The Second British Invasion was a sharp increase in the popularity of British synth-pop and new wave artists in the United States. It began in the summer of 1982, peaked in 1983, and continued throughout much of the 1980s. MTV began in 1981. Its popularity was the main catalyst for the second British Invasion. According to Rolling Stone, British acts brought a "revolution in sound and style" to the US.
Chart of Billboard Hot 100 number-ones by British artists, by weeks
Duran Duran (pictured in 1983) were one of the earliest British new wave groups to achieve mainstream success in the summer of 1982. Their second studio album Rio is credited with helping kickstart the second British Invasion, spending eleven weeks within the top ten of the Billboard 200 in 1983.
Boy George of Culture Club (performing in 2001) was a leading figure in the New Romantic movement which became a major part in the Second British Invasion of the U.S.
Synth-pop is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s.
The Prophet-5, one of the first polyphonic synthesizers. It was widely used in 1980s synth-pop, along with the Roland Jupiter and Yamaha DX7.
Kraftwerk, one of the major influences on synth-pop, in 1976
Yellow Magic Orchestra in 2008
Gary Numan performing in 1980
