What happened when punk rock, after inspiring a generation of art students and others to see beyond the possibilities of traditional rock and pop, shot itself in the foot? As defined by Paul Morley, then the whip-smart, know-all music writer for NME, what happened next was “new pop”, a fresh form of forward-thinking music that upended machismo, put anarchy back in its box and in many ways reinvented pop by making it more gender-balanced, more emotionally engaged and – in contrast to the sombre tones of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy et al – brighter in sound and vision. Goodbye darkness, hello boys and girls.

Across four discs and 80 songs, Heaven Sent sets out to document the changes made by UK pop groups and solo artists of the era. Its household names, many of whom are still performing, include The Human League, OMD, Altered Images, ABC, Madness, Paul Weller, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Dexys, The Cure, Culture Club, Marc Almond, The Stranglers, Elvis Costello, Paul Young and The Undertones (the only Irish act included here). Other of its acts are lost in the mists of time, including Tracie, Mari Wilson, Department S, Blue Rondo a la Turk, and Haysi Fantayzee.

The broad range and varying quality make this compilation ideal for cherry-pickers. There are exceptional songs (M’s Pop Musik, The Human League’s Boys and Girls, The Undertones’ Beautiful Friend, ABC’s Poison Arrow), interlopers (The Slits’ Earthbeat, Rip Rig & Panic’s Bob Hope Takes Risks, John Cooper Clarke’s The Day My Pad Went Mad) and stone-cold gems (Monsoon’s Ever So Lonely, Soft Cell’s Bedsitter, The Teardrop Explodes’ Tiny Children and The Passions’ I’m in Love with a German Film Star, which features vocals from Dubliner Barbara Gogan).

Above all, however, even from such a distance – and despite the hit-and-miss nature of such compilations – inventiveness and experimentation with form are captured here from start to finish.