New Wave Outpost Forum

Hello, i'm looking for some good books about the new wave movement, both regarding it's history and a good guide (possibly with huge lists, including even the minor artists).

For now, i've read:

Rip it up and start again - Simon Reynolds. A great book covering the years from 1978 to 1984, with an accurate recostruction of the history and the culture behind the genre.

Punk Diary the ultimate trainspotter's guide to underground rock 1970-1982 - George Gimarc. Another great book, very detailed and complete (it lists even ultra-minor artist who got only a cassette or a ep release and lists with great accuracy concerts, releases, curiosities etc), but more focused on the punk than the new wave.

Please Kill Me - Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. A GREAT book, reccomended to all the fans of rock music. There are some great stories here, along a great portrait of what music business used to be (and unfortunately isn't any more). It is mostly focused on punk artists, though.

Please add any suggestion that comes to your mind.
Thanks.


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"Life's a bitch and then you live" - Micheal Monroe

If you can track down the Trouser Press record guide, that's a nice one to have. I think mine was published around '88 or '89.

'The Trouser Press guide to New Wave Records' (1983) is a great reference for the genre up to that point in time.

try We Got the Neutron Bomb
it chronicles the LA music scene from the 70's - early 80's
mainly punk but has a lot about the Go-gos, X, Devo, Runaways, and other new wave bands

also, This Aint NO Disco which is a collection of LP covers on new wave bands which is a great coffee table book

liked Rip It uP and Start Again by Simon Reynolds
there were some glaring ommissions from his bok including XTC, Squeeze, Pretenders, Police, and the Furs but very insightful and wish there were more books like his

I also got a book on the hisoty of CBGBs from the place itself with a lot of picks from the bands of the scene

there is also a new book on the Ploice which has a whole section on Miles Copeland and the history of IRS records

Beats Working For A Living by Martin Lilleker - about the scene in Sheffield from the mid 70es to mid 80es (Vice Versa/ABC, Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Heaven 17 etc)

My fave is the already mentioned Punk Diary by George Gimarc. Absolutely essential reading.

I would definitely vouch for the Trouser Press guide. And if one of its writers, Jack Rabid, can ever be persuaded to put out a compendium of his Big Takeover fanzine, that will be worth reading.

The definitive guide to actual 'vinyl' from the 76-80 period is Mario Panciera's 45 Revolutions - it's expensive, but absolutely worth it, a true work of art.

My books covering the genre/era (No More Heroes, Independence Days) are indebted to all the above to an extent.

The Rock Yearbook, Volumes 1981 – 1989 (various editors) ---- British publications (but printed in the U.S.) Overflowing with artist profiles, tons of album reviews, chronologies, great photos and articles, these were hands down the most entertaining and informative books of the era. And since they were written from a UK point of view, 90% of the music covered was considered New Wave here in the U.S. All nine editions are available used on Amazon, priced reasonably.

The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave (Colin Larkin, ed.); The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Colin Larkin, ed.) ---- (Updates of the Guinness Who’s Who of Indie & New Wave and Eighties Music.) Good compendia of artist biographies, again, from a British viewpoint (so the Eighties Music volume includes a lot of pop but much of that was considered New Wave in the U.S.)

The Great Alternative & Indie Discography (Martin C. Strong, ed.); The Great Indie Discography (2nd Edition) (Martin C. Strong, ed.) ---- To quote the jacket: “Over 2000 groups/artists listed, complete discographies, expanded biographies and band histories, catalogue ordering numbers, UK and US chart positions.” Excellent resource but perhaps not as comprehensive as some people would like (covers many post-80’s artists.)

The Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records (followed by the Trouser Press Record Guide, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Editions) (Ira Robbins, ed.) ---- Great capsule album reviews. Subsequent editions added and deleted some entries, so you kind of need them all! (There is also a 90’s edition, The Trouser Press Guide to 90’s Rock.)

The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (Ian McFarlane, ed.) ---- Not limited to New Wave or the 80’s, but includes many bands that are.

The New Music (Stuart Coupe & Glenn A. Baker); The New Rock ‘N’ Roll (Updated Edition) (Stuart Coupe & Glenn A. Baker) ---- Australian publications from 1981 and 1983, respectively. Good artist bios – and not just UK or Australian artists – and some cool pictures, but really just cover the bigger names (although there are several obscurities).

The Music Master Record Catalogue (John Humphries) ---- Just what it says: a UK catalogue of every major release (available in several updates). Not limited to New Wave (it covers EVERYTHING) but a fantastic resource for catalogue numbers, album tracks, singles, b-sides, etc.

Punk Diary / Post Punk Diary (George Gimarc) ---- As stated by others, a great source.

International Discography of the New Wave, Volume 1982-83 (B. George & Martha DeFoe) ---- The bible. From the jacket: “The most extensive international compilation of Punk, New Wave, Futurist, Hard Core discographies ever assembled. The ultimate reference. Over 16,000 records. Over 7500 bands. Over 3000 small labels. Over 1300 fanzines.” Also over 1000 contacts and addresses, although almost all now outdated. At around 750 pages, this vintage compendium has passed my obscurity test almost every time. And to think, it was compiled pre-computer databases; entirely on index cards. Lots of artist/group cross-referencing too. The only downside: they never published a version after 1983. This book can go for several hundred dollars these days but I just saw a couple on Amazon in “good” condition for around $50. My advice: BUY IT NOW!

Mick Middles' [i]From Joy Division to New Order[/i] is a very good account of Manchester's new wave scene and the early years of Factory records. It has a few chapters on the label's decline, but its heart is with the pre-1985 bands, with interesting asides on lesser-known groups like A Certain Ratio, Slaughter and the Dogs and Quando Quango. It's an excellent addendum to Reynolds' book.

[quote][i]Originally posted by thefxc[/i]
<br>Mick Middles' [i]From Joy Division to New Order[/i] is a very good account of Manchester's new wave scene and the early years of Factory records. It has a few chapters on the label's decline, but its heart is with the pre-1985 bands, with interesting asides on lesser-known groups like A Certain Ratio, Slaughter and the Dogs and Quando Quango. It's an excellent addendum to Reynolds' book.
[/quote]
His book on the Smiths, however, is best avoided.

The New Music and The New Rock And Roll by Glenn A Baker both turned me on to so many bands back in the day. if you can find copies they are indispencable.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Ollie Stench[/i]
<br>The New Music and The New Rock And Roll by Glenn A Baker both turned me on to so many bands back in the day. if you can find copies they are indispencable.
[/quote]

The latter book is by Stuart Coupe I believe(the new rnr).

Thanks for all the info as well gang. Found some more "New Wave" books...anyone know how good they are:

Whos new wave in music?-David Blanco
New wave Pop-music of the early 80s-Timothy Frew
(as Mentioned?) Trouser Press Guide to new wave records
77-the year of punk & new wave-Henrik Bech Poulson
New Wave Explosion(??)-Myles Palmer
Beat Punks-Victor Bockris
Factory Records: the complete graphic album-matthew robertson

"Keepin the '80s alive!"

I've mentioned before that if anyone wants to read Rip It Up And Start Again they should try to get the UK version as it has about 200 more pages than the US version.

This Japanese book is really good - The Dig Disc Guide Series No16 Techno Pop:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/#12486;#12463;#12494;#12539;#12509;#12483;#12503;-DIG-PRESENTS-DISC-GUIDE/dp/4401618513

It is basically a collectors guide for electronic and new wave music, includes sections on UK, US, Japanese and other countries music. There is quite a lot of text in Japanese but the book is a visual treat and the majority of album/single titles are in English. Published by Shinko Music, who also released a book "New Romantics" in a larger format, re-printing articles and pictures from Viva Rock and Music Life magazines. Very much focuses on the bands that were popular in Japan e.g. Japan/David Sylvian, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Dead or Alive.