The Wake are a British post-punk, synth-pop and later indie pop band, formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (formerly of Altered Images), Steven Allen (drums) and Joe Donnelly (bass guitar), the latter replaced by Bobby Gillespie. Steven's sister Carolyn Allen also joined on keyboards, and remained in the band thereafter. Gillespie left the band in 1983, replaced by Martin Cunning and then by Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson.

The Wake formed in 1981. The singer-guitarist Caesar, aka Gerard McInulty, had been an original member of Altered Images but quit after they signed to CBS. Other members included drummer Steven Allen, singer-keyboardist Carolyn Allen, and bassist Joe Donnelly. Donelly was quickly replaced by Bobby Gillespie.

The Wake released their first single on their own label Scan Records, coupling together "On Our Honeymoon" and "Give Up". This single eventually caught the attention of New Order manager Rob Gretton, who helped the band sign to Factory Records in 1982 and record an LP (Harmony) at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label Factory Benelux.

In 1983, The Wake toured with New Order, and thus received critical attention but were often unfavourably compared to their more celebrated labelmates. Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983, subsequently playing drums with The Jesus and Mary Chain and achieving fame with his own band Primal Scream. After a short-lived stint with McInulty's ex-classmate Martin Cunning on bass, Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson permanently replaced Gillespie. That same year the band recorded a session on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme and David 'Kid' Jensen's BBC radio 1 show.

The band toured extensively and scored an indie hit with their 1984 single "Talk About The Past" which featured Vini Reilly of Durutti Column on piano. The recording and release of their seminal 1985 album Here Comes Everybody marked the apex of their career. Macpherson left the band after the release. Instead of replacing him, Caesar recorded the bass parts in the studio and the band hired stand-ins for their rare live gigs.

Further releases were few and far between: one more single "Of The Matter" emerged in 1985 before their last release for Factory, a 4-track EP entitled "Something That No One Else Could Bring" finally appeared in 1987.

In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Bristol's legendary Sarah Records, releasing two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994's Tidal Wave of Hype. By this point, once again down to a three piece featuring McInulty, Allen and Allen, they also shared personnel with another Glasgow-based band on Sarah, The Orchids, with whom they had also played a few live gigs. Orchids members Matthew Drummond and James Moody joined them for recording and live performances.

In October 1989 the Wake released "Crush the Flowers". This was followed by their third album, Make It Loud, in 1990.