returns to the rolling greens of Brookside at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, and with it the music of the ’80s – new wave, goth, post-punk, and more – returns to life anew.
Recent Rock Hall of Fame inductees headline the festival this year, with , another Hall of Fame act, on the main stage before them. Other icons of the MTV age such as , Simple Minds, and are on the bill. A younger generation of similarly inclined artists, including and , will also appear.
Release of the set times last week, and the obvious conflicts they confirmed, had pale-faced, black-clad fans wringing their hands in existential despair.
Do you pick the Motels, General Public, or the Mission UK in the midafternoon time slots on Outsiders, Lost Boys and Sad Girls stages? Do you stick with Adam Ant and Soft Cell on the main stage or dash off to Simple Minds and miss some of each? Blondie or Interpol? Duran Duran or the reunion after 40 years of cult favorites Tones on Tail?
Never fear, this old new waver is here to guide you through the essentials of the day. Think of this as a Cruel compilation album with the 10 tunes you have to hear on Saturday.
1) Duran Duran, ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’: If there’s one set at Cruel World where you’re going to know every single song, it’s this one. From early singles “Planet Earth” and “Girls On Film” to later hits such as “Ordinary World” and their cover of Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It),” there’s nothing but sing-along bops here. “Hungry Like the Wolf” is our pick, just edging out “Rio” as the ultimate expression of Duran Duran’s sexy, seductive grooves.
2) Blondie, ‘Dreaming’: Here’s another set where you’ll know all the tunes. Blondie’s catalog includes such songs as “Call Me,” “One Way or Another,” and “Hanging on the Telephone.” Heck, even “Maria,” released in 1999, long after the band’s peak, is a terrific tune. “Dreaming” gets the nod, though, with its soaring ABBA-meets-Wall of Sound melodies behind singer Debbie Harry’s vocals and drummer Clem Burke’s frantic beat beneath both.
3) Tones on Tail, ‘Go!’: Guitarist Daniel Ash and drummer Kevin Haskins are playing Cruel World with their third different band in three years. They played with their original band Bauhaus in 2022, and last year in Love and Rockets, their side project with Bauhaus’ Daniel J. Now Ash and Haskins have reformed Tones on Tail, with Haskin’s daughter Diva Dompe on bass. “Go!” the band’s 1984 doom-and-gloom dance club smash is an easy pick.
4) Placebo, ‘Running Up That Hill’: The British band formed in the ’90s with an alternative rock vibe that blends several strains of ’80s music into its own thing. Songs such as “Every You Every Me,” “The Bitter End,” and “Pure Morning” are irresistible tunes. But Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” which Placebo has been closing its recent sets with, will have everyone singing.
5) Simple Minds, ‘Alive and Kicking’: The Scottish rockers have released “Promised You a Miracle” as a single five different times, so you know you’re gonna hear that. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was a massive ’80s hit thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack to “The Breakfast Club,” and “All the Things She Said” is great, too. But “Alive and Kicking,” well, that’s an anthem you pretty much have to sing along to. And you will.
6) The Jesus and Mary Chain, ‘Just Like Honey’: Scottish brothers Jim and William Reid sorta created noise pop and maybe shoegaze, too, with their 1985 debut album “Psychocandy” and its blend of gorgeous melodies of noisy, feedback-drenched guitars. “Head On” is one of their greatest songs, but here the pick is the first track on the first album, which announced the arrival of something new and different.
7) Ministry, ‘Work For Love’: Singer Al Jourgensen’s Ministry plans to play songs from its first two albums, “With Sympathy” and “Twitch,” at Cruel World, and that’s a very good thing given the appeal of songs such as “Effigy (I’m Not An),” which found a new audience after it was featured on “Euphoria,” “Revenge,” and “I Wanted to Tell Her.” The dance-y groove of “Work For Love” makes it the pick this time.
8) Heaven 17, “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”: The British synth-pop duo sometimes gets overlooked but with songs such as “Temptation,” “Let Me Go,” and “Penthouse and Pavement.” But “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” used skittering synths and liquid basslines to make its anti-fascist, anti-racist messages work just fine on the dance floor.
9) Gary Numan, ‘Cars’: The English singer-songwriter Gary Numan pioneered a chilly kind of synth rock in his band Tubeway Army. At Cruel World, he’ll play his 1979 solo debut album “The Pleasure Principle,” which boosted his career to a higher level on both sides of the Atlantic. Though he’s , the single “Cars” became Numan’s biggest hit and there’s really no other choice here.
10) General Public, “Tenderness”: Singer-guitarist Dave Wakeling has played Cruel World before with the English Beat, his first band. Now he returns with the more soulful pop of General Public, which he formed with the late Ranking Roger, who was also in the Beat. He’ll probably play songs from both groups, but we’ll stick with General Public for the pick and go with the lovely “Tenderness.”
