I read the book with headphones on so I could stream songs or artists that were mentioned that I was unfamiliar with. So much of the text feels like it was written by an AI programme that had been fed the contents of the music press from the period in question with little of no colour added by the author. As for laying groundwork in the 80s, in my experience these artists are almost always amazed and slightly baffled that they have been able to get away with it for so long! Listening To The Music The Machines Make’ would have been a great read if it had only listed the achievements of the inventors and creators, but Evans has combined his authoritative reseach with his genuine passion for the records themselves. One of the things that irked Branson in particular was how OMD were the biggest selling act in the Virgin group in 1980 via the Dinsdisc subsidiary.

But then, those pressures were happening within the bands themselves, THE HUMAN LEAGUE are a great example of this. The final stage of the narrative outlines the worldwide popularity of more than a few of the acts that emerged from that era.Soft Cell's 'Mutant Moments' EP hopefully will be considered in any future edition and I hope space might be found for the likes of Nigel Simpkins ('X.

I think there was a snobbishness which we’ve already touched on that this really wasn’t “proper music” because it was machines, these bands hadn’t paid their dues, they hadn’t picked up the guitar, they hadn’t done the toilet circuit playing to 3 people and a dog, being spat on and having their van stolen, all that kind of thing that supposedly makes you a worthy musician. There aren't many books about this genre of music available, but even if there was loads then it would be difficult to better this book.

Richard’s book is a thorough, well-executed delight for fans of the electronic music genre and puts together all the pieces of information which you possibly already knew in the correct sequence, with myths dissolved and facts confirmed. They gave great press but for whatever reason, it took quite a long time for them to break through into the mainstream and even then, it was only because their music was used in other contexts like films. I discovered many new delights, even though I lived through this musical era and thought I had heard most of its influential tracks. This was a thing for a while although there would be a backlash later on, like when OMD appeared with a double bass, sax and xylophone for ‘Souvenir’! A thorough, well-executed delight for fans of the electronic music genre and puts together all the pieces of information together.