Music Profile

New Romantic

Fashion-conscious ’80s U.K. music scene By Jim Allen

Defiantly glamorous hedonistic positivity in reaction to punk’s nihilism

In the late '70s, a loose collective of kids who felt disenfranchised by punk—self-proclaimed "soul boys" (and girls) who preferred grooving to Chic and Marvin Gaye over pogoing to the Pistols—established their own grass-roots movement. Although what came to be called New Romantic was all about elegance and flamboyance, it was very much a working-class phenomenon. The surreal combination of wild clothing from different eras was all about playing dress-up (from pirate to peacock to Victorian dandy) on a DIY budget while pursuing a kind of hedonistic positivity in reaction to punk's nihilism. The aesthetics for the music were established when DJ and former Rich Kids/future Visage drummer Rusty Egan starting spinning a mix of Kraftwerk, Bowie, and disco at a small club called Billy's, which became the scene's center until it got too big for the venue and moved to the Blitz Club. By 1980, scenesters starting forming their own bands, blending the glam, electronics, and dance beats they heard in the clubs. Once Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Classix Nouveaux, et al started scoring hit singles, the New Romantic scene had truly arrived (or ended, depending on your perspective).

TAGS: Cult, Disco, DIY, Electronics, Eurodisco, Fashion, Flamboyant, Glam, London, New Romantic, Nightclub, Post-Punk, Punk, Scene, Soul, Synth Pop, Working Class,

FACTS: ; New Romantics Guardian Article, Rusty Egan, Shapers of the 80s

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