Steve Strange
Encyclopedia
Steve Strange is a Welsh
pop
singer, best known as the lead singer and frontman of the 1980s pop group Visage
. Since the late 1970s he has also been a prominent nightclub host and promoter.
where his father was serving in the army as a paratrooper. The family moved back to Wales and lived in Rhyl
where his parents bought a large guest house and opened sea front cafes. They then divorced and he moved with his mother to Newbridge in South Wales
where he attended Newbridge Grammar School. It merged with a secondary school to form Newbridge Comprehensive School a year after he arrived there, and he subsequently lost interest in all subjects but arts.
concert at the Stowaway Club in Newport in 1976, Harrington befriended the bass player Glen Matlock
. He then arranged gigs for punk bands in his home town and befriended Jean-Jacques Burnel
of the Stranglers
before leaving for London
where he worked for Malcolm McLaren
and formed a punk band called The Moors Murderers with Soo Catwoman
. Further members included future Pretenders
frontwoman Chrissie Hynde
, future Psychedelic Furs drummer Vince Ely, future Clash
drummer Nicky Headon and the Kid (who was formerly in Adam and the Ants
, as Mark Ryan). They recorded a song called "Free Hindley". After a number of gigs, the band split up around early 1978.
Later in 1978, Harrington briefly joined the punk/new wave band The Photons (originally from Liverpool
) as vocalist and co-songwriter at the behest of David Littler (ex The Spitfire Boys
). The band were managed by Punk impresario Andy Czezowski.
Harrington was also the subject of the song "Poseur" by fellow punk band Combat 84
in 1982.
with then Rich Kids
members Rusty Egan
and Midge Ure
and Magazine members Barry Adamson
, John McGeoch
& Dave Formula
. Intended as a studio-based project, they signed to the small label Radar Records and released their first single "Tar" in 1979. The single was not a success, but the following year, Strange appeared in the video for David Bowie
's no.1 hit "Ashes to Ashes
", a song which helped to propel the burgeoning New Romantic
fashion movement into the mainstream (although Bowie himself was never directly associated with it). Later that year, Visage signed a new record deal with the major label Polydor and released their second single, "Fade to Grey". The single became a top 10 hit in the UK and topped the charts in several other countries. Being the public face of the band, Strange shot to stardom in Britain
and other parts of Europe
, and Visage enjoyed a string of hit singles and two hit albums before later commercial disappointments led to their breakup in 1985.
After the dissolution of Visage, Strange formed the short-lived band Strange Cruise
with Wendy Wu
and Elite
model Leza Cruz, although this outfit failed to recapture the level of success he had enjoyed in the early 1980s.
began to make a name for themselves as a nightclub host and DJ respectively at "Blitz" in London. Adhering to Strange's strict door policy of admitting only "the weird and wonderful", the club took off and became an essential location in the rise of what would become the New Romantic
movement. Following this, Strange and Egan then ran the Camden Palace
nightclub for two years, which became one of the most famous venues of the era, attracting major celebrities on a regular basis. However, after conflicts with the financial backers of the club, Strange and Egan left the Camden Palace
and moved on to a new club named "The Playground", but this venue was not as successful.
Later in the 1980s, Strange went to Ibiza
, Spain
and became an integral part of the budding Trance
club movement and hosting exotic parties for celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone
. In the early 1990s he was the host at the Double Bass club.
For many years, Strange battled a heroin addiction. In later years he suffered a nervous breakdown and was also arrested for shoplifting. In court, he was found guilty and given a three month suspended sentence as the British media had a field day publicising the case of a pop star who had fallen on hard times.
appeal. Prior to this in 2006, Strange had collaborated with electronic music duo Punx Soundcheck for their 2006 album When Machines Rules The World, co-writing and performing on the track "In the Dark".
In 2005, Strange appeared in a Channel 4
documentary called Whatever Happened To The Gender Benders?, which reflected on the advent of the New Romantic
movement of the early 1980s and the prominent roles that Strange, Boy George
and Marilyn each played within it. In stark contrast to the relative glamour of the New Romantic
era, interviews with all three stars in the present day highlighted the sheer devastation that fame, fortune and drug addiction had taken on each of them during the past 25 or so years, with Strange and Marilyn in particular being openly candid about the mental health problems they now try to cope with every day.
reflected on the New Romantic scene of the early 1980s in his 2002 stage musical Taboo
which featured actors playing Steve Strange, Marilyn, Leigh Bowery
, and other peers from the era.
reality series for Children in Need
Celebrity Scissorhands
(featuring top celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford
). He returned to the show for the subsequent two series (2007 and 2008) as Assistant Manager/Image Consultant. In that role, he was in charge of the catwalk, showing all of the best haircuts of the series and also people dressed in 80's style clothing and make-up.
TV series Ashes to Ashes
, which was aired on 14 February 2008. He played himself performing the Visage
song "Fade to Grey" at the "Blitz" nightclub in which he was once host.
in the BBC programme Worried About The Boy, a dramatisation of Boy George
's rise to fame. Although the programme was set in the early 1980s, when Strange was in his early 20s, Warren was 43 at the time of production.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
singer, best known as the lead singer and frontman of the 1980s pop group Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
. Since the late 1970s he has also been a prominent nightclub host and promoter.
Biography
Harrington was born in Newbridge, Caerphilly, Wales, but moved with his family to AldershotAldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
where his father was serving in the army as a paratrooper. The family moved back to Wales and lived in Rhyl
Rhyl
Rhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
where his parents bought a large guest house and opened sea front cafes. They then divorced and he moved with his mother to Newbridge in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
where he attended Newbridge Grammar School. It merged with a secondary school to form Newbridge Comprehensive School a year after he arrived there, and he subsequently lost interest in all subjects but arts.
Punk era
After seeing a Sex PistolsSex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
concert at the Stowaway Club in Newport in 1976, Harrington befriended the bass player Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock is an English bass guitarist most famous for being in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs and most of the lyrics, while lead singer Johnny Rotten made some adjustments...
. He then arranged gigs for punk bands in his home town and befriended Jean-Jacques Burnel
Jean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
of the Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
before leaving for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he worked for Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
and formed a punk band called The Moors Murderers with Soo Catwoman
Soo Catwoman
Soo Lucas, better known as Soo Catwoman , is an icon of the London punk subculture that sprang up around the mid-1970s.-History:...
. Further members included future Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
frontwoman Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
, future Psychedelic Furs drummer Vince Ely, future Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
drummer Nicky Headon and the Kid (who was formerly in Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
, as Mark Ryan). They recorded a song called "Free Hindley". After a number of gigs, the band split up around early 1978.
Later in 1978, Harrington briefly joined the punk/new wave band The Photons (originally from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) as vocalist and co-songwriter at the behest of David Littler (ex The Spitfire Boys
The Spitfire Boys
The Spitfire Boys were the first Liverpool punk band to release a single . The Spitfire Boys were mainly notable for including in their line-up Peter Clarke, who went on to drum for The Slits and later Siouxsie and the Banshees as Budgie, and Paul Rutherford, later better known for being a member...
). The band were managed by Punk impresario Andy Czezowski.
Harrington was also the subject of the song "Poseur" by fellow punk band Combat 84
Combat 84
Combat 84 were an English Oi! band active during the early 1980s. Formed in 1981 in Chelsea, London by skinheads 'Chubby' Chris Henderson and 'Deptford' John Armitage, Combat 84 rose to national prominence after being featured in a controversial 1982 BBC Arena documentary about the skinhead...
in 1982.
Visage
Shortly after leaving The Photons and now using the alias "Steve Strange", Harrington formed VisageVisage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
with then Rich Kids
The Rich Kids
Rich Kids were a short-lived, seminal new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from The Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure, and Rusty Egan, who later went to found Visage.-Career:...
members Rusty Egan
Rusty Egan
Rusty Egan was the drummer for the British new wave band, The Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock, bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; with Steve New guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; and fronted by Midge Ure guitarist, lead...
and Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
and Magazine members Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
, John McGeoch
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
& Dave Formula
Dave Formula
Dave Formula, , is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk band Magazine, and New Romantic ensemble Visage during the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s and in the "world music" band The Angel Brothers.-Early Years and St...
. Intended as a studio-based project, they signed to the small label Radar Records and released their first single "Tar" in 1979. The single was not a success, but the following year, Strange appeared in the video for David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's no.1 hit "Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)
"Ashes to Ashes" is a single by David Bowie, released in 1980. It made #1 in the UK and was the first cut from the Scary Monsters album, also a #1 hit. As well as its musical qualities, it is noted for its innovative video, directed by Bowie and David Mallet...
", a song which helped to propel the burgeoning New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
fashion movement into the mainstream (although Bowie himself was never directly associated with it). Later that year, Visage signed a new record deal with the major label Polydor and released their second single, "Fade to Grey". The single became a top 10 hit in the UK and topped the charts in several other countries. Being the public face of the band, Strange shot to stardom in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and other parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Visage enjoyed a string of hit singles and two hit albums before later commercial disappointments led to their breakup in 1985.
After the dissolution of Visage, Strange formed the short-lived band Strange Cruise
Strange Cruise
Strange Cruise was the name of a 1980s British pop group, led by former Visage singer Steve Strange and Wendy Wu, the former singer of The Photos...
with Wendy Wu
Wendy Wu
The Photos were a British new wave band fronted by Wendy Wu, who had a top 5 album in the UK in 1980.-History:The Photos were originally a punk band named Satan's Rats that formed in Evesham, Worcestershire in 1977, with the first stable line-up of Paul Rencher , Steve Eagles , Roy Wilkes , and...
and Elite
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management is a large modeling agency based in New York and Paris. It is a subsidiary of Elite World S.A.-History:Founded in France in 1972 by John Casablancas and Alain Kittler, it was rebought in 1990 by Nicholas Farrae. Elite World S.A. is the parent company of Elite Model...
model Leza Cruz, although this outfit failed to recapture the level of success he had enjoyed in the early 1980s.
Club host
In the late 1970s, prior to their success with Visage, Strange and Visage partner Rusty EganRusty Egan
Rusty Egan was the drummer for the British new wave band, The Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock, bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; with Steve New guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals; and fronted by Midge Ure guitarist, lead...
began to make a name for themselves as a nightclub host and DJ respectively at "Blitz" in London. Adhering to Strange's strict door policy of admitting only "the weird and wonderful", the club took off and became an essential location in the rise of what would become the New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
movement. Following this, Strange and Egan then ran the Camden Palace
Camden Palace
KOKO is a nightclub in a former theatre in Camden Town, London, England, at the bottom of Camden High Street close to Mornington Crescent tube station. Until 2004 it was called the Camden Palace. The building is considered to have some architectural significance and is a Grade II listed...
nightclub for two years, which became one of the most famous venues of the era, attracting major celebrities on a regular basis. However, after conflicts with the financial backers of the club, Strange and Egan left the Camden Palace
Camden Palace
KOKO is a nightclub in a former theatre in Camden Town, London, England, at the bottom of Camden High Street close to Mornington Crescent tube station. Until 2004 it was called the Camden Palace. The building is considered to have some architectural significance and is a Grade II listed...
and moved on to a new club named "The Playground", but this venue was not as successful.
Later in the 1980s, Strange went to Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and became an integral part of the budding Trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
club movement and hosting exotic parties for celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
. In the early 1990s he was the host at the Double Bass club.
Personal life
Strange has always been somewhat ambiguous about his sexuality, although he has made it known he has had relationships with both men and women.For many years, Strange battled a heroin addiction. In later years he suffered a nervous breakdown and was also arrested for shoplifting. In court, he was found guilty and given a three month suspended sentence as the British media had a field day publicising the case of a pop star who had fallen on hard times.
Recent years
Strange's autobiography Blitzed! was published in 2002. In it, he speaks about his heroin addiction and his nervous breakdown, his sexuality, and the ongoing attempts to get his life back together. Following this, Strange attempted to revive his music career and formed a new version of Visage (dubbed Visage mk II) with various musicians from modern electronic bands (none of the other original members were involved in this new project). With a plan to re-record some of the older, classic Visage tracks as well as produce some new material, the project never seemed to fully get off the ground despite some television appearances. The first Visage Mark II song was called "Diary of A Madman", which was made available for download in 2007 in return for a donation to the Children In NeedChildren in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
appeal. Prior to this in 2006, Strange had collaborated with electronic music duo Punx Soundcheck for their 2006 album When Machines Rules The World, co-writing and performing on the track "In the Dark".
In 2005, Strange appeared in a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary called Whatever Happened To The Gender Benders?, which reflected on the advent of the New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
movement of the early 1980s and the prominent roles that Strange, Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
and Marilyn each played within it. In stark contrast to the relative glamour of the New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
era, interviews with all three stars in the present day highlighted the sheer devastation that fame, fortune and drug addiction had taken on each of them during the past 25 or so years, with Strange and Marilyn in particular being openly candid about the mental health problems they now try to cope with every day.
Taboo
Boy GeorgeBoy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
reflected on the New Romantic scene of the early 1980s in his 2002 stage musical Taboo
Taboo (musical)
Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies , lyrics by Boy George, and music by George and Kevan Frost....
which featured actors playing Steve Strange, Marilyn, Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, actor, pop star, model and fashion designer, based in London. Bowery is considered one of the more influential figures in the 1980s and 1990s London and New York art and fashion circles influencing a generation of artists and...
, and other peers from the era.
Celebrity Scissorhands
In November 2006, Strange took part in, and went on to win, the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reality series for Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands is a reality show that is part of the BBC's Children in Need charity campaign, in which celebrities attempt to cut people's hair to raise money for the campaign while trained and watched by professional hairdresser Lee Stafford...
(featuring top celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford
Lee Stafford
Lee Stafford is an award-winning celebrity hairdresser.-Biography:Stafford opened his hair salon in 1984 in Essex called The House That Hair Built. His career took off in 1997 when he won the title of Men's British Hairdresser of the Year. In 2000 he opened his second hair salon in Wardour Street,...
). He returned to the show for the subsequent two series (2007 and 2008) as Assistant Manager/Image Consultant. In that role, he was in charge of the catwalk, showing all of the best haircuts of the series and also people dressed in 80's style clothing and make-up.
Ashes to Ashes
Strange made a brief appearance in episode two of the 1980s-themed BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
, which was aired on 14 February 2008. He played himself performing the Visage
Visage
Visage are a British New Wave rock band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s, and are best known for their 1980 hit "Fade to Grey".-New Wave years :...
song "Fade to Grey" at the "Blitz" nightclub in which he was once host.
Worried About The Boy
In 2010, Strange was portrayed by actor Marc WarrenMarc Warren
Marc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles as Danny Blue in Hustle, Dougie Raymond in The Vice and Dominic Foy in State of Play.-Career:...
in the BBC programme Worried About The Boy, a dramatisation of Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
's rise to fame. Although the programme was set in the early 1980s, when Strange was in his early 20s, Warren was 43 at the time of production.