80s

In the 60s, Colin Blunstone was the lead singer of the Zombies, a British band that developed a distinctive, jazzy sound, in which his soft, laid-back, almost hesitant voice was beautifully offset against the equally soft, but flexible and pointy instruments of organ, drum, and bass. The Zombies disbanded. In the early 70s, Blunstone re-emerged as a solo act, and scored several major hits. The music featured rhythm guitar now and ranged from string arranged melodies, to rock, to American folk.

Originally formed as a soundtrack company in 1984, Manufacture eventually turned into a band after performing in front of live audiences in Boston with several large video projectors. In 1987 Nettwerk Productions, of Vancouver, Canada, signed Manufacture to make two full length CDs as well as a variety of 12" dance singles. Sarah McLachlan sang "As the End Draws Near" on Manufacture's first album "Terrorvision", which eventually was awarded a platinum single in Canada when the song appeared on her album: "B Sides, Rarities, And Other Stuff".

Richard H. Kirk is a British musician specializing in electronic music. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the seminal industrial band Cabaret Voltaire. His first release as a solo artist, Disposable Half Truths, came in 1980 and he maintained a career as a solo artist alongside Cabaret Voltaire until the band's dissolution in 1994. It was during the 1990s that his solo output increased considerably.

Thomas Mapfumo (born 1945 in Marondera, Zimbabwe) is a Zimbabwean musician known as "The Lion of Zimbabwe" for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music. Pre-Independence, his songs openly called for the violent overthrow of the government, with lyrics like "Mothers, send your sons to war." Since the white government didn't understand Shona, however, at first they didn't realize how radical the songs were.