Yes, punk was called new-wave in the late '70s. It was a reference to French cinema of the 1950s. "New Wave" didn't mean skinny ties and pink Trapper Keepers until the '80s. What you think of as New Wave was probably from the movement called "New Romantic." Think Duran-Duran.

Here's a radio ad for the Sex Pistols playing Dallas in January 1978. "The Sex Pistols bring the new wave to the Metroplex this Tuesday night at the Longhorn Ballroom."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBg-eKOO2E8

None of those groups were New Wave. It was a synth-pop dance genre defined by the Human League, Gary Numan, Flock of Seagulls, The Normal, OMD, Ultravox, and Devo. The British press dubbed it New Wave as the inheritors of Disco, not rock. It was hated when it started charting, in the same way Disco was. People were just getting used to prog-rock and Pink Floyd imitators. The drum machines and synths made it worse. Punk was actually a descendent of NYC/LA youth movements, not the art rock diversions of NYC proto-rock. The Sex Pistols were mostly a marketing gimmick by Malcolm McClaren. But, people heard that album and started their own band. Punk as a movement came from the people inspired by the Pistols rather than the band itself. Nobody covered Sex Pistols songs.

The Talking Heads are a white funk rock group that appeal to 80s college kids. There was rarely any taste crossover into synth-pop, new wave or punk. More like Bob Marley, David Bowie, Tom Waits, REM, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Most of the big Talking Heads fans I know stopped listening to new music after 1990.

It sounds odd to me, but I suppose "were called" is probably true in the sense that some did call them that, e.g. they are in the "new wave" compilation album.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_(compilation_album)

I highly recommend reading Simon Reynold's history of post-punk, "Rip It Up and Start Again." That book does a lot to break down the idea of discreet musical sub-genres in the late 70s and early 80s. There were individual scenes, for sure, but really there was just an explosion of creativity with that first wave of punk as more of a catalyst or a rallying cry.

I also have some very uninformed personal thoughts on the term "pre-punk" which I find really silly. All it really means is that the Sex Pistols weren't nearly as original as the mythmaking states, and a lot of other bands were playing in the same sandbox before and after. It's not like every punk and post-punk band after the Pistols was primarily influenced by their sound. It was their posture.

You can tell an alternate history of music that deemphasizes the Sex Pistols where there was a New Wave that started in the early 70s with the New York Dolls or the Stooges or something, and it includes the Ramones, the Modern Lovers, the Buzzcocks and a whole lot more. I'm not nearly knowledgable enough to really put the pieces together, beyond half-remembering this book I read several years ago. Still, it's fun to think about.

They are New Wave the same way Jethro Tull is Heavy Metal.

New wave was never a good term. Hell, punk was a pointless genre too. There's just so many different brands and ideology.

What do Duran Duran have to do with the Talking Heads? Pretty close to nothing. I don't even see talking heads as much of a "punk band". Especially, in the mid-late eras, they seem more like a proto-jamband, but I'll admit I don't understand the style differences at a purely musical level.

Other "new wave" acts really look more like just punk bands. I don't understand how the ramones got classified as new wave... do they use synths? That's not THE distinguishing factor, but it makes it look more like new wave, vs. traditional punk.

... but maybe a punk band can use synths without crossing over into "new wave".

Having been of a record buying age at that time, I think "New Wave" was really more of a marketing term. Punk had a somewhat bad reputation at the time, 78 I would have been 14. New Wave was a way to get people to buy records that were not from big venue rock bands, i.e. Stones, Who, ELO, Kiss etc. The Police's first record was considered "punk" when I got it among my peers. Got me into more of the local LA punk bands, although I was listening the Dickies before the Police. I knew lots of people listened to Blondie, the Dickies, the Germs or Black Flag not so many. As I mentioned on the other thread I actually was at the Pantages for the talking heads show it was awesome!

Danny Elfman and The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo were called New Wave, too, as I recall.

I talked to a French Horn player who's actually played some of his stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenada_Schizophrana

coming to San Jose!

https://www.dannyelfman.com/upcoming-events

1980, End of the Century, produced by Phil Spector, so un-punk rock it was safe to be given to children in Florida schools

Yea The Ramones were punk

And don’t anyone tell me they were “proto-punk” that’s just ridiculous

"Nobody knows I'm New Wave" - Kurt Cobain