‘Blitz was where all the New Romantics hung out. If you didn’t look good, you didn’t get in. Steve Strange is at the front of the shot – with big hair’
In the 1970s, when I first came to Britain from America, London life was dreary and grey. But then came glam rock and after that punk, which was dark yet flamboyant in a different way. By the early 80s, there was still no money around but there was a feeling of can-do optimism and freedom. The people at the Blitz, a club at Covent Garden, were the movers and shakers of the New Romantic era. I was fascinated by them.
This picture was taken right at the start of the 80s. I knew Steve Strange, Rusty Egan and Midge Ure – who were then part of the band Visage. The Blitz sign was striking and I thought it would make a strong background for a photo of the band. Steve is in the front with big hair, looking straight into the camera. His magnificent fashion transformations were a daily occurrence. Street fashion was at its peak – the pavements and nightclubs were like catwalks – and it was the beginning of gender experimentation and a sexual revolution that’s still resonating today. Inside the club, you had a cast of characters from Boy George to Marilyn. Everyone was dressing up: you could be whatever you wanted. Once you discover glitter, it is hard to go back to bland. It was like a dream, a fantasy land.
