Written by local Chichester author, David Elliott.
1984: British Pop’s Dividing Year comprehensively documents a crucial twelve months in UK popular music. It was the whole of the 80s rolled into one year: the passing of the baton from post-punk to indie; the shift from analog to digital; the last British invasion of the US charts; and with Band Aid, the beginning of pop’s obsession with global causes. It was also British music’s most political year as artists responded to the Cold War, Apartheid, the miners' strike and Thatcherism, with George Orwell’s novel providing a suitably paranoid backdrop. It was fun too: the madcap year of Frankie Goes To Hollywood and ZTT, the tabloid dramas of Wham!, Duran Duran and Culture Club; the first single by Pet Shop Boys, and debut albums by The Smiths and Sade. It was also a highpoint for indie labels like 4AD and Mute.