{"product_id":"the-tears-of-technology-bob-stanley-and-pete-wiggs-present","title":"The Tears of Technology - Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present","description":"\u003cp\u003eBob Stanley and Pete Wiggs are back with another lovingly compiled compilation and it's an absolute joy. For years, synthesisers were equated with coldness, laboratories, a boffin's idea of music, and something that could put regular musicians out of business overnight. At the turn of the eighties, as the price of synthesisers and drum machines fell to within the reach of ordinary folk, a new wave of groups decided to prove the doubters wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile punk had been about nihilism and anarchy, Britain's synth revolution brought emotion and melancholy back into British pop. The lyrics could be the redundancy of radio DJs (The Human League's \u003ci\u003eWXJL Tonight\u003c\/i\u003e) to the solemn vastness of power stations (OMD's \u003ci\u003eSealand\u003c\/i\u003e) and even love songs (Patrik Fitzgerald's \u003ci\u003ePersonal Loss\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the mid eighties the war was won and synths dominated contemporary pop, in America as well as Britain, but the questing oddness of the UK's first pioneer wave had been lost, only to be rediscovered at the end of the decade by black musicians in New York, Detroit and Chicago. This compilation includes some of the biggest names of the period 1979-83 as well as a clutch of overlooked records and atmospheric obscurities. Like \u003ci\u003eEnglish Weather\u003c\/i\u003e before it, \u003ci\u003eThe Technology Of Tears\u003c\/i\u003e takes a fresh look at a transitional era in British pop. It features China Crisis, Simple Minds, Thomas Leer, Soft Cell, John Foxx, Chris and Cosey, Human League and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJEAN WALKS IN FRESH FIELDS - China Crisis \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGREY SKIES - Turquoise Days \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eREAL TO REAL - Simple Minds \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTIDAL FLOW - Illustration \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAN EVENING IN THE RAY - Care \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYOUTH - Soft Cell \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEUROPE AFTER THE RAIN - John Foxx \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePERSONAL LOSS - Patrik Fitzgerald \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLIGHTS OF APRIL - Eyeless In Gaza \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSEALAND - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRIVATE PLANE - Thomas Leer \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDIRECT LINES - Electronic Circus \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUNLESS - The Pale Fountains \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOCTOBER (LOVE SONG) - Chris \u0026amp; Cosey \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA MAP OF YOU - New Musik \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWXJL TONIGHT - The Human League \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCHRISTIANA - Paul Haig \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTINY CHILDREN - The Teardrop Explodes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBEHIND THE SHADES - Oppenheimer Analysis \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFEATHER BED - Trevor Bastow\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ace Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417093837131,"sku":"1084588","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50417094066507,"sku":"1084308","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b4410d31-21e7-4ec5-9383-3eb31ac6512f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726716507","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/the-tears-of-technology-bob-stanley-and-pete-wiggs-present","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}