I reckon that just about everyone who is from my generation will be very familiar with the song Pop Muzik, which was an absolutely massive hit for M in in the summer of 1979. It reached #1 in at least ten countries and went Top 10 just about everywhere else. It sold 1 million copies in the USA alone.
But I wonder how many remember the follow-up, which totally flopped in the States and only reached a very moderate #33 in the UK:-
mp3 : M – Moonlight and Muzak (12 inch version)
It’s another early version of synthpop, and if you have a listen to the first 45 seconds of intro you’ll find it to be very reminiscent of the sort of tunes that would bring The Human League huge success a few years later. And with the vocal delivery from Robin Scott not being far removed from many of guitar-led new wave songs that were so prevalent in 1979, a case can be made for Moonlight and Muzak being one of the cleverest pop songs of 1979 in what was a tremendous year for music.
Albeit, I’m willing to admit that the 12″ version, of which a copy still sits in the cupboard more than 36 years later, has perhaps been stretched out by two minutes longer than necessary.
Here’s a bonus cover of the big hit from a very surprising source:-
mp3 : Tricky – Pop Muzik
b-side to his 1999 single For Real
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Thanks, JC. Those of us of a certain age will now spend the rest of the day thing to get “Pop Music” out of our heads.
I have always thought that Moonlight and Musak was a better song than Pop Music – although I can see why Pop Music was a hit and M&M wasn’t.
The b-side was Woman Make Man, if I remember rightly.
Not so much largely forgotten — I’m pretty sure I never heard this. I like it better than ‘Pop Music’, although that’s probably because I heard that hit 50,000 times. I dimly remember owning a 12″ vinyl EP or LP of a collaboration between Robin Scott and Ryuichi Sakamoto, but for the life of me can’t remember what it was (or where it is). Wonder what Scott’s been up to since 1979 — ICA anyone?
Moonlight and Muzak proved Robin Scott had some real ability beyond the out of control mega hit single.