THE BLITZ KIDS

Something that has intrigued me a lot are The Club Kids. Not the tacky Michael Alig/Angel Menendez story but rather the original 80s kids. Clubbers and designers and pop culture afficianados and fashionistas thrived in days of cultural change throughout London. They took chances, opened clubs, made music and fitted into their own bitchy cliques stealing, drinking, fucking and taking large quantities of various drugs. It's very interesting to read about the backstory of these people and that time and although I could never have worn some of the outfits or been as wild, it's pretty exciting and inspiring in a way.

I simply love love love the names they gave themselves. A 19 year old twinky muse of Leigh Bowery called himself Trojan. A bitchy door whore at the Taboo club was called Mark Vaultier, lets not forget Isabella Blow, David Cabaret and the incomparable Boy George who is the epitome of the image of this generation of club kids, also named Blitz Kids - after the name of the nightclub where many of these characters were to be found. I first found out about these people when I read Boy George's amazing biography 'Take It Like A Man' He perfectly described his cheeky thieving ways as a cloakroom girl at Blitz and his on again/off again friendship with Marilyn, Leigh Bowery and Philip Sallon. Then 2 years ago, I saw his musical 'Taboo' based on the life of the larger than life Leigh Bowery and again was mesmerized by this garish bunch.

The story of many of these Bitz Kids did end in tragedy... Trojan took an accidental overdose and died aged 20. Mark Vaultier went on a bender with Boy George and did shitloads of heroin before dying in a hovel alone. Many others died of AIDS and Marilyn looked simply awful after plastic surgery. Still keeping it together and being hedonistic hags are Philip Sallon, the big Jew with big hair and Princess Julia who is a prominent DJ in London (in fact when I went to London recently she was whipping up an electro smash at a night at Cock) and of course there's the perennial Boy George who makes headlines for his cheeky comments and sly digs but that's kinda why I like him!!!

So many New Romantic acts such as Spandau Ballet, Visage, Culture Club and Duran Duran all came out of this era, apparently New Romanticism wasn't about going out clubbing - it was about getting ready to go out clubbing and the intense preparation that many individuals had undertaken to look as wild and fabulous as possible. I just love the subject and who doesn't like Martin Kemp?!!!

Favourite story has to be that in a bit of drug induced haze, Leigh Bowery persuaded his muse Trojan to have part of his ear hacked off before heading out to Taboo where the spare part of the ear was doused in lipstick. Or when Mark Vaultier put a mirror to the people in the queue for Taboo and asked 'Would you let you in if you looked liked that?!"