Description
The New Romantics: A Chronological History 1981-2016 (Documentary Series) 4 DVD Set (Featuring Steve Strange of Visage, Boy George George of Culture Club, Marilyn, Marc Almond of Soft Cell, Adam And The Ants, Japan, Midge Ure of Ultravox, Human League, Kraftwerk, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Original Blitz DJ DJ Rusty Egan, Princess Julia, Philip Sallon, Pinkietessa, Broadcaster Robert Elms, Journalist Rick Skyand and MORE)
The New Romantics: A Chronological History 1981-2001 Volume I
1. POSERS – New Romantics in the Kings Road 1981: A look at the Kings Road culture in 1981 – at the height of the New Romantics. Includes interview with Toyah Wilcox outside of World’s End. Some RARE footage here not seen in future documentaries
Total Running Time: 24 Minutes 13 Seconds
2. BBC’s UK Channel 4 Top Ten TV Series Top Ten New Romantics 13/03/99: This weekly series lists an imaginary top 10 artists from different musical genres. This episode, hosted by Boy George is a Top 10 of 1980’s Romantics. Included are all recent interviews in 1999 of the members of the bands that are featured in this special. Top Ten include #10 Visage, #9 Japan, #8 ABC, #7 Soft Cell, #6 Ultravox, #5 Human League, #4 Culture Club, #3 Spandau Ballet, #2 Adam And The Ants, and #1 Duran Duran. The segment on Adam And The Ants features: scene from jubilee, interviews Philip Sallon (club owner), Adam Ant (1999). Interview with Marco (1999) at his home, interview with Chris Merrick Hughes (1999) at his home (first interview with Chris on TV since the days with The Ants) Segment Length (6:37). The beginning of the show isn’t included so some of the first segment on Visage (Number 10) is missing. All commercials edited out but must have been a 90 minute episode (1:11:51)
Total Running Time: 1 Hour 17 Minutes 03 Seconds
3. BBC I Love 1981 Documentary Series 13/01/2001: A BBC television mini-series that examines the pop culture of the 1980s. Adam Ant is the host of the program. It was commissioned following the success of I Love the ’70s and is part of the I Love… series. I Love 1980 premiered on BBC on 13 January 2001 and the last, I Love 1989, on 24 March 2001. Unlike with I Love the ’70s, episodes were increased to 90 minutes long. PLEASE NOTE: These segments featured here include the opening along with only the segments specifically about Adam And The Ants and The New Romantics about 19 Minutes long. Further more, the series was followed later in 2001 by I Love The ‘90s. The success of the series led to VH1 remaking the show for the US market: I Love The 80’s USA, which is known simply as “I Love the ’80s” in the US itself.
Total Running Time: 16 Minutes 33 Seconds
The New Romantics: A Chronological History 2001-2002 Volume II
4. BBC One The New Romantics: A Fine Romance 01/05/2001: Culture Club, Spandau Ballet, Visage, Marilyn, Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran, ABC… At the dawn of the 80s, a whole host of strangely dressed men in make-up burst forth onto the music scene brandishing synthesisers and kicking against the visual ugliness of punk. They came mainly from the London club scene, led by gender-bending host Steve Strange and pioneering electronic DJ Rusty Egan, and conquered the charts with classic tracks such as Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, To Cut a Long Story Short, Kings of the Wild Frontier, Planet Earth, Fade to Grey, Calling Your Name and Poison Arrow. Magenta Devine narrates this gay and colourful behind-the-scene documentary of sex & drugs & frocks & hair-rollers, which includes interviews with Boy George, Gary Kemp, Adam Ant, Nick Rhodes, Steve Strange, Rusty Egan, Marilyn, Jonathan Ross, Caryn Franklin, Fiona Bruce and Robert Elms.
Total Running Time: 49 Minutes 06 Seconds
5. BBC Choice Gimme a Freak 03/02/2002: BBC Choice have been given exclusive access to Boy George for a one off documentary called Gimme A Freak. It follows him during the making of his forthcoming Musical Taboo, from the forming of the concept back in 2000, to the opening night in January 2002. Gimme A Freak due to tx on BBC Choice on 3 February gets behind the scenes with the man himself and his close family and friends.
Gimme A Freak finds Boy George at home in north London strumming away at his guitar talking amazingly candidly about his life, childhood days and fame. Never one to shy away from controversy, he shares views on subjects such as homosexuality, the Beatles and the Labour party.
Boy Georges mother re-lives his rise to fame and the worst days of his drug abuse. And we follow Boy George out to Ibiza to witness him in his role as an International DJ.
Contributors include two central characters in the play, Marilyn, Boy Georges tempestuous ex-boyfriend and Philip Sallon, club entrepreneur extraordinaire. The glamorous Marilyn swigs on a bottle of tequila while spilling the beans on his and Georges stormy relationship. While Philip bitches his way through the documentary, turning up to supper dressed in a Britannia number accessorised with shaving foam.
Boy Georges much anticipated musical Taboo opens at the end of January. Taboo tells the story of the Eighties, the bizarre and extraordinary mix of new romanticism, tech-rock, euro-pop and passé punk. Actors play out the parts of the bill-topping performers who defined a generation. The show, part autobiography, sets to music a love story of passion ambition and betrayal which unfolds alongside the journey of Boy Georges rise and fall from international stardom. In this documentary we meet the eighties performers and hear about their take on the decade and their relationship to Boy George.
Total Running Time: 44 Minutes 15 Seconds
The New Romantics: A Chronological History 2005-2011 Volume III
6. Channel 4 Whatever Happened To The Gender Benders? 10/10/2005: The secret history of the new romantic rebellion that changed the face of world culture, before spiraling into a vortex of drug addiction and death. Includes rare footage of the New Romantics. Also includes footage of Steve Strange in the recording studio and Boy George live in concert. Features interviews with Boy George of Culture Club, Martin Kemp and Steve Norman from Spandau Ballet, Marc Almond of Soft Cell, Marilyn, Rusty Egan Blitz Club DJ, Steve Strange of Visage, Philip Salon Gender Bender, Blitz Club Regulars Steven Linnard, Rosemary Turner and Pinkietessa, Broadcaster Robert Elms, Journalist Rick Sky and Squatters Chris Sullivan and Princess Julia.
What was good about it?
• Lots of great footage of the New Romantics taking themselves awfully seriously, even if many of them looked like clowns or drag acts plucked from working men’s clubs
• Footage of people smoking on the Underground. Oh those were the days.
• The bitchiness and jealousy, especially between Boy George and Marilyn
• The rather tender and intelligent observations by Martin Kemp and Marc Almond on the drug problems experienced by Steve Strange and Boy George
• Steve Strange has still retained much of his beauty (although he needs to go a bit easier on the bronze slap) and seems to be in a much better mental state these days – the ravages of that £1500-a-week heroin habit seem to have receded now he’s moved back to Wales.
• The beehivish hairstyle worn by Steve Strange’s mother
• Robert Elms providing a level-headed analysis of the impact of “250 kids who changed the way we lived and looked and played and partied for ever.”
• Philip Salon, the grand dame of the New Romantics, who would be a brilliant talk show host
• When Boy George was a cloakroom attendant at the Blitz club and he spotted someone wearing the same outfit two weeks running, he’d spit: “Oh, doing that one to death, aren’t you darling?”
• Laughing at Marilyn who now looks like a 1970s wrestler crossed with Lizzie Bardsley.
What was bad about it?
• Crying at Marilyn who is now beset by mental health problems including agoraphobia
• The presentation of overblown statements about changing the world as fact
• The hair of pop pundit Rick Sky, so bouffant he’s close to becoming a gender bender himself
• The rather sad we-know-what’ll-happen next moment when Steve Strange journeyed to record a German TV show with Visage 2. “If there isn’t any fans outside, Ill be quite surprised,” he told the camera. There were none. It was also sad that Steve Strange, who pioneered the New Romantic movement, had profited least.
• Boy George looking dreadful – and this was recorded before those NYPD cops came a knocking.
It was basically just a history of the New Romantic movement rather than gender Benders. There was no real exploration of why the protagonists wanted to look and behave like women.
Total Running Time: 48 Minutes 43 Seconds
7. BBC FOUR ‘Girls & Boys’: Sex and British Pop Documentary Series Part 3 of 4’ “Tainted Love The 1980‘s” 23/01/08: Tainted Love, the 1980’s. The 1980s was the decade of flamboyant pop in a politically-divided Britain, as New Romantics like Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran set the tone. Style was the price of entry into the new world of gender-bending sexual experimentation. Disco hit the mainstream and then a new disease changed the rules. Interviews include Pricess Julia and Rusty Egan (Dj’s from The Blitz Club) PLEASE NOTE: Segments include opening and only segments regarding the New Romantic era
Total Running Time: 16 Minutes 49 Seconds
8. ITV London Tonight 17/01/11: Return To The Blitz interview with Steve Strange and Rusty Egan regarding a anniversary celebration of the Blitz Club and includes footage from that legendary evening.
Total Running Time: 3 Minutes 51 Seconds
9. The New Romantics: “What They Danced to” Part 1 and The New Romantics: “Essential Beginners Guide” Part 2 Fan Montage 05/05/11: News clips interviews and parts of documentaries sum up this montage of images and sound bites about the New Romantics. Includes the following: ITN News at 545 1981: Steve strange blitz kids visage Spandau Ballet Duran Duran new romantics Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark OMD Visage Boytronic YMO Flock of Seagulls Tubeway Army Human League Visage Heaven 17 John Foxx Kraftwerk, Our Daughters Wedding, Depeche Mode Yazoo Cabaret Voltaire Sparks Gary Numan Mute Records Soft Cell Ultravox OMD The CURE Pet Shop Boys, Sammy Sparrow. Kraftwerk, Cut Copy, Goldfrapp, Yelle Chromeo, Peter Gabriel, Basement Jaxx Simian Mobile Disco Moog Korg Synthesiser
Total Running Time Part 1: 11 Minutes 05 Seconds
Total Running Time: Part 2: 6 Minutes 42 Seconds
10. Spandau Ballet: “Soul Boys of The Western Works 04/29/15: Opening, a portion of this great documentary is featured here. This segment contains the part of the documentary that deals directly with the band as they start out in the New Romantic scene and discuss Steve Strange and the scene itself. Includes vintage interviews with Steve Strange and Spandau Ballet.
Total Running Time: 26 Minutes 28 Seconds
The New Romantics: A Chronological History 2016 Volume IV
11. Sky Arts Trail Blazers of New Romantics (Season 1 Episode 16 of 19) 12/08/16: Toyah Willcox and Billy Bragg are among those examining key moments in the development of the New Romantic genre, from the Human League and Adam Ant, to David Bowie and Ultravox. Though it’s very biased to the London Scene which is personally fine with me LOL. Slades Noddy Holder Narrates, another story, is it true or is it slightly embellished ? I thought it was fun.
Total Running Time: Part 2: 43 Minutes 16 Seconds
Mariaelena Woore (verified owner) –
A very interesting time in music. This 4 DVD Set gives you the history of the New Romantic Movement from the start in London, although Visage and Ultravox had many fans in the U.S. We had clubs in San Francisco, San Jose and Fremont California, many nights dedicated to Steve Strange and Ultravox! This DVD set brings back great memories!