Electropop was a genre of synthesizer pop music which flourished during the early 1980s, although the first recordings were made in the late 1970s .
Electropop was often characterised by a cold, robotic, electronic sound, which was largely due to the limitations of what synthesizers could achieve at the time.
Electropop songs were old-fashioned pop songs at heart, with simple, catchy hooks and dance beats. But it differs from the later genres of electronic music it helped to inspire — techno, dub, house, etc. — in that strong songwriting was emphasized over simple danceability. Electropop was closely intertwined with the New Romantic movement of the early 80s.
Electropop musicians included:
- Blancmange
- Depeche Mode
- Thomas Dolby
- Erasure
- Eurythmics
- John Foxx
- Heaven 17
- Human League
- Japan
- Howard Jones
- Kraftwerk
- Men Without Hats
- Bill Nelson
- New Order
- Gary Numan
- Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
- Pet Shop Boys
- Soft Cell
- Tears for Fears
- Thompson Twins
- Ultravox
- Yazoo (Yaz in the US)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra