post-punk artists

69 published post-punk artists, led by U2, The Police and The Cranberries.

At a glance

69 published post-punk artists; 376 studio albums have verified cover art.

Published artists4 tier 1 · 16 tier 2 · 49 tier 3: 69
Release groups: 3,618
Studio albums: 409
Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive: 376
Timeline events: 981
Monthly listenerssum across artists: 267.5M
Claimed salessum of stored claims; implausible values excluded: 245M
Average career spanfirst to last dated release: 33.8 years
Full biographies: 57
Biography words: 184,783

When they started

Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1970s (18 artists).

Artists by debut decade
Decade	Artists
1970s	18
1980s	18
1990s	7
2000s	3
2010s	7

16 artists have no dated release or formation year and are not plotted.

Where they come from

Countries with the most post-punk artists. United Kingdom leads with 29.

Often paired with

Genres that share artists with post-punk. The most shared is new wave, with 26 artists in both.

Covers from post-punk

376 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.

Carnaval de Luz
U2 · 2026
Songs of Surrender
U2 · 2023
Denver 117
U2 · 2017
Songs of Experience
U2 · 2017
Songs of Innocence
U2 · 2014
No Line on the Horizon
U2 · 2009
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 · 2004
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
U2 · 2000
World Ballads Collection
U2 · 1999
Pop
U2 · 1997
Classic In Concert: Live at the Hammersmith Palais 1982
U2 · 1994
Live, Vol. 3
U2 · 1993

Leaders

The Cure has the most release groups (400); Iggy Pop the longest career (53 years); Bono the most awards (36).

Most prolific

Most prolific, by number of release groups
Artist	release groups
The Cure	400
U2	398
Iggy Pop	242
New Order	216
The Smiths	215

Longest careers

first to last dated release

Longest careers, by number of years
Artist	years
Iggy Pop	53
Patti Smith	51
Talking Heads	50
Blondie	49
Joy Division	48

Most decorated

Most decorated, by number of awards
Artist	awards
Bono	36
Talking Heads	24
Patti Smith	22
U2	20
Iggy Pop	8

Most famous post-punk artists

U2

Ireland · Group · 1976–present

pop rock, soft rock, alternative rock, post-punk, dance-rock, Q3071

24.3M listeners · 115 wikis

The Police

United Kingdom · Group · 1977–1986

rock music, post-punk, new wave, reggae rock

41M listeners · 64 wikis

The Cranberries

Ireland · Group · 1989–2003

rock music, folk rock, pop rock, alternative rock, post-punk, new wave, grunge, jangle pop, indie rock, indie pop, dream pop, Celtic rock

40.2M listeners · 72 wikis

The Cure

United Kingdom · Group · 1976–present

alternative rock, post-punk, new wave, gothic rock

25.7M listeners · 73 wikis

The Clash

United Kingdom · Group · 1976–1986

post-punk, Q3071, new wave, reggae, ska

14.7M listeners · 76 wikis

Blondie

United States · Group · 1974–present

rock music, post-punk, dance-rock, new wave, power pop

18M listeners · 62 wikis

The Smiths

United Kingdom · Group · 1984–1987

post-punk, new wave, jangle pop, indie rock

24.7M listeners · 60 wikis

Talking Heads

United States · Group · 1975–1991

post-punk, new wave

11.5M listeners · 56 wikis

New Order

United Kingdom · Group · 1980–present

electronic dance music, post-punk, synth-pop, new wave, alternative dance

8.6M listeners · 50 wikis

Robert Smith

United Kingdom · Person · born 1959

alternative rock, post-punk, new wave, gothic rock

7M listeners · 51 wikis

Simple Minds

Scotland · Group · 1977–present

art rock, post-punk, synth-pop, new wave, arena rock

9.9M listeners · 41 wikis

Cocteau Twins

United Kingdom · Group · 1979–1997

post-punk, dream pop, gothic rock, ethereal wave, shoegaze

6.4M listeners · 39 wikis

post-punk artists

At a glance

When they started

Where they come from

Often paired with

Covers from post-punk

Leaders

Most prolific

Longest careers

Most decorated

Most famous post-punk artists

U2

The Police

The Cranberries

The Cure

The Clash

Blondie

The Smiths

Talking Heads

New Order

Robert Smith

Simple Minds

Cocteau Twins

More post-punk artists

Fontaines D.C.

Surf Curse

Legião Urbana

Bono

Ekkstacy

Iggy Pop

Patti Smith

Viktor Tsoi

Joy Division

John Lydon

Ian Curtis

Peter Hook

Noir Désir

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Clem Burke

Simon Gallup

Killing Joke

Gillian Gilbert

Stephen Morris

Jerry Harrison

Jason Cooper

Blixa Bargeld

Yanka Dyagileva

Boris Williams

Johnny Orlando

Mirwais

Milan Mladenović

The Associates

John McGeoch

Inhaler

Yseult

Momus

Dolphin

Cardiacs

Charlie Burchill

Josef K

Fehlfarben

Siekiera

The Weakerthans

Imperiet

Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota

Fausto Fawcett

Makthaverskan

Poorstacy

Life Without Buildings

Cadão Volpato

The Wake

Datblygu

Cindytalk

Paul Quinn

Scars

Timpuri Noi

Edward Guglielmino

Sacred Paws

Maximum Joy

Ritual