Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
Blondie is an American rock band founded in 1974 in New York City by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave scene of the mid-1970s in New York City.
Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance saw artists merging indie music with elements of acid house, psychedelia and 1960s pop. The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson, with the label popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s, and its most famous groups include the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, the Charlatans, James and 808 State. It is widely seen as being heavily influenced by drugs, especially MDMA. At that time, the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.
EMF are an English alternative rock band from Cinderford, Gloucestershire, who came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During their initial eight-year run, from 1989 to 1997, the band released three studio albums before a hiatus. Their first single, "Unbelievable", reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was a number 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, Schubert Dip, went to number 3 on the UK Albums Chart. In April 2022, EMF released their first album of new material in 27 years, Go Go Sapiens.
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the month after his suicide.
The Frank and Walters are an alternative pop band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1989 and named in honour of two eccentric Cork characters.
"There She Goes" is a song by English rock band the La's, written by the band's frontman, Lee Mavers. First released in 1988, the song reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart when it was re-issued in 1990.
"For Tomorrow" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It is the lead track to their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish. Released 19 April 1993 as the first single from the album, "For Tomorrow" charted at number 28 in the UK Singles Chart. The Visit to Primrose Hill Extended version of "For Tomorrow" was included in the band's compilation albums, Blur: The Best of, and Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur.
"Everyday I Love You Less and Less" is the opening track on Leeds-based indie band Kaiser Chiefs' first album, Employment (2005). It was released on the B-Unique label as their third single on 16 May 2005, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, their second top-10 single of the year. Outside the UK, the song peaked at number 52 in the Netherlands.
"Re-Offender" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Travis, released as the first single from their fourth studio album, 12 Memories. It was released as a single in the UK on 29 September 2003 and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song featured in two episodes of One Tree Hill and is included in the compilation album One Tree Hill – Music from the WB Television Series, Vol. 1.
The Rifles are an English indie rock band from Chingford, London.
The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003, consisting of Matthew Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen, and Dan Haggis. They have artist services deals with AWAL and Warner Music Australia. They have sold over 1 million albums worldwide. They created several EPs before releasing their first full album, Girls, Boys and Marsupials (2006), which was released only in Japan.
No Love Lost is the debut album by English indie rock band The Rifles, which was released on 17 July 2006. The album reached number 26 on the UK charts.
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the relevance of the chart dwindled in the 1990s as major-label ownership blurred the boundary between independent and major labels.
"Flowers & Football Tops" is a song by Scottish Indie rock band Glasvegas, taken from their self-titled debut album. The song first appeared in a different recording as the B-side to the band's second single release "Daddy's Gone" in November 2007 on Sane Man Records, and was rerecorded and released as a single in the UK on 23 February 2009. The song was written and composed by the band's singer and guitarist James Allan, who explained that the song is about the murder of Kriss Donald to The Daily Record: "Sometimes when you read things or see things on TV, you can't help but put yourself in the position of people's misfortune. That was on my mind when I heard about the murder of Kriss Donald. It's about a kid who never made it home." The title is a reference to the practice common in Britain of laying shirts of the deceased's preferred football team alongside wreaths of flowers. The flowers and footballs tops may be laid at the graveside, or – as is often the case with a violent death – at the place where they died.
Positive Noise were a new wave and synthpop band from Scotland who had a number of indie hits in the 1980s. They released three albums and several singles and were together for over five years.
"Islands" is a song recorded by English indie pop band the xx for their self-titled debut studio album. Written by band-members Jamie Smith, Oliver Sim, Romy Madley Croft and then-member Baria Qureshi, "Islands" is a dark and simple indie pop track. It also contains influences from house music and features instrumentation from guitars and synthesizers. Croft and Sim, who provided vocals in the track, sing about themes related to loyalty and love. "Islands" was released on 26 October 2009 as the third single from the album by Young Turks in 7-inch single and digital download formats. In March 2010, the song was re-released as a 12-inch single.
M.A.D were a British boyband consisting of Michael Sutthakorn, Dan Lewis and Ben "AB" Pryer. The band was originally formed in May 2013. George David of Geoma Media was appointed management. The original band included Aiden Hancock before Ben Pryer replaced him. Sutthakorn is from Northern Ireland, Pryer from London, and Lewis from Bryncethin, South Wales.
Glass Animals are an English indie rock band formed in Oxford in 2010. The band's line-up consists of Dave Bayley, Drew MacFarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer, and Joe Seaward (drums).
The Makemakes are an Austrian pop rock band, comprising Dominic "Dodo" Muhrer, Markus Christ and Florian Meindl. They represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I Am Yours".
