Hit Parade: Lost and Lonely Edition
If you were an angsty American teenager in the 1980s\u2014whether in real life, or in a John Hughes movie\u2014the rock you loved probably came from the United Kingdom, complete with droning vocals, brooding lyrics, goth hair, and black nail polish. The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division/New Order, the Smiths: All these U.K. postpunk acts were hard-pressed to score American hits in the first half of the \u201980s\u2014the era of fun-loving New Romantic bands like Duran Duran. But to Gen X teens, Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, and Morrissey were icons.\nBy the end of the decade, however, these bands became American hitmakers, especially after Billboard launched the music bible\u2019s first alternative rock chart. Depeche Mode sold out a California stadium. New Order dominated dancefloors. The Smiths\u2019 Johnny Marr became a guitar god, Morrissey an MTV crush object. And finally, in 1989, the Cure\u2014dark, doomy, and moody as ever\u2014were challenging Janet Jackson for the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Just in time for Halloween, Hit Parade tells the story of how spooky, spidery, U.K. mope-rock became chart-conquering pop.\nPodcast production by Justin D. Wright.\nHosted by Chris Molanphy\nFollow @cmolanphy on Twitter / https://www.twitter.com/cmolanphy\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices