Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Spits on the popular nationwide radio station Hilversum 3, which was very popular among German listeners. Soon after that, the term was used in a record-shop advertisement by Burkhardt Seiler in an August 1979 issue of the West German magazine Sounds. It was then used by journalist Alfred Hilsberg in an article about the movement titled Neue Deutsche Welle — Aus grauer Städte Mauern in Sounds in October 1979.
D.A.F. (Delgado-López left, Görl right)
Platinum record for Trio's 'Da Da Da', issued by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in October 1982
New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many contemporary popular music styles, including synth-pop, alternative dance and post-punk. The main new wave movement coincided with late 1970s punk and continued into the early 1980s.
Blondie, 1976. L–R: Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri.
Talking Heads performing in Toronto in 1978
Painting of a Devo energy dome hat
Franz Ferdinand performing in 2006