Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of the 1980s' most profoundly bizarre characters to emerge through rock music: a counter tenor who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences and made them like it. The Nomi Song is a film about fame, death, friendship, betrayal, opera, and the greatest New Wave rock star that never was!
Ann MagnusonSelf
Joey AriasSelf
Calvin ChurchmanSelfGabriele LafariSelfDavid McDermottSelfPage WoodSelfTony FrereSelfKristian HoffmanSelfKenny ScharfSelf
Man ParrishSelf
A woman in a troubled marriage falls for a former teen heartthrob who's fallen from industry favor, while having nagging (and empowering) hallucinations about fronting an 1980s new wave band.
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
In the early 1970s, rubber was still king in Akron, Ohio. But just a few short years later, Akron's most important product was, ever so briefly, music. In the mid-1970s, a group of local bands took over an old rubber workers' hang-out in downtown Akron called The Crypt and created a mix of punk and art rock that came to be known as "the Akron Sound." And for a while, it was almost "the next big thing." Almost. It's Everything, and Then It's Gone, a Western Reserve PBS production written and directed by Phil Hoffman., takes viewers back to a time when the music really did mean everything. And for the men and women in these local bands, it was a way out of the factory.
The Spectacular Spinning Songbook made its first appearance in 1986 in Los Angeles during the "Costello Sings Again Tour." In 2011, Elvis Costello and the Imposters set out on The Revolver Tour and, for the first time in 25 years, once again allowed his set-list to be chosen by "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook," a monumental game-show type wheel spun by select fans and featuring songs from his latest critically acclaimed release National Ransom, plus new renditions of hits, rarities and very unexpected covers. This is the complete concert from the 12th May, including special guest appearance from The Bangles.
A strange combination of techno and New Wave music, the French duo Daft Punk caused an international dance sensation with their catchy hit "Around The World." This fantastic French import showcases the fact that the duo's innovation carries over to the video realm from the musical one. D.A.F.T. features their first four famous videos -- "Da Funk," "Around The World," "Burnin," and "Revolution 909."
After connecting with the shy Madeline, a jazz trumpeter embarks on a quest for a more gregarious paramour, but through a series of twists and turns punctuated by an original score, the two lovers seem destined to be together.
This video release by Depeche Mode features an entire concert from their 2001 Exciter Tour, shot at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on 9 and 10 October 2001.
After more than a decade apart, the Bangles reunite for a memorable concert of their greatest hits filmed live at the Hollywood House of Blues in 2000. Highlights include renditions of "Walk Like an Egyptian," "Eternal Flame," "Manic Monday," "In Your Room" and "Hazy Shade of Winter," plus a candid interview with band members Susanna Hoffs, Debbi Peterson, Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele about the highs and lows of pop stardom.
Rockpile recorded their installment of the German TV show Rockpalast in January 1980, a few months before the appearance of their lone LP, Seconds of Pleasure, but at that point, the quartet were a fixture on the new wave scene, touring constantly and appearing on solo LPs by their co-leaders Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe. All this is a roundabout way of saying that Rockpile wasn't hurting for material: they drew heavily upon Edmunds' solo records in particular -- 13 of the songs on this 17-song setlist appeared on one of Dave's LPs -- interspersing a few rock & roll oldies along with songs from Nick, plus a showcase for Billy Bremner
In 1984, David Byrne put together a TV special on the Talking Heads for U.K. TV’s Channel 4, a 68-minute mix of live material filmed at Wembley Arena, interviews with the band, TV news clips, commercials and other various bits of found footage and sound.
On March 24th, 1980, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers performed for BBCTV Rock Goes to College, at Oxford Polytechnic.
An examination into Factory Records. The members of New Order interview founders Tony Wilson and Martin Hannett, who speak on the philosophical and cultural purpose of their label, and their associates, who mostly appear frustrated or confused. Rob Gretton, Factory founder and manager of New Order, interviews himself. Also includes three live performances of New Order at the Haçienda.
Jay’s Longhorn was the epicenter of the Minneapolis punk rock and indie rock scene in the late 1970s and sparked the explosion of alternative rock music that followed in the 1980s and 1990s.
An archive celebration of studio performances from the British bands that broke through courtesy of punk between 1975 and 1982. Starting with Dr Feelgood and Eddie and the Hot Rods and culminating in Gang of Four, with performances from Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Something Else and other shows by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many more. Hey ho, let's go!
New wave geniuses who helped define an era with their quirky, futuristic, and revolutionary style are back, entertaining the Japanese crowds who love them as much today as they did 25 years ago. Devo have been through a lot over the years, developing their parody of humankind's plight of conformity in their theory of devolution after member Gerald Casale witnessed the Kent State killings of student protesters in 1970, but they haven't wavered in their innovative sounds and pioneering visuals.
This entry in the Classic Albums series examines RIO, the 1982 release that put Duran Duran on the road to stardom. Looking back at the creation and release of the hit singles "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Save a Prayer," and many others, the critical retrospective analyzes the album's overall effect on the musical landscape of the early 1980s. The optimistic and celebratory album generated a string of hit singles and groundbreaking videos, catapulting the band to global stardom. This DVD tells the story behind the writing, recording, and subsequent success of the album through newly filmed interviews, musical demonstrations, and both new and archival performances.
Adrian Belew augments the band on this 50-minute performance from the Westfalenhalle, in Dortmund, Germany, on December 20th, 1980, for the Rockpop TV show. Set List: Psycho Killer Cities I Zimbra Once In A Lifetime Animals Crosseyed And Painless Life During Wartime The Great Curve
A brief history of Talking Heads (and how they got here!)
Directed by journalist Ricardo Alexandre, the documentary tells the story of the Napalm nightclub, responsible for the new wave and post-punk generation in Sao Paulo. Mixing live shows, cutting-edge DJing and videos in its "modern" internal television system, the venue quickly became a meeting point for young people who shaped the grayer side of Brazilian rock in the 80s.
Members of pioneering New Wave band Devo and golfing legend Chi Chi Rodríguez recall how their paths crossed when Devo used an image of Chi Chi for their debut album.