Who were some of the most influential artists in the genre?
Depeche Mode – Probably the most prolific of all the early 80’s synth groups. When the group consisted of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher, and Vince Clarke in 1981, they pretty much defined disposable low-budget electronic pop for the whole decade. The song “Just Can’t Get Enough” is a prime example. The bands’ influence changed drastically with the departure of Clarke (who went on to define new boundaries with Yazoo and Erasure) and the addition of Alan Wilder. DM grew darker, more gothic, and this dark synthpop mixture remains a prime influence among artists even today. The Human League – Originally founded by Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, and Ian Marsh in the late 70’s on the tail end of the punk movement in Sheffield, England, the League’s mission was to take pop music, play it entirely on electronic instruments, and fuse it into the mainstream. Their earlier releases were more experimental, and it wasn’t until the departure of Marsh and Ware (who formed Heaven 17) and the ad
