New Romantics: The Look

by Dave Rimmer

The New Romantics rose from the ashes of punk and celebrated the spirit of David Bowie at clubs throughout the UK. Dave Rimmer assesses the style and impact of Boy George, Steve Strange, Spandau Ballet and others who drove this media friendly, club-based 80s style movement that mixed music with fashion, entrepreneurialism and art.

Genres: Music, Fashion

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The images in this book are amazing. Capturing that brief moment in time (late 70s to early 80s) in England in clubs like The Blitz. As a fan of that era I learned more of the influences that spawned 'the look' including Bowie, the movie Cabaret, Weimer era Berlin etc. That said as others have pointed out the text in this book leaves a lot to be desired. The author is a music journalist and I was left wondering whether the text was a number of old articles thrown together. There didn't seem to be much cohesion or thought to how the sections and information in this book were put together. If you are a fan of this era and manage to find a copy I would recommend picking up this book if only for the pictures.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that chronicles the New Romantic movement in London and beyond. Not only does it detail the major players and places in the movement, it provides the backstory on the style tribes that influenced this movement. Gorgeous photos accompany the text. A must for any collector.

[Cathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photos are great but the text in this book started off disjointed and nonsensical. It got more coherent as it went on, however.