The late 1970s and early 1980s are often remembered in the popular imagination as a period of social unrest, political upheaval, and inner-city deprivation. For many of Britain’s young people, the decade was by no means an easy one. Youth unemployment peaked at 8.5% in 1980, and jobs that had been worked by generations of the same family were no longer available to school leavers as manufacturing and traditional industry slowed. However, the period was also one of shifting gender norms, radical sexual politics, rapid technological change, and was witness to a thriving youth culture and growing club scene. It was also the period of an increasingly global and visual mass media, marked most notably by the arrival of Music Television (MTV) and the ‘Second British Invasion’ in the early 1980s. It is in this climate of upheaval and change that the New Romantic movement emerged in Britain.
The punk scene of the mid-to-late 1970s had left a far-reaching mark on the landscape of British music, fashion, and art. The emergence of the New Romantics in this era of post-punk has been seen by some as a distinct break away from the ethos of punk DIY, while others see a continuation of this in the experimentation of early synth-pop and unconventional fashions. Regardless of its links to or breaks from punk, the New Romantics presented a markedly different visual aesthetic.
Characterised by their distinctive clothing, theatrical hair and makeup, and association with the New Wave electronic music scene emerging around the end of the 1970s, the movement was seen as representative of the futurism and modernism of the period. They drew inspiration from the flamboyance and androgyny of 1970s Bowie and glam rock, and were unashamedly glamorous in their appearance. The aesthetic of the New Romantics defied gender conventions, and in a period of discussion and debate about prescribed gender roles emerging in both Thatcherite discourse and press coverage of the ‘new man’, the movement was arguably part of a broader reimagining of, and challenge to, conventional ideas about gender and identity.
The emergence of the New Romantics was closely linked to the British club scene, with the early movement being connected with a number of nightclubs in London and Birmingham, including Billy’s and The Blitz. The movement’s focus on innovative fashion and style led to an ever-changing image, while those involved in the scene rejected the label, making it notoriously difficult to define. Fashions were worn with the night out in mind, with dandyism and glamour as central components of this. Despite the precarious economic situation of many young people in this period, the British night time economy thrived.
