Radio X takes a trip through the year of Bizarre Love Triangle, Happy Hour and Bigmouth Strikes Again.
Big Black – Atomizer: release date 1st January 1986
The first album from Steve Albini’s controversial noise rock trio included the tracks Kerosene, Bad Houses and the confrontational Jordan, Minnesota.
Big Black – Atomizer album cover.
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Public Image Ltd – Album: release date 3rd February 1986
John Lydon’s post-Sex Pistols project released their fifth LP, which was called Album, Cassette or Compact Disc, depending on which format you bought. The big hit from the record was Rise.
Public Image Ltd – Album cover art.
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Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring: release date 17th February 1986
The enormously influential band released their third album, featuring Life’s What You Make It and Give It Up.
Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring cover art.
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Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey: release date 17th March 1986
The fifth album from the alternative rock pioneers saw the trio of Bob Mould, Grant Hart and Greg Norton jump from the world of indie punk labels to the major Warner Bros. Their time there would only last another year, but this album spawned the singles Don’t Wanna Know If You Are Lonely and Sorry Somehow.
Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey album cover.
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Depeche Mode – Black Celebration: release date 17th March 1986
The Basildon synth quartet released their fifth album, which included the tracks Stripped, A Question Of Lust and A Question Of Time.
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration cover art.
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Cocteau Twins – Victorialand: release date 14th April 1986
The fourth album from the masters of ethereal indie saw the band reduced to the duo of Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie, as bassist Simon Raymonde was working with This Mortal Coil at the time.
Cocteau Twins – Victorialand album cover.
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Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox: release date 14th April 1986
The Queen Of Goth and her post-punk pioneers released their seventh album, which featured the hit Cities In Dust and Candyman.
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox cover art.
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Sonic Youth – Evol: released May 1986
The third album from the New York post-punk legends saw the introduction of drummer Steve Shelley and included the tracks Starpower and Expressway To Yr. Skull.
Sonic Youth – Evol album cover.
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The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead: release date 16th June 1986
After a long wait, the band’s third album was finally released in June 1986 and is regarded as their masterpiece. Tracks include There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again and The Boy With The Thorn In His Side.
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead cover art.
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The Housemartins – London 0, Hull 4: release date 27th June 1986
One of the most memorable hits of the year was Happy Hour, taken from the Hull band’s debut album, which also included Flag Day and Think For A Minute. Some of the band later went on to form The Beautiful South.
The Housemartins – London 0, Hull 4 cover art.
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James – Stutter: release date 28th July 1986
The debut album from the Manchester collective fronted by Tim Booth only charted at Number 68 in the UK despite much praise from the music press and a couple of high profile support slots with The Smiths. The only single from the album was So Many Ways.
James – Stutter album cover.
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R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant: release date 18th August 1986 (UK release)
No apostrophe in the “Lifes”, bad R.E.M. The band’s fourth album included the tracks Begin The Begin and Fall On Me.
R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant cover art.
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Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against The Pricks: release date 18th August 1986
The third album from the Bad Seeds was a set of cover versions of songs by artists as diverse as John Lee Hookers, Johnny Cash, Alex Harvey, the eternal favourite Hey Joe and The Velvert Underground’s All Tomorrow’s Parties.
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against The Pricks album cover.
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The Chameleons – Strange Times: release date 1st September 1986
The third album by the hugely underrated Middleton post-punk band included the singles Swamp Thing and Tears. It would be the band’s final full-length album before their reunion in 2000.
The Chameleons – Strange Times album cover.
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Talking Heads – True Stories: release date 15th September 1986
The seventh album from David Bryne’s art rockers accompanied the film of the same name and spawned the singles Wild Wild Life, Love For Sale and Radio Head (great name for a band).
Talking Heads – True Stories album cover.
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Billy Bragg – Talking With The Taxman About Poetry: released 22nd September 1986
Billy’s third album included the singles Greetings To The New Brunette and Levi Stubbs’ Tears.
Billy Bragg – Talking With The Taxman About Poetry cover art.
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New Order – Brotherhood: release date 29th September 1986
The iconic Manchester band released their fourth album in ’86, which featured the huge tune Bizarre Love Triangle.
New Order – Brotherhood cover art.
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Iggy Pop – Blah Blah Blah: release date 29th September 1986
Iggy had his biggest commercial hit of the 1980s with what would be his final collaboration with David Bowie. The hit single was a cover of Johnny O’Keefe’s Real Wild Child (Wild One).
Iggy Pop – Blah Blah Blah album cover.
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The Fall – Bend Sinister: release date 29th September 1986
The ninth album from Mark E. Smith included the minor hit Mr Pharmacist, a cover of a 1966 tune by The Other Half, and The Fall’s first single to break into the UK Top 75.
The Fall – Bend Sinister album cover.
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The Pretenders – Get Close: release date 20th October 1986
The fourth studio album from Chrissie Hynde and co included the singles Don’t Get Me Wrong, My Baby and Hymn To Her.
The Pretenders – Get Close cover art.
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Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill: release date 3rd November 1986 (UK release)
The debut album from the rap trio featured (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), No Sleep Til Brooklyn and Brass Monkey.
Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill cover art.
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Kraftwerk – Electric Café: released 10th November 1986
The German techno pioneers released their ninth album after a delay of five years since Computer World and an unreleased LP called Techno Pop. The delay was down to Ralf Hutter having a serious cycling accident and was to be the group’s last album of original material until Tour De France Soundtracks in 2003. Singles were The Telephone Call and Musique Non-Stop.
Kraftwerk – Electric Café cover art.
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The Mission – God’s Own Medicine: release date 10th November 1986
The debut album from the Leeds-based goth band, which featured ex-Sisters Of Mercy members Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams. Singles included Stay With Me, Wasteland and Severina.
The Mission – God’s Own Medicine album cover.
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The The – Infected: release date 17th November 1986
The second studio outing from Matt Johnson’s ongoing post-punk project was accompanied by a “video album” with clips for each track, which was later broadcast on Channel 4. Singles were Heartland, Infected and Sweet Bird Of Truth.
The The – Infected album cover.
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The Damned – Anything: release date 1st December 1986
The punk pioneers’ seventh album saw the band delve deeper into the gothic sound they’d been toying with and produced the singles Gigolo and a cover of Love’s Alone Again Or, which broke the Top 30.
The Damned – Anything album cover.
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