Devo

 

Here's one by request! [albeit probably requested years ago] Devo were true innovators in style and sound and helped introduce quirkiness to the image of New Wave music, making it okay, or even preferable, to market your style, the weirder the better.

The Mighty Lemon Drops

Drawing early comparisons to Echo & The Bunnymen, TMLD created 1 of my favorite albums of the 1980s.  When the '90s hit, they changed to a more Madchester-inspired sound, with very mediocre results and broke up soon after.

Oingo Boingo

Growing up in Southern California, Oingo Boingo were a staple of Alternative radio.  Sometimes bands are bigger regionally than nationally, much less internationally.  That's a shame because Boingo was one of the most inventive, exciting acts of the 1980s.  Lead singer Danny Elfman, of course, subsequently found fame and fortune as a film composer.