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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]
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.
- ^ a b Johnson, David (4 October 2009). "Spandau Ballet, the Blitz Kids and the birth of the New Romantics". The Observer. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
- ^ Persson, Laura Borrelli (11 September 2015). "Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes Talks New Wave, David Bowie, and Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent". Vogue. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "BLITZ KIDS, Shapers of the 80s". Shapersofthe80s.com. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ a b c Cateforis, Theo (2011). Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. pp. 47–8. ISBN 978-0-472-03470-3.
- ^ "Adventures in synth". The Guardian. 1 May 2008.
- ^ "RICHARD JAMES BURGESS Interview". 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Richard James Burgess, CEO, American Association of Independent Music". SouthWales.ac.uk.
- ^ "Richard James Burgess's schedule for 2019 AIMP Indie Music Publishing Summit". Aimpsummit2019.sched.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Richard James Burgess". SoundExchange. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ "Feature - Moments Like These: Richard James Burgess". NZ Musician.
- ^ "Episode 23: Richard James Burgess (President & CEO A2IM)". Jaxsta.
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