff Richard's carpet. But the stars of the new wave really changed all that. "The Day The World Turned Dayglo!" shrieked Poly Styrene, X Ray Spex's mixed race chanteuse. 'Hanging! Hanging! Get down on your knees.." wailed ice queen Siouxsie.  "There's a man outside, in a long coat grey hat smoking a cigarette.." intoned asexual Gary Numan. To me it's a new world, a new way of looking at things and a new way to present them. It's a clarion call to all outsiders who don't fit the bill. Girly girls, macho boys and the old black/white stereotypes are making way for people who look and sound different. There's a new dawn coming and I want to be there when it breaks...