What did catch the media's attention was the emergence of the half-Skinhead, half-Punk, Oi!s, who always seemed willing to oblige with a provocative (sometimes racist) quote and a menacing snarl to the camera. Here was a styletribe which the media could get its teeth into but, on the other hand, not one whose story was ever going to amuse and entertain. Nor was it one in which the British could take pride. No, what was needed was a predominantly white, zany but politically inoffensive, flamboyant, overdressed styletribe which would provoke wry chuckles of disbelief rather than serious concern. Happily, by late 1978, the blueprint was already off the drawing board.
Since the earliest days of Punk there had always existed within its ranks an energetic little clique of self-proclaimed Posers who took more interest in dressing up and clubbing than in formulating an ideology of anarchic revolution. Invariably showing up in the most inventive creations, the key members of this group - people like Philip Sallon, George O'Dowd, Steve Strange and Chris Sullivan had been well received at Louise's (the lesbian club in Soho which had doubled as a Punk meeting place). But as Punk tended more and more towards a stereotyped uniformity and as the 'Hard Punks' (like the 'Hard Mods' before them) turned their backs on fancy dress, these exquisite Posers were increasingly left out in the cold. When Louise's closed in 1978 and this became literally the case, it was time for them to find both a new home and a new direction. |
