Product Code Database
Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer and nightclub host and promoter. Strange began his career in several short-lived punk rock bands of the late 1970s. Quickly becoming disaffected by the British punk scene, he became one of the most influential figures behind the New Romantic subcultural movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which spawned the Blitz Kids.
Strange was the lead vocalist of the new wave synth-pop group Visage, which had five top 30 songs on the UK singles chart between 1981 and 1982, including their highest charting single "Fade to Grey", which reached no. 8 in February 1981.
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-Spitfire Boys). The band were managed by punk impresario Andrew Czezowski.
After the dissolution of Visage, Strange formed the short-lived band Strange Cruise with Wendy Wu (formerly of the Photos). The group signed with EMI Records and released two singles and an album in 1986, though failed to gain any chart success.
Later in the 1980s, Strange went to Ibiza, Spain, and became an integral part of the budding Trance music club movement and hosting parties for celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone. In the early 1990s, he was the host at the "Double Bass" club in Ibiza.
In 2006, Strange collaborated with electronic music duo Punx Soundcheck for their album When Machines Rules the World, co-writing and performing on the track "In the Dark".
Parallel to recording new Visage material, Strange was also involved in another music project, the Detroit Starrzz. The group, which consisted of Strange and various DJ/remixers, released their first single, "Halo", in 2011. While appearing on the chat show Loose Women in February 2012, Strange stated he had recorded a full album with the group, with another single, "Aiming For Gold", to be released later in 2012. The group played at the Citrus Club in Edinburgh on 3 February 2012.
At the time of his death in February 2015, Strange was in the midst of making a second album with the current Visage line-up. The album, Demons to Diamonds, was completed by the band after he died and released in November 2015.
During the mid-1990s, Strange promoted nights at the Emporium nightclub in Soho, London.
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 November 2006, Strange took part in, and went on to win, the BBC reality series for Children in Need Celebrity Scissorhands. He returned to the show in 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 1980s style clothing and make-up.
In 2008, Strange (and Visage II keyboardist Sandrine Gouriou) made an appearance in the BBC drama series Ashes to Ashes, which is set in 1981. In it, they performed the song "Fade to Grey" in a scene set in the "Blitz" nightclub.
In 2009, Strange and Rusty Egan appeared in Living TV's Pop Goes the Band, a series in which pop stars from the 1980s are given a complete makeover in return for a one-off performance. The Visage episode aired on 16 March 2009, and was the first time that the two men had spoken in over 20 years. The episode focused (like others in the series) more on getting them fit in the gym than on the current state of their relationship, though they appeared to get on well enough. At the culmination of the episode, they performed "Fade to Grey".
In 2010, Strange was portrayed by actor Marc Warren 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.
In January 2011, Strange and Rusty Egan reopened the "Blitz" Club for one night, with performances from Roman Kemp's band Paradise Point and electro punk artist Quilla Constance plus DJ sets from Egan himself.
In January 2013, Strange appeared on the Channel 4 News discussing the forthcoming release of David Bowie's album The Next Day.
In 2014, he collaborated with Italian synthwave producer Bottin on the song Poison Within.
In his final years, he lived with his family in the South Wales seaside town of Porthcawl.
For many years, Strange was addicted to heroin. In later years, he suffered a nervous breakdown, and in November 1999, he was arrested for shoplifting—he was caught stealing a Teletubbies doll for his nephew. In court, he was found guilty and given a three-month suspended sentence. The British media publicised the case of a pop star who had fallen on hard times.
In 2002, Strange published his autobiography, Blitzed!, in which he spoke openly about his career, his heroin addiction, his nervous breakdown, his sexuality, and his attempts to get his life back together.
Spandau Ballet (who also started their musical career in the Blitz Club founded by Strange) dedicated their performance at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy later that night to Strange. The family held a high-profile funeral in Porthcawl which was attended by many prominent figures from the entertainment industry and was videoed. His coffin was carried by Boy George, Jayce Lewis and Spandau Ballet brothers Martin Kemp and Gary Kemp; the funeral concluded with a burial at Jubilee Gardens Cemetery. A fundraising project, named The Steve Strange Collective, was set up by Strange's family and friends, with a view to having a statue of him made in his hometown. The statue did not materialise, but a heart-shaped gravestone, paid for by the Collective, was unveiled in Porthcawl in December 2015.
|
|
