New Wave Outpost Forum

It seems like most people point to the Ramones as the first real punk rock band (even the Sex Pistols and the Clash point to them as their inspiration).

Any thoughts on the band that defined and set the stage for New Wave? I imagine credit would proably go to bands like Blondie, Talking Heads and David Bowie.

They may not have been first out of the gate, but I think Split Enz defined New Wave for me. Forget skinny ties - their outfits and hair were outrageous. Unique sound too. But not more unique than Talking Heads. Hmmm... second thoughts.

Other suggestions?

IMHO Joy Division was the first band that sounded truly "new wave". But you're right, the Finns' "I See Red" was right in there. Them plus the Nerves, Elvis Costello, Blondie and other power popsters all preceded Joy Division, but I still feel like the la

I disagree about the Ramones. The first punk band imo was Iggy and the stooges. The Pistols even finished every gig with a cover of their song No Fun. The first true new wave album was Kraftwerk's Man Machine, right down to the slimline ties on the cover.

Stooges is not an invalid argument, but weren't they pretty marginal, disappearing altogether before the mid 70s? I don't know that that many people make any note of them or at the time stopped in their tracks to say, "hello, this is something new and gre

I think Split Enz were thinking eight years ahead of everybody else. I mean, have you taken a look at the videos they made between '75 to '77? Who would have bothered making a video like 'Bald As Brass' or 'My Mistake' in 1977?

In 1977 a lot of the

i dont think new wave was really defined or kicked-off with a single band. i think its only new wave when you look at it as a whole, and all the bands that contributed to it. i will have to look into this though.

EuromanCometh- you seem to know what you are talking about. and yes i have heard other people say they think the first punk band was iggy pop and the stooges. but i think, again, it wasnt just one band. the stooges where like the fathers of punk and the r

Interesting. How about a vote for fun:

Original New Wave Band (reply and mark one)
Blondie:
Talking Heads:
Bowie, Ziggy et al:
Split Enz:
Joy Division:
Kraftwerk:
Batman Jones and his Wild Puruvian Asses:
(good luck Batman, you may need Robin

I would consider Kraftwerk -> Ultravox -> Gary Numan for the synth side of New Wave.

Great question Dave.
My response would be for New Wave pioneers, commercial success-wise: Blondie and Elvis Costello (both brilliant). Others: Kraftwerk. Since the original John Foxx sleep-inspirted Ultravox does not count because they sucked! Special Ku

Let's not forget The New York Dolls.

Thanks for all the feedback/suggestions.

It doesn't look like there's a clear winner (no surprise), but the following three seem to be mentioned most often (albums listed FYI):

Blondie (The First Album 1975)
Elvis Costello (My Aim is True - 1977)

I would add The Cars first album (1978) to the list. The Cars were certainly not been first to play in a New Wave style, but they were certainly one of the first to get Top40 radio airplay. They brought Wave to the masses (at least in the US).

When I was in college (1981-5), I used to make cassette compilations of New Wave material for parties. I regularly put old David Bowie songs like "Rebel Rebel" or "Suffragette City" in the mix. Stylistically they fit perfectly even though they were 5 to

Pere Ubu often gets mention as an early New Wave band. I dunno.

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"The melody's the thing!"