Listening more and more to New Wave music, it's strengthening my theory that New Wave and most 80s music was a fusion of Disco and Punk rather than a geniunely original style. Sure, it may seem obvious, but stylistically the period 1976-1984 was truly revolutionary; the 'classic rock' style had passed (only to rear its head in the late 80s, with the exception of a few old bastions like AC/DC and Van Halen). But more than that, some Disco groups were 'punkified' and some Punk groups were 'Discofied'. The CBGB's scene in New York which spawned Blondie and the Talking Heads was where it really began about the same time the Ramones were popular in 1977-78. Blondie was essentially a punk band who was 'discofied' - in fact, most New Wave artists were 'discofied punks' rather than the other way round. Even the techno-synth tradition of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Europe.etc was started in the discos of Europe. So, in conclusion, I think most early 80s/New Wave music can trace its origins back to either Disco or Punk.

Listening more and more to New Wave music, it's strengthening my theory that New Wave and most 80s music was a fusion of Disco and Punk rather than a geniunely original style. Sure, it may seem obvious, but stylistically the period 1976-1984 was truly revolutionary; the 'classic rock' style had passed (only to rear its head in the late 80s, with the exception of a few old bastions like AC/DC and Van Halen). But more than that, some Disco groups were 'punkified' and some Punk groups were 'Discofied'. The CBGB's scene in New York which spawned Blondie and the Talking Heads was where it really began about the same time the Ramones were popular in 1977-78. Blondie was essentially a punk band who was 'discofied' - in fact, most New Wave artists were 'discofied punks' rather than the other way round. Even the techno-synth tradition of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Europe.etc was started in the discos of Europe. So, in conclusion, I think most early 80s/New Wave music can trace its origins back to either Disco or Punk.


I agree with your theory that the New Wave/Synth Pop has its roots in Disco music. Disco music in the 70s was always producer driven. I believed European producers contributed more to the Disco era than American producers. One artist that comes to mind is Donna Summer some of her big hits were produced in Europe. (Geogio Moroder) Remember the movie "Midnight Express"? The soundtrack was a hit, no singing, but a great pop-tech-synth sound.
The group Yaz or Art of Noise is categorized as New Wave, but their music was disco-orientated. Of course you cant fail to mention Madonna's disco-orientated music from her first album.