A proverb; a late 1980s UK pop band (9,6,3,3)

'a proverb a late 1980s uk pop band' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'a proverb a late 1980s uk pop band' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'late' could be 'd' and 'd' is located in the answer.
'1980s' could be 's' and 's' is present in the answer.
'band' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?