The Romantics are an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1977. The band adopted the name "The Romantics" because they formed on Valentine's Day, 1977. The Romantics achieved moderate popularity in the United States, Canada, parts of Asia, Australia, Europe, and Latin America during the first half of the 1980s on the strength of the band's catchy, energetic songs and stylish, memorable music videos. Influenced by 1960s British Invasion rock (most notably the music of the Kinks, the Who, the Beatles, the Hollies, and the Rolling Stones), 1970s Detroit garage rock and hard rock (as represented by such performers as Iggy Pop, the Stooges, the MC5, and the Rationals), and the punk rock of the Ramones, The Romantics play a more pop-oriented variation of punk rock known as power pop. The band is also commonly classified into the category of "New Wave" (probably due more to the band's image and era than the sound of its music) by pop music historians.

Until December was a San Francisco-based rock band active in the early 1980s. The band released four 12" singles in 1985 on 415 Records / CBS. A self-titled album Until December was released in 1986 by 415 Records / CBS, which contained their biggest hit "Heaven". Other notable songs performed by Until December include their song "Until December", "Live Alone In Shame" (B-Side to the 12" of "Until December - The Berlin Mix") and a cover of the song "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus. They toured the U.S. as a headliner and with seminal 80's bands such as New Order, Gene Loves Jezebel, and Specimen.

"Senza una Donna" (Without a Woman) is a 1987 song co-written and performed by Zucchero Fornaciari and rerecorded in 1991 with Paul Young. The song was then released as a single under the title "Senza una donna (Without a Woman)" which reached #4 in the UK Single Chart and #2 in the German Singles Chart and the French Singles Chart. It also topped the charts of Norway and Sweden.

Incantation are a musical group playing traditional tribal and other South American music. The band started in 1981 from a pool of musicians who were, at the time, playing all kinds of different types of music for the (then) Ballet Rambert, based in London. A new ballet was choreographed (called "Ghost Dances") about political oppression in South America, to the music of Inti-Illimani, the exiled Chilean folk group. The company preferred to use live musicians (rather than tapes) for performances, and six of the musicians volunteered.

The Chachapoyas, also called the Warriors of the Clouds, were an Andean people living in the cloud forests of the Amazonas region of present-day Peru. The Incas conquered their civilization shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 16th century, the Chachapoyas were one of the many nations ruled by the Inca Empire. Their incorporation into the Inca Empire had not been easy, due to their constant resistance to the Inca troops.

Dissidenten are a German rock band known for their collaborations with Middle Eastern, African and Indian musicians and the main protagonists of what the New York Times described in the 1980s as "world beat movement, led by groups like Dissidenten...."
Around 1981, "Embryo's Dissidenten" were founded in India by Friedemann "Friedo" Josch (b 21 July 1952, Mainz, wind instruments, keyboards) and former Embryo band members Uwe "Uve" Müllrich (b 7 December 1947, Rügen, bass, oud, guitar, vocals) and Michael Wehmeyer. Still in 1981, Marlon Klein (b 13 December 1957, Herford, drums, perc, keyboards, vocals) replaced Wehmeyer, and the band renamed themselves to Dissidenten.1982/83, they founded their own record label Exil in Berlin.
The track "Fata Morgana" became a dance hit in Europe (especially Spain and Italy) and Canada, and the group toured worldwide.