I used to meet a nun on the bus to college when I was a full on goth in the 80s and we’d have a right good old natter. Then I got a car and I never saw her again, but I’ll never forget that lovely accepting lady. She wasn’t afraid of no goth!
When we got married in 1983 my wife wore a dark grey and black wedding dress, crimped and backcombed har and face piercings - that was incredibly unusual for a white girl. I wore a grey and black camouflaged suit and a Mohican, the vicar said we were the nicest yet craziest couple he's ever married - all of our friends were goths or punks so it certainly raised a lot of eyebrows! Still married to this wonderful lady and yep - she's still a goth at nearly 60!
I'm STILL a punk and I'm 50 this year. It makes me feel good to dress like this and look like this. I have raised three kids to adulthood who have never really seen me look any other way. I DID ask them, when they were young, if they were embarrassed by me but always got told "no". None of my kids are punks.
@@spellbound4383 Absolutely agree with you! I don't know how many younger people came up to me back in the early 90's asking "what should I wear? What bands should I listen to?". My only advice was "dress however you want and listen to whomever you want". Junior high was finally my "daring to go against my mother" time.
@@willowbrooke1215 it only became a look after the media came up with punk then it became a uniform whereas before is was not . Being so called punk was not about having blue hair etc .
Well as one of this tribe, I ended up as an Art teacher thank you very much..not that there's anything wrong with shelf stacking, it's good honest work..your implication was meant to be derogatory I'm sure..I'm 62 now, had a full, eventful life, two successful sons and still have my nose piercing and a screw in my ear..how's your life been so different/special? 🤔
Gina looks stunning before and after. She seems very nice too. The second look was certainly a lot more extreme but you can tell she's a beautiful girl in both styles.
@@eshatbereitsbegonnen7313 Thats what I meant by "she seems nice" i.e. she is intelligent, articulate and has depth of character. And yes, she ALSO looks nice.
These people don’t have style, they are just following another trend, one which has become so watered down and fetishized in generation Z that it’s not even amusing on any level anymore
I was a new-wave punk/goth between 1981 and 85. Very enjoyable period of my life and I still keep in touch with a great many of the friends I had back then. I'll be 57 in September and in 2020 I got back in touch with members of my first punk band and we're going to produce an album including some reworking of our old songs. Beautiful!
@@t.castro4493 Thank you man! I hope my band and I will record some new stuff soon. However, I have released some synth wave music if you're interested under the name of Mikotron. I have a playlist on Spotify(:
A lot of the comments on here don't seem to realise that punk and goth/punk were pretty much two different movements. Original punk was from about 1976 to 1980, then you had new romantics and two-tone/skinheads in the early 80s, and punk/goth started in about 1982 or 1983. Robert Smith of The Cure adopted the goth/punk look at the end of 1982 if I remember correctly.
Yes, I saw this from my older perspective and thought "those old ladies were in the Blitz and were young women once, they're probably admiring the look and rememberig their own risky styles"
"And also as a girl going to night clubs and dealing with men, it certainly screened out any man that just seemed to be just interested in me as a sexual figure. He had to also be interested in me as a person because I didn't look just like a pretty girl."
I remember being a rocker back in the day with long hair, leather jacket etc. There was never trouble with the metal/alternative crowd unlike the casuals and townies.
Nowadays (im a youth in these crowds) the alt/metal groups weaved in with minority groups and are quite a diverse and welcoming community, i know a teen musician with the same haircut as the blue and purple haired guy down to the shade. So from my perspective we are using this alt history from the past and progressing and taking those ideas further
Same. We had a dance/chart music nightclub down the street from our metal one, and every weekend there were police vans outside it with folk covered in blood. There was never any trouble with out club. Like, ever! I'm not dissing chart music or dance because I like that stuff too, but the clientele just had a different mindset.
True. It's proof that you could be poor and still have a good time. People today assume that the only way to have a good life is to be rich. Not correct.
I've always been the outsider, the misfit, the introvert. Punk (for lack of a better term), was my way of building self-confidence, standing out in the crowd and not fitting in. Back then, it was still shocking for the 'norms ' to see people who didn't fit in, and I took a good few beatings because of my appearance. But I wouldn't have changed to conform. 40 years on I look back on my youth with a mixture of joy and melancholy. Joy for the freedom to express myself, and melancholy for loss of youth culture. We had Punk, Skinhead, Mods, Rude Boys (and girls), Rockers, Metalheads, and every sub-genre inbetween. Great seeing Steve Strange though - a true original taken far too soon.
Steve Wingate.. amazing, your experience mirrors my own, I was heavily into the music and scene, but it was also a self analysis and a building experience, reaching a level of normalcy but also being my own man and not be part of the crowd.
@@jasperswarp Glad you've shared your experiences. I've always been an outsider, dancing to a different drum, and I think that's what life should be about. If we only get one bite of this apple, I'm not going to waste it following the crowd - I'm just too independent and stubborn. Find the path that suits you, be true to yourself, and try to be as kind, honest, and caring along the way.
there is nothing like yourself millions are like you or me . Do we gabbers look social and normal ?? our Rotterdam Terror Corps or Rotterdam gabber hard as hell does not look normal we look more crazy insane than punks and skinheads mixed with goths still we are with millions everyone belongs to something I belong to the gabber
I like eccentric, unique styles but I think what they did to her hair made her look like a mad skunk. I hope she grew it out once she worked through her need to screen out people judging her because that detracted from her natural beauty.
These people never bothered me at all. I grew up in tbe 80s and was obsessed with thrash metal and hardcore punk and went to many gigs without any issues. It was the jocks and straights that were the trouble makers and occasionally skin heads if there was a rally on or something. Today it's all about tattoos.
Funny how some of the old people saying the pretty girl at 7:55 looked horrible/terrible etc were certainly no oil paintings themselves, Dad always said "If you judge someone solely by how they look take a good hard look in the mirror first.
It depends on the kind of fashion you go for though. Clearly punk haircuts are more of an obstacle for certain jobs than say mod or "britpop" haircuts. Perhaps there should be legislation that protects personal appearance from discrimination from employers
@@EclecticoIconoclasta A lot of employees are more open to radical haircuts then they were in the past and the same goes for body piercings and tattoos. So much different to when I was a teenager.
I class myself as a casual mod. I wear Fred Perry and Ben Sherman shirts, bomber jackets, turn up jeans and either Doc Marten's or Adidas trainers. I also shave my hair every now and then to go for the skinhead look and wear parkas in winter. That being said I don't make my entire life revolve around this lifestyle or the music that mods and skinheads typically listen to. If I hear a song I like then I'll listen to it regardless of the genre or how modern the song is. I also don't limit myself to just wearing the mod and skinhead gear because if I'm only going to the shops then u may as well wear something more comfortable and baggy. The majority of kids have always followed the latest fashion trends but it's so refreshing when you see a kid dressed differently or with their hair cut and coloured different from everyone else. Plenty of people try to stand out with just the hair but without the music taste or unique fashion then you just blend into the crowd again.
I was a punk from '77 and morphed into a goth in the 80s, it was a natural progression tbh as punk had gone a bit samey. The thing about those days was the amazing music, so much to love - punk, post punk, goth, indie, industrial, ska and so much more. Punk definitely changed me as a teenager, my whole outlook on life, especially with all the Anti-Nazi stuff (Rock Against Racism) etc. It made me more politically aware and less willing to accept the status quo. It was all about an attitude and that is something inside that you never lose. Happy days for sure!
80s goth is my favourite! I was born in 1981 and started the Goth style and lifestyle at age 15. Still a Goth and always will be. Love this 1983 punk/ Goth documentary 🕸🖤🦇
I was a Goth from 1982 onwards, huge Bauhaus fan...loved the gay clubs and pubs in London like The Black. Cap because we didn't get any hassle there....used to get so many weird looks and muttered comments especially as I had two kids then too (who I dressed 'normally') lol...my hubby at the time was a hairdresser in Knightsbridge, later Mayfair and did the hair for fashion shows like Zandra Rhodes and celebrities....great times ... Hard to believe it's so long ago now, feels like yesterday...
They are playing live on the 27th of August in the north of Portugal, along with Iggy Pop, seriously, look up Vilar de Mouros festival, you can still get tickets at 40€. Their Resurrection tour in 1998 was phenomenal.
My mom and dad were Goth and then transitioned into Punk and so I’ve always been a part of the weirdo group. I love it. I do however have to tone it down for work because I work with the elderly and I’m really hoping that as generations get older that’ll change and we’ll get to a point where it doesn’t matter what you look like as long as you do a good job.
I was a cure head living in a very small town in Ireland. I stood out like a beacon. I loved the look & I could relate to their music big time. On top of that, a few years later, I came out & I was literally the only gay in the village 😂 Everyone should be able to enjoy expressing themselves
I am 60 American I shaved my head in 1979 my father blew a gasket! lol! Always been my own style. I now have a modified mohawk color changes with my mood. Honestly I feel that society norms have changed to a point where I don't feel that I am odd or singled out. I do live in Portland Oregon and there are many people farther out of the "norm" than me
Steve Strange is right, I know people that could wear a potato sack and still look glamorous or smart, it is the way that they carry themselves. I'm definitely not in that category.
"fashions fade, style is eternal" Yevs Saint Laurent, I think Steven Strange is trying to say.... but even at that, was the question about fashion or style?? also, what was he rebelling?? he might think rebelling, but all i say is "deprived of attention at home"
OMG... Did I ever stand out! During the '80s... I was the only one in my neighborhood to go flat out punk rock.. shaved head, different color hair piercings clothing I'd do it now if I still could! Don't let anyone try to change you no matter what it's your drum beat it how you like!
@@meelodeshmeeelo2034 The golden rule, don't change for anyone follow your heart, those who matter don't mind as long as you are healthy and happy, those who want you on the condition you conform to their "standards" are not worthy of your time and don't matter.
Fantastic! I wonder how many reverted to suburban lives and had kids etc and I’m guessing some still have a punk 2022 look and are probably living in Brighton,Bristol or Berlin….
That's not how I feel. Goth is a social clique, just like any other. It's one of many social cliques that I feel community in. And ultimately I'm not special for it. Put me in a room with other goths, and I'm just part of a goth sheep fold. What matters is enjoying yourself and the company around you, not feeling better than others.
The personality matters more. If your appearance is a genuine reflection of that then great. If not then what are you apart from an empty shell. Character over couture.
I was into punk and psychobilly, I was a bit of a goth too, and I still love all the music. I got right into the rave scene in late 80s, loved it. I’m mid 50s now and still look a bit ‘alternative’ and still wear some of my old psychobilly - rockabilly clothes now
I'm only 32, so I wasn't around for the conception of the alternative looks, but I did definitely identify with it in secondary school. The idea of weeding out the disingenuous was a key factor, and it became easy to find those who I knew I could relate to. I grew my hair long, and died it black. At one point I even got dreads put in professionally (obviously something I would not think of these days). It was a really painful process, and took a few hours, and when I went to school, I was told by the staff that I wouln't be able to see my friends, and I'd have to spend my schooltime in the library in isolation. They said I would "inspire" others to do the same. The crazy thing was, there was a teacher with dreads, and a boy in 6th form too. After one day of sitting in the library by myself, I felt I had to cave so that I could see my friends. I took the next day off and my mum helped me comb the dreads out. I tell you, if it hurt getting them put in, the pain was amplified tenfold upon taking them out. I went through a lot of conditioner. I could have just cut all my hair off, but I didn't want to lose that part of me. No regrets though. I found my people by being freed from societal expectations of appearance.
In some ways this highlights just how much we've moved on, and in others, we're stuck in the 50s. The idea that we STILL, even now, need a bloody suit to be taken seriously is frankly, absurd.
Sorry but I totally disagree with your statement about suits. Isn't the whole take away from this that deciding how you dress is a statement both about yourself and how others will react? Every century has understood this up to now, and we wish to believe differently - that if you dress like a slob with a t shirt and jeans you're just as serious as a bloke in a suit? It's simply not true. Garments frame the person and set the framework of a place or environment. The goth at the end said it, he feels superior to all the sheep. The girl having a haircut said it, she wants men to see beyond her appearance and look closer to her personality, she wants to challenge. The way we dress is a trigger in society - either inclusive or exclusive - but it is always meant to effect something. Don't go fooling yourself thinking you look just as professional wearing trackies as you would in a Savile Row suit. When you dress, you make a conscious choice.
@@WL-ld6dz There is an in-between though. As a woman I can wear an open necked top, no tie. my top and bottoms don't need to match and I'm smart, but men are still constricted by this collar and tie thing which hasn't existed that long in human history. Men's fashion never seems to move forward. Its stuck in the early 20th Century. I wonder how long for.
@@WL-ld6dz no you have missed the point. You are judging people that choose not to wear a suit and choose to wear something more comfortable like t-shirt and jeans as a “slob”. Do you consider yourself a slob if you are ever not wearing a suit? How do you define “serious”? Good at your job? Ambitious? I work in programming and almost nobody wears a suit, and yet most people are “serious” about their job, ambitious, and very nice people. It is possible to be well presented no matter the style of clothes you wear.
@@martinhawes5647 The point is this: a vast majority of social occasion take on a uniform. Funeral, wedding, graduation and still many many jobs: railway, post office, sport events, politics, catering etc etc. If you turned up to any of these events wearing a t-shirt and jeans it would be considered inappropriate, rude or disappointing. Just imagine a game of football with bunch of blokes wearing what ever shirt they each fancy... Disappointing for all right? (and i'm no fan of the sport). People use to understand this far better a few decades ago than they do now, except in some countries where this is still very much the case. A good example is Japan. A vast majority wear a uniform to whatever position they hold, and as a result they embody their role. They identify with what they do and they take pride in it. The casualisation of the work place comes to us from America, and as you rightfully point out the tech industry which you belong to is the spearhead of this movement. I'm not challenging that it exists but what I can say from day to day observation is that anonymous people working behind phones, who wear no particular attire for work and which we let alone see - are tremendously less engaged in their work than in industries where there is face to face and where people endorse 'a role' through their attire and work responsibilities. To answer your initial question, I do not feel like a slob when I wear a shirt, but I would certainly do so if I turned up to any of the above events with one on my back. Why? Because I differentiate between the occasion and because there is a time and place for everything. And that is what some people, I believe, erroneously wish to challenge. They want everything to be the same event. And as a result they return home from work, still wearing the same clothes than they did when having breakfast and throughout the whole day - and they don't stop working even though the day is finished. There is no cut-off, and they continue replying to emails late into the night, allowing their work life to encroach on their personal life.
I hate suits. Always have. They are stuffy and turn people into clones. They are unoriginal and hide the individuality of each person. They only look 'smart' because we are told they do, for the purpose of control. No other reason. Appearance is subjective to the individual, not objective to all. If its about 'fitting in'... I would ask 'fitting in to what?' Look at politicians, they all wear suits and they are the most risible people on the planet (other than rich CEOs). I wouldn't want to fit in with those types. A nice, friendly personality and a level of self awareness. That's how you fit in. Unfortunately, quite a few people out there are never going to have those qualities...
I'm over 70. I remember when you couldn't get in places just for wearing jeans. Now, I can't remember the last time I wore trousers. About 15 years ago I self-referred to therapy re trying to prevent drinking and driving, and maybe I didn't understand my sexuality and drank because of that. The best insight I got was the conflict between feeling I wasn't the same as other people, yet I had a fear of standing out, or being noticed, two incompatible beliefs. I began to accept that other people were not that different from me, and began to defend myself when criticised for being different: my anxiety dropped through the floor. I can go to bars, wear something different each week, and feel I have my own style, as Steve Strange said.
It's sad that society wants us to dress they way they prefer. Fashion is a fad. Personal style is your personal right. I love wearing the clothes I wear, and I don't care if others don't like it. I don't tell them what to wear, so why should they tell me. I'm not a punk, by the way, I just wear black plimsolls, black jeans, black t-shirts and long hair. And I have done for many years.
It's odd that people still had these strong opinions about punk style as this is from 1983 and these kids would be part of the goth era that ran alongside the new romantic explosion (see also Steve strange) ...which is six years after the punk thing blossomed...guess everything moved slower back then.
Well, I think punk/goth was regarded as a different movement to punk itself. You had punk from 1976 to 1979, new romantics from 1979 to 1983, and then this punk/goth movement from 1983.
@@ajs41 thems some hard borders you've defined there..punk/goth from 83 you say?..siouixsie and the banshees formed in 76🤣..and new romantic era went in 83 did it?..Duran's reflex hit top of American charts in 84, Spandau ballets thru the barricades was 1985 number one hit...as I said,all these sub cultures sublimed into each other and as such putting up fences is a pointless exercise .
She looks like a movie star. Wonder what happened to her later on. I was a punk myself back in those days. Great time. It's both looks and attitude, I think. Still a punk at SOON 60, but not in the same way as back then. Still. Punk Never Dies.
@@Gloamy17 it's just funny how conservative means 'resistant to change', and he says he's that way because he has been like that previously. Captures the whole big brain logic of generic conservatism in a lovely little sound bite.
Punk is an attitude, and fashion comes from within a culture. Now I'm a highly educated person who has a lot of money. So when I walk around I have a expensive punk look and people stare and say "What does he do"?. My educated associates say. "He's a human being who doesn't do anything "! Be yourself, stay true, stay free and stay young. The Clash 4 eva. Punk will never die it morphed into heavy metal. 🤘✌️🇦🇺🏴☠️ We are One!!
0:53 The good old traditional pub landlord.Not allowing people to come to their pub looking different from anyone else DESPITE causing NO trouble.Its the same stinking attitude with the same or similar people that went on for years later.I bet if that was now,they`d be desparate to allow them as most pubs are desparate for trade.
Thanks to Steve Strange for explaining the concept of "having style" because now I can say categorically that I'm not just unfashionable, I also have no style. In that respect, I hope the subjects in this video were grateful they are least fit in *somewhere*.
Not all back then either, had tattoos or a tight fade haircut! I never did , all i had was my dad's old workboots( docs were way too expensive) cheap jeans, hand me down tees and a charity shop faded old leather jacket. And i simply had short hair. Before punk. So unknowingly, i just fell into the subculture! You do you, thats real punk.
Some of the irony of punk was that by trying to stand out so much, a lot of them ended up looking the same, the whole thing where people would spit at you at punk gigs if you were wearing a jumper or a suit and tie is absurd and just attacks the whole notion of punk ethos.
The 80’s were not as universally “alternative and individualistic” as some of these videos would have us believe. When I finally pulled the plug and went my own way in the world of punk it literally drew ire from everyone, even other punks. But wasn’t that the idea, just be me no matter what. I’ve tried to keep that within myself since then.
Mid 80s Punk became very fast a part of fashion industry. I remember the late 70's and early 80's as the nicer time when we were still designing our clothes ourselves and there weren't any magazines that had commercialized the whole thing. A lot of people later let themselves be influenced by the industry how a "real punk" should be dressed... For me Punk was more the kind of thinking than how to dress…
What a great clip showing just what it was like in the 80s as a goth or alternative dresser. It’s still a challenge to wear what people call “weird” but I think it more accept now.
I wore bell-bottoms and a fringed vest in the 70's. Kids wore this in the 80's. Then Goth kids in the 90's. And I'm ok with all of it. Most of us grow up and out of it. Hair, clothes, and hygiene can all change. It's the tattoos and body mutilations of today that I don't agree with. Those things are irreversible.
LOL just brill. Im also a ex goth; circa 1985..crimped hair, using sugar and hot water to style it. dying any clothes I liked black or shades of grey and I loved Siouxsie and the Banshees..I remember shaving the side of my head and opened my bedroom door to my Dad and said to him "look what I did!", his eye roll is ingrained in my memory.
You beat me to it man lol I just commented the same thing. Isn't it weird how goth alternative styles is now the norm and especially in the LGBT community it's how you fit in ?
It amazes me that 40years after this was filmed that there is still a closed minded attitude to people that dress this way. I'm 37 and dress in a way that is slightly hippy/goth hybrid and where I live people kinda shun me and don't take me seriously even though I work full time and have an okay job. The issue is there is loads of people where I live of the same age that are just boring pre-programed middle class morons whose life goal is to own a massive BMW and be secret alcoholics and do nothing fun at all.
Just a bit of silliness, but a few eejits think they became "superior to all the little sheep" by making themselves look like clowns. Ah well..."youth is wasted on the young." I loved the '80s, and I too looked daft through most of the decade!
Surely these were just fitting in within their own crowd with its own type of culture? it was a scene that was created as much as Teddyboys were before them, it was a part of it's time and many of them (not all I know) are likely know part of 'respectable' society. You don't have to be a punk to not fit in, you don't need a certain scene to follow. We are all more and more becoming more homoginized via media and marketing brainwashing us to feel we should be and act and look a certain way. Anyome that deviats from this is seen as odd, something to be weary of or a trouble maker.
I was born in 1983. My parents have a photograph of a bunch of Punks holding me when i was about 3 months old and 1 of them has a knife and fork to my head 😂
One thing I thought interesting was how extreme the "straight" fashion was in this clip, just, because evryone was wearing these styles the mainstream didnt see it as extreme, ya man with the highlights and hairspray helmet in the grey suit who paid a fortune to be told to wear socks for instance, actually quite a strong look taken out of context.
Cool Gina✌🏼✌🏼✌🏼 its all about having your own identity and in 1983 feminity stopped being about Goldilocks it was all about women in power or at least breaking away from a submissive society. I was only 10 back then and barbie was all the rage that PINK everything ball gown stuff she wore - I shredded it and punk-styled her hair so she stopped being so glamerous!!!. I shave my hair now at 49 at the sides so sort of like Annabela Lewin from BOW WOW WOW - I get away with as still look quite young for my age but like to make a statement all the same.
When you stand out, you get accepted by a different group of people, so are you really standing out when you still fit in? Just be you, and the right people will be in your life.
There's no law or right or wrong on how you dress . We would be judging every fashion era that may have been normal by society's opinions. I am who I am and that's all that I am. Remember males used jewelry and makeup in ancient times . Should we judge women now.
@TUbIuyola I'm not "into" individuality. I'm an individual in the ways that I am and part of the crowd in the ways that I am. Much the same way every other human is. I certainly don't feel the need to dress in a social uniform of any prescription. The hilarious irony in any alternative fashion culture is that it is defined as being alternative to "normal" fashion. Meaning that it is by its very definition a slave to whatever the current fashion is. By proclaiming yourself as diametrically opposed to fashion you are in fact stating how enslaved you are by it. It's also incredibly shallow because it can't conceive if a world where a person's identity isn't utterly dictated by the clothes you wear. It was pathetic when it was mods and rockers, pathetic when it was punks, pathetic when it was goths, then ...well whatever came next.
