Finding inspiration in the righteous anger of punk rock and the socially conscious folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg was the leading figure of the anti-folk movement of the '80s. For most of the decade, Bragg bashed out songs alone on his electric guitar, singing about politics and love. While his lyrics were bitingly... [+] Read More

Yes No

An institution in their homeland, a two-hit wonder in the U.S., and, during the last half of their ten-year career, bona fide stars in the U.K. and most of Europe, Crowded House recorded some of the best pop music of the late '80s and early '90s. Leader Neil Finn's carefully crafted songs, meticulous eye for lyrical detail, and gift for melody... [+] Read More

Yes No

The sea chanty tradition of Newfoundland is fused with the spirit and energy of contemporary rock and popular music by Great Big Sea. Their hard-driving approach has not only made them popular in their homeland, where they've been nominated for four Juno awards, but, has brought them a growing recognition throughout North America and Europe.... [+] Read More

Yes No

Ireland's Hothouse Flowers made a name for itself during the late '80s and early '90s with a passionate, bombastic fusion of rock & roll with the rootsy sounds of Irish folk and American gospel. The group was founded as a Dublin street-performance act called the Incomparable Benzini Brothers by schoolmates Liam O'Maonlai (vocals, keyboards) and... [+] Read More

Yes No

At the start of their career, Talking Heads were all nervous energy, detached emotion, and subdued minimalism. When they released their last album about 12 years later, the band had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop. Between their first album in 1977 and their last in 1988,... [+] Read More

Yes No

Tears for Fears were always more ambitious than the average synth pop group. From the beginning, the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were tackling big subjects -- their very name derived from Arthur Janov's primal scream therapy, and his theories were evident throughout their debut, The Hurting. Driven by catchy, infectious synth pop, The... [+] Read More

Yes No

Juno Award winner Tom Cochrane first caught the public's attention in the '80s when he was the lead singer of the popular Canadian rock group Red Rider. Other early members were guitarist Ken Greer, drummer Rob Baker, keyboardist Peter Boynton, and bassist Jeff Jones. The band recorded several well-received albums. By the next decade, Cochrane... [+] Read More

Yes No