A history of the club that set the 1980s alight, by presenter and Blitz attendee Robert Elms.

 

The short-lived Blitz club in London’s Covent Garden was more than a place to hang out or be seen: it was the catalyst for a cultural explosion, a counter-culture blast against all that Thatcher's leadership had ushered in by the dawn of the 1980s. Tuesday nights boasted a ferocious, fearless cast - from Boy George and Spandau Ballet to Grayson Perry and Peter Doig, Sade and Wham! to Michele Clapton and John Galliano. They were the vanguard of a very different England; socially liberal, loud and proud, celebrating diversity, but also fiercely individualistic and above all determined to succeed.

 

Britain stood in black and white; between 1979 and 1980, the Blitz Kids switched on the colour.

 

Paperback 304pp.