strange / estranged (but not really) children of glam

 

"Every New Romantic was an idol-wannabe looking to cross over and make it big. While the likes of Boy George became  stars, a new scene was fermenting in London during 1982: Goth. Its epicenter was the Batcave, a Soho nightclub packed with fans of the Banshees and the early culty-and-kinky Adam & the Antz. “It was a light bulb for all the freaks and people like myself who were from the sticks and wanted a bit more from life,” Johnny Melton from the band Specimen has said of the Batcave. “Freaks, weirdos, sexual deviants…“ The club’s vibe was all leather-and-lace and B-movie ghoulishness, while the soundtrack consisted of old glam, the Cramps, and early efforts by Goth bands like Alien Sex Fiend. 

"But while Goth rejected synths and discofunk, the scene was really not that different from New Romanticism, sharing common ancestry in Bowie/Roxy and a passion for posing. There was even some cross-over between the scenes: Goth face Andi Sex Gang shared a squat with Boy George at one point, while Theatre of Hate frontman Kirk Brandon is reputed to have been on even more intimate terms. Specimen’s anthem “Stand Up, Stand Out” could have been a manifesto for New Romanticism as much as for Goth, as could Banshees songs like “Painted Bird”, which paid tribute to their audience with the lines: “confound that dowdy flock with a sharp honed nerve/because we’re painted birds, by our own design”.

"Like the Blitz before it, the Batcave metastatised across pop culture, spawning similar scenes across the UK and the world, while its bigger talents became successful--and increasingly conventional-sounding--rock bands. Meanwhile, the spirit of “don’t dream it, be it” rematerialized in a new club, Taboo...."

from "London Glam City", GQ Style, 2006