New order ★★★★

The accessibility, affordability and portability of synthesizers in the late 70s had a profound effect on popular music, particularly in the UK, where the likes of Ultravox!, Gary Numan and OMD reshap

Of course Trevor Horn is a genius. But part of Horn’s talent is in seeing ideas through to their maximum potential. And this gigantic boxset of possibly the ultimate 80s album reveals how the initial

The third Thompson Twins Best Of and first since 2003 is significant as the only compilation the trio have authorised: Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie chose the tracklist and are extensively interviewed

The onset of 1985 found Eurythmics in a commercial sweet spot as they rode a wave of successive hits on the global stage. It was barely two-and-a-bit years since Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) in Jan

hen Soft Cell were art students at Leeds Polytechnic, Marc Almond wrote a song in the vein of Ziggy Stardust about a fictional band breaking up. Four years later, when Soft Cell had been informed by t

D uring the first half of the 80s, OMD were a regular presence in the upper reaches of the UK charts. Enola Gay, Souvenir, Joan Of Arc and Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Joan Of Arc) made the Top 10, whil