Here’s a gossipy, nostalgic and really quite lovely documentary about the New Romantics, the scene best remembered for the flouncy shirts and extreme makeup, as told by some of the key players. The New Romantics (as they would never have dreamed of calling themselves) were arty kids in London in the late 70s and early 80s; the scene evolved out of punk, and was born on the dancefloor of the Blitz club in Covent Garden where Boy George worked as coat-check attendant (so he could steal out of coat pockets, apparently). The door policy was brutal – Mick Jagger got turned away. “But all the freaks got in for free.”
And what freaks. This was the Thatcher era of grim recession and a lot of the “Blitz kids” lived in a squat in Warren Street in four of five Georgian houses knocked together. It was filthy but brilliant: you had to wear wellies to go to the loo, and most of the residents were on the dole. (“Who was going to give us jobs looking like that?”). But they were compulsively creative, making films, music, fashion, art. Clearly, a lot of time – a lot! – was spent dressing up, putting together DIY extravagant looks. A woman remembers travelling on the tube with her nipples painted red, wearing nothing but “a bit of muslin”. One drag queen carried concrete in her handbag for self-defence against homophobic attacks. The scene sounds like a sixth form, full of petty squabbling and rivalries; there’d be a fight on the dancefloor if someone stole your look.
In hindsight there’s something quaint, endearing even, about the New Romantics mentality. They were desperate to be famous, but didn’t give a hoot about making money. Today, they’d all be influencers earning thousands of pounds from brands. Many went on to be leaders in their fields, including Boy George, choreographer Michael Clark and film-maker John Maybury. It’s Maybury who reminds director Kevin Hegge not to forget the queer influence. It’s often left out of documentaries, he says, because so many young gay men were lost to Aids – “a typhoon of death”. What a desperately sad ending.
Tramps! is released on 11 December on digital platforms.
