your fave little-known pre-fame music by new wave/synth/80s icons/stars...

What had no idea Nightmares on Wax used to do weirdo disco

Wait is Nightmares On Wax and Nightmares In Wax the same people or am I confused?

^ not foolproof but Wikipedia, Allmusic and Dicogs suggesting not the same

nightmares in wax turned into dead or alive. nightmares on wax was a later thing.

a few of those songs, I have on these comps I got 25 yrs ago (?), called unfortunately the 1978 Indie Scene and the 1980 Indie Scene, respectively -- most of the tracks are like these.

Discovered this a little while back, better than I thought it would be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVrVERNeCPE

Frantic Elevators single the best example.

Vini Reilly in Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds.

Dieter Bohlen before his big 120-million-selling break as Modern Talking:

Sunday - Hale Hay Louise

https://youtu.be/BloWYm1gqU4

Roland and Curt from Tears for Fears were apparently in this band with the the guys who would go on to form Naked Eyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-kZtR-G2BM

Roland and Curt also in this band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUqRXz9KkA

Not exactly what the question was asking for, but I always loved the clips Ricky Gervais from 80's synthpop brush with fame:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxV5b60mI_k

wow, i never knew about Graduate! they could have been a thing all on their own.

Midge Ure, Slik, "Requiem", 1976,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roY9hYL6sBA

Dave Stewart, Longdancer, "Too Much Too Soon", 1973,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVVqhdh3RWk

John Foxx/Ultravox, 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65XA5o1qGck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp20n8Wdg9w

Before they were Daft Punk, yet after the (quite frankly) dreadful Cindy So Loud 7" which gave them their new name, this one is alright.

Gary Numan's Bombers was mentioned upthread, there's a few other little-known gems on the compilation The Plan such as "The Monday Troop" and "Crime of Passion".

Midge Ure, Thin Lizzy 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqAh7EGFev4

Not really little known, but I do love the song.

Annie Lennox/Dave Stewart, The Tourists, Blind Among The Flowers, 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPafOcZQbTc

Not a little-known record, but I never knew Stephen Luscombe (later of Blancmange) played in the Portsmouth Sinfonia. He also seems to be on one of the Spontaneous Music Orchestra albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDZZEfrRbdw

99% sure this is footage of Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode on keys, who was a floating member of The Korgis at this time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIInWCFsC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2TYc-sX64A

John Linnell from They Might Be Giants played keyboards in this new wave band called the Mundanes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmPPQGkDrA

xp The Korgis themselves were pretty much Stackridge with a skinny-tie makeover
http://www.stackridge.net/images/bandhi1.jpg

Not sure how little-known this is but a decade before "Pop Muzik" Robin Scott was being a psych-folker, his LP has its moments

https://youtu.be/dD3ttebZMkc