4 Lead Singers From the New Romantic Movement Who Brought the Attitude and Emotion

The British New Romantic movement gave pop music a jolt that it desperately needed in the early 80s. Many of the acts within the genre eventually did major damage in the US as well as in Europe.

Most New Romantic acts featured a man or woman out in front who could bring just the right touch to any material. These four lead singers from that era deserve special mention for their efforts.

Annie Lennox of Eurythmics

With her close-cropped hair that always seemed to be of a particularly bold shade, Annie Lennox certainly offered a striking look that helped set Eurythmics apart. Things got really interesting when she opened her mouth and started to belt. On the earliest Eurythmics hits, à la “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” and “Here Comes The Rain Again”, she showed that she could maintain an icy demeanor on the mic, at least until she erupted into guttural yelps. Later on in Eurythmics’ career, she and musical partner Dave Stewart installed her into more soulful situations. Needless to say, Lennox thrived in those scenarios as well.

Martin Fry of ABC

Being an iconic singer doesn’t always mean that you have to be able to yelp a song to the heavens. Sometimes, it’s just about finding a certain point of view and style on the microphone. Martin Fry of ABC embodied a compelling combination of opulence and melancholy when he stood out front and sang. You never knew how Fry was going to approach a song, as he’d often stop singing and just start emoting his lines like a soap opera actor to add some flavor. It proved an ingratiating approach on early ABC classics like “The Look Of Love” and “Poison Arrow”. Later on, he showed that he could go all-out soulful on tracks like “When Smokey Sings”.

Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen

Ian McCulloch gave Echo & The Bunnymen a dark, dangerous energy that was the antithesis of the bouncy energy projected by other New Romantic acts. That vibe may have played into the fact that the band never quite crossed over to the US like some of their contemporaries. But you could make the argument that their music holds up better today because of the alluring nature of their work and McCulloch’s vocals. You’d probably have to put him on this list just for his gothic wails on the song “The Killing Moon” alone. But McCulloch held far more tricks up his sleeve than that. Even when the band sunk their teeth into a more traditionally buoyant pop melody like “Bring On The Dancing Horses”, he was ready for it.

Alison Moyet of Yazoo

It was a match that, at the time, many thought wasn’t going to work. Vince Clarke left behind Depeche Mode and its droning synth attack. Alison Moyet, even though she’d bounced around the punk rock movement, was a singer who needed a good melody into which she could sink her teeth. Yet these two proved a perfect match when they formed Yazoo. Clarke laid down repetitive synth flourishes to serve as the songs’ musical foundations, leaving Moyet to take the tunes into the stratosphere. Her passionate vocals made “Only You” and “Don’t Go” into can’t-miss singles. Yazoo lasted just two albums but left their lasting mark on the music scene nonetheless, Moyet’s vocals echoing across the years.

Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns

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