MTV

As the first nationally broadcast cable station dedicated primarily to music, MTV proved itself to be the most powerful means of artistic promotion available. For most of the decade, MTV focused on colorful ‘new wave’ acts and corporate rockers, eventually yielding its playlist to include heavy metal and ‘rap’ acts as well. Most pop music avoided any hint of political significance, but a global sense of social awareness resulted in a coalition that unified most recording artists. Popular musicians recognized their positions as figureheads and decided to utilize their influence to enact change. This idealized sense of purpose came to its peak in 1985, with the massive success of Live-Aid, an idea that began as a British Christmas single and grew immensely, all in the name of famine relief. Madonna redefined dance music as a form of self-expression with a sexually aware sense of rebellion that made the previous decade’s disco music appear mute in comparison. By decade’s end, a commercialized form of rhythm and blues would dominate the charts while ‘rap music’ would force our national focus onto issues that left the most comfortably entrenched members of our society feeling rather uncomfortable indeed.

The Culture Club & Adam and The Ants

Boy George
Adam and the Ants
New-Romantic Style

In Paris, New-Romantic-style clobber by the likes of Gaultier was wowing people at the fashion shows and fetching large sums of money once in production. In Britain, Vivienne Westwood was promoting the new look at World's End, her London shop and youngsters were looking at cheap ways to achieve the desired New Romantic Style. As this new fashion wave was about self expression, creating the looks by hand was something that clicked on immediately. 

http://www.80sactual.com/2007/12/boy-george-and-culture-club.html

Punk Movement...

• Punk was an expression of youthful rebellion and anti-authoritarian mentality. The term punk was first used by American critics in the early ’70s to describe the new bands that had arrived on the scene.

• British youth were angry, unruly and unemployed, which provided a clash between people having very strong opinions and too much time to spare. During this period, following a short time managing the New York Dolls, Malcolm McLaren returned to London in May 1975. Together with his designer girlfriend, Vivienne Westwood, McLaren opened SEX, the clothes shop that was instrumental to the beginnings of punk fashion as we know it today. 

• By the mid ’70s, bands such as The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and The Clash were viewed and recognised as the forefront of a new musical movement. Soon, punk spread around the world and not just in music, but also within fashion, visual art, literature, dance and film.

• The original message of punk was dissident, counter-cultural, disobedient and politically outspoken, but this was lost over the years. The subculture of punk now focuses more on the music rather than the attitude. The importance of punk “can be judged by the echoes heard in music ever since, as well as the legend and clichés that have grown up around it,” according to Ian Youngs, BBC News Online arts reporter.

Fashion

• When punk was established in the mid ’70s, Britain’s youth became daring and rebellious and started to wear outrageous clothing that had never been seen before. Clothes that had previously always aimed to look clean and presentable were being torn up, frayed and printed to attract attention. Most punks wore tight drainpipe jeans, tartan trousers, kilts and leather jackets which were often decorated with painted band logos, pins, buttons and metal studs or spikes. Some early punks sometimes wore clothes displaying a Nazi swastika for shock-value, but more contemporary and anti-racist punks wore a crossed-out swastika symbol.

• Hair also played a large part in the punk aesthetic. The most popular and obvious that comes to mind the spiked Mohican hairstyle using a variety of things including sugar and water solutions, soaping, gelatin, PVA glue, hairsprays and hair gel. It was also all about having big hair that was brightly coloured with food dyes, as well as over-bleaching the hair to attract great attention.

• Another alternative and daring look was to shave areas of the scalp, which both men and women did to make themselves look intimidating. Hair was also sometimes dyed jet black or bleached white blonde and dark vampire style make-up was worn to attract more attention to the face.

• Many of these styles have seen a return to today’s society. It is now extremely fashionable to have daring rainbow style hairstyles, pink, green, blue, jet black or heavily bleached.

• Shaving areas of the scalp has also become very popular again amongst young people and celebrities. Punk fashion has seemingly made a massive comeback lately and has influenced many, but this style never faded and probably never will. We still see groups of young and fashion creative people dressed in striking ensembles, wearing iconic British military-inspired Dr. Martens boots or platform creepers.

Overall 80s

The 1980s was the decade that saw the start of Red Wedge, the Greenham Common Peace Women and the increasing concern for the environment.  It maybe convenient to scapegoat the 80s as the cause of all known ills but the reality of the decade was far different, absolute bedlam, as Right fought Left idealism fought corporate ambition. The election of Ronald Reagan as American President in 1980, and his second victory in 1984 had a far more decisive effect on the international political landscape than the three successive general election victories of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 979, 1983 and 1987.

Ra Ra skirts with lycra leggings, Swatch watches, pixie boots, jelly shoes, shoulder pads, blonde highlights, men in pink, shell suits, leg warmers, fashion came fast and furious with these elements creating fashion statements that are still influential today.

Musically the 1980s saw the creation and beginning of house music, the exciting and still evolving synths taking centre stage, the evolvement of Rap music into the fully-fledged Hip Hop scene, Band Air and Live Aid, indie music and the eccentric acid house and raves...which led to a drug epidemic. 

Do they know its Christmas - Band Aid 1984

http://www.80sactual.com/2007/12/boy-george-and-culture-club.html

What was going on....

What was going on during the time of androgyny in the 1980s?

Maggie's Britain - great social and political reform and upheaval. 

• Thatcher took on the powerful Trade Union movement and stripped them of many of their powers (as she'd been elected to do). 
• This caused social unrest in the form os strikes and riots, as the unions (egged on by extreme left wing agitators) fought back hard.

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• Britain was still suffering from high inflation and unemployment in the early 80s due to the incompetent economic policies of the previous Labour administration.
• The economy was still very fragile. 
• Economically, privatisation of nationalised industries and North Sea oil funded large, ongoing tax cuts that gradually restored the economy.

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• Internationally, Thatcher stood up to the EU, extracting a massive cut in British financial contributions and a huge refund. She also stood up to USSR and the victory in the Falklands War restored international prestige to Britain, which had sunk to a very low love in the 70s.
• As for the Labour opposition, their response was to move further and further to the left, alienating many voters and sparking off a bitter internal struggle for control of the party between the 'Soft' left, as represented by Kinnock and Hattersley and extremists such as Tony Benn, (a great politician of huge integrity  and organisations such as Militant. They were bit ti recover until Blair moved the party to the right of even Thatcherism in the mid 90s. 

Recession in the 1980s

• Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, and the country was buckling under the strain of mass unemployment and an intense class war.
• Mrs Thatcher and her Chancellor Geoffrey Howe confronted the recession in a very brutal way. Rather that cut taxes, they raised them, and rather than increase Government spending, they slashed it. In the 1980 Budget, the Chancellor also announced that benefits paid out to the families of people who went on strike would be cut by £12 a week and made subject to tax.
• The Budget sparked fury among economists, 364 of whom penned a letter to The Times demanding that a different course be taken, along the lines of a Keynesian style approach where spending would be increased to boost the economy. One of the signatories was Mervyn King, then an economics lecturer at Birmingham University, now the Governor of the Bank of England.
• The 1980 Christmas number one in the music charts may have been ‘There’s no one quite like Grandma’ by St Winifred’s School Choir, but the mood it evoked was in sharp contrast to the social unrest bubbling away.
• As the recession’s grip held firm at the beginning of 1981, unemployment neared 3m, manufacturing capacity fell by fifth, and the lifeblood of the British mining community ebbed away. Discontent was rife, and culminated in urban riots in the summer of that year.
• Unemployment, which is usually a lagging factor in a downturn, peaked at 3.2m in the mid 1980s. It remained well above 2m until late 1997.
• In contrast to today, the pound was relatively robust against the dollar during the 1980s recession, remaining above the $2 mark.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/recession/4323064/UK-recession-in-1980-What-was-it-like.html

Party Monster

Party Monster is one of my favourite films ever!! It is a crime drama film based on the biography written about the rise and fall of the infamous New York party promotor, Michael Alig. The film is based on 'Disco Bloodbath', the memoir of James St. James which details his friendship with Alig, that later fell apart as Alig's drug addiction worsened and ended after he murdered his drug dealer, Angel, and went to prison. 

The film highlights the downfall of Michael Alig through drugs and the spotlight, constantly being on high demand and constantly wanting to out do himself. Although I get the impression that the film was produced on a low budget the costumes and outfits throughout the film are amazing! It really captures the essence of the party vibe that was constantly going on during the time. 

Party Monster - Trailer

This film is part of my research because for me, this is the first insight I had into the Club Kids and the whole new movement that was going on in the late 80s/early 90s. Before watching this film a few years ago I had no idea that these sort of parties happened but I always visualised them. The whole concept just fascinates me, the outfits and the use of makeup how each 'club kid' has their own character and part that they play within this circus that they have all created themselves. I LOVE the fact that the majority of the outfits were all hand-made as well and then recycled to create new outfits for the following weeks. This is another aspect that shows how the people that were drawn into the whole 'Club Kid' really expressed themselves through the nightlife when they felt like the couldn't during the day, breaking away from what was socially accepted and creating a new life for themselves.

Whilst researching, I came across this interesting interview of an original NYC Club Kid, Ernie Glam, talking to Swide Magazine talking about the life he used to have and what he does now. One quote I admired was when Glam was asked, "What is glamour to you?", with him responding, "Glamour is a compelling sense of style that cannot be purchased. It is a seductive mystery that captivates a viewer's attention", both of these comments reflecting back on my previous statement that many of these characters did what they loved regardless of what was socially acceptable at the time and to always try and out do themselves to reach the highest shock factor. 

http://www.swide.com/celebrities/fashion-parties/new-york-club-kid-ernie-glam-interview/2013/09/20

He then continues to comment when asked where Lady Gaga is a Club Kid or a fake: "All club kids are fake. It’s an invented persona, so Lady Gaga’s invented persona is just as valid as any club kid’s persona." 

As everyone nowadays that Lady Gaga has created this empier of Little Monsters based on the fact of being a chameleon performer, forever keeping her fans and the world on their feet waiting for the next appearance and questioning what rule she'll be breaking next with her attire. So the likes of Lady Gaga and the Club Kids, what makes them want to break away from the norm and to stand out? Self confidence issues? Or maybe just to express themselves through the out of hair and makeup if not just through the voice. 

Drag Darlene

Since being a teenager I have also been fascinated with drag queens and the art that is 'drag'. Where as some people just see it as men dressed up in women's clothes with a lot of makeup, I absolutely love how these creative men develop new person as through the use of hair and makeup. One of my dearest friends at home is called Matthew Watson but by night he becomes Gina Tonic. When I saw him last we had an interesting conversation about his drag acts and how he feels when he is up on stage performing. It was heart warming listening to him speak about self expression and how acting like someone else who he has created makes him feel like his true self. Matthew is now early 40s so when the Club Kids and Blitz came to the scene in the 80s he was in his element! The stories he told me about the parties and night outs in the 80s when he first started being Gina were mesmerising as he explained about the new wave of style and music that was taking over the youth of the time, how it all came together to create this new revolution which is still influencing people nowadays. 

Gina Tonic
                                         
Drag queens are sometimes called transvestites although that term also has many other connotations that the term 'drag queen' usually connotes cross-dressing for the purposes of entertainment or performance without necessarily aiming to pass as female. It is not generally used to describe those persons who cross-dress for the fulfillment of transvestite fetishes alone, or whose cross-dressing is primarily part of a private sexual activity or identity. As for those whose motivation is not primarily sexual and who many socialize cross-dressing, they tend to adopt the typical over the top drag queen look. 

Androgyny in the 80s

History - 
Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity or sexual lifestyle, androgyny is the combination of feminine and masculine characteristics. It can also refer to biological intersex physicality especially with regards to plant and human sexuality. One of the first references to androgyny is featured in Plato's Symposium in a myth that Aristophanes tells the audience. Believed that people used to be spherical creatures with two bodies attached by the back that supposedly cartwheeled around. Men were with men and women with women although the last pairing represented an androgynous couple who tried to take over the gods and failed. As punishment Zeus decided to cut them in half and had Apollo stitch them back together leaving the navel as a reminder to not defy the Gods again.  This is one of the earlier written references to androgyny I could track as I find it interesting as to how androgyny first originated from.

Especially in the very early 60s, musicians such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones started growing their hair long and progressing to full-fledged androgynous dress in life and on stage, whereas before it was the women who had the long hair this caused an uproar. Other iconic artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant fashioned perhaps the most enduring image of modern androgyny with wearing women's shirts, scarves, heeled boots and the way they carried themselves during interviews and so on. Robert Plant especially combined a somewhat effeminate physical appearance with a high pitched, flamboyant vocal range linking with a distinctly masculine sexuality. With these inspirational artists leading these new unseen trends, this is what made their fans think it was acceptable to start pushing the boundaries of what was socially acceptable and to copy what their icons were doing/wearing.

.....

As the years went by, androgynous fashion developed and blossomed to the 1980s! For most people as well as myself, when I first think of androgyny I instantly think of the 80s. As this was the decade of Grace Jones, Annie Lennox, Prince and many other influential, this was the start of a fashion revolution. For me, this photo of Grace Jones is one of my favourite and inspiring pictures in regards to what I want to achieve for my dissertation practice and in the future. How the use of minimal makeup and a beautifully taken photo can have such a large impact and really create something so visually stunning by simply highlighting the signature features of the model. 

Iconic 80s androgynous looks

http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=13322343#page:showThread,13322343

'Indentity'

In many aspects this dissertation is about self expression, identity and what influences people to create new personas through the use of make-up and music, but for me I am focusing on the 80s. Which brought me to think about when I used to model for Toni&Guy and Saks, this developing into a love and passion for make-up and the art of hair.

 

Back in the hair modelling days

 

From this I wanted to start working behind the scenes of the shoots instead of being in front of the camera...resulting in me studying this course at Solent. How the use of hair styling and make-up can create new imagery and pieces of art work that has never been seen before excites me so I want to dig down to the roots of the 80s and investigate what was the first KEY point that kicked off peoples creativity. I love the use of products to define/cover or even highlight certain features of your face can change somebodies perception of you, the way you act and carry yourself. 

My 'Face'

 I always jokingly say how I 'paint' on my face, as some days I feel like I literally do draw on a new face. With the essentials being to contour my entire face but most importantly, eyebrows! I have repeatedly been complimented on my eyebrows and I feel after YEARS of practice iv finally gotten them right. As well as brows, thick black eyeliner and eyelashes are a key trait of mine, along side red lipstick. I have a variety of shades but always rely on a nice red lippy for the day. When I do my makeup routine in the morning I don't even give it a second thought as to what products/shades I am going to wear as I know what suits me best and this now....has developed into my 'identity'. Without even realizing, and this is something that I find quite interesting as for me one of the reasons why I have this look is from the compliments and reactions I get from it, so for me this is something that I want to look into for my investigation. Maybe one of the reasons why people rebelled from the social norm in the 1980s was down the reactions they used to get and how this extra, not necessarily positive, but attention is what people craved.

(close up pictures of my makeup)

Introduction...

As part of our studies, I had to send a draft of whatever work I had done to my tutor Michael for him to see how I was getting along and to help guide me along my studies. At this moment in time I feel that my topic of choice is still quite broad which is putting me off starting to write it. Due to this I found breaking down my ideas into bullet point form very helpful to send Michael as it helped me get across clearer what I am aiming to cover in my dissertation.

One of the reasons why I am doing this blog as well as being able to include images and videos in my research but also I can backtrack on my work to keep me in line of what I am aiming to achieve. As I want my dissertation to cover the topic I have chosen I don't want to end up going off the topic and writing about issues that aren't relevant. 

Introduction

"A brief overview of the relationship between music and music and the impact this had on society and culture.

How the music industry nowadays is still heavily influenced by specific makeup styles from the 80s and where did these originate from.

What was going on during the 80s and the effect this had on the creative industry

How make-up effected the approach of music and does it still to this day"

Going over what I sent o Michael briefly, with my introduction being 400words strong, I intend to briefly go over the following topics, varying but bringing them all together...

• Relationship between make-up and music in 80s and the impact this had on society and culture. (research into the music of the 80s, new genres and the fashions that came with it/why people were so fascinated by the new wave of fashion and make-up styles)
• How the music industry now is still heavily influenced the 80s (what made it so different and unique from other decades for styles to still be around now/where did these certain styles originate from/look into artists that show aspects within their performances and acts that reflect back to the 80s/what made the 80s so influential/the introduction of new technologies in the 80s helped make-up and music
• What was going on during the 80s and the effect that had on the creative industry (the introduction of new designers and a revolution of fashion/punk movement/political issues that were accuring at the time/how people rebelled from the norm of society to make a statement - through hair and makeup and how they did this.

Now that I have this written down in more detail for me to refer to when it comes down to actually writing my dissertation, I feel that when I start writing it will be easier for me to stay on track as I have set myself guidelines. Especially now that I have broken down my introduction, when I start writing my dissertation it will help the flow and the continuity. 

       

What is '80s' hair and make-up

When I initially think of the 1980s, what first pops into my head is big hair, bright colours and bold make-up. This was the decade where people started experimenting more with colour and textiles to create new personas and new styles, this was the time to release your creative side. 

1980s hair

For some people, hair is what made the 80s! This was the decade that introduced the mullet, mohawk and flattops which were all popular styles. Amongst women the on-trend looks were the bigger the better in my opinion. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the late 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. 

One of the main reasons why I am going to create mood boards throughout my blog is to help me visually get my ideas across and also I feel it will be good for me to refer back to when in need. I feel being someone who is more creative than academic this is a good way for me to keep on track as well of what I am trying to achieve. 

1980s make-up

Every decade has its own style, and the 80s really had its own. From miniskirts to parachute pants and everything in between, something really went awry with our fashion sense during that decade. Make up was no exception. First and foremost there was just way too much of it. The girls of the decade literally “painted” their faces on. The two defining makeup elements in the 80s face were bold eyes and blush meant to accentuate the cheek bones.  The more noticeable the eye shadow and the heavier the blush, the better you looked as far as 80s fashion was concerned. If your face didn’t look halfway clownish, you hadn't quite achieved the look yet.

1980s fashion

Eighties fashion for women taught us terms like jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, neon clothing, leg warmers, shoulder pads, and Guess jeans. They also brought back polka dots, Preppie clothes and wedgies – which used to be shoes and not an underwear malfunction. Oversized sweatshirts that could fit a truck inside over tight leggings were the norm.

1980s clothing styles for men included acid washed jeans, jean jackets, parachute pants, high top shoes and T-shirts. Unless, of course you were in the preppie crowd. Then you wore Izod shirts, probably with the collar up, dress pants and penny loafer shoes. And, let's not forget the baggy blazer with the sleeves rolled up.

...

So over Summer when I started doing my research for my initial idea I realised that I felt my original idea was too narrow for me, I didn't feel that there would of been enough to make up for a full dissertation and the more I looked into it the more I realised that my heart wasn't in it anymore. I felt that with the practical side as well I was very limited to any sort of shoot that I could of done with my original idea so I reevaluated my proposal to think of something more broader.

I thought of instead of just doing the comparison of 2 sub-genres within metal in the 80s, I have decided to look into the influence of make-up in the music industry during the 80s. Focusing on the relationship between make-up and music and what made the 80s such an iconic era for make-up and music, bringing the two together.

For last week, we had to send to our tutor our first draft of whatever work we had done so far but as I was/still am trying to pin point my dissertation idea, I sent my work in bullet point form to explain what I would cover in each section. One thing that I was struggling with was to come up with a title as I feel that to some up and cover what your entire dissertation will be about in one sentence is something that will take time to perfect. I am undecided between:

·         The revolution of make-up in the 1980’s and how it influenced the music.

·         The relationship between make-up and music in the 1980’s and the revolution it created.

·         How the political and social issues in the 1980’s effected music and revolutionised make-up.

·         How make-up influenced androgynous fashion in the 1980’s and the revolutionary impact this had on the music industry.

I have always been interested in the thought of identity, what makes somebodies identity and how people can change this through the power of hair and make-up. That's why with my dissertation I wanted to include all these aspects but also to focus on something that I hadn't done before. I have never really been a fan of 80s music but I have always had an interest in the hair and make-up as I think it is one of the most influential and iconic eras. Even more, a lot of modern day musicians refer back to the 80s for their style which shows how much of an impression the 80s left on the music and fashion industry.

Initial idea

 So for my dissertation I have decided to do the practise option which will give me the opportunity to visually explain my dissertation alongside with the written part. For me this is the better option as with my dyslexia I find it easier to be creative than writing. This meaning that I will do a 4000 report and a practical, visual piece. At this time I have many ideas going through my head for my practical as I am trying to think outside the box and push myself to do something that I haven't done before.

When I did my dissertation proposal in May my initial idea was to my dissertation on 1980s make-up in music but to focus on 2 sub genres and to compare the impact of make-up in different ways. I thought about looking into Glam Rock vs Heavy Metal. How make-up created such a divide within the music industry but within the same genre. For example I was going to study and compare bands such as Steel Pantha and Kiss to Pantera and Metallica.

Steel Panther

Kiss

Glam Rock vs Heavy Metal

Pantera

Metallica

Comparing these 2 sub-genres you can already clearly tell the difference visually through the use of make-up and hair styling, simply because Steel Panther and Kiss 'dress up' to create new personas whereas Pantera and Metallica dont. They just simply have longer hair than the norm of most males and thats it. From this comparrison you can tell that Kiss and Steel Pantha are more 'show bands', where they put on more of a performance instead of just simply playing their music, especially as each member of the bands have different stage names.