NEW WAVE: Some Good News & Updates On My Favorite 80's New Wave Era Bands

 Several months ago, I was with an acquaintance who is a fellow  New Wave music enthusiast. As we were exchanging some notes regarding our passion, he mentioned about the possibility of New Order coming here for a concert. My immediate reaction was to question that (possibility), since the rift between Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner as I have read   seemed   to be beyond repair (at the moment, I hope ) for them to work together. 

Well as it turned out, New Order at that time was actually  touring Australia and Asia. I haven’t been doing my homework,  especially among  my favorite 80's New Wave era  bands. In short, I wasn’t up to date with the latest information.  And so, for my sake and for some who might find it  interesting, I thought of writing these  short notes on the current status and some activities of  my favorite New Wave bands. My sources are almost entirely Wikipedia and the bands website.


My  all-time favorite New Wave band list:  1. New Order 2. The Cure  3. Depeche Mode 4. OMD   5. China Crisis 6. Aztec Camera 7. Tears for Fears 8. Echo and the Bunnymen 9. The Lotus Eaters 10. The Church

1.  New Order: New Order subsequently disbanded (for the second time) after Peter Hook’s bitter departure in 2007. 
         
Peter Hook of course is sorely missed. His contributions as '1/3' of New Order’s sound and success cannot be disputed. His legacy will forever be intact but personally , I  prefer to see New Order soldier on,,  despite Peter Hook’s absence. For me, New Order without Peter Hook is better than no New Order at all. Especially considering the strong quality of their last two albums, as well as Bernard Sumner’s Bad Lieutenant release. Peter Hook’s band, The Light, has been performing Joy Division’s albums in various tours and shows  .
                              
New Order   formally announced their reformation in September 2011 and has been active on  tours since then.  New line-up includes: the returning Gillian Gilbert, Tom Chapman as their new bass player(replacing Peter Hook)   and mainstays  Phil Cunningham, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

The new line-up released a live album, Live at the London Troxy in December 2011. A  seven - track album entitled , The Lost Sirens, based on unreleased studio outtakes in their Waiting for the Siren’s Call  sessions in 2005 is up for release pending negotiations among band members(and Peter Hook) on how to release it . 

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 2.  The Cure:  In 2011, The Cure, played their first three albums live in their  entirety in two shows in Sydney, Australia.  Dubbed as, Reflections, the two shows featured founding  member , fan- favorite-- and much-missed, Lol Tolhurst and one time member, Matthieu Harley , as well as returning long time keyboardist Roger O’Donell . The DVD of the show is intended to be released in December 2012. A new album is also in the works.  

 Bad news though is, another  fan-favorite, Porl Thompson, had again departed from the band  and was replaced by  Reeves  Gabriels.  

3. Depeche Mode:   A new album (their 13^th) and a worldwide tour are slated in 2013. According to their record company Depeche Mode had sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide.  They are regarded as the most successful electronic  band in music history and is still going strong.  

4. OMD:  English Electric, the follow-up to their successful comeback album in 2010, History of Modern, is in the works.

5.  China Crisis:  A  new live CD/DVD is now available for order in various websites such as Ebay  and Amazon among others  and  is slated for release in December. 2012.  Still no news regarding a  remastered or reissue of their back-catalogue.         

                           

Live Greatest Hits CD and DVD

1.Singing The Praises
2.Stranger By Nature
3.You Did Cut Me
4.It's Everything
5.Strength And Character
6.Gift Of Freedom
7.Black Man Ray
8.Wishful Thinking
9.African And White
10.King In A Catholic Style
11.Arizona Sky
12.Thank You
13.Christian
14.Diary Of A Hollow Horse
15.Song For Andre (Demo)
16.Too Blind To See (Demo)
17.Making It (Demo)
18.Real Tears And How That Feels (Demo)

6.  Roddy Frame/Aztec Camera:   You can  obtain a copy of his latest studio and live album releases in his website:  http://www.roddyframe.com/shop

7. Tear for Fears:  Still actively touring but no news  regarding  a new album.

8.  Echo and the Bunnymen:  Current Live Ep releases are available in their website. No news regarding  a new album.

9.  Lotus Eaters: No word about the unreleased album, A Plug-In  Called Nostalgia.

10.  The Church:   Starfish, Gold Afternoon Fix, Priest=Aura and  Sometime Anywhere had been reissued in 2CD format in 2011. Active in tours and shows in recent years  as well this year but no news regarding a follow-up to their 2009 album, Untitled #23.

11. Naked Eyes:  Although not among my all time favorite New Wave band list; however,  their album, Burning Bridges,  is one of my favorite New Wave albums  and among the few ( New Wave albums) I was able to buy as a young teenager in the 80's.  

Released in 1983, Burning Bridges, was their debut album. Finally, after many years, it was reissued. Now available for purchase in Cherry Records, this is the first time  this album is being released in CD format.  Before,  I actually had  to purchased their two overlapping greatest hits CD releases just to complete all the 12 tracks of Burning Bridges in CD format.    

A picture of their two 'greatest hits '  cd  releases  and my homemade Burning Bridges cd.