Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

The Beat, also known as The English Beat in the United States and Canada, formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England. The music of this post-punk act fused various styles including ska, soul, reggae, pop, and punk rock to become one of the key and most successful bands of the UK ska revival and the two-tone scene of the early '80s.  The Beat's songs would often include lyrics that took on socio-political themes, while the music and the danceable sound gave the band crossover appeal to go along with their message.  The band released multiple critically acclaimed studio albums starting with their debut album of 1980, I Just Can't StopIt, along with a number of hit singles including "Mirror in the Bathroom" and "Save It for Later".  The Beat broke up in 1983 after the third studio album before some members went on to form two other notable bands, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. The Beat reformed in the 2000's and continues today with a new make-up behind original member and lead singer Dave Wakeling.   This episode tells the story of The Beat from their early days through the music of their three studio albums of the early 80’s.  

During the 1980’s, Front 242 became a pioneer of Electronic Body Music (EBM) and a key artist in the development of the industrial and electronic music genres. Their music blended aggressive, relentless, danceable, electronic beats with driving basslines, commanding vocals, tense militaristic aesthetics, and innovative media sampling. The Belgian based Front 242 formed in 1981 in an effort to create music and graphic design using emerging electronic technology. During their early albums and releases the band developed what would come to known as EBM. After signing with the the Wax Trax! Records label Front 242 achieved international success with their 1988 fourth studio album, Front by Front. This album spawned the iconic industrial club anthem "Headhunter", and the album and this song are considered among the greatest industrial music releases. This episode will tell the story of the Front 242 from their beginnings as they rise to the front of the EBM and industrial music scenes by the 1990’s.

Altered Images began in 1979 after forming from a group of five teenagers in Glasgow, Scotland. The band was fronted by singer Clare Grogan with her sweet and bubbly youthful vocals as the band would go from their post-punk roots onto new wave and synth pop in the early 80’s.  The first two singles by Altered Images as well the majority of the songs on the debut album were produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees co-founder Steven Severin, who had taken the band under his wing. This early work with Severin was dark and moody post-punk along with Grogan’s more upbeat vocals and melodies, creating a unique mixture and sound.Martin Rushent produced the title track of the debut album, Happy Birthday , which brought the band commercial success, but was more pop sounding than the Severin produced work of the album. Rushent would remain producing for Altered Images with album number two, which was another successful LP and included the hit song “I Could Be Happy”.This Scottish band would find success with six UK top-40 singles and three top-30 albums by 1983, before breaking up following the third album. More recently, Altered Images reformed in 2021 and released a fourth studio album. Clare Grogan has been the one constant member from the original formation while also maintaining a successful acting career among her many ventures.This episode tells the story of this often overlooked band and the career of Clare Grogan, including the story of her connection to the song "True" by Spandau Ballet.

This episode is part of our Further Inside the Milky Way series. These are shows that we will do from time to time where we go deeper into vast collection of the music and artists from the early alternative era. In these episodes we will discuss a few artists in the one show. We will try to pick artists that have something in common or a connection between them.  In this "Further" episode all of the bands fit into the gothic rock style or genre in some form. The first is a band that has had a very long career after their 1982 start, Skeletal Family. One of the original Skeletal Family members was lead singer Anne-Marie Hurst, who left to form the second band we discuss, Ghost Dance. Ghost Dance was formed with Hurst and Gary Marx, who had just left The Sisters of Mercy. For the third band, Andrew Eldritch of The Sisters of Mercy brought in the singer and musician James Ray to his Merciful Release Label after the departure of Marx, and would lead to the band, James Ray and the Performance.(Pictured : Anne-Marie Hurst)

After forming in Leeds in 1976, Gang of Four became one of the most influential and original post-punk bands from the late 70’s UK music scene. Gang of Four took the musical freedoms that punk rock had created and used them to change the future of music. Known for post-punk, dance-punk, and funk rock sounds, the band played a stripped-down mix fusing hard funk rhythms, danceable beats, and jagged guitar while moving away from traditional rock structures for a more unconventional method. The band's music also emphasized social and political issues with the inclusion of radical lyrics and philosophies influenced by situationism and Marxist theory.Gang of Four's debut album from 1979, Entertainment! has been considered not only one of the best debut albums of all time, but one of the best and most influential of all time, and the band is considered one of the leaders of the post-punk movement. While their early seminal records like Entertainment! and the follow-up Solid Gold focused on tense, stripped-down post-punk, their later 1980s albums leaned further into danceable post-punk. This episode will tell the story of the rise of Gang of Four and their influential beginnings, music, and albums over their career with more emphasis on the music and background from Entertainment! and Solid Gold.

When The Jam broke up at the end of 1982, their lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Paul Weller decided to do something different musically. Weller, along with Mick Talbot, would form The Style Council, a band that would take a more soulful and polished approach to music. This English band would explore and incorporate various influences including European jazz, jazz-pop, classical, funk, R&B, 60's soul, and Northern soul. The music of The Style Council,  with the lush arrangements, smooth keyboards, and fluid guitars would often fit the sophisti-pop style.The Style Council was not only about the music as Weller included social commentary in the lyrics and used this venture to address political concerns.Beyond the core members of the band, Weller would bring in other musicians and vocalists as The Style Council would release four studio albums between 1984 and 1988. After their first two albums and early hits like "My Ever Changing Moods" and "You're the Best Thing" , the band's popularity started to decline eventually leading a breakup in 1989. This episode will tell the story of The Style Council between 1983 and 1989, and discuss the band’s music and the content as Paul Weller created soothing and soulful alternative music. 

Joy Division was one of the first and most influential bands coming out of the early years of the post-punk era, and their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, would inspire generations of artists and change the future of music. This English band formed in 1976 and their first recordings were inspired by early punk rock as represented on the 1978 debut EP An Ideal for Living.  Joy Division soon signed with the new independent label, Factory Records, where they would record Unknown Pleasures with producer Martin Hannett. This June 1979 release developed a sparse sound and style that made Joy Division one of the pioneering groups of the post-punk genre. The debut album, with the very iconic cover, would become one of the most influential post-punk albums of all time. This podcast episode will tell the story of the formation of Joy Division, their early recordings prior to and around the time of the debut album, and the creation and music of Unknown Pleasures.  

The Australian band Severed Heads was a pioneering electronic and experimental artist, and one that is very underappreciated from the early alternative era. As one of the pioneering Australian alternative music acts, their music was part industrial, synth pop, electronic, dance, and ambient as well as experimental bringing in found sounds, tape loops, samples, and noise.The original two members, Richard Fielding and and Andrew Wright, formed the band in the late 70’s as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign.  Tom Ellard joined in 1979 and soon after the band renamed themselves Severed Heads. By mid-1981, both founding members had departed leaving Ellard to continue the band.As Severed Heads moved through the 80’s behind Ellard, their sound evolved from the early avant-garde to more accessible electronic body music (EBM) style with  synth hooks and pop structures taking on both an industrial and dance-oriented approach.In 1983, the band released their fourth studio album, Since the Accident, followed with the single "Dead Eyes Opened ", a critically acclaimed song that would become a dance club classic.  Beyond the music, Severed Heads were also early pioneers of incorporating video, computer graphics, and digital technology into their performances and releases. In all, the band has 23 studio albums as well a number other releases including a number of video albums over a very prolific career as one of the longest running Australian post-punk era bands.Our podcast will tell the story of the pioneering Severed Heads, well beyond "Dead Eyes Opened"!

The Afghan Whigs earned a cult following during the early 90's with their music that mixed the Motown sound and R&B with indie and alternative rock. Formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986, The Afghan Whigs were led by singer-songwriter Greg Dulli whose songs presented vivid stories of broken relationships, obsession, guilt and toxic masculinity.  The music was full of emotional anguish and the lyrics were introspective, dark, and mature behind Dulli's intense and  gravelly vocals. The band's signature sound was a fusing of the passionate vocals with melodic guitars, gritty alternative rock of the grunge era, and soul and funk influences. It was all of this that separated the band from their peers in the early 90’s, and resulted in The Afghan Whigs as being one of the most critically acclaimed alternative bands of the 1990s.Their work was best represented on 1992's album, Congregation, where the band found their signature sound, and the critically acclaimed cinematic masterpiece from 1993, Gentlemen, which is considered a landmark, unapologetic breakup album.In this episode we will discuss the early years of the band with a focus on their two classic albums, Congregation and Gentlemen.