ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors are adopting the term synthpop to deal with an era and style of music known by several other names. However, whereas our term synthpop crosses the high/low cultural divide, Savage specifically developed the term 'new musick' to describe a post-punk move into experimentation, avant-gardism and a more synthetic and mythically European sound. This chapter dedicates a textual analysis of ten key synthpop singles. Starting with a distinctive four-bar pattern, featuring a sustained synthesiser, bass, and drums emphasising the second and fourth beats of the bar, the vocals for this track begin during the ninth bar. The chapter focuses upon the individualism inherent in the clothing styles of those members of the synthpop order who could most closely be labelled 'New Romantics'. Genres sometimes far removed from synthpop were heavily influenced by its rationale and techniques.
