New Wave and Synth Pop Music Map Art Prints: Eight Maps, 1976 to 2026
My new wave and synth pop music map art prints cover eight acts whose first records landed between 1976 and 1981: Blondie, OMD, New Order, Simple Minds, Squeeze, The Stranglers, Joe Jackson, and The The. Each print draws a career as a transit map, with the albums as stations in release order and every credited musician as a line.
These eight maps have more in common than a decade. Most of them are built around one or two people who never leave, with everyone else arriving and departing around them, and that is exactly the shape a tube map is good at.
The Eight Maps in the Collection
- Blondie discography art print: 16 albums, 1976 to 2017
- OMD discography art print: 14 albums
- New Order discography art print: 21 albums, Joy Division to New Order and the side projects
- Simple Minds discography art print: 20 releases
- Squeeze discography art print: 17 albums
- The Stranglers discography art print: 20 albums, 44 years
- Joe Jackson discography art print: 189 credited musicians across 40 years
- The The discography art print: 14 releases
Two of these maps carry non-studio records and say so on the print. Simple Minds includes the covers album Neon Lights, the archival Our Secrets Are the Same, and the re-recorded Acoustic. The New Order map includes the side projects as stations. The other six carry studio albums only.
Herbie Hancock Is on New Gold Dream
The thing almost nobody notices about Simple Minds is that a jazz legend plays on their best-known album. Herbie Hancock has a line on New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), one station long. The same map has three drummers credited on a single album and one musician who returns after a 14-year absence.
Those are the credits that make this map, and they are not on any sleeve you can read at a glance. The full list is in my Simple Minds albums in order post.
The Duo Problem: OMD, Blondie, and The The
Three of these bands are, at various points, one or two people. OMD's map runs 14 albums, and three of them turn out to be Andy McCluskey alone. His line runs the full width; Paul Humphreys' line does not, and Stuart Kershaw waits 26 years between credits.
Blondie's map has 16 albums, and the surprise is that the solo albums are not really solo. Chris Stein is on every one of them, including the records with Debbie Harry's name alone on the sleeve. The The is the most extreme case: 14 releases and one full-width line, Matt Johnson's, with 32 names on Infected and everyone on the print a visitor.
| Map | Stations | The credit worth finding |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Minds | 20 | Herbie Hancock on New Gold Dream |
| Squeeze | 17 | Two members of Spinal Tap on one album |
| Joe Jackson | 40 years | Graham Maby on bass for 15 of them |
| The Stranglers | 20 | Hugh Cornwell on only the first 12 |
| OMD | 14 | Three albums that are one man |
| Blondie | 16 | Chris Stein on the solo records too |
Thirteen Keyboard Players and One Who Came Back
Squeeze have had thirteen keyboard players across 17 albums, which is the most of any band I have mapped. Jools Holland left, and then came back, and his line has a 28-year gap in it. Two members of Spinal Tap are credited on one of the records, which is the kind of thing a fan will spend a minute checking before they believe it.
Joe Jackson: The Busiest Map I Have Drawn
Joe Jackson is usually filed under 1979. The map runs 40 years and includes a swing record, a film score, and a symphony. It carries 189 credited musicians, more than any other map I have made, including David Bowie's. One bass player, Graham Maby, is on fifteen of the albums, and his line is the one that holds the whole print together.
The Stranglers: Two Men to Replace One
Most people assume Hugh Cornwell was The Stranglers. His line covers the first 12 of the 20 albums and then stops, and it takes two new lines to fill the space he left. The band carried on for another three decades. The map is 44 years wide.
Sizes and Framing
All eight maps come in A3 (420 x 297 mm), A2 (594 x 420 mm), and A1 (841 x 594 mm), plus the separate 16 x 12 in, 24 x 18 in, and 36 x 24 in formats for the US, Canada, and Australia. Every size is supplied unframed or ready to hang in a wood frame. Giclée on 230gsm acid-free fine art paper, drawn manually in CAD, no AI at any stage.
Related Music Maps
Blondie, The Stranglers, and The The also sit in my punk and post-punk collection guide, which is where to go if the person's taste runs harder. For the full Joy Division to New Order story, 21 records under seven band names, see Joy Division and New Order albums in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which bands are on the new wave and synth pop music maps?
Blondie, OMD, New Order, Simple Minds, Squeeze, The Stranglers, Joe Jackson, and The The. All eight released a first album between 1976 and 1981.
Which new wave map has the most musicians on it?
Joe Jackson, with 189 credited musicians across 40 years. That is the highest count of any map in my catalogue.
What is not on these maps?
Live albums, compilations, and greatest hits sets are not drawn. The Simple Minds map is the exception that states its own rules: it carries a covers album, an archival release, and a re-recorded album, each labelled. Anything released after the artwork was drawn is not on it until I update the print.
Is Joy Division on the New Order map?
Yes. The map starts with Unknown Pleasures in 1979 and Closer in 1980, where Ian Curtis has a line at two stations, and then continues as New Order for another 35 years with the side projects included.
If You Cannot Decide Between Them
If the person was buying singles in 1981 and you do not know which of these eight they bought, the art print gift card covers any map on the site. If they are the sort who reads credits, the Joe Jackson map is the one they will not finish reading in a single evening.
