A short-lived project formed during Minor Threat's initial (and ultimately temporary) breakup, Skewbald/Grand Union kept singer Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson together, with their curious compound name deriving from their differing opinions of what to call the band. MacKaye and Nelson first worked together in The Teen Idles before forming the seminal Minor Threat, which went on hiatus in September 1981 when guitarist Lyle Preslar left for college. MacKaye and Nelson got together with guitarist Eddie Janney -formerly of The Untouchables- and bassist John Falls. They recorded two songs for a self-titled single in November, but the next month, MacKaye decided to go on tour as a roadie for Black Flag. Skewbald/Grand Union fell by the wayside without ever having played a live gig, and its demise was ensured when Preslar returned and Minor Threat re-formed in April 1982. MacKaye would later go on to front Embrace and Fugazi, while Janney played in the Faith and the seminal emo band Rites of Spring, as well as the shorter-lived One Last Wish and Happy Go Licky. Nelson, for his part, moved on to gigs with Egg Hunt (again with MacKaye), 3, and the High Back Chairs. In 1992, Dischord released Skewbald/Grand Union's extremely scant recorded output as a self-titled, 7" vinyl single, and reissued it as a CD single in 1997. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The late Steven Jesse Bernstein was a Seattle performance poet who produced material full of alienation, decadence and despair. He was a clear inheritor of a visceral poetic tradition handed down from such forebears as William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski, and much of Bernstein's work drew upon his nightmarish experiences as a drug addict. In 1991, at the age of 40, Bernstein, who suffered from manic depression and had recently relapsed into alcoholism, committed suicide. He had been married three times and was survived by three children. At the time of his death, he had embarked upon a recording project that matched his readings with music by Steve Fisk, who is known for his samples and tape manipulations and for his work with such Northwestern groups as Nirvana, Soungarden and Beat Happening. The album the two men were working on, 'Prison', was released after Bernstein's death, in 1992. The effort featured Bernstein's tortured muse underpinned and augmented by all sorts of concrete sounds, beats and grooves. As very little of the album had been completed upon Bernstein's death, the album is very much a result of Fisk's vision. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Few bands have been haunted by a musical comparison as much as Jacksonville, FL's Rein Sanction. Virtually no review or article related to them can go by without pointing out the similarities between themselves and Dinosaur Jr. They both make the same brand of sludge pop, but this trio managed to stay a band effort, unlike J. Mascis' monopolization of Dinosaur Jr. Formed in the late '80s, the band was made up of guitarist Mark Gentry, bassist Ian Chase, and drummer Brannon Gentry. They released 'Broc's Cabin', produced by Shimmy Disc honcho Kramer, on Sub Pop Records in 1991. Although Sub Pop became a real hotbed for music around this time, the band could not seem to capitalize on it. A second album, 'Mariposa', was produced by infamous grunge producer Jack Endino in 1992, but again they failed to make a dent in the music scene. On top of it all, critics were quite cruel in their Dinosaur Jr. comparisons, claiming the group was unoriginal and uninspired. The band took time off, only to resurface in 1996 with 'Blue Men' on Souldier Records and a backing tour. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Ryuichi Sakamoto was one of those artists who never really fit into a single box. He was a composer, a pianist, an electronic music pioneer, a film actor, and also a public intellectual who cared deeply about the world around him. Born in Tokyo in 1952, he grew up surrounded by books, ideas, and music. His father worked in publishing and was connected to major Japanese writers, so Sakamoto was exposed early on to literature, philosophy, and political thinking. That background mattered a lot, because even when he was making pop music or film scores, there was always something thoughtful and reflective underneath.
Musically, he was classically trained but never trapped by it. He studied piano, composition, and ethnomusicology, which gave him a curiosity about sounds from different cultures and traditions. He loved Western composers like Bach, Debussy, and Ravel, but he was just as interested in experimental figures like John Cage. This mix explains why his music doesn’t feel like a simple East-meets-West experiment. It sounds more like someone who genuinely spoke multiple musical languages and moved between them naturally.
In the late 1970s, he co-founded Yellow Magic Orchestra, which is often remembered today as quirky synth-pop, but at the time it was way more radical than that label suggests. YMO used computers and synthesizers before most pop musicians even knew what to do with them. They sampled video games, commercials, and cultural clichés, and they played with the idea of how Japan was seen as “high-tech” and “exotic” by the rest of the world. Sakamoto brought a serious composer’s mindset into the group, hiding complex harmonies and structures inside music that sounded fun and accessible on the surface.
Film became another major outlet for him, and it wasn’t just about writing background music. In "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", he both acted and composed, playing a conflicted Japanese officer whose emotional repression mirrored the film’s themes of power, desire, and cultural misunderstanding. His music often worked the same way his acting did: restrained, tense, and quietly emotional. It made you feel things without telling you how to feel.
Winning an Oscar for "The Last Emperor" in 1987 turned him into a global name, but he never really leaned into Hollywood stardom. Instead of chasing big-budget prestige projects, he kept moving between film scores and experimental solo work. That decision kept his music from becoming safe or predictable. Even at the height of his fame, he was still curious, still willing to take risks, still interested in silence as much as sound.
Later in life, especially after he was diagnosed with cancer, his music changed in a noticeable way. It became slower, more fragile, and more spacious. Silence wasn’t just something between notes anymore; it became part of the music itself. Albums like 'Async' feel less like traditional compositions and more like personal documents, as if he was capturing moments before they slipped away. Broken pianos, environmental sounds, and unfinished phrases became central to his style.
His environmental and political activism was deeply tied to this approach. After the Fukushima disaster, he became very outspoken against nuclear power and more committed to environmental causes. He started recording natural sounds like wind, water, and melting ice, treating them as musical material. For him, music wasn’t separate from the world’s problems. It was a way of listening carefully, of paying attention, and of showing respect for what’s fragile and temporary.
Today, a lot of people discover Sakamoto’s music during quiet moments in their lives. It’s the kind of music that works late at night, during travel, or in times of reflection or loss. His influence can be heard in modern film scores, ambient music, and experimental electronic work, especially among artists who value space, texture, and restraint. More than anything, he’s remembered as someone who made technology feel human, silence feel meaningful, and music feel like a way of being present in the world.
The Selecter are one of those bands where, if you’re into ska at all, you kind of can’t avoid them. They came out of Coventry in 1979 and were right at the heart of the UK’s 2 Tone movement, alongside The Specials and Madness. That whole scene mixed Jamaican ska with punk energy and a very direct anti-racist, anti-fascist attitude, reacting to what was going on in Britain at the time. Even the band’s name nods to Jamaican sound system culture -a “selector” is the DJ who chooses the records.
What really set The Selecter apart early on was their lineup and their sound. Pauline Black as the lead singer was a big deal: she became one of the first Black women to front a major British alternative band, and she brought real presence and authority to the music. The band’s songs were driven by Neol Davies’ sharp writing, tight rhythms, and punchy horns, and they leaned a little more toward traditional Jamaican ska than some of their 2 Tone peers, while still keeping that fast, edgy feel.
Their debut album 'Too Much Pressure', released in 1980, is now seen as a 2 Tone classic. Songs like “On My Radio” (which became a UK Top 10 hit), “Three Minute Hero,” and the title track captured everyday frustrations, media obsession, and social pressure, all wrapped up in upbeat, danceable ska. It’s one of those records that sounds fun on the surface but has a lot to say underneath.
Like a lot of bands from that scene, The Selecter didn’t last long the first time around. They split in 1982 after internal tensions, but unlike many 2 Tone groups, they kept coming back. From the 1990s onward, the band reformed in various lineups, with Pauline Black eventually becoming the central figure and guardian of the name. What’s interesting is that they didn’t just turn into a nostalgia act -they kept making new music.
Their later albums show a band that’s aged but hasn’t gone quiet or soft. Records like 'Daylight' and 'Human Algebra' deal with racism, identity, politics, and getting older, all while staying rooted in ska and reggae. There’s also 'Trojan Songbook', where they pay tribute to classic Jamaican songs that influenced them in the first place. The social conscience that defined them in 1980 is still very much there decades later.
These days, The Selecter’s legacy is tied closely to Pauline Black, who’s become a cultural figure in her own right -a writer, speaker, and activist as well as a singer. As a band, they’re remembered as key architects of British ska and 2 Tone, and as proof that music born from protest and street-level politics doesn’t have to stay frozen in time.
Bad Manners, composed of vocalist Buster Bloodvessel (born Douglas Trendle), Louis Cook (guitar), David Farren (bass), Martin Stewart (keyboards), Brian Tuitt (drums), Gus Herman (trumpet), Chris Kane (saxophone), and Andrew Marson (saxophone), were one of the many bands to take their inspiration from The Specials and the ska revival movement in England in the late 1970s. They quickly became the novelty favorites of the fad through their frontman's silly on-stage antics, earning early exposure through 2-Tone Records package tours and an appearance in the live documentary "Dance Craze". In the early '80s, they managed several U.K. hits, including "Ne-Ne Na-Na Na-Na Nu-Nu," "Lip Up Fatty," "Special Brew," and "Can Can." By the mid-'80s, the ska craze was over, and the band retired temporarily after the release of 1985's 'Mental Notes', only to return in 1989 with 'Return of the Ugly' and remaining a live attraction despite a lack of concurrent hits. By the mid-'90s, a third wave ska revival renewed interest in the band. 'Eat the Beat' was released in 1996, with 'Uneasy Listening' following in 1997 in addition to several collections from the band's peak years. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dub Syndicate are basically the flagship dub group of Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label, and one of the most important UK dub projects ever. They formed in London in 1982 as a studio-based collective rather than a fixed band, built around Sherwood’s production vision and his long-term partnership with Jamaican drummer Lincoln “Style” Scott of the Roots Radics. That Sherwood–Scott connection is key: it fused heavyweight Jamaican rhythm section sensibilities with the experimental, post-punk-inflected studio culture of early-’80s Britain.
At the start, Dub Syndicate were rooted firmly in classic dub. Albums like 'The Pounding System (Ambience in Dub)' and 'One Way System' feel like deep extensions of Jamaican dub traditions, but with a slightly colder, spacier UK atmosphere. Even then, Sherwood was already pushing the studio hard -tape delays, echo trails, abrupt drop-outs- but always anchored by Scott’s rock-solid, hypnotic drumming. As the ’80s went on, especially by 'Tunes From the Missing Channel' in 1985, their sound became more futuristic and abstract, pulling in electronics, noise, and the influence of UK post-punk and industrial music without ever losing the dub backbone.
Dub Syndicate never really had a fixed lineup beyond Sherwood and Scott. Instead, they worked with a rotating cast of musicians from both Jamaica and the UK, often drawing from the wider On-U Sound family. Members of Tackhead appeared frequently, as did reggae and dub figures like Dr. Pablo, Bim Sherman, Big Youth, Junior Reid, and even Lee “Scratch” Perry. That openness gave Dub Syndicate a very fluid identity -sometimes deeply rootsy, sometimes abrasive and experimental, sometimes almost ambient- depending on who was involved and what Sherwood wanted to explore in the studio.
By the late ’80s and early ’90s, Dub Syndicate hit a creative peak. Albums like 'Time Boom X De Devil Dead' (with Lee Perry), 'Strike the Balance', and especially 'Stoned Immaculate' are often seen as definitive statements of the On-U Sound aesthetic. These records balance heavy bass and drums with layers of weird textures, political atmosphere, and space-age mixing, showing how dub could evolve without becoming polite or background music. Around this time, Dub Syndicate also developed into a powerful live band, proving that their dense studio constructions could translate into intense, physical performances.
Their later work in the ’90s, including albums like 'Echomania' and 'Ital Breakfast', continued to stretch dub into new territory, absorbing influences from electronic music while staying rooted in reggae rhythms. Lincoln “Style” Scott’s death in 2014 marked the end of an era, but Dub Syndicate’s legacy was already firmly established. Today they’re seen as a crucial bridge between Jamaican dub traditions and UK experimental music, and as the purest expression of what On-U Sound stood for: bass, innovation, resistance, and total freedom in the studio.
Last Of The Teenage Idols were a London-based band active in the late 1980s, sitting right at the crossroads of glam rock flash and punk attitude. They came out of the UK underground scene at a time when big hair, sneering vocals, and street-level energy were making a comeback after the first wave of punk had settled. The band never broke into the mainstream, but they’ve stuck around as a cult name for people digging into forgotten glam-punk corners of the era.
They’re best known for their album 'Satellite Head Gone Soft', released around 1988 or 1989. It’s their main recorded legacy and the reason collectors still talk about them today. The record mixes sleazy glam riffs, shout-along choruses, and a scrappy, DIY feel that fits perfectly with late-80s London club culture. Copies of the LP are pretty scarce now, which only adds to its reputation among fans of obscure UK rock.
The lineup featured Buttz on vocals, Taz on guitar, Shuff on bass, and Hovis Presley handling keyboards, with everyone pitching in on backing vocals. The names alone tell you a lot about the band’s sense of humor and attitude. They leaned into glam theatrics without losing that rough, confrontational edge that came from punk.
Last Of The Teenage Idols were part of the same scene that included bands like The Dogs D’Amour, Quireboys, and Soho Roses, sharing stages in sweaty London venues and sometimes supporting bigger UK rock acts such as Little Angels. They played plenty of shows, built a solid live reputation, and then faded out before getting wider recognition.
Rochee & The Sarnos is a British band that sits somewhere between rock ’n’ roll, psychobilly, and general musical weirdness. They’re mostly known for having a very goofy, off-the-wall style, with silly lyrics and a sound that doesn’t take itself seriously at all. They’ve got a bit of a cult following, especially among people into psychobilly and underground rock scenes.
The band popped up in the early 1980s in the UK. Musically, they mix old-school rockabilly with psychobilly, skiffle vibes, and classic rock ’n’ roll, but everything is filtered through a very playful, almost cartoonish sense of humor. Their songs often talk about absurd stuff -Sarnos (which are kind of their own strange characters), croissants, space themes, random monsters- nothing is meant to be deep or serious, and that’s kind of the point.
One of their most well-known releases is the album 'Understanding Sarno', which came out in the mid-80s and later got reissued. That album includes some of their most famous tracks and really captures their chaotic, fun energy. They also put out early vinyl singles like 'Have You Got… Sarno Fever?' and 'Rumble in the Jungle', which helped cement their reputation in the psychobilly underground. Much later, in 2008, they released 'The Golden Dawn', which mixed newer material with the same classic Sarnos-style madness.
Fractured were a British neo-rockabilly band that popped up during the mid-1980s, right in the middle of the UK rockabilly and psychobilly revival. They weren’t a mainstream name, but they were very much part of that underground scene where punk energy collided with old-school rock ’n’ roll. Their sound leaned hard on fast tempos, gritty attitude, and that classic slap-bass drive that defined neo-rockabilly at the time.
The band are mainly known for their 1987 release 'No Peace For The Wicked', an eight-track mini-album that ended up being their main recorded legacy. It captured exactly what they were about: raw, high-energy rockabilly with a rough edge. Tracks like “Chauffeur Driven Limousine,” “Gamblin’ Man,” and “Sold My Secret” stood out and helped them gain recognition among fans of the scene, even if they never broke into the wider music press.
Fractured were also a live band first and foremost. They played regularly on the UK circuit and appeared at places like London’s Klub Foot, which was one of the most important venues for psychobilly and alternative rockabilly in the 1980s. Playing there put them alongside a lot of other cult bands from the era and helped cement their reputation with dedicated fans rather than casual listeners.
Musically, they sat somewhere between straight neo-rockabilly and psychobilly. You could hear strong 1950s rockabilly influences in the guitar and bass, but everything was pushed faster and harder, with a punk-ish edge that matched the attitude of the mid-80s scene. That mix made them fit perfectly into the revival movement without sounding like a pure retro act.
Today, Fractured are mostly remembered by collectors and longtime fans of British rockabilly. They’re one of those bands that didn’t last long or release much music, but still get name-checked when people dig deep into the UK neo-rockabilly and psychobilly underground of the 1980s.
