if we're talking New Wave i agree on Adam and Bow Wow Wow with their ridiculous tribal cacophony. Adam Ant may have been a bit ridiculous (working his way through pirate, highwayman, kinght in shining armour) but he was the embodiment of pop icon.
It's all about the Associates' album 'Sulk' for me though... Billy Mackenzie's voice, seemingly an improvisational free element working without the confines of the music, the lyrics - 'Tore my hair out from the roots/Planted them in someone's garden' - eww

Adam! Adam Ant was so versatile to go from art-rock/post-punk roots to become a glammy, glitzy, camp Bolan/Bowie influecned song and dance man.

Very True; And somehow quite haunting. The two that have always stayed in my head are Human League- Sound Of The Crowd, and Visage- Fade To Grey. They still sound just as good now.

I always have laugh at how London always takes the plaudits for movements in the UK.
For example there was a burgeoning scene in Glasgow that started in approx 1976 that was New Romantic in everything but name. The scene even had its own local bands like the Cuban Heels.
The followers of this scene were merely known as “Posers” and had a liking for (at that time) what was considered outlandish clothes.
In Glasgow this was, what you might call, a high risk lifestyle choice as even just wearing skin tight trousers (as opposed to the fashion of the time, flares) often saw you subjected to violence.
London always gets the kudos because it’s the main area for the media in the UK. That’s why past scenes dominated by Liverpool, Manchester, and even Glasgow (to a lesser extent in the early 80’s) have always annoyed the self centered, vainglorious, media whores of the UK’s South East.
As always, once the media packaged, branded and spat out a London scene as “New Romantic” and it getting picked up by the middle classes, it had already died out in other parts of the UK.

I agree with your point but... were you in a failed synth-pop outfit or something? you sound quite bitter...

Anyway I don't think London quite claims credit for everything in pop culture... off the top of my head, Merseybeat? Almost all the best 60's beat and pop groups were ex-captiol - the Hollies, Zombies, Beatles, rah rah... They just all had to go to London to get noticed in the first place :D
All the best 70's/80's bands were Lancashire/ Cheshire too, I think that's pretty acknowledged.

These days there aren't any regional scenes kicking off because of the internet and the media seemingly not giving a f*ck anyway, it's really boring. You never know where bands are from

I'm not bitter about anything. I was in a band ( I thought I was Keith Moon) :drummer:that played rock music, whose residency in a pub lasted 3 gigs LOL.
We were asked not to come back after a riot at our third gig when we refused to play roll over lay down, the Status Quo number.

When I mentioned Liverpool, it was obviously with Merseybeat in mind. Irrespective of where bands came from, they couldn't make it until they went to London.

Didn't The Human League start off in Sheffield?

Yes they did. Which only backs up the point I was trying to make.
Maybe I should have added "for example" to the scenes I named. :bonkhead:

With the re-appearance of Spandau Ballet and Ultravox, and the word being that Adam Ant might soon be back with us (wouldn't that be Something!) has anyone heard anything yet with regard to Steve Strange and Visage?
Fade To Grey is awesome!