Heaven Sent - The Rise Of New Pop 1979-1983

A term forever associated with tastemaker NME scribe turned Svengali Paul Morley, ‘New Pop’ came to describe any forward-thinking British music of the early 1980s which wasn’t ‘rockist’ (macho men with guitars, etc.) or overtly punky and anti-establishment in outlook. New Pop was an aspiration. Punk had shaken up the UK music industry – and more importantly, had inspired a generation of art students, budding musicians and others with a sense of what was possible. By the end of 1979, while many artists continued to forge a futuristic vision for guitar-based rock music, others saw the potential of reinventing Pop. But this was not chintzy, tacky pop of the kind that had survived punk’s great reset. Instead, credible, progressively minded artists sought to “bring back life to the radio, to make the single count” as Morley himself put it.

Taking its cue from 1979’s big three – M, Flying Lizards and The Buggles – ‘Heaven Sent’ explores five seismic years that saw aspiration and success replace anti-success, DIY culture for many. Covering a broad musical palette packed, image conscious, highly curated and too sharp for anybody over twenty-five to understand, this was in many ways as much an overhaul of pop music as punk had been of the tired rock scene. Subtler and less anarchic certainly, but always fresh and inventive.

Conceived and curated by the team behind many of our most critically acclaimed post punk, pop and electronica compilations, ‘Heaven Sent’ is a time capsule period piece, framing perfectly that period between the post-punk aftershock and the mid-80s dominance of Thatcherite High Street pop. A must for collectors and musical historians alike.