The elaborately overdressed gay Strange and the neatly-attired ladies man Egan made for an odd couple but the once-a-week club night called Billys, was an immediate success. Their crowd was a generation of outrageous teenagers, working-class and art school kids, gay and straight alike. For them, the Club was the pivot of their week and they were as extreme as their styles and tastes were. They were finally with their own crowd.
Success soon meant them moving to what would become the Blitz Club in a near-derelict Covent Garden that had just got rid of the Fruit & Vegetable market that dominated that central area in London for over a hundred years. With the club now gathering media attention Strange had to impose a strict door policy. It was, as someone explained in the documentary, not because they were elitist, but the real need to keep it as a safe place for these clubbers who were never welcomed elsewhere.
So too was Boy George who was the coat check girl at the Club (it was a few years before he would go on to open his own infamous club Taboo). He made no secret of the fact that he had very ‘sticky fingers’ and would rifle through the coat pockets for any loose change. His very affectionate reminiscings included the very special night that Blitz was visited by a ‘deity’. Without exception Bowie was the inspiration for them all, and whilst George claimed he was the only one in the Club who remained calm in Bowie’s presence, everyone else recounted on how he fawned over the singer.
There is so much dialogue these days of social and cultural diversity, but what strikes you most about the Blitz Kids from this film is they didn’t talk about it, they just lived it. It has to be one of the best times ever when gay and straight, black and white really did intermingle
Confession time, I was the same age as these kids and living in London at the same time. Sadly not brave or talented enough to become a Blitz Kid but still very grateful for the impact they would unwittingly have on my life. By them refusing to accept the somewhat down-trodden norms of their parents and elders would give so many of us the courage to lead our own lives.
The film made me relive that time and rethink what happened, but I think it will also make those people who have never heard of the Blitz Kids want to discover how important they really were
PS You can screen the whole film FREE http://www.monsterentertainment.tv/catalogue/blitzed/
Labels: 2021, Blitz Kids, Boy George, documentary, London, Rusty Egan, Steve Strange, The Blitz
