1980: Nerds (Patreon)

Spoiler: most of the people in this bracket are not, in fact, nerds. Indeed most of them are very cool indeed. But they’re cool people who are often acting uptight, which is one of the defining moods of 1980 (this bracket contains pre-tournament bookies’ favourite “Once In A Lifetime”, by a band whose entire early career was based on David Byrne being cool and acting uptight).

It’s a new wave bracket, is what I’m saying, the end of new wave rooted in a mistrust of the chill, a tuneful, inventive awkwardness. Not everything here is taking part in that awkwardness - The Waitresses’ deadpan “I Know What Boys Like” fits sonically, but its spikiness is more mocking, less earnest than some of the boys here, who often know what they like too, but don’t always know what to do about that.

One of the interesting things about new wave, though, is how little emphasis on sex there is. The bands here are full of nervous energy, but for a lot of them it’s not in a sweaty-palmed “Teenage Kicks” way, they turn the frustration and the jitters outwards in sprays of religiosity (U2), misanthropy (The Soft Boys), weird satire (Devo) and social disgust (XTC). Prince, dropped into this bracket with “Dirty Mind” to show the rest how it’s done, is more open about what’s animating him.

There were too many new wave tracks nominated for one bracket, or even two - they spill across most of the groups in the poll. Even then it’s a diverse group of tracks. At one end it’s more anchored in songcraft and committed to catchiness over experimentation - lesser known gems by The Crocodiles and The Shivvers fit in here. At the other there’s Talking Heads, using awkwardness as a lens to reflect normality back on itself. “How did I get here?”

POTENTIAL WINNER: “Once In A Lifetime” is one of those liminal tracks - the beginning of Talking Heads as a mainstream pop proposition, but made without that expectation. I don’t think it’s as nailed-on a winner as some commenters do - but obviously it’ll go very deep into the competition, and I hope it provokes plenty of chat rather than being taken for granted as canonical.

DARK HORSE: XTC are one of those bands I suspect will do rather well in pop polls but we haven’t actually seen a lot from. They’re here, in a tricky group, with “Respectable Street”, which has the doubtful honour of inventing mid-90s Blur I guess. It’s very catchy and very 1980 and I suspect one to watch.

FAVOURITE TRACK: Dexys’ “There There My Dear”, their best early single and one of their key tracks where fandom, resentment, politics and aesthetics all spin together in a confused whirl of angst and rage: “I don’t believe you really like Frank Sinatra”.

DISCOVERY: The Crocodiles’ terrifically catchy “Tears” - just a really good, hooky guitar pop track of the type which seemed to come up like daisies in this era.

DON’T MISS: Siouxsie And The Banshee’s “Happy House”, the track where they begin to move out of post-punk and form the luxurious swirl of their high goth years. One of the most significant tracks in the poll (and it’s excellent too).