The New Romantic Movement
The outrageous, the glamourous, 'the Cult with no Name', the New Romantics. "New Romantic", a term originally created by Richard Burgess circa 1981, was a term thrown lightly for the ornamental, make-up clad pop bands of the early eighties. It applied to the much hyped scene manifesting out of "Billy's - A Club for Heroes", a club night dually created by Steve Strange in the late seventies. This night later became known as 'the Blitz', where Bowie, Kraftwerk, and [sophisticated and danceable] electronic music ruled the dancefloor , and the bathrooms fumed of hairpsray. The more extreme you made your appearance, the better chance you could gain entrance to this club. The stagnating punk scene took a turn to an extreme, fantasy-driven style, where the kids were addicted to fashion. Leathers were mixed with scarves, silky poet shirts spilled from military jackets, and hair was sculpted into outlandish proportions. Make-up was streaky and bold. The new romantic movement influenced the next style in music, making bands such as Spandau Ballet, Visage, Duran Duran, and Bow Wow Wow chart-toppers. It also paved a way for designers and photographers, with flashy images and Pirate-influenced clothing. 'Inside the Blitz on a Tuesday in 1979 was a crash course for the credulous, and outside was a queue, a foretaste of a decade soon and sure to follow.' [where the people look good and the music is loud]
