Following in the heels of BLITZED the excellent documentary by Bruce Ashley and Michael Donald the remarkable story of how in the 1980’s a very small group of young people In London in a mere 18 months redefined a whole generation, comes another look at them in TRAMPS. Remarkably it’s the sophomore film from queer Canadian filmmaker Kevin Hegge who had never been to the UK until 2012, yet he exuberantly and succinctly captures the very best thing In London of the otherwise dark bitter depression caused by Thatcher’s regime.
Hegge focused his take on the countercultural scene that emerged in late 1970s’ London by interviewing many of the ‘characters’ from that. period. These were bohemians, outsiders, and misfits who simply refused to conform. They wouldn’t pay rent ….. so they squatted almost communal-like, and refused to get jobs as that cut into the time in which they just wanted to experiment with society’s culture and also create their own art.
It made for such compelling viewing as he turned his cameras on the likes of David Holah, one half of BodyMap, filmmaker John Maybury, dancer Les Child, designer (the very wonderful) Judy Blame, nightclub promoter Scarlett Cannon and DJs Jeffery Hinton and Princess Julia. The latter appears to joyously still be living the very same life that she had carved out for herself back then. There was Philip Sallon, the ‘original queer punk kid’ and a club promoter who eventually ended up designing costumes for the Royal Opera, who at 70 years old, had lost none of his wild eccentricity.
Hegge had the benefit of some excellent vintage footage and made you realize that the ‘take over of punk movement’ in the late 1970s by these ‘New Romantics’ was such a significant shift in culture. And not just in music choices. The leather jackets, Dr. Martens boots, tattoos, jewelry, and body modification. were replaced by a fresh crowd of flamboyant fashionistas who had raided bankrupt costumiers.
As even if they were very poor and were unsure where their next meal was coming from, they always had to look totally fabulous ….. no matter how dingy the club itself was.
Kudos to Hegge who made great play of how some of these ‘broke’ kids parlayed their way into pop singers and unimaginable wealth …..such as Boy George ….. yet he never interviewed any f them for this film. Boy George’s presence would have shifted the focus onto being a personal tribute to his stardom.
I have to confess that I lived in London throughout the entire period, and seeing the sheer freedom and exuberance of its movement made me feel like I was living on a totally different planet. I may have physically missed out on all of this, but I can still appreciate how watered down, it affected us ….. and vastly improved all our lives.
The AIDS pandemic that hit at the same time devasted that community too. No one was immune, and this part of the film brings us up all sharp. To some, it may have meant refocusing our lives, but to others captured in the film, it gave a greater emphasis on how we all need o live our lives to the full.
This visual history is such a wonderful tribute to all those charismatic individuals and should be compulsory viewing for all those with even a wee longing for some anarchy in their lives …….
P.S. QUEERGURU reviewed TRAMPS at NEWFEST Film Fest in NY
Review : Roger Walker-Dack
Editor in Chief : Queerguru
Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT
Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributung Editor The Gay Uk &Contributor Edge Media
Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
one of the hardest-working journalists in the business' Michael Goff of Towleroad
Labels: 1980's, 2022, documentray, Kevin Hegge, London, New Romantics, Tramps!
