1978 radiated modernism with the luminous electrosparks of Magazine, Ultravox, Japan, Tubeway Army and a radically revamped Be-Bop Deluxe.
Intergenerational fission spawned rawness (The Adverts, Bethnal, Generation X, Gloria Mundi, Penetration, The Police) and refinement (Anthony Phillips, Chris Rea, Dire Straits, Gerry Rafferty, The Movies, Sniff n the Tears); quirkiness (Dee D. Jackson, Godley & Creme, Kate Bush, Lene Lovich, Scritti Politti, XTC) and quaintness (Albion Band, Bowles Brothers Band, Flibbertigibbet, Illusion, Magenta, Sally Oldfield); bedazzlement (Aviator, Gordon Giltrap, National Health, Semuta, UK, Wilding Bonus) and brawn (Atlas, British Lions, Flying Squad, Gary Moore, Magnum, Whitesnake). Sophomores moved to the front of the track (The Boomtown Rats, Bonnie Tyler, The Buzzcocks, The Jam, Judas Priest, The Stranglers), while seniors proved they were still in with the pack (Al Stewart, Brian Bennett, Jade Warrior, The Moody Blues, The Rolling Stones, The Who).
Stateside might mustered flash (Alkana, Baby Grand, Fairchild, Key, Roadmaster, Trillion), sass (1994, Blondie, The Cars, Fotomaker, The Shirts, Walter Egan), spunk (ADC Band, Breakwater, Chic, Free Life, Gaston, Osiris), shine (Bill Champlin, Bliss Band, Bobby Caldwell, Dane Donohue, Player, Valerie Carter), and splendor (A-440, Babylon, Cathedral, Harlequin Mass, The Muffins, Pentwater), whilst Canucks shone in stadium flare (Aerial, Bighorn, Prism, Saga, Wireless, Zon).
Euro pride energized the East (Atmosphera, Dezo Ursiny, FSB, Fermata, Gordi, Indexi, Mahagon, Mini, Piramis, Prazsky Vyber, Sfinx, Tako) and sustained the West: from Germany (Albatros, Carol of Harvest, Eden, Galaxy, Jonathan, Minotaurus, Nanu Urwerk, P₂O₅, Shaa Khan, Stefan Zauner, Stern Meissen, Zyma) and Switzerland (Bruno Spoerri, Flame Dream, Nautilus, Plamp), to the Iberian Peninsula (Asfalto, Cotò En Pèl, Guadalquivir, Ibio, Imán Califato Independiente, Itoiz, N.H.U., Ñu, Jose Cid, Petrus Castrus).
The French were fractious and folksy (Arachnoid, Asgard, Ex Vitae, La Confrerie Des Fous, Madrigal, Maripol, Mosaic, Nadavati, Ocarinah, Open Air, Rialzu, Skryvania, Troisieme Rive, Vertø, Weidorje), the Italians variably quirky (Andrea Tich, Anna Oxa, Bella Band, Chrisma, Claudio Pascoli, Faust’o, Lino Capra Vaccina, Orchestra Njervudarov, Piazza Delle Erbe, Rino Gaetano), as synthesists sent shivers across the continent (Adelbert von Deyen, Antonio Sangiuliano, Automat, Baffo Banfi, Charlie Mike Sierra, Liliental, Michael Hoenig, Ose, Spacecraft, Wolfgang Riechmann).
Southward, the Americas were lavish and lilting (Anacrusa, Armando Tirelli, Banana, Bubu, Celeste, Estructura, Olivia Byington, Seru Giran) and the Antipodes raucous and rootsy (The Angels, Cold Chisel, Ferrets, Hello Sailor, Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, Scandal, Tarney & Spencer).
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