Post-Punk

More arty than punk, less accessible than new wave, the post-punk movement was built round a hard core of innovators and boundary-smashers on both sides of the Atlantic: Devo — from Akron, Ohio — is a splendid cabal of geek misfits styled as clones, while Manchester's Joy Division turns punk's anger into a fierce, introspective melancholy.

Before their mutation into friendly new wavers, Adam & the Ants wore their post-punk credentials with pride: a track like "Car Trouble (Parts 1 & 2)" is remarkable for its epileptic guitar and freaky vocal. The leftist politics of Gang of Four ("Damaged Goods") gave them an edge, as did the slashing, razor-wire funk underpinning their confrontational punk.

Some of the artists included in our post-punk cocktail had direct links to the nucleus of pure punk: Jah Wobble (born John Wardle) was the bass player in Public Image Limited, the outfit formed by Johnny Rotten after the breakup of the Sex Pistols, while Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns) had co-founded the Damned.

Post-punk is just as challenging and irreverent as punk, but it's several streets more ambitious, pushing music and concepts into fresh, imaginative, and often murky territory. Evidence of the sheer quality of the movement can be found in the fact that its smartest adherents have had (and continue to enjoy) some of the longest and most dynamic careers in rock: The Cure, the Fall, and New Order all boast the talent and imagination to roll with the passing decades. Stop your pogo-ing: it's time to get dark and arty.