Editing The Associates (band) (section)

==Legacy and influence==
The Associates drew stylistically on a variety of genres, including [[art rock]], [[disco]], [[glam rock|glam]], [[Minimal music|minimalism]], [[ballad]]ry and [[cabaret]].<ref name="all"/> Their music has been described as [[post-punk]],<ref name="f">{{cite web|last1=Hawking|first1=Rom|title=10 Bewilderingly Underrated Post-Punk Bands You Need to Hear|url=http://flavorwire.com/249707/10-bewilderingly-underrated-post-punk-bands-you-need-to-hear/view-all|website=Flavorwire|access-date=3 March 2017}}</ref> [[synth-pop]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Armond White |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/remembering-captain-gay-pop-loveboat-000000820.html?ref=gs |title=Remembering the Captain of Gay Pop and His Loveboat |website=Yahoo.com |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> [[New wave music|new wave]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bowiebiography00spit|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/bowiebiography00spit/page/296 296]|quote=The Associates new wave band.|title=Bowie: A Biography|first=Marc|last=Spitz|date=27 October 2009|publisher=Crown/Archetype|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and [[experimental pop]].<ref name="associates">{{cite web|last1=Kellman|first1=Andy|title=White Car in Germany – The Associates: Song Review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/white-car-in-germany-mt0011807975|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> The group was hailed by the likes of [[Björk]] and [[U2]] singer [[Bono]]. Björk stated that her "love affair with the Associates started when I was fifteen [...], it was ''Sulk'' I really got into". "I really admired the way Billy used and manipulated his voice on that record".<ref name=tom>{{cite book|title=The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie |last=Doyle |first=Tom |publisher=Polygon |isbn=978-1846972096 |year=2011}}</ref> Bono said about the Associates: "We ripped them off. Billy was a great singer: I couldn't rip him off".<ref name=tom /> Artists who have covered "Party Fears Two", include [[The Divine Comedy (band)|the Divine Comedy]],<ref>Divine Comedy recorded a version of "Party Fears Two"  on their album ''[[Victory for the Comic Muse]]'' in 2006, [[Parlophone]] – 00946 365372 2 1</ref> [[Dan Bryk]], [[King Creosote]] and [[Heaven 17]]. Journalist [[Simon Reynolds]], called the group "great should-have-beens of British pop".<ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 |date=2 April 2009 |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |isbn=9780571252275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dK-F43T8V0wC&dq=%22the+associates%22+band&pg=PT385 |access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> Chris Tighe wrote that the band have "been belated acknowledged as one of the '80s' most inspired pop groups".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Buckley |editor-first=Peter |year=2003 |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |chapter=The Associates |page=44 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=9781843531050 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&dq=%22the+associates%22+band&pg=PT51}}</ref>

[[Ian Rankin]] took the title of his 2015 [[Inspector Rebus]] novel, ''[[Even Dogs in the Wild]]'', from a track on ''The Affectionate Punch'', and the song itself has a role in the story.

Upon news of Rankine’s passing, [[Ladytron]] wrote on social media, "No Associates = No Ladytron" while saying that he was the "creator of amongst the most joyous magnificent pop music of all time."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/LadytronMusic/status/1610265322946183168 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230104071140/https://twitter.com/LadytronMusic/status/1610265322946183168 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-01-04 |title= Ladytron - RIP Alan Rankine|publisher= Ladytron official|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>