12 FEBRUARY 2015
Tonight came the sad news that New Romantic Icon and Visage frontman Steve Strange has suffered a heart failure and died in his sleep in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he was spending time since the beginning of the month.
Steve Strange was one of the first people in the late 70s who started the New Romantics movement and encouraged extreme dressing-up as a form of self expression. He started a revolution in the London nightlife with his club Blitz in Covent Garden, where his strict door policy pushed people's creativity. The club was a hotspot for many young art students and musicians and drew the attention of the likes of Mick Jagger, David Bowie and was paramount for bands like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club who all got their start at the club before finding stardom. He started his own band, Visage, which he formed in 1979 and their breakthrough single Fade To Grey is to this day one of the most iconic themes of the New Romantic era.
Strange's agent, Pete Bassett, said that the singer would be remembered as a "hard-working, very amusing and lovable individual who always was at the forefront of fashion trends". He added: "Up until last year he was putting together a book of fashion styles based on the New Romantic movement and it comes as a great shock. We understood that he had certain health problems but nothing we knew was life threatening. His friends and family are totally shocked, we had no idea anything like this was likely to happen. If you're out tonight, pour one out for one of the leading faces of British club culture.
image©2010o.yordanov
He will be missed and remembered by many, evident from the immediate twitter response to the sad news:
