"Relax" is the debut single by English new wave band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983.
Art of Noise were a British avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music journalist Paul Morley. The group had international Top 20 hits with its interpretations of "Kiss", featuring Tom Jones, and the instrumental "Peter Gunn", which won a 1986 Grammy Award.
"Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak from his third album Heart Shaped World (1989). It was released as a single to little attention in July 1989 but became a sleeper hit when Lee Chestnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began broadcasting it after hearing it in Lynch's film Wild at Heart (1990). The song quickly became an American top 10 hit in March 1991, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a No. 1 hit in Belgium and reached the top 10 in several other countries.
"Kiss" is a song composed, written, and produced by American musician Prince. Released by the Paisley Park label as the lead single from Prince and the Revolution's eighth studio album, Parade (1986), on February 5, 1986, it was a No. 1 hit worldwide, holding the top spot of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. The single was certified gold in 1986 for shipments of 1,000,000 copies by RIAA.
Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? is the debut studio album by English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise, released on 19 June 1984 by ZTT Records. It features the singles "Close " which reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1984 and the double A-sided "Moments in Love"/"Beat Box", which made it to No. 51 in April 1985 in the UK.
Into Battle with the Art of Noise is a 1983 EP by the Art of Noise—its first release, and also the first release by ZTT Records. The record represented the first installment in ZTT's Incidental Series.
Daft is a compilation collecting the Art of Noise LP Who's Afraid of the Art Of Noise?, along with portions of the Into Battle with the Art of Noise EP and "Moments in Love" remix single. It gives a fairly thorough overview of the Trevor Horn period of the group, prior to its split from the ZTT label. The compilation is also notable for its liner notes by Paul Morley, attacking the new incarnation of the group. In 2003 the album was re-released on Super Audio CD.
"Enjoy the Silence" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. Recorded in 1989, it was released as the second single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990), on 5 February 1990 by Mute Records. The song was written by Martin Gore, and was the band's highest charting single in the US, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified Gold in the US and Germany, and won an award in the category of Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1991. The music video for the song was directed by Anton Corbijn and references The Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In the video, Dave Gahan appears, dressed as a king, wandering in the hillsides with a deck chair.
"Firestarter" is a song by British electronic dance music band the Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996 by XL Recordings as the first single from their third album, The Fat of the Land (1997). It was co-written and produced by Liam Howlett and features vocals by Keith Flint. It also was the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks, and their first big international hit, topping the charts in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Norway. The music video was directed by Walter Stern and filmed in the London Underground, in black-and-white. Melody Maker ranked the song number two in their list of "Singles of the Year" in 1996. 24 years later, The Guardian ranked it number eight in their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles".
"Close (to the Edit)" is a single by the English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise, released in 1984 by ZTT Records. The song appeared on the group's 1984 album Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? and different versions were issued on various other formats in October of that year. It was closely related to their earlier single (and hip hop club hit) "Beat Box", though the two tracks were developed as separate pieces from an early stage. The single reached number eight in the UK singles chart in February 1985, and its music video won two awards at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. The song's spoken word "Hey!" has been sampled by a number of other artists through the years.
"Love to Hate You" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1991 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Chorus (1991). Written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is an electronic dance track inspired by disco music. The synthesizer melody in the chorus is an interpolation of the string break from American singer Gloria Gaynor's disco-era classic "I Will Survive". The duo also recorded a Spanish version of the song, called "Amor y Odio", and one in Italian called "Amo Odiarti". The single was released by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US. It peaked at number one in Israel as well as number four on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden. Its music video was directed by David Mallet.
"Always" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. The ballad was released on 11 April 1994 as the first single from their sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it was produced by Martyn Ware. Mute Records issued the single in the United Kingdom, and Elektra Records released it in the United States.
"Run to the Sun" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in July 1994 by Mute and Elektra as the second single from the duo's sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). The song is written by Vince Clarke with fellow Erasure member Andy Bell and is an uptempo dance music track that displays signature synthesizer programming by Clarke. The UK 7-inch single of "Run to the Sun" was issued on yellow-coloured vinyl and featured a fold-out poster of the single's cover artwork. The single's B-side, a ballad entitled "Tenderest Moments", was later re-recorded by Erasure in an acoustic version for their 2006 album Union Street.
"Cannonball" is a song by American alternative rock band the Breeders from their second studio album, Last Splash (1993). It was released as a single on August 9, 1993, on 4AD and Elektra Records, reaching No. 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart. In November 1993, the single was released in France, where it charted for 30 weeks, peaking at No. 8. The song demo was originally called "Grunggae" as it merged "island riffs and grunge". This demo was later included in the 20th anniversary re-release of the album LSXX in 2013.
"Beat Box" is a song by English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise. Originally appearing as the second track on the 12" EP Into Battle with the Art of Noise (1983), it was released as the group's first single in December 1983.
"Paranoimia" is a song by the English synth-pop group Art of Noise, released in April 1986 from their second studio album, In Visible Silence (1986). A better-known version was released as a single, featuring television character Max Headroom on vocals. This version was first included on the 1986 album Re-Works of Art of Noise.
The Best of the Art of Noise is the name of a series of compilation albums with songs by British synth-pop band Art of Noise. The first version was released on the China Records label in November 1988.
"Manchild" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry, released in May 1989 by Virgin and Circa as the second single from her debut album, Raw Like Sushi (1989). It was the first song Cherry wrote; she composed it on a Casio keyboard using an auto-chord setting and ended up with seven chords in the verse alone. Neneh's stepfather Don Cherry commented on this positively, comparing it to a jazz song structure. Nellee Hooper created the beat for the song and wrote the rap with Robert Del Naja. Cherry then gave the track to her future husband, Cameron McVey, who helped to shape the song with the parts and "made it make sense".
And What Have You Done with My Body, God? is a 4 CD collection of unreleased tracks, demos and scrapped masters by Art of Noise. It also features the complete cassette versions of three EPs for the first time on CD.
"Tinseltown in the Rain" is a song by Scottish pop band The Blue Nile. It was released as the second single from their 1984 debut album A Walk Across the Rooftops. The song was written and produced by lead singer Paul Buchanan and bassist Robert Bell. It has been described as an "ode to the city" of Glasgow.
