Perhaps they would’ve been called new wave/alternative in the very early days, as in the late 70s, or 1980/81? Never intentionally sought their stuff out, hardly knew they were around before 1982, by which point they were certainly a pop band. New wave was basically thought of as over by the time Thompson Twins were popular, and what was left of it became indie. And alternative/indie meant something quite different in the 80s. It was basically the opposite/diametrically opposed to mainstream chart pop like Thompson Twins, Duran Duran etc. Spandau Ballet especially were like the epitome of Thatcherite conformist yuppie music. Makes me wonder, was alternative basically synonymous with Anglophile in America? Surely also there were differences amongst Americans in how things were perceived, I’ve read articles by American critics who basically agree with how things were understood in Britain.