Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
The Doors performing live in 1968. They have been cited as a major influence in the gothic rock genre.
David Bowie influenced the post-punk bands that helped spawn the gothic rock genre
Gothic rock band Bauhaus performing live in August 2006
Robert Smith of the Cure in 1989, who was on the front cover of NME Originals: Goth in 2004.
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
The band in 1979, left to right: Kenny Morris, Siouxsie Sioux, John McKay and Steven Severin
Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1981, left to right: Budgie, Siouxsie, Steven Severin and John McGeoch