Bang!: A History Of Britain In The 1980s - Plot & Excerpts
11 ELECTRIC BAROQUE Are ‘Friends’ Electric? Pop music in the eighties was shaped by three technological advances and by one economic shift within the music industry. The heavy reliance upon the synthesizer rather than the electric guitar gave many of the decade’s biggest hits a signature sound that came to be intrinsically associated with the period. Two other technologies mastered were the pop video and the compact disc, both of which changed modes of presentation and delivery. Meanwhile, those seeking an alternative to the mainstream performers and ethos marketed and promoted by the major music companies benefited from a shift in distribution networks which transformed small independent labels servicing niche tastes through mail-order sales into a significant presence on the high street. Besides these innovations, the eighties marked an ending as much as a beginning in pop music. The effective swansong of vinyl records coincided with the last days in which singles were bought in vast quantities.
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