Thomas Giles Robinson is a British singer-songwriter, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits 'Glad to Be Gay', '2-4-6-8 Motorway', and 'Don't Take No for an Answer', with his Tom Robinson Band. He later peaked at No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart with his solo single 'War Baby'.
David Byrne is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, and filmmaker, who was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads.
Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk rock/new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990.
James Honeyman-Scott was an English rock guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of the band The Pretenders.
Tony Ashwin Kanal is a British-American musician, record producer, songwriter, and animal rights activist. Kanal is the bassist and co-writer for the American rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His musical work outside of the band includes producing and songwriting for artists such as Pink, Weezer, Elan Atias and No Doubt bandmate Gwen Stefani, among others.
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band the Go-Go's. Wiedlin has also had a solo musical career.
Pete Shelley was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 when Devoto left. The group released their biggest hit 'Ever Fallen in Love ' in 1978. The band broke up in 1981 and reformed at the end of the decade. Shelley also had a solo career; his song 'Homosapien' charted in the US in 1981.
Jorge Humberto González Ríos is a Chilean singer-songwriter, best known for being the leader, vocalist, writer and bassist of the band Los Prisioneros, considered by many to be the most popular rock band in the country.
Vyacheslav Gennadievich Butusov, is a Russian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius and U-Piter. Since 2019, he has been playing in the group 'Orden Slavy' created by him. He also has his own solo career as a singer and songwriter.
Arnaldo Antunes is a Brazilian musician, writer, and composer. He was a member of the rock band Titãs, which he co-founded in 1982 and left ten years later. After 1992, he embarked on a solo career. He has published poetry and had his first book published in 1983. He has worked with Marisa Monte, Tribalistas, and Carlinhos Brown.
Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus, OBE, known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter. He has won multiple awards in his career, including Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who holds dual British and American citizenship. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven 'Second British Invasion' in the United States. The name 'Billy Idol' was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as 'idle'.
David Robert Jones OAL, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, Bowie is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music.
Cynthia Leigh Wilson is an American singer, and is one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52s. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during live shows. She is the younger sister of the late guitarist Ricky Wilson (1953–1985), who was also a founding member of the band.
Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant, is an English singer and musician. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten hits from 1980 to 1983, including three UK No. 1 singles. He has also worked as an actor, appearing in over two dozen films and television episodes from 1985 to 2003.
Jeremiah Griffin Harrison is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave band Talking Heads. In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads. Since the Talking Heads went on indefinite hiatus in 1991, he has focused more on producing other bands, a role he started while still with the Talking Heads, beginning with the Violent Femmes third album The Blind Leading the Naked in 1986. During the 1990s, he produced a number of hit albums for bands such as Live, The Verve Pipe, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd among others. He has also released three albums of solo music and has participated in a number of partial reunions of the Talking Heads. In 1999, he helped found the online music community GarageBand.com.
Gary Anthony James Webb, better known as Gary Numan, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He entered the music industry as the frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. While his commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' and 'Cars', he maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records.
Peter Hook is an English singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as the bassist and co-founder of English rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings with a signature heavy chorus effect. In New Order, he would do this, leaving the actual basslines to keyboards or sequencers.
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, known as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1984. He launched a solo career in 1985, and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.
Thomas Alexander Bailey is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer. Bailey came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist for the new wave band Thompson Twins, which released five singles that entered the top ten charts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s: 'Love On Your Side', 'We Are Detective', 'Hold Me Now', 'Doctor! Doctor!', and 'You Take Me Up'. He was the only classic member of the band to have formal musical training. From 1994, Bailey was also a member of its later incarnation, Babble, releasing two commercially unsuccessful studio albums.
William 'Holly' Johnson is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was a bassist for the band Big in Japan. In 1989, Johnson's debut solo album, Blast, reached number one in the UK albums chart. Two singles from the album – 'Love Train' and 'Americanos' – reached the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart. In the 1990s, he also embarked on writing, painting, and printmaking careers.
Daniel Roland Lanois is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.
Jean-Jacques 'JJ' Burnel is a Franco-English musician, producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the English rock band the Stranglers.
Patrick Lee 'Pat' MacDonald is an American musician and songwriter. He is the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. He formed the duo with his wife, Barbara K. MacDonald, in Madison, Wisconsin in 1984 before moving to Austin, Texas, that same year. Their breakup in 1995 spurred a solo career that has steadily produced releases in both Europe and the US. 'MacDonald is long known for his playful, edgy songs,' says Guitar Player magazine.
Paulo Roberto de Souza Miklos is a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, musician and actor. He is best known for his tenure with the band Titãs, in which he was a vocalist, guitarist and occasional saxophonist, keyboardist and harmonica player from its inception in 1982 until 2016, when he left it to focus on personal projects.
Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr., or by his stage name 'Bob 1', is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer.
Gerald Calvin 'Jerry' Douglas is an American resonator guitar and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Bryan Ferry CBE is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an 'elegant, seductive croon'. He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style; according to The Independent, Ferry and his contemporary David Bowie influenced a generation with both their music and their appearances. Peter York described Ferry as 'an art object' who 'should hang in the Tate'.
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and lead guitarist of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1985. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder, and provides lead vocals for Green Day's side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network, The Longshot, and The Coverups.
Steven John Kilbey is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the rock band The Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has over 1000 original songs registered with Australian copyright agency Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).
Graham Parker is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.
John William 'Jo' Callis is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band The Rezillos, and post-punk band Boots for Dancing before joining The Human League.