New Musik – Nostalgia Central

Electronic pop band New Musik formed in 1977, growing out of a casual band of south London school friends who jammed together under the name End of the World.

Working during downtime at a south London studio where singer/guitarist Tony Mansfield was informally employed as a session musician and apprentice engineer, the group recorded most of what would become their first album before approaching the British label GTO with the finished master tape.

GTO released the first New Musik single, Straight Lines, in August 1979.

The follow-up, Living by Numbers, stalled just outside the Top Ten in January 1980. After one more Top 40 single, World of Water, the group’s debut album From A to B was issued in May.

The singles propelled the album into the Top 40, and New Musik set out on their first tour of the UK.

Their second album, Anywhere (1981), relied heavily on drum machines, vocoder, and moodier atmospheres, and the album and its attendant singles failed to register highly in the charts.

The group called it a day after a short tour.

Mansfield and Gates recorded a third and final New Musik album – Warp (1982) – recorded as a duo with digital samplers and emulators and a hired drummer.

Mansfield went on to produce hit singles for Naked Eyes, Mari Wilson, The B-52s, and After the Fire.

Tony Mansfield
Vocals, guitar
Clive Gates
Keyboards
Tony Hibbert
Bass
Phil Towner
Drums

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