10 Forgotten 80s Bands Worth Rediscovering

4. Chakk

The UK might not be your first search point when looking for industrial funk bands, but Chakk, who formed in Sheffield, England, and operated from 1981-1987, are one of the best examples of that genre you could wish for. Sheffield, in fact, has a long history when it comes to industry, particularly in the production of steel.

With hindsight, such an environment, at that particular time, seems an ideal breeding ground for hard-edged street swagger. Step forward Alan Cross, Mark Brydon, Sim Lister, Dee Boyle, Jake Harries and John Stuart.

Collectively, as Chakk, the players never achieved any significant commercial success, but that shouldn't prevent them from claiming a place at the forefront of British electro/dance/new wave music. Their sound was prescient of much which was to come, and Mark Brydon himself went on to find notable success as one half of electronic duo, Moloko, scoring big hits in the early 2000s.

 
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Chris Wheatley is a journalist and writer from Oxford, UK. He has too many records, too many guitars and not enough cats.