New wave music iceberg

New wave music iceberg is an iceberg chart topic. A text version, "A Sort of Big New Wave Iceberg" by TheClocky1, is hosted on IcebergThreads, where it had 947 views as of 29 October 2026.

The IcebergThreads author describes it as: "I've seen a couple of new wave icebergs on places (mainly reddit), but I wanted to put my hat into the ring as well! So, boom hi hello here is my new wave iceberg. Proposals welcome"

Entries reflect the chart authors' choices and are not verified fact.

Tiers

Tiers and entries from the IcebergThreads version. Notes after a dash are shortened from the author's explanations.

Level 1: CBGB

The most well known bands in their space, whether it be earned from a well respected album or a continuous cultural presence.

• Joy Division
• Talking Heads
• The Clash
• The Cure
• The Smiths

Level 2: Max's Kansas City

You've definitely heard of these people in one way or another, whether it be on the radio, in other media, or just them being mentioned in general music discussions.

• A-ha
• And One – ...I guess???
• Billy Idol
• Billy Joel
• Blondie
• Cocteau Twins
• Cyndi Lauper
• David Bowie
• Depeche Mode
• Duran Duran
• Eurythmics
• Huey Lewis & the News
• INXS
• Kate Bush
• King Crimson
• Men at Work
• New Order
• Pet Shop Boys
• Peter Gabriel
• R.E.M.
• Rush – I guess... Proposed by gedstorian
• Starship
• Tears for Fears
• The Cars
• The Police
• U2
• Wham!
• Yes

Level 3: The Mall

Where one hit wonders start to roam free. You might've heard of some of these artists in some way, but it's sort of unlikely.

• A Flock of Seagulls
• ABC
• Adam Ant
• Bananarama
• Bauhaus
• Bronski Beat
• Crowded House
• Culture Club
• Cutting Crew
• Dead or Alive
• DEVO
• Echo and the Bunnymen
• Elvis Costello
• Empire of the Sun
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• Gang of Four
• Gary Numan
• Genesis
• Japan
• Joe Jackson
• Madness
• Midnight Oil
• Nik Kershaw
• Oingo Boingo
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Also referred to as OMD.
• Robert Palmer
• Roxy Music
• Simple Minds
• Siouxsie and the Banshees
• Soft Cell
• Spandau Ballet
• Squeeze
• Talk Talk
• Television
• The B-52's
• The Bangles
• The Boomtown Rats
• The Buggles
• The English Beat
• The Fixx
• The Go-Go's
• The Human League
• The Pretenders
• The Psychedelic Furs
• Toni Basil – also did choreography for a few music videos || Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Wire
• X-Ray Spex

Level 4: New York Streets

These artists aren't mentioned as much, but you'll likely see a fan of them at one point in your new wave journey.

• Alphaville
• Big Country
• Bow Wow Wow
• Buzzcocks
• Dexy's Midnight Runners
• Erasure
• Fun Boy Three
• Godley & Creme
• Haircut 100
• Heaven 17 – There is also an obscure Canadian band with this name, but this is talking about the English band.
• Howard Jones
• Kajagoogoo
• Killing Joke
• Kim Wilde
• M – Yes, that is literally the artist name.
• Matthew Wilder
• Men Without Hats
• Ministry
• Missing Persons
• Modern English – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Naked Eyes
• Sparks
• Split Enz
• The Breakfast Club – Proposed by andrew.j.harb with this description: "that band Madonna was in"
• The Communards
• The Damned
• The J. Geils Band – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• The Jam
• The RAH Band
• The Romantics
• The Specials
• The Stranglers
• The The
• Thomas Dolby
• Thompson Twins
• Tom Tom Club
• Tubeway Army
• Ultravox
• Visage
• Wall of Voodoo
• Wang Chung
• XTC
• Yazoo – Also known as Yaz.

Level 5: The Alleyways

This is where things start to get somewhat obscure. You've likely heard of these people while digging through serious discussions or on a station like "First Wave". It's only going to get more obscure from here.

• Ashbury Heights
• Aztec Camera
• Baltimora – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Berlin
• Big Audio Dynamite
• Blancmange
• China Crisis
• Doctor and the Medics – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Falco
• Fex – They're the ones that made the most mysterious song on the internet, or "Subways of Your Mind".
• Fine Young Cannibals
• General Public
• Gentle Giant – Proposed by gedstorian
• Greg Kihn Band
• Ian Dury
• Klaus Nomi
• Lene Lovich
• Level 42
• Love & Rockets
• Marc and the Mambas
• Nena
• Orange Juice
• P-MODEL – Proposed by gedstorian
• Peter Hammill
• Platinum Blonde
• Prefab Sprout
• Public Image Ltd.
• Pylon
• Romeo Void
• Scritti Politti – I hate how much this band's name sounds like an Italian brainrot character.
• Skids – Proposed by gedstorian
• Soda Stereo
• Strawberry Switchblade
• The Adverts
• The Knack
• The Motels
• The Selecter
• The Tourists
• The Vapors
• The Waitresses
• Tight Fit – To be honest, these guys are more so 80s pop in general, but I'll take Wikipedia's word for it.
• Toy Dolls
• Who's Who – Known for "Everyone Knows That", or "Ulterior Motives".
• Xmal Deutschland – Proposed by gedstorian

Level 6: Abandoned Apartment Complex

• After the Fire
• Altered Images
• Animotion
• Art of Noise
• Camouflage
• Corey Hart – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Dalis Car
• Dragon
• Icehouse
• Josef K
• Kino
• Klark Kent – It's literally just Stewart Copeland.
• Martha and the Muffins
• Neon Hearts
• Peter Schilling
• Pseudo Echo – Proposed by andrew.j.harb with the following description: "aka Pseudo INXS"
• Re-Flex
• Real Life
• Red Rockers – Proposed by andrew.j.harb
• Rock and Hyde – They've also went by other names during their run, mainly the Payolas.
• Shriekback
• Sigue Sigue Sputnik
• Spoons
• Suburban Lawns
• The Alarm
• The Dream Academy
• The Flying Lizards
• The Icicle Works
• The Rezillos
• The Sound
• The Style Council
• The Teardrop Explodes
• Timbuk 3 – Proposed by andrew.j.harb Also, Timbuk 3 is a crazy ass name for a band, but there are definitely weirder names.
• We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It!!
• Wolfsheim

Level 7: A Dirty Back Road

• Anything Box
• Bad Manners
• Cowboys International
• Ebn Ozn
• Elegant Machinery
• Living in a Box – Proposed by andrew.j.harb with the following description: "Known for their hit single “Living in a Box” from their hit album Living in a Box"
• Mental as Anything – From what I've heard about them, they are the land down under's version of Madness.
• Nina Hagen
• On A Friday – Proposed by andrew.j.harb. Their original description is as follows: "Also known as Radiohead. We are not making this up." || I also slightly changed the link for this entry to be more fitting of…
• Rational Youth
• Red Flag
• Taco – Yes that is his actual name.
• The Associates
• The Bodysnatchers
• The Bolshoi
• The League of Gentlemen – Proposed by gedstorian
• The Telefones
• The Units – Proposed by gedstorian
• Toyah – Proposed by gedstorian
• Trans-X
• Translator
• Vicious Pink
• Wreckless Eric

Level 8: The Garbage Dump

• 4 out of 5 Doctors
• Big Pig
• Bill Nelson
• Blue Peter
• Boys Brigade
• Cos – Proposed by gedstorian
• Dog Police
• Eyeless in Gaza
• Gruppo Sportivo
• Isinglass
• Melon
• Super Freego – Proposed by gedstorian
• The Better Beatles
• The Box
• The Plastics
• Toy Love
• Wazmo Nariz – Proposed by gedstorian

See also

• Iceberg chart
• Music iceberg

Sources

• IcebergThreads version: TheClocky1. A Sort of Big New Wave Iceberg. IcebergThreads. 24 January 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.