Tag Archives: Swinging 80s

2011 ➤ Pay now — so We Can Be Heroes goes ahead!

Posted on 26 Oct 2011 | Leave a comment

1980: Clare Thom, Philip Sallon and George O’Dowd on a coach trip to Margate. Photograph by Graham Smith/grsmith@mac.com.jpg from his book We Can Be Heroes

WE CAN BE HEROES
must be funded by November 12 17 [update]

❚ NOBODY IS BETTER QUALIFIED to chronicle the whirlwind six years between punk and the death of the New Romantics than Graham Smith through his eye-witness photography, and the writer Chris Sullivan, one of the core movers-and-shapers of his generation. UK music and style evolved out of all recognition in a mighty resurgence of youth subcultures that directly triggered a rejuvenation of mainstream media for the rest of the decade. Shapersofthe80s was on hand as an observer. But these two wags were in the thick of the action — major players in a spontaneous youthful collaboration to regenerate the UK’s ailing music and style scenes as 1980 dawned. With contributions by a galaxy of stars, who include Gary Kemp and Boy George, this will become the definitive story of one of the great explosions of creativity in British youth culture.

The authors aim to get their large-format 320-page coffee-table photobook We Can Be Heroes to you in time for Christmas. Their “crowd-funding” venture requires them to raise the cash first by asking YOU to buy your copy in advance, before 6pm GMT on November 12 17. Your reward is to see your name printed as a Supporter in the limited first edition. The clock is ticking.

View Graham’s video today at Unbound Publishing, a new company under the patronage of Faber, the most prestigious publisher in Britain. Here you can purchase your book and enjoy other perks such as an invitation to the launch party. Join the clubbers at Facebook who are submitting their own photos and tales of merriment.

➢ Twitter directly with the publisher, Unbound

READ WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID
ABOUT WE CAN BE HEROES

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➢ Unbound aims for 40 books in year one … Supported by Faber, the platform was created by QI writers John Mitchinson and John Pollard, and Crap Towns author Dan Kieran — The Bookseller

➢ Funded by the people — Channel 4 News video on “crowdfunding”, the process that decides when and how Graham’s book gets published

➢ Why creative clubbing ended with the 80s — the credentials that equipped Smithy, Sullivan and Elms (and a few other crazies) to start changing the world

➢ Boy George says the 70s were the best time ever to be a teenager — and Tweets that “it’s a brilliant book about the New Romantics! Really!” He has also written a foreword in We Can Be Heroes. (So have Gary Kemp, Steve Strange and Robert Elms)

➢ A slideshow of Graham’s Blitz-era gems at Guardian online

➢ Thirty years of punk and post-punk photo imagery — by Disneyrollergirl, one of The Times’ 40 bloggers who count

➢ Huffington Post: All about 1980s club kids — former Blitz Kid and Times fashion editor Iain R Webb writes about Bowie’s impact on the Blitz scene

➢ A legacy that has inspired each decade since the 80s — Princesss Julia, international deejay and fabulous Blitz Club coat-check girl, writes for i-D about stripping away the posers’ facade

➢ Update Nov 6: priceless storytelling about 80s mayhem with Elms and Sullivan on video

➢ Promo video for Blue Jean (1984) starring David Bowie as Screamin’ Lord Byron before a London clubland audience … Below is the alternate version of Blue Jean for MTV, starring Bowie and the Aliens, shot live before an audience in Soho’s Wag club, which was hosted for 19 years by Chris Sullivan

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➤ A taste of the 80s Blitz Kids — this photo book captures their unseen glory

Posted on 7 Oct 2011 | 1 comment

Sullivan and Smith at last night's exhibition: man in the middle is king of the posers and Blitz Club host, Steve Strange. Photography by Shapersofthe80s

❚ THE HEROES SHOW IS ON THE ROAD. As of last night the Smith/Sullivan definitive history of 80s clubbing We Can Be Heroes had raised 36% of its “crowd-funding” target required to ensure publication goes ahead. Hence last night’s selling exhibition of Graham Smith’s photography from 30 years ago, most of which has never been seen. His family and friends joined the slebs at the party (video below) hosted by Inside Events in Notting Hill.

Smith said his favourite image on sale last night was on the cover of the book: showing Blitz Kids Clare Thom and a scene-stealing George O’Dowd claiming centre stage by gesturing with both hands and competely masking the face of the second girl beside him, designer Michele Clapton. (Prints are priced from £150 to £450 according to size — inquire by mailing to grsmith [@] mac.com)

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Smith was in the thick of the New Romantic underground taking photos as London nightclubbing revolutionised British pop music and made stars out of Boy George, Sade, Spandau Ballet and scores more new bands. Sullivan was a key player as stylist, host of Soho’s infamous Wag club for 19 years and leader of Blue Rondo à la Turk who had a 1982 chart hit with the soundtrack to our video, Klacto Vee Sed Stein. Broadcaster Robert Elms has written an intro, and there are forewords by Boy George, Steve Strange and Gary Kemp.

The 21st-century way to publish high-quality, short-run numbered editions is to secure sales in advance of publication. So visit Unbound Publishing to place your order which will secure your name in the first edition — and other perks.

Graham Smith in selling mode: can he persuade 22-year-old Bill de Melowood to buy his print of Steve Strange drinking with a bunch of Cardiff dockers? Photography by Shapersofthe80s

Partying family: Graham Smith and wife Lorraine at right, with their daughter Carla and boyfie John. Photography by Shapersofthe80s

❏ iPAD, TABLET & MOBILE USERS PLEASE NOTE — You may see only a tiny selection of items from this wide-ranging website about the 1980s, not chosen by the author. To access fuller background features and site index either click on “Standard view” or visit Shapersofthe80s.com on a desktop computer. ➢ Click here to visit a different random item every time you click

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Posted in Clubbing, London, Media, Pop music, Youth culture

Tagged Blitz club, Blitz Kids, Books, Boy George, Chris Sullivan, Gary Kemp, Graham Smith, New Romantics, photography, Robert Elms, Spandau Ballet, Steve Strange, Swinging 80s, trailer, Unbound publishing, Wag club, We Can Be Heroes

➤ The Blitz Kids WATN? No 37, Judith Frankland — Aufwiedersehen Geordieland, pet

Posted on 4 Oct 2011 | 2 comments

Judith Frankland, fashion,The Woman Who Likes To Say Hello,fashion,Blitz Kids,Ashes to Ashes,

The Great Escape, 2011: Judith Frankland prepares to break out from Newcastle at dawn this morning within the 20kg baggage allowance. Photograph by Joanne Lodge

❚ MOST OF BRITAIN MAY BE SWELTERING in a historic autumn heatwave. Yet Judith Frankland, the ex-Blitz Kid fashion designer, flew out of Tyneside this morning to establish her business in Germany swathed in vital garments she couldn’t pack within the 20kg baggage allowance. “This is my idea for getting as many clothes onboard as possible,” she said. “I’m wearing three topcoats: first a black full-length fake-fur, then stuffing myself inside a black lightweight down to the ankles, then the grey mountain-goat shortie. On top, loads of jewels of course, and in the pockets loads more bling. Down below, I’m in leather biker’s pants, heavy and warm, plus Harley Davidson boots.”

Biker leathers, darling??? “No of course I’m not going bikey, don’t be daft! They are simply so warm and cost only 50p brand new in a car-boot sale. I know I’m going to get beeped at security for my jewellery — changing planes last time at Schiphol, my steel-tipped stilettos set off the alarm. But if they stop me, I’ll be prepared for them, like Maria von Trapp. I’m going to say I’m anorexic and feeling the cold.”

This is how an upstart style princess prepares herself for Berlin, plus new-look hair, cut last night and freshly rinsed pink. She means business. A modest container is already being shipped by Voovit, bringing Judith’s sewing machines, her dramatically retro promotional collection for The Woman Who Likes To Say Hello shown this year in Newcastle upon Tyne, plus a ton more bling (she does have a way with black baubles and gilded chain). Yes, this is the great adventure to build a new life for one of the wild children of the Swinging 80s whose best break came the month she graduated from Ravensbourne art college when David Bowie dropped in at the Blitz Club and chose to put her and her clothes in his landmark video for Ashes to Ashes. [And which Shapersofthe80s displays as the picture heading this website. The New Romantics were utterly in thrall to Bowie.]

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Having taken the temperature of Berlin on an exploratory trip this July, Judith has been scouting the smart district of Prenzlauer Berg for a workshop-cum-living quarters, with another eye on up-market boutiques through which to retail in the short-term.

Judith says: “My main plan is to create high fashion for women who love clothes that are beautiful but avant-garde and might even be called art. I’ve left England to seek fresh inspiration and shall be presenting my outfits next season in Paris in order to re-establish links with buyers who don’t visit London — from Japan and the Far East, for example.”

Judi’s lesson learnt in July: in Berlin an umbrella is no protection from the elements. Photograph by Shapersofthe80s

It is eight years since Judith’s previous bespoke design business blew up in her face. She has described on her blog at The Swelle Life how the American backer behind her Paris-based atelier suddenly got cold feet and hot-footed it back to the States, leaving Judith as the designer holding the baby. This more or less coincided with her mother’s health failing, whereupon Judith returned to Tyneside to care for her.

In Berlin, Judith has not been short of advice from friends made during her ten-year spell in Milan in the 90s designing and hosting nightclubs. Several friends are now relocated to Berlin, including photographer and videographer Sandro Martini. The Dutch costumier Eppo Dekker, who has a boutique called Prêt-à-Couture in Friedrichshain, has also been helping Judith make contacts in the city. Immediate plans include designing stage-wear for the underground performer Antal Nemeth.

“Meanwhile,” Judith says, “this weekend I’m heading down to a vintage Zupermarket run by the Sameheads brothers — they say rich ladies bring in their sparkly clothes for sale and nobody goes away unhappy.”

London’s Cafe Royal, 1980: Judith’s graduation show from Ravensbourne college of art caused a sensation with a glamorous evocation of the 50s in black and white taffeta, brocade, velvet and satin. Its climax was this black wedding dress worn by Sheila Ming, gloriously crowned by Stephen Jones’s veiled head-dress made of stiffened lace on a metal frame. Blitz club host Steve Strange was later to wear it in David Bowie’s video for Ashes to Ashes. Photographed © by Niall McInerney

Judith’s 1980 degree collection shot for Viz: these taffeta and satin outfits in medieval romantic mood were dubbed “Balenciaga hears the Sound of Music”. Photographed © by Adrian Bradbury

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Posted in Europe, Fashion, London

Tagged 2011, Ashes to Ashes, Berlin, Blitz Kids, Judith Frankland, New Romantics, Swinging 80s, The Swelle Life, The Woman Who Likes To Say Hello, Video

➤ Boy George says the 70s were the best time ever to be a teenager — yep, really!

Posted on 3 Oct 2011 | Leave a comment

➢ The Guardian is the first paper off the mark to report Graham Smith’s imminent photo-book on 80s clubland, We Can Be Heroes — with an opinion piece today from Boy George

1980: Clare Thom, Philip Sallon and George O’Dowd on a coach trip to Margate. Photograph by Graham Smith/grsmith@mac.com.jpg from his book We Can Be Heroes

➢ Graham Smith’s intimate portraits perfectly evoke a time when the world seemed destined to be taken over by the young with only the help of a spot of eyeliner — slideshow at The Guardian

➢ We Can Be Heroes is a proposed “crowd-funded” book of pictures that won’t get printed until 1,200 people purchase a copy in advance. To contribute, visit Unbound.co.uk

❏ iPAD & TABLET USERS PLEASE NOTE — You are viewing only a very small selection of content from this wide-ranging website on the 1980s, not chosen by the author. To access fuller background features and topical updates please view Shapersofthe80s.com on a desktop computer

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➤ Bananarama still living the pop life, woteva

Posted on 18 Aug 2011 | 1 comment

Bananarama, Keren Woodward, Sara Dallin, Viva,Rewind Henley, Rewind Australia,pop music

Current Bananarama, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin. Photography by Ellis Parrinder

❚ YES, YES, WE KNOW there used to be three of them in Bananarama when they became the leading UK girl group of the Swinging 80s. The trio established what became a much-parodied all-girl genre with It Ain’t What You Do, It’s the Way That You Do It in 1981 with the Fun Boy Three, followed by He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’. Their windswept hair and fun-girl glamour initially defined a raunchy street style which evolved into the knowing kind of new alpha-female making waves in showbiz such as TV presenters Muriel Gray and Paula Yates. By 1986 the Nanas formed a mutually beneficial partnership with the hitmaking producers Stock Aitken Waterman who crowned the girls’ progress with Venus, their No 1 hit in the US (No 8 in the UK).

But in 1988 we said byebye to co-founder Siobhan Fahey after she found love with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and became Shakespear’s Sister. Then for a while the Nanas had a fourth girl, Jacquie O’Sullivan, as number three, when the Guinness Book of World Records claimed them as the female group with the most chart hits ever, a record they still seem to hold. Then we said farewell to Jacquie, and then farewell to the lot of them. Then in 1992 Bananarama came back as two of the original three, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin, but mainstream chart success has proved elusive while they’ve spent nearly two decades faffing around with remixes and greatest hits but precious little original material on their five albums.

They did score a UK top 20 hit with the new song Move in my Direction in 2005, and they did manage some fresh stuff (such as Seventeen) alongside the covers (such as the chunky S-s-s-single Bed) on the Hi-NRG dance album called Viva in 2009 and a kind BBC reviewer said that as middle-aged women “they still bristle with a pop energy born out of total conviction”!

They naturally boarded the current 80s revival bandwagon singing along with the Here & Now tour and the Rewind Festival this Saturday at Henley, and they’ve spent the past month whetting people’s appetites for their next comeback at the Australian Rewind in October [see below]. But, y’know, the fact that the biog at their website hasn’t been refreshed since wheneva, and their Facebook page is still plugging the Viva album tracks (99p per download at Play.com) and the Video for Love Comes, the “comeback single” from 2009, is all a bit woteva. Just read the interview plugged in their media gallery, Keren’s from the Pink Paper last Christmas where she says: “Same old, same old. It seems so long ago, and yet not so long ago. I don’t know where the year’s gone, really. Shows and stuff, the usual. I don’t know.” Hm, that’s Really Sayin’ Somethin’.

➢ Click to run video for ♫ Love Comes, the “comeback single”

➢ The first Rewind Festival Australia calls itself the world’s biggest 80s music fest, and offers 25 acts over three days Oct 28–30 on the coast of Wollongong NSW. As well as the original Bananarama’s co-founders Sara and Keren, the line-up includes Sister Sledge, Kool and The Gang, Midge Ure, ABC, The Human League, Tony Hadley, Nik Kershaw, ABC, Go West + more tba.