Synth pop has been the soundtrack for much of my adult life. From electronic beats underlying the dance clubs of the eighties to the current day output of Taylor Swift, synthesizers have been an inescapable part of the music scene. Since electronic keyboards were a large part of the progressive music scene of the seventies, it should come as no surprise that many of the artists on Cherry Red’s Musik Music Musique 1979 The Roots of Synth Pop cut their teeth as part of progressive rock bands. Many others, as is at times painfully obvious, were discovering the capabilities (or lack thereof) of their talent and their instruments in real time. Together, they forged a new path for music in which synthesizers and drum machines were the primary or sole source of the music. That approach continues to this day, but for the purposes of this collection, the concentration is on the year when many artists began to embrace the technology: 1979.
Compiler Richard Anderson observes in the liner notes: “The words ‘future’ and ‘futuristic’ are undoubtedly, if unavoidably, overused when it comes to electronic music, but within these three discs lies a genuine story of rapid progress and musical evolution towards a sound which would dominate the decade to come.” What these artists wrought did indeed become the future, but this is the story of where the future began.
Video may have killed the radio star, but the Buggles drove headfirst into the myriad new sonic possibilities with lead-off track Technopop, a clever, danceable B-side. Friend and co-writer Bruce Wooley (and the Camera Club, featuring a young Thomas Dolby) beat them to the punch with his own version of Video Killed The Radio Star three months before his pals, a version that was faster paced and more upbeat. Disco was still inescapable, as M’s Made In Munich and Tanya Hyde’s Herr Wunderbar made abundantly clear. Giorgio Moroder, the crown prince of dance music, lent his production talents and trademark synth sounds to Japan’s Life In Tokyo (Pt. 1), but it might have been Tubeway Army’s Are ‘Friends’ Electric that laid the path toward the future. Simple, clever, and not afraid to harness the power of the electric guitar, ‘Friends’ sounded like nothing that came before. Quirk was all the rage, and many artists reveled in it. The Cars (Night Spots) and Devo (Strange Pursuit) used idiosyncratic vocals atop hook-laden synths to create pop gems. Vocoder vocals were the focus of Dollar’s dreamy atmospherics on Star Control and Giorgio Moroder’s disco homage E = mc2, but too many artists simply put their less than conventional vocal approaches center stage, often over music that had similarly little merit (Yello’s I.T. Splash, Blah Blah Blah’s In The Army, 16 Hours by The Passage).
A good share of the artists used cover songs to experiment with sounds and textures. Telex slowed down Rock Around The Clock to the point where all joy was sucked from the tune. Silicon Teens, on the other hand, imbued Memphis Tennessee with a sense of unbridled fun. A couple of the more unfortunate covers took experimentalism to such an extreme that the originals became unrecognizable and the covers unlovable (The Family Fodder’s Sunday Girl and Instant Automations’ All You Need Is Love). Prog influences were easily discernible on Metal Voices’ At The Banks Of The River, Moebius’ Mirror Of Infinity and La Dusseldorf’s Rheinita. Others worshiped at the altar of pop convention. The Men (an early version of Human League) were gearing up for stardom with I Don’t Depend On You. O.M.D. took a haunting, moody turn with Almost and After The Fire blended compositional skill with pop savvy on One Rule For You.
Two of the best songs of the year (and possibly of all time) took different approaches to arrive at musical nirvana. Gary Numan’s iconic Cars wore the garb of soulless automation to make a statement about isolationism, while Mi-Sex’s Computer Games swam in a sea of pop hooks that floated vocals so quirky they become indispensable to the song. Zeus B. Held, himself a former prog rocker who went on to produce some of the biggest names in synth pop, released Held It, a super catchy slice of pop heaven (Sky’s Hotta one year later seemed to have been listening). Steve Hillage scratched his dance music itch with the fantastic Don’t Dither Do It. Even the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Jan Hammer had a fun time exploring infectious synth riffs on Hammer’s Forever Tonight. Human League presaged their hit-laden career with Blind Youth. Jude’s Mirror Mirror and The Dodgems Science Fiction (Baby You’re So) wedded synth pop bounciness to punk energy, as New Musik’s Living By Numbers showed how synths could beautifully augment a full band pop gem. Songcraft was not always lost to experimentalism. Toyah showed how integral a passionate vocal was to Computer. Secret Service proved that a strong song will always stand out, no matter how well dressed, with the likes of Oh Susie. Even the Korgis’ Cold Tea held strong to melody.
Musik Music Musique 1979 makes the case for the origins of a scene, one that progressed to inform all manner of genres and artists. One of the things I admire about Cherry Red’s compilations is their dedication to dig deep. As a result, there are not just hits but many should-have-beens, plenty of almosts, and a few wide-of-the-mark attempts. Together with heavily researched liner notes and enlightened essays, the music in this compilation does the year 1979 proud.
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
01. The Buggles – Technopop (3:50)
02. M – Made In Munich (5:36)
03. The Korgis – Cold Tea (3:53)
04. Metal Voices – At The Banks Of The River (3:49)
05. Yello – I.T. Splash (2:37)
06. Dalek I – The Kiss (2:02)
07. Karel Fialka– Armband (3:34)
08. Japan – Life In Tokyo (Pt. I) 7” Version (4:03)
09. Black Rod – Going To The Country (3:13)
10. Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric? (5:23)
11. Dollar – Star Control (B-Side Mix) (6:16)
12. Quantum Jump – The Lone Ranger (1979 Remix) (3:17)
13. Fashion – Technofascist (3:35)
14. The Cars – Night Spots (3:16)
15. Devo – Strange Pursuit (2:46)
16. Bruce Wooley & The Camera Club – Video Killed The Radio Star (2:46)
17. Moebius – Mirror Of Infinity (6:04)
18. Tanya Hyde – Herr Wunderbar (3:38)
19. Final Program – Hanging Around (3:07)
20. Metrophase – New Age (3:16)
Time – 76:01
DISC TWO
01. Gary Numan – Cars (5:39)
02. Giorgio Moroder – E = mc2 (4:34)
03. Gina X Performance – Nice Mover (4:33)
04. Blah Blah Blah – In The Army (4:43)
05. Gerry And The Holograms – Gerry And The Holograms (Alternate Drumbox Version) (4:15)
06. O.M.D. – Almost (3:42)
07. The Men – I Don’t Depend On You (4:34)
08. Telex – Rock Around The Clock (3:55)
09. They Must Be Russians – Nagasaki’s Children (4:17)
10. Silicon Teens – Memphis Tennessee (2:26)
11. Henry Badowski – Making Love With My Wife (2:42)
12. After The Fire – One Rule For You (Album Version) (3:18)
13. Cowboys International – Thrash (3:36)
14. Jude – Mirror Mirror (2:46)
15. Minny Pops – Dolphin’s Spurt (3:34)
16. Mi-Sex – Computer Games (3:55)
17. The Passage – 16 Hours (3:35)
18. Zeus B. Held – Held It (4:59)
19. The Family Fodder – Sunday Girl #1 (2:52)
20. Secret Service – Oh Susie (Album Version) (4:38)
Time – 76:53
DISC THREE
01. The Human League – Blind Youth (3:18)
02. Fad Gadget – Back To Nature (5:49)
03. Landscape – Japan (12” Version) (5:05)
04. Calvin Twilight – Harmony (2:58)
05. Cuddly Toys – Madman (Original 1979 Japanese Mix) (4:01)
06. R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day – Hands In The Dark (2:24)
07. Visage – Frequency 7 (3:07)
08. New Music – Living By Numbers (3:29)
09. Suicide – Dream Baby Dream (3:17)
10. John Foxx – Young Love (1979 Version) (3:10)
11. The Dodgems – Science Fiction (Baby You’re So) (4:06)
12. Genocide – Pre Set Future (3:52)
13. Hammer – Forever Tonight (4:47)
14. Toyah – Computer (3:07)
15. Thomas Leer And Robert Rental – Attack Decay (3:42)
16. Plain Characters – Man In The Railings (3:16)
17. Steve Hillage – Don’t Dither Do It (7” Version) (3:52)
18. La Dusseldorf – Rheinita (Single Version) (4:22)
19. Tim Blake And Jean Phillipe Rykiel – New Jerusalem (Extract) (2:48)
20. Instant Automations – All You Need Is Love (4:56)
Time – 75:26
MUSICIANS
Too many to list here…
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records
Country of Origin: International
Date of Release: 23rd January 2026
LINKS
Cherry Red Records – Compilation info
