New Musik -

New Musik was an English synthpop band that released the 1980/81 albums From A to B and Anywhere on GTO/CBS, scoring hits with “Straight Lines,” “Living By Numbers,” “Sanctuary,” and “This World of Water.” After their 1982 release Warp, mastermind Tony Mansfield went into production. Early keyboardist Nick Straker left pre-record to front his own Brit-funk band with overlapping personnel.

Members: Tony Mansfield (vocals, guitar), Nick Straker (keyboards, 1977-79), Tony Hibbert (bass, 1977-81), Phil Towner (drums, 1977-81), Clive Gates (keyboards, 1979-82), Cliff Venner (percussion, vocals, 1982)

New Musik formed in 1977 when guitarist/singer Tony Mansfield and bassist Tony Hibbert teamed with keyboardist Nick Straker and drummer Phil Towner. Mansfield and Hibbert came from the unrecorded End of the World. Straker led Limmie Funk Limited, which included Towner.

The budding four-piece demoed material (“On Islands,” “Love Train”) that combined semi-acoustic, Beatles/Hollies harmony pop with the clean electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and Ultravox. Straker, opting for a funkier, more dance-oriented approach, left before they signed a deal. In 1978, New Musik welcomed keyboardist Clive Gates, who’d played as a teen with Mansfield in Reeman Zeegus.

Signed to CBS-subsidiary GTO, New Musik debuted with the September 1979 single “Straight Lines” (b/w “On Islands”).

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