Artists like Strawberry Switchblade

Glossolalia and cathedral guitars; the blueprint for dream pop.

Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin. The Times called them "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".

Naked Eyes are an English new wave band. Formed in 1982 by vocalist Pete Byrne and keyboardist Rob Fisher, the band had four US top 40 singles in the 1980s. Naked Eyes are best known for their hit cover version of "Always Something There to Remind Me" (1982).

Oingo Boingo was an American rock band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had previously led and written material for.

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.

Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. In 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.

Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977, the band gradually changed to an electronic sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser-based number-one hit, with their single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK charts in mid-1979. After its release, Numan opted to drop the Tubeway Army name and release music under his own name as he was the sole songwriter, producer and public face of the band, but he retained the musicians from Tubeway Army as his backing band.

Lowlife were a Scottish post-punk band, active from 1985 to 1997, formed from the earlier act Dead Neighbours. The band was founded by vocalist Craig Lorentson and former Cocteau Twins bassist Will Heggie after his departure from that group. Their sound was described as a "dark hybrid of the Cocteau Twins and Joy Division/New Order."

X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. They were led by Poly Styrene, who formed the band after watching the Sex Pistols live. Styrene was one of the most distinctive personalities in the British punk movement, because of her singing style and atypical and unorthodox appearance, taking influences from reggae as well as punk. Her lyrics primarily dealt with anti-consumerism and anti-capitalism, and were an influence on the 1990s riot grrrl movement. The line-up also included saxophone, which was little used by other punk bands.