As a guitarist and songwriter, Kimberley Rew has been an important and influential figure in new wave and alternative rock of the '70s and '80s, in the mainstream as well as in the underground. As a member of the seminal neo-psychedelic/punk outfit the Soft Boys, Rew's ringing, Byrdsy riffs combined with those of leader and future cult icon Robyn Hitchcock to exert a massive influence on groups like R.E.M., whose jangly guitar-pop would become one of the dominant sounds in '80s alternative rock. After the Soft Boys disbanded, Rew formed Katrina & the Waves, with his bright gui...