Adolescent (1978) - Japan

From their debut album in 1978 -
Japan went through several phases from glam punk to new wave to avant garde to esoteric.
Formed in 1977 in Beckenham, Kent near South East London. You could see that the New York Dolls, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Brian Ferry, Brian Eno and Georgio Moroder left their mark on this young band who were way ahead of their time. Their secret weapon was their genius bassist who also played sax, Mick Karn - they even created their own subgenre and influenced the likes of Duran Duran according to an interview with John Taylor. Mick Karn also later recorded the album Dance with Gary Numan and would later influence Pino Palladino. (Music for Chameleons).
Although their styles were fairly similar this was a time of fierce competition in the British music industry yet Mick Karn was sublime and is considered the greatest fretless bassist of all time. In that same era, there were other great bass players too like Jaco Pastorius, Mark King (Level 42) Bernard Edwards, Geddy Lee (Rush), Alphonso Johnson and Nick Beggs.
The band's albums were Adolescent Sex, Obscure Alternatives, Quiet Life, Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum.
The band split around 1982.
David Sylvian went on to make many more iconic albums including Brilliant Trees, Gone to Earth and Secrets from the Beehive during the 80's.
Sylvian became much more spiritual and equally recluse as the years progressed.
Mick Karn passed away in 2011 from cancer but their music lives on because they had such a level of depth that not many other bands of that era could ever match.