One of the most beloved British pop bands of the '80s and '90s, Prefab Sprout has had a minimum of chart success in the United States, where they're all but unknown outside of their devoted cult following, but singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon is regularly hailed as one of the great songwriters of his era. Critics regularly compare McAloon... [+] Read More

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Among the L.A. groups dubbed Paisley Underground (Dream Syndicate, the Bangles, Three O'Clock), Rain Parade were the closest to being the real deal for their use of psychedelic flourishes thoroughout their first album. Formed in Los Angeles in the early '80s, the group consisted of David Roback (vocals, guitar), Steven Roback (vocals, bass),... [+] Read More

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By the summer of 1983, the Fun Boy Three were peaking in popularity and Terry Hall disbanded the group. Hooking up with ex-Swinging Cats members Toby Lyons and Karl Shale, Hall moved to Manchester and formed the Colourfield, a more lush and melodic outfit than the Fun Boy Three. In January of 1984, the band released their first single, "The... [+] Read More

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Building on the jangly guitar pop of the Smiths and the trance-like dream pop of bands like the Cocteau Twins, the Sundays cultivated a dedicated following in indie rock circles, both in their native England and in America, in the early '90s. Although the sales of their first two albums were strong, the band never crossed over into the... [+] Read More

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The Thompson Twins -- who were neither a duo nor related, but simply named after the Tin Tin cartoon -- were one of the more popular synth-pop groups of the early MTV era, scoring a handful of hits before fading away into lite-funk obscurity. While many of their contemporaries indulged in stylish variations on Roxy Music or robotic electronic... [+] Read More

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