Hello all. After a few months posting here, I don't think that my obsession with the gothic subculture is any secret. Anyway, I thought that I would start a thread to compile various 80's gothic music videos as a way to document the sound, aesthetic, and atmosphere of the subculture during the 80's. I imagine this will mostly consist of gothic rock videos, but videos from any genre associated with the goth scene (i.e. darkwave, darker types of synthpop, industrial, etc.) will also be welcome in this thread.

Anyway, I'm going to start with the video for "This Corrosion" by Sisters of Mercy. The album it is from came out in 1987, but I believe that this video is from 1988, since that is when this song was released as a single. Despite denying being gothic, Sisters of Mercy is sort of the most classic goth rock band of the era, with their aesthetic and sound widely imitated within the scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RVJyNpfDk

Bauhaus - She's in Parties (1983)

Along with Joy Division, Bauhaus is considered the founding group of gothic rock. This video has a dark but rather new-wave aesthetic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxqq5vahHKk

The Damned - The Shadow of Love (1985)

Originally a punk band, they long had a rather gothic aesthetic, with singer Dave Vanian's look based largely on classic film vampires. By the mid-80's, their sound had moved much more toward gothic rock, with their sound finally matching their image.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dblor-04xeE

Xymox - Obsession (1989)

Clan of Xymox were a very innovative group for the darkwave genre (think, very dark new wave, or music with the feel of gothic rock but with the same dominance of keyboard that you find in synthpop). During the late 80's and early 90's, they shortened the name to Xymox (although they are now called Clan of Xymox again). This video has many of the classic tropes of the gothic subculture, with medieval ruins, new wave fashion with a dark twist, and (in the song itself) somber yet romantic lyrics and a vocal style to match. They are still going strong to this day; I saw them last year and it was one of the best concerts of my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdMt9P4TyEk

Alien Sex Fiend - Ignore the Machine (1985?)

Alien Sex Fiend was founded in 1982 by Nik Wade (Nik Fiend) and his wife Chrissy Wade (Mrs. Fiend). Nik worked at the legendary birthplace of gothic subculture, the Batcave. Their sound is very punkish and a little bit psychodelic at times, and almost always highly irreverent with a macabre sense of humor. This song was originally recorded in 1983, but was released as a single in 1985, which is why I am supposing that this video is from '85.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOy8LkXydz0

Poesie Noire - Tragedy (1988?)

A Belgian group that seemed to reach a midpoint between more guitar-based goth rock and more synth-based darkwave. Their videos are all very minimalistic with crazy dancing from singer Johan Casters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aq0s9zPikE

Depeche Mode - A Question of Time (1986)

Although a synthpop band with incredible mainstream success, Depeche Mode has been and continues to be a favorite in the goth subculture. This song is from Black Celebration, which is perhaps their most darkwavy album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pt7EWFF_T8

Psyche - Eternal (1988)

A Canadian darkwave duo with a very gloomy yet danceable sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImvoSPaBWc

Shriekback - Nemesis (1985)

Shriekback weren't a strictly goth band. They had a very eclectic and weird sound, sometimes almost like avant-garde funk new-wave. However, this song, which became their signature song, has a classic post-punk/goth rock sound and a very creepy gothic aesthetic, with dark antique furnishings, skulls, candles, ominous masks, snakes, depraved pseudo-ancient Greek rituals, demonic images, among other things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bMM61Y5CEU

These songs are probably more mainstream but I think they are pretty gothic-ish...

Is it a dream - Classix Nouveaux:

Sal Solo reminds me of Richard O' Brien (the man who created The Rocky Horror Picture Show).

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Eloise - The Damned

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Nice entries Bobby, thanks for sharing! I enjoyed the Classix Nouveaux video. The vocal style, as with the aesthetics, do seem very gothic. I liked Sal Solo's personal style a lot.

Did you see that I posted another video from the Damned? The Damned is like gothic royalty.

Again, I appreciate your participation in the thread. I also want to make it clear to everyone that I welcome discussion about previously posted videos too, I never intended for every post to be only for sharing videos.

Fields of the Nephilim - Moonchild (1988)

This group was part of the second wave of gothic rock, which seemed to be more consciously part of the emerging subculture than many acts considered part of the first wave. They were known for their spectral wild west look, with worn-out dusters. This video, above all, can be described as ghostly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYYy862KFyE

Nice entries Bobby, thanks for sharing! I enjoyed the Classix Nouveaux video. The vocal style, as with the aesthetics, do seem very gothic. I liked Sal Solo's personal style a lot.

Yes, this video seemed to echo the gothic undercurrent of the early to mid 1980s quite well. Sal Solo did a nice song called 'Music and you' and that was quite different to 'Is it a dream'. I won't put that song up here because it is more new wave than gothic but if you want to take a look at it you can easily find it on Youtube.  :)

Did you see that I posted another video from the Damned? The Damned is like gothic royalty.

Again, I appreciate your participation in the thread. I also want to make it clear to everyone that I welcome discussion about previously posted videos too, I never intended for every post to be only for sharing videos.

Sadly, I must have missed your Damned video. I will take a look at it.

I also read later that, early on, Sal played music with two future members of Alien Sex Fiend, a band whose importance to the gothic movement cannot be overemphasized. Thus, even if his music wasn't completely in that mould, he definitely was somewhat involved in those circles.

The Cure - A Forest (1980)

I don't think the Cure needs an introduction. However, it is worth mentioning that most of the songs that people seem to remember today are from a bit later in their career when they took on a slightly poppier sound. Thus, it is often forgotten that much of their earlier work was quite gloomy indeed, as you will hear with this song. It has all the elements of what would become gothic rock: jangly guitars, a drumbeat that is somber yet danceable or slightly soft yet driving, despondent-sounding vocals with pensive lyrics, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xik-y0xlpZ0

I think A Forest is probably my favourite track by The Cure

Parálisis Permanente - Autosuficiencia (1981 or 1982)

While most of the songs I have posted have been from the Anglosphere or at least in English (Poesie Noire are from Belgium for example), here is some early gothic music that is not in English from the Spanish band Parálisis Permanente. They were part of the movida madrileña (Madrid Movement) that occurred in the late 70's and early 80's after the end of the decades-long Franco dictatorship, with the introduction of British-style punk and post-punk to Spain. The song's title means "Self-Sufficiency," but the lyrics are more about solipsism and self-mutilation than anything else. Although the song's sound is still quite punk, many other songs by them had a more post-punk/gothic sound with keyboards and macabre lyrics. The sound of this song also mirrors that of the death-rock style of gothic rock, which was a punkish variety of gothic rock innovated by groups like Christian Death around the same time. Sadly, this group's career was cut short by the tragic death of singer Eduardo Benavente in a car accident in 1983 at the age of 20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0pD6-f6Ww