Snakkle Exclusive: ’80s New Wave Bands, Where Are They Now?

Then: “Taake. These broken wiiings.…” Even if you don’t remember what you’re supposed to do with said wings (that would be learn to fly again), this song, which soared to the top of the charts in 1985, is bound to bring back memories of slow dancing and/or legally smoking inside. Mr. Mister, comprised of Richard Page, Steve George, Pat Mastelotto, and Steve Farris, followed “Broken Wings” with “Kyrie,” which hit #1 the same year.

Now: Mr. Mister's lead singer and bassist Richard Page while promoting 2010's, Peculiar Life, and told Snakkle that he prefers “the direct-to-fan process” of today’s musical landscape. “My brother Rob has created a great site to get my music heard, which has eliminated the high probability of record-company bungling. Now we are responsible for all bungling.” Mastelotto, Farris, and George are also still making music.

Then: Danny Elfman was only a lad when he began making music with his older brother Richard in the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a theatrical performance art group. (See them here on The Gong Show). After Richard Elfman left in 1978, the band re-formed under the leadership of Danny and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo. The band was known for its eclectic sound, ska-flavored hits like “I Love Little Girls,” and their live performances on Halloween.

Now: Danny Elfman went on to score music for television and movies and collaborate with Tim Burton. (That’s him singing as Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He has been nominated for four Academy awards and won an Emmy for the theme song of Desperate Housewives. (He’s also responsible for the Simpsons theme song.) Bandmates Richard Gibbs and Steve Bartek have successful TV- and film-composing careers of their own.

Then: It turns out that the group that gave the world “Hold Me Now” and “Lay Your Hands on Me” were neither Thompsons nor twins. They grew from four members in 1977 to six, then seven. But at their peak they were three—Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie (who met Bailey when they were living in neighboring squats in London), and former actor Joe Leeway. They took their name from characters Thomson and Thompson in The Adventures of Tintin.

Now: The group is currently inactive, but the individual members continue their creative pursuits. Original Twin Tom Bailey released the 2009 album Felt under the name International Observer and is involved in Holiwater, an international campaign to raise awareness of climate change and its effects on water. Currie lives in Britain and is a trained upholsterer, and Leeway is a hypnotherapist in California. Leeway on his transition to hypnotherapist.

Then: Remember “Take On Me,” sung by three Norwegians and piped through just about every American radio in 1985? Or maybe you remember the video, whose combination of rotoscoped animation and live action catapulted them to fame. At the third MTV Video Music Awards, it won trophies in a record six categories, surpassed only twice since, by Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” The version most of us remember (which currently has more than 6 million views on YouTube) is the second video for the song. Sometimes a do-over is a good thing.

Now: The Norwegian superstars decided to call it quits in 2010 with their Ending on a High Note tour, with accompanying DVD and CD.

Then: The B-52s had it all—intelligence, style (the shiny blazers! the beehive hair!), a guy who sort of talk-sang, and songs like “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack” that had listeners dancing in the first 10 seconds.

Now: B-52s frontman Fred Schneider tells Snakkle that the group continues to tour and released a 2011 DVD of their 34^th-anniversary show in their native Athens, Georgia. As of August 2013, they were touring around Europe. The Superions, Schneider’s other band, released Destination... Christmas! on Fanatic Records in 2010. Fanatic’s Josh Bloom told Snakkle, “The Superions are currently recording what they refer to as a ‘normal’ album.” Well. Normal is just so subjective. Their 'normal' album ended up being 2011's Batbaby.

Then: “Don’t You Want Me,” the ballad of the waitress in a cocktail bar and the guy who claimed to have saved her, was everywhere in 1982. Lead singer Philip Oakey originally wrote and recorded the song as a male solo but changed it to a duet after inspiration from A Star Is Born. Oakey hated the final cut, which he sang with former backup vocalist Susan Ann Sulley, and fought it first from being included on their album Dare and then from being released as a single. It held on to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. for three weeks in the summer of 1982.

Now: The Human League has stayed active, although Oakey is the only original member. They are still best known for “Don’t You Want Me,” which continues to be heard on the radio and in showers worldwide.