New Romantic
New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz.[1] The New Romantic movement was characterised by flamboyant, eccentric fashion inspired by fashion boutiques such as Kahn and Bell in Birmingham and PX in London.[2] Early adherents of the movement were often referred to by the press by such names as Blitz Kids, New Dandies and Romantic Rebels.[3][4]
"New Romantics" redirects here. For other uses, see New Romantics (disambiguation).
Influenced by David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Roxy Music, the New Romantics developed fashions inspired by the glam rock era coupled with the early Romantic period of the late 18th and early 19th century (from which the movement took its name). The term "New Romantic" is known to have been coined by musician, producer, manager and innovator Richard James Burgess.[5][6][7][8][9] He stated that "'New Romantic' [...] fit the Blitz scene and Spandau Ballet, although most of the groups tried to distance themselves from it."[10][11]
Though it was a fashion movement, several British music acts in the late 1970s and early 1980s adopted the style and became known to epitomise it within the press, including Steve Strange of Visage, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Classix Nouveaux and Boy George (of Culture Club). Ultravox were also often identified as New Romantics by the press, although they did not exhibit the same visual styles of the movement, despite their link to the band Visage.[a] Japan and Adam and the Ants were also labelled as New Romantic artists by the press, although they all repudiated this and none had any direct connection to the original scene.[4] Other aspiring bands of the era including ABC, Depeche Mode, the Human League, Soft Cell, Simple Minds, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Talk Talk have all at some point been described as being part of the New Romantic movement or as having been influenced by it, while others would consider them distinct from it. A number of these bands adopted synthesizers and helped to develop synth-pop in the early 1980s, which, combined with the distinctive New Romantic visuals, helped them first to national success in the UK, and then, via MTV, play a major part in the Second British Invasion of the U.S. charts.
By the beginning of 1982, the original movement had largely dissipated.[1][4] Although many of the artists associated with the scene continued their careers, some to enormous commercial success in the next few years, they had largely abandoned the aesthetics of the movement. There were attempts to revive the movement from the 1990s, including the short-lived Romo scene.
Documentaries and films
In March 2021, Bruce Ashley's documentary Blitzed: The 80's Blitz Kids' Story, was shown on Sky Arts.[70][71][72] Boy George, Rusty Egan and Marilyn all appeared in the film discussing their time at the club and about the early 1980s-era, whilst La Roux was interviewed about the cultural effects of the New Romantic movement on younger performers like herself.[73]
Although it received less media coverage than London, the Birmingham scene, featuring the likes of Khan and Bell is covered (to an extent) in the 2018 novel Blonde Boy, Red Lipstick. Some of the main characters from the New Romantic movement feature in the book, albeit under different names.
Tramps!, directed by Kevin Hegge, premiered in 2022.[74]