Steve Strange
Steve Strange (1959 - 2015) was born
Stephen John Harrington in Caerphilly on the 28th of May, 1959. His
early life was spent in Hampshire and Rhyl, before moving back to
Newbridge with his mother, where he went to Newbridge Grammar School,
which then became Newbridge Comprehensive School.
By 1976, Steve and others were known as the ‘first punks in Wales’. Steve left for London, where he formed the band ‘The Moors Murderers’ with Soo Catwoman - other members were Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders), Vince Ely (later of Psychedelic Furs), Topper Headon (later of the Clash), Mark Ryan (formerly of Adam and the Ants) and Anthony Doughty (later of Transvision Vamp). They recorded the bootlegged ‘Free Hindley’ - with a B-side of The Ten Commandments to show they did not condone murder. The band were obviously still controversial and disbanded when Steve Strange and Anthony Doughty were beaten up in 1978.
Steve Strange was then briefly vocalist of The Photons, before forming the synthpop supergroup Visage. Steve Strange was frontman, until their break up in 1985, while other members included Rusty Egan, Midge Ure and Billy Currie, amongst others. It was through Visage that Steve became linked with the New Romantic movements of the 1980s, after appearing in the Bowie video ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ which also helped lead to the success of Visage, and their second single ‘Fade to Grey.’
Again with Rusty Egan, Steve Strange became a nightclub host in the late 1970s, organising ‘Bowie Nights’ on Tuesdays at Billy’s (later Gossips) in Soho, and then in the ‘Blitz’ club in 1979. Strange was essential to the New Romantics movement, a luxurious and androgynous fashion movement particularly popular in the 1980s, as he only admitted the ‘weird and the wonderful’ to his nightclubs. Strange and Egan fronted the “Club for Heroes” on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1981, then ‘Camden Palace’ from 1982 to 1984, then one of the most famous nightclubs, and then ‘The Playground.’ Later, he was part of the trance club movement in Ibiza.
From 100 Ideas that Changed Fashion, by Harriet Worsley:
Steve Strange died of a heart attack, aged 55, on the 12th of February, 2015.
By 1976, Steve and others were known as the ‘first punks in Wales’. Steve left for London, where he formed the band ‘The Moors Murderers’ with Soo Catwoman - other members were Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders), Vince Ely (later of Psychedelic Furs), Topper Headon (later of the Clash), Mark Ryan (formerly of Adam and the Ants) and Anthony Doughty (later of Transvision Vamp). They recorded the bootlegged ‘Free Hindley’ - with a B-side of The Ten Commandments to show they did not condone murder. The band were obviously still controversial and disbanded when Steve Strange and Anthony Doughty were beaten up in 1978.
Steve Strange was then briefly vocalist of The Photons, before forming the synthpop supergroup Visage. Steve Strange was frontman, until their break up in 1985, while other members included Rusty Egan, Midge Ure and Billy Currie, amongst others. It was through Visage that Steve became linked with the New Romantic movements of the 1980s, after appearing in the Bowie video ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ which also helped lead to the success of Visage, and their second single ‘Fade to Grey.’
Again with Rusty Egan, Steve Strange became a nightclub host in the late 1970s, organising ‘Bowie Nights’ on Tuesdays at Billy’s (later Gossips) in Soho, and then in the ‘Blitz’ club in 1979. Strange was essential to the New Romantics movement, a luxurious and androgynous fashion movement particularly popular in the 1980s, as he only admitted the ‘weird and the wonderful’ to his nightclubs. Strange and Egan fronted the “Club for Heroes” on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1981, then ‘Camden Palace’ from 1982 to 1984, then one of the most famous nightclubs, and then ‘The Playground.’ Later, he was part of the trance club movement in Ibiza.
From 100 Ideas that Changed Fashion, by Harriet Worsley:
When Steve Strange and Rusty Egan designated Tuesday nights as Bowie Nights at a club in London’s Soho in 1978, it attracted a new fashion following. Consisting largely of former punks, these were young people who had enjoyed the sartorial aspect of punk but shied away from the movement’s violent and anarchistic lifestyle. They formed a glamorous, colourfully dressed crowd, whom the press first dubbed the Blitz Kids (after the Blitz nightclub, a favourite haunt), and then the New Romantics. Other clubs sprang up to cater for the movement’s growing popularity, playing music from the new electronic pop/synthesizer bands such as Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet.Steve Strange fronted a new version of Visage in the 2000s, was portrayed in ‘Taboo’ for his part in the New Romantics movement (along with other New Romantics figures such as Marilyn), released the autobiography ‘Blitzed’ and appeared in tv show ‘Ashes to Ashes’. Strange also, in the 2000s, publicly discussed his sexuality, being openly bisexual. Visage released their first new album in 29 years, ‘Hearts and Knives’ in 2013, then the third, and final, incarnation of Visage.
Steve Strange died of a heart attack, aged 55, on the 12th of February, 2015.
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