Our Friends Electric (The Sound Of The '80s) is a definitive 1996 compilation album released in the United Kingdom by Telstar Records. Spanning two CDs, the collection serves as a retrospective archive of the pioneering synth-pop, new wave, and electronic music that dominated the 1980s. The album derives its title from the landmark 1979 single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" by Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, setting a thematic foundation for the tracks included. It achieved notable commercial recognition, entering the UK Official Compilation Albums Chart in March 1996 and peaking inside the top ten.
The tracklist features an influential lineup of electronic innovators and mainstream pop-rock icons who shaped the decade's sonic landscape. Listeners can find foundational synthesizer tracks from artists like The Human League, New Order, and Thomas Dolby, alongside art-pop and sophisti-pop hits from Talk Talk and Scritti Politti. Major stadium acts like Duran Duran further anchor the collection, bridging underground club culture with global radio success. By packaging these distinct sub-genres together, the compilation provides a comprehensive audio roadmap of how electronic instrumentation transformed modern pop music.
