NEW ROMANTIC INFLUENCES: MUSIC

Several music performers adopted the New Romantic style and further cemented it in popular culture as a memorable trend. The most popular of these bands being Ultravox, Duran Duran, Visage, ABC, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club.  Japan and Adam and the Ants were also labelled as New Romantic artists, although they had no direct connection to the original scene. A number of these bands adopted the use of synthesisers and helped to develop the Synthpop style of music in the early 1980s.

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English New Band formed in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands in the 1980's. The band's controversial videos, which included partial nudity and sexual suggestions, became popular in the early 1980s on the new music video channel MTV. 

Since the 1980s, they have sold more than 100 million records had 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100. Throughout the 80's the band were considered to be part of the New Romantic scene until the movement became too mainstream, where they then shed the look to be replaced by a more elegant image. 

Visage

Visage are an English New Wave rock band formed in 1978. The band was founded by Steve Strange and Rusty Egan who were hosting club nights at Blitz nightclub in Great Queen Street, London. They were eager to find new music to play in the club and opted to create it themselves. 

The band's most popular single, "Fade to Grey", was released in 1980 and became a huge hit in early 1981. It made it into the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart as well as in several other countries, and reaching no.1 in Germany and Switzerland. The album also became a Top 20 hit in the UK and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Lead singer Steve Strange was an icon of the New Romantic movement, if not the most iconic. 

ABC

ABC are an English New Romantic band that was formed in 1980. The band formed when Martin Fry interviewed the band Vice Versa for his own fanzine, Modern Drugs, in the 70's. The two musicians asked Fry to join the band as the lead vocalist and he soon took control of the electronic band. The band changed their name to ABC and became more pop-orientated.

ABC had ten UK and five US Top 40 Chart Singles between 1981 and 1990. Their most famous being "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love" and "When Smokey Sings". They're known for having theatrical videos, wearing decorative suits and a camp style.

Spandau Ballet

Spandau Ballet are an English New Wave band that formed in 1979. The band were frequently spotted in The Blitz Club as they were inspired by the New Romantics and became an integral part of this movement. 

The band was one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles and four Top Ten albums in the UK between 1980 and 1990 where they split. The band have later reunited in 2009. 

Culture Club

Culture Club was an English New Wave band that was part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. Their lead vocalist Boy George was a fashion icon in the 80's being a frequent visitor to The Blitz Club and a former employee (Read more here). The band's second album, Colour by Numbers, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and they had several international hits.

Culture Club's music combines many styles including New Wave, American soul and Jamaican reggae. For the five years the band were together initially, Culture Club had hits in several countries around the world, including ten Top 40 hits in the US, most of which went Top 10. In 1984 the band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and a Brit Award for Best British Group.

Adam and the Ants

Adam and the Ants were a British rock which formed in 1977 and later again in 1980. The band became popular during the transition from the punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era.  The band were known for their highly camp and overtly sexualised stage performances. 

Adam & the Ants' 1980 album Kings of the Wild Frontier was Number One in the UK Album Chart for a total of twelve weeks. The album Prince Charming produced the biggest hit singles with Stand and Deliver and the title track achieving five weeks and four weeks respectively as Number One singles on the UK Singles Chart.

Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive was a British New Wave band that formed in 1980. The band had seven Top 40 UK singles and three Top 30 UK albums. Dead or Alive, have released eleven albums, and became popular in Japan. Two of the group's singles reached the US Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100; "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" and "Brand New Lover". 

"You Spin Me Round" charted in 1985 in the UK, then again in 2003 and 2006 following lead vocalist Pete Burns' appearance on the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother.