- Blitz Kids
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The Blitz Kids were a group of young people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden, London in the very early 1980s, and are credited with launching the New Romantic cultural movement.[1] Among their number were Steve Strange, Boy George, his friends Marilyn and Alice Temple, Perri Lister, Princess Julia, Philip Sallon, Carl Teper and Martin Degville (later to be the frontman of Tony James' Sigue Sigue Sputnik). The club was known for its outrageous style of clothes and make-up for both sexes, [2] [3] while it was also a birth place of several pop groups.
After beginning at Billy's nightclub in the late 1970s, the Blitz Kids had found themselves bored with the whole punk genre. Billy's had taken to having regular Roxy Music and David Bowie nights and, in an effort to find something new, the denizens took to wearing bizarre home-made costumes and clothing and excessive amounts of make-up, presenting a highly androgynous appearance. As the group moved on from Billy's to the more elitist "Blitz" club, this was widely considered to be the birth of the New Romantic movement.
Soon after, Steve Strange and Boy George became famous in their own right with their musical outings Visage and Culture Club respectively, as did vocalist Marilyn.
Carl Teper went on to become a distinguished British Judge.
Boy George celebrated the Blitz Kids scene in his musical Taboo, in which he played the part of Leigh Bowery.
Alice Temple joined Eg White in 1991 to form the shortlived but critically acclaimed Eg and Alice.
Through the early 1990s, the Blitz Kids and Taboo ethos lived on through another London club Kinky Gerlinky.
There is also a British Rock Group called Blitz Kids that hail from Crewe.
List of Blitz Kids
- Miss Binnie (Christine Binnie)[4]
- Pete Burns (Dead or Alive)
- Isabella Blow
- Michael Clark
- Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet)
- Eddie Hawx
- Marilyn
- Martin Degville (Sigue Sigue Sputnik)
- Christine Dolan
- Peter Dolan
- Rusty Egan (The Rich Kids)
- Boy George (Culture Club)
- Anne Hartnett (Fashion Editor)
- Alison Hierlehy (Hot Gossip)
- Doug Hood
- Joe James
- Tony James (Sigue Sigue Sputnik)
- Stephen Jones[5]
- John Keeble (Spandau Ballet)
- Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
- Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
- Kim Leggit
- Steven Linnard
- Perri Lister (Hot Gossip)
- Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet)
- Barry O'Dea http://www.theblitzkids.com/site_archive/berlin_blondes/barryblitz.html
- Kraig Oliver
- Martin "Pag" Page
- Richard Daniel Roman
- Ronny
- Philip Sallon
- Planet Janet
- Princess Julia
- Luke Sawyer
- Soldier Geordie John
- Soldier Mick (Young)
- Steve Strange (Visage)
- Lizzie Tear
- Alice Temple (Eg & Alice) [6]
- Carl Teper
- Colin Thomas
References
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/04/spandau-ballet-new-romantics
- ^ Miami News, "Monday briefing - About people"' March 29, 1980
- ^ New York Magazine, "Attitude"', July 26, 1982
- ^ http://theblitzkids.com/site_archive/rebel_blue_rocker/missbinnieboy.html
- ^ http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG3502777/And-now-for-Stephen-Joness-crowning-glory.html
- ^ "Alice Temple". The Blitz Kids. http://www.theblitzkids.com/site_archive/the_blitz_kids/alicetemple.html. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
External links
Categories:- 1980s in London
- Musical subcultures
- New Wave music
- Youth culture in the United Kingdom
- 1980s in music
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