New Romantic
Encyclopedia
New Romanticism was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom
that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London
nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion
and new wave music
. Several music acts from the era adopted the style of the movement and became known to epitomise it within the music and mainstream press, including Ultravox
, Visage
, Duran Duran
, Spandau Ballet
, ABC
and Boy George
(of Culture Club
). Adam and the Ants
were also labelled as New Romantic by the press, although they had no direct connection to the original scene. A number of these bands adopted synthesizers and helped to develop synthpop
in the early 1980s, which, combined with the distinctive New Romantic visuals helped them first to national success in the UK and, with help of MTV
to play a major part in the Second British Invasion
of the US charts. By the mid-1980s the original movement had largely dissipated and, although some of the artists associated with the scene continued their careers, they had largely abandoned the aesthetics of the movement and the synthpop sound. There were attempts to revive the movement from the 1990s, including the short-lived romo
movement.
of the early 1970s, particularly that of David Bowie
and Roxy Music
. In terms of style it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance of punk. Both sexes often dressed in counter-sexual or androgynous
clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick
, partly derived from earlier punk fashions. This "gender bending" was particularly evident in figures such as Boy George
of Culture Club
and Marilyn (Peter Robinson). Fashion was based on varied looks based on romantic themes, including frilly fop
shirts
in the style of the English Romantic
period, Russian constructivism, Bonny Prince Charlie, French Incroyables and 1930s Cabaret
, Hollywood starlet
s, Puritan
s and clown
s, with any look being possible if it was adapted to be unusual and striking. Common hairstyles included quiff
s, mullet
s and wedges. Soon after they began to gain mainstream attention, however, many New Romantic bands dropped the eclectic clothes and makeup in favour of sharp suits that echoed Bowie's Thin White Duke image.
New Romantic looks were adopted and adapted by major fashion designers, began to influence major collections and were spread, with a delay, through reviews of what was being worn in clubs via magazines including i-D
and The Face
. The emergence of the New Romantic movement into the mainstream coincided with Vivienne Westwood
's unveiling of her "pirate collection", which was promoted by Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants, who were managed by her then partner Malcolm McLaren
.
While some contemporary bands, particularly those of the 2 Tone
ska revival, dealt with issues of unemployment and urban decay, New Romantics adopted an escapist and aspirational stance. With its interest in design, marketing and image, has been seen an acceptance of Thatcherism
and style commentator Peter Yorke
even suggested that it was aligned with the New Right
.
, London. In 1979, the growing popularity of the club forced organisers Steve Strange
and Rusty Egan
to relocate to a larger venue in the Blitz, a wine bar in Great Queen Street
, Covent Garden
, where they ran a Tuesday night "Club for Heroes". Its patrons dressing as uniquely as they could in an attempt to draw the most attention. Strange worked as the doorman and Egan was the club's DJ. The Blitz club became known for its exclusive door policy and strict dress code. Strange would frequently deny potential patrons admittance because he felt that they were not costumed creatively or subversively enough to blend in well with those inside the club. In a highly publicised incident, Mick Jagger
tried to enter the club while under the influence of alcohol, but was denied entry by Strange. The club spawned several spin-offs and there were soon clubs elsewhere in London and in other major British cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
While still at Billy's, Strange and Egan joined Billy Currie
and Midge Ure
of Ultravox
to form the band Visage
. Before forming Culture Club, Boy George and Marilyn worked as cloakroom
attendants at the Blitz. The video for David Bowie's 1980 UK number one single "Ashes to Ashes
" included appearances by Strange with three other Blitz kids, the first time that mainstream audiences were aware of a glam rock revival.
, electronic art rock, disco
and particularly the "Kraut rock" of bands like Kraftwerk
and the three albums made by Bowie with Brian Eno
in his "Berlin period". After the breakthrough of Tubeway Army
and Gary Numan
in the British Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound and they came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s. Key New Romantic bands that adopted synthpop included Duran Duran
, Japan
, Ultravox
, Visage
, Spandau Ballet
and ABC
.
Early synthpop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Later the introduction of dance beats made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Duran Duran, who emerged from the Birmingham scene, have been credited with incorporating a disco
-derived rhythm section
into synthpop to produce a catchier and warmer sound, which provided them with a series of hit singles. They would soon be followed onto the British charts by a series of bands utilising synthesisers to create catchy three-minute pop songs. Synthpop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981-2, with bands including Japan, Ultravox and Depeche Mode enjoying top ten hits.
Of groups associated with the New Romantic movement, Culture Club avoided a total reliance on synthesizers, producing a sound that combined elements of Motown, the Philly sound and lovers rock
. Other London groups, including Bow Wow Wow
and Adam and the Ants
, utilised the African influenced rhythms of the "Burundi beat".
reached the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles in 1982. Style conscious New Romantic synthpop acts became a major staple of MTV programming. "I Ran (So Far Away)
" (1982), by A Flock of Seagulls
, is generally considered the first hit by a British act to enter the Billboard Top Ten as a result of the power of video. They would be followed by a large number of acts, many of them employing synthpop sounds, over the next three years, with Duran Duran's glossy videos symbolising the power of MTV and this Second British Invasion
. The switch to a "New Music
" format in US radio stations was also significant in the success of British bands.
During 1983, 30% of the record sales were from British acts. On 18 July, 18 of the top 40, and 6 of the top 10 singles, were by British artists. Newsweek
magazine ran an issue which featured Annie Lennox
and Boy George
on the cover of one of its issues, with the caption "Britain Rocks America – Again", while Rolling Stone
would release an "England Swings" issue with Boy George on the cover. In April 1984, 40 of the top 100 singles, and in a May 1985 survey 8 of the top 10 singles, were by acts of British origin.
Music journalist Dave Rimmer considered the peak of the movement was the Live Aid
concert of July 1985, after which "everyone seemed to take hubristic tumbles", and Simon Reynolds also notes the "Do They Know Its Christmas" single in late 1984 and Live Aid in 1985 as a turning points, with the movement seen as having become decadent, with "overripe arrangements and bloated videos" for songs like Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" and Culture Club's "War Song". The proliferation of acts had led to an anti-synth backlash, with groups including Spandau Ballet, Soft Cell and ABC incorporating more conventional influences and instruments into their sounds. An American reaction against European synthpop and "haircut bands" has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock
and roots rock
. In the UK, the arrival of indie rock
bands, particularly The Smiths
, has been seen as marking the end of synth-driven New Wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that would come to dominate rock into the 1990s. By the end of the 1980s many acts had been dropped by their labels and the solo careers of many New Romantic stars gradually faded.
In the mid-1990s, New Romanticism was the subject of nostalgia-oriented club nights — such as the Human League inspired "Don't You Want Me Baby", and "Planet Earth", a Duran Duran-themed night club whose promoter told The Sunday Times "It's more of a celebration than a revival". In the same period New Romanticism was also an inspiration for the short-lived romo
musical movement. It was championed by Melody Maker
, who proclaimed on its front cover in 1995 that it was a "future pop explosion" that had "executed" Britpop, and including bands Orlando
, Plastic Fantastic, Minty, Viva, Sexus, Hollywood, Dex Dexter. None made the British top 75 and after an unsuccessful Melody Maker organised tour most of the bands soon broke up.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and new wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
. Several music acts from the era adopted the style of the movement and became known to epitomise it within the music and mainstream press, including Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
, ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
and Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
(of Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
). Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
were also labelled as New Romantic by the press, although they had no direct connection to the original scene. A number of these bands adopted synthesizers and helped to develop synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
in the early 1980s, which, combined with the distinctive New Romantic visuals helped them first to national success in the UK and, with help of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
to play a major part in the Second British Invasion
Second British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
of the US charts. By the mid-1980s the original movement had largely dissipated and, although some of the artists associated with the scene continued their careers, they had largely abandoned the aesthetics of the movement and the synthpop sound. There were attempts to revive the movement from the 1990s, including the short-lived romo
Romo
Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and clubbing movement, of Glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred around the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia, as well as concerts by the chief associated bands.The Romo...
movement.
Characteristics
New Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to punk, and a revival of the glam rockGlam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
of the early 1970s, particularly that of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
. In terms of style it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance of punk. Both sexes often dressed in counter-sexual or androgynous
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick
Lipstick
Lipstick is a cosmetic product containing pigments, oils, waxes, and emollients that applies color, texture, and protection to the lips. Many varieties of lipstick are known. As with most other types of makeup, lipstick is typically, but not exclusively, worn by women...
, partly derived from earlier punk fashions. This "gender bending" was particularly evident in figures such as Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
of Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
and Marilyn (Peter Robinson). Fashion was based on varied looks based on romantic themes, including frilly fop
Fop
Fop became a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England. Some of the very many similar alternative terms are: "coxcomb", fribble, "popinjay" , fashion-monger, and "ninny"...
shirts
Poet shirt
A poet shirt is a type of shirt made as a loose-fitting blouse with full bishop sleeves, usually decorated with large frills on the front and on the cuffs. Typically, it has a laced-up V-neck opening, designed to pull over the head, but can have a full-length opening fastened by buttons...
in the style of the English Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
period, Russian constructivism, Bonny Prince Charlie, French Incroyables and 1930s Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, Hollywood starlet
Starlet
Starlet may refer to:*Toyota Starlet, car*Corby Starlet, airplane*The Starlet, reality TV show*Starlet sea anemone, a species of sea anemone native to the east coast of the United States...
s, Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
s and clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
s, with any look being possible if it was adapted to be unusual and striking. Common hairstyles included quiff
Quiff
The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 50s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. The etymology of the word is uncertain but may derive from the French word "coiffe" which can mean either a hairstyle or, going further back, the mail knights wore over their heads and...
s, mullet
Mullet (haircut)
The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. . The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s...
s and wedges. Soon after they began to gain mainstream attention, however, many New Romantic bands dropped the eclectic clothes and makeup in favour of sharp suits that echoed Bowie's Thin White Duke image.
New Romantic looks were adopted and adapted by major fashion designers, began to influence major collections and were spread, with a delay, through reviews of what was being worn in clubs via magazines including i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
and The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
. The emergence of the New Romantic movement into the mainstream coincided with Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
's unveiling of her "pirate collection", which was promoted by Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants, who were managed by her then partner Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
.
While some contemporary bands, particularly those of the 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska revival, dealt with issues of unemployment and urban decay, New Romantics adopted an escapist and aspirational stance. With its interest in design, marketing and image, has been seen an acceptance of Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
and style commentator Peter Yorke
Peter Yorke
Father Peter Christopher Yorke was an Irish-American Catholic priest and a noted Irish Republican and Labor activist in San Francisco was the youngest child of Gregory Yorke, a sea-captain, and his wife Brigid, née Kelly. He was pastor of St...
even suggested that it was aligned with the New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
.
Names
In its early stages the movement was known by a large number of names, including "new dandies", "romantic rebels", "peacock punk", "the futurists", "the cult with no name" and eventually as the "Blitz kids". As the scene moved beyond a single club the press settled on the name New Romantics.Origins
The movement developed out of David Bowie and Roxy Music nights run in the nightclub Billy's in Dean StreetDean Street
Dean Street is a street in Soho, London, England, running between Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south.-Historical figures:The street has a rich history. In 1764 a young Mozart gave a recital at 21 Dean Street...
, London. In 1979, the growing popularity of the club forced organisers Steve Strange
Steve Strange
Steve Strange , is a Welsh pop singer, best known as the lead singer and frontman of the 1980s pop group Visage...
and Rusty Egan
Rusty Egan
Rusty Egan was the drummer for the British new wave band, The Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock, bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; with Steve New guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; and fronted by Midge Ure guitarist, lead...
to relocate to a larger venue in the Blitz, a wine bar in Great Queen Street
Great Queen Street
Great Queen Street is a street in central London, England in the West End. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, west to east...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, where they ran a Tuesday night "Club for Heroes". Its patrons dressing as uniquely as they could in an attempt to draw the most attention. Strange worked as the doorman and Egan was the club's DJ. The Blitz club became known for its exclusive door policy and strict dress code. Strange would frequently deny potential patrons admittance because he felt that they were not costumed creatively or subversively enough to blend in well with those inside the club. In a highly publicised incident, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
tried to enter the club while under the influence of alcohol, but was denied entry by Strange. The club spawned several spin-offs and there were soon clubs elsewhere in London and in other major British cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
While still at Billy's, Strange and Egan joined Billy Currie
Billy Currie
Billy Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...
and Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
of Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
to form the band Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
. Before forming Culture Club, Boy George and Marilyn worked as cloakroom
Cloakroom
A cloakroom, or sometimes coatroom, is a room for people to hang their cloaks. They are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls....
attendants at the Blitz. The video for David Bowie's 1980 UK number one single "Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)
"Ashes to Ashes" is a single by David Bowie, released in 1980. It made #1 in the UK and was the first cut from the Scary Monsters album, also a #1 hit. As well as its musical qualities, it is noted for its innovative video, directed by Bowie and David Mallet...
" included appearances by Strange with three other Blitz kids, the first time that mainstream audiences were aware of a glam rock revival.
Styles of music
Bands that emerged from the New Romantic movement became closely associated with the use of synthesizers to create rock and pop music. This synthpop was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, electronic art rock, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and particularly the "Kraut rock" of bands like Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and the three albums made by Bowie with Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
in his "Berlin period". After the breakthrough of Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...
and Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
in the British Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound and they came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s. Key New Romantic bands that adopted synthpop included Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Japan
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
, Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
, Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
and ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
.
Early synthpop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Later the introduction of dance beats made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Duran Duran, who emerged from the Birmingham scene, have been credited with incorporating a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-derived rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
into synthpop to produce a catchier and warmer sound, which provided them with a series of hit singles. They would soon be followed onto the British charts by a series of bands utilising synthesisers to create catchy three-minute pop songs. Synthpop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981-2, with bands including Japan, Ultravox and Depeche Mode enjoying top ten hits.
Of groups associated with the New Romantic movement, Culture Club avoided a total reliance on synthesizers, producing a sound that combined elements of Motown, the Philly sound and lovers rock
Lovers rock
Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...
. Other London groups, including Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow were an English 1980s New Wave band created by Malcolm McLaren to promote his and business partner Vivienne Westwood's New Romantic fashion lines.The group's music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".-History:...
and Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
, utilised the African influenced rhythms of the "Burundi beat".
The second British invasion
In the US the cable music channel MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
reached the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles in 1982. Style conscious New Romantic synthpop acts became a major staple of MTV programming. "I Ran (So Far Away)
I Ran (So Far Away)
"I Ran" is a song by English New Wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released on their debut album A Flock of Seagulls in 1982 and was its most successful single, reaching number 9 in the United States and number 1 in Australia.-Single:The single was promoted by a distinctive music video in...
" (1982), by A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
, is generally considered the first hit by a British act to enter the Billboard Top Ten as a result of the power of video. They would be followed by a large number of acts, many of them employing synthpop sounds, over the next three years, with Duran Duran's glossy videos symbolising the power of MTV and this Second British Invasion
Second British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
. The switch to a "New Music
New Music (music industry)
New Music was an umbrella term used by the music industry and by music journalists in the United States, primarily during 1982 and 1983 to describe music acts who had come to commercial success in the United States through the cable music channel MTV...
" format in US radio stations was also significant in the success of British bands.
During 1983, 30% of the record sales were from British acts. On 18 July, 18 of the top 40, and 6 of the top 10 singles, were by British artists. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine ran an issue which featured Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
on the cover of one of its issues, with the caption "Britain Rocks America – Again", while Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
would release an "England Swings" issue with Boy George on the cover. In April 1984, 40 of the top 100 singles, and in a May 1985 survey 8 of the top 10 singles, were by acts of British origin.
Decline and revivals
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert of July 1985, after which "everyone seemed to take hubristic tumbles", and Simon Reynolds also notes the "Do They Know Its Christmas" single in late 1984 and Live Aid in 1985 as a turning points, with the movement seen as having become decadent, with "overripe arrangements and bloated videos" for songs like Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" and Culture Club's "War Song". The proliferation of acts had led to an anti-synth backlash, with groups including Spandau Ballet, Soft Cell and ABC incorporating more conventional influences and instruments into their sounds. An American reaction against European synthpop and "haircut bands" has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock
Heartland rock
Heartland rock is a genre of rock music that developed in the 1970s and reached its commercial peak in the 1980s, when it became one of the best-selling genres in the United States. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a...
and roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
. In the UK, the arrival of indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
bands, particularly The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, has been seen as marking the end of synth-driven New Wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that would come to dominate rock into the 1990s. By the end of the 1980s many acts had been dropped by their labels and the solo careers of many New Romantic stars gradually faded.
In the mid-1990s, New Romanticism was the subject of nostalgia-oriented club nights — such as the Human League inspired "Don't You Want Me Baby", and "Planet Earth", a Duran Duran-themed night club whose promoter told The Sunday Times "It's more of a celebration than a revival". In the same period New Romanticism was also an inspiration for the short-lived romo
Romo
Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and clubbing movement, of Glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred around the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia, as well as concerts by the chief associated bands.The Romo...
musical movement. It was championed by Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, who proclaimed on its front cover in 1995 that it was a "future pop explosion" that had "executed" Britpop, and including bands Orlando
Orlando (band)
Orlando was the most successful and visible band to emerge from the extremely brief Romo movement of the mid-'90s. Formed from the ashes of Sarah Records band Shelley, Orlando were led by lyricist/guitarist Dickon Edwards, and singer/songwriter Tim Chipping...
, Plastic Fantastic, Minty, Viva, Sexus, Hollywood, Dex Dexter. None made the British top 75 and after an unsuccessful Melody Maker organised tour most of the bands soon broke up.