12 January - 80's & Raffles

Cut and paste from email to friend.
So I managed to get my friend C. to agree to go to Raffles for rusty/sullivan’s club.
She was asking before we got there who do you know and I said I don’t know anyone really, it’s not like Rusty is my friend but hey... We get to the door and she, C. goes ‘Hello!!!’ and very happily to 2 women at the door. one doing the door, black June, she was always doing doors, and the other one someone called R., very tall, who was Visage’s manager?? They talked about a mutual friend that C. has lost numbers for and who moved to Sydney. Alan something? George Michael’s stylist?????? Who also styled for Armani? Flurry of chat as C. used to work at D&G and others as the person who lends clothes to celebs (she has a few funny stories about what their bodies really look like away from photoshopped photo shoots) and then she worked for a PR company for clubs like Chinawhite and others but she was not in London in early 80's.

So we walk in to the music of simple minds, then japan, visage, durans, you name it (Rusty’s set). Pretty empty club (was 11pm) but very pretty, lit squares on the dance floor so felt like being on TOTP. A few familiar faces but not that I could name. Except for one, Gary Crowley, who was prob there on his tod and so decided I was his best friend for the evening, lots of hugging me, dancing with us, calling me by name (I cannot ever remember having a conversation with him but we know some same people, his ex of many years worked where I worked and is mate of my friend R, but this woman J. never even says hi to me when we see each other in places these days as it’s pointless as we never went beyond nodding to each other).

So we danced and I told GC when ‘Last night a dj saved my life’ came on, that it was on his Capital radio show that I first heard the song. He loved it, made it the hit it became. Also told him how nice it was to see he could still fit in the same trousers of 30 years ago , he’s not put on weight unlike lots of others. Told me he has a daughter now and various other bits of personal info.

Sullivan’s set was a bit more recent but only just, started with deelite, then kid creole, then let’s dance by bowie that kind of stuff, and rebel rebel. Think I pissed him off, as , egged on by GC, I went to ask for human league and eurythmics and he told me he didn’t’ have them or that that was rusty’s set. Rusty didn’t seem to even nod to me – so few people there, so really didn’t register . Only one woman dressed sort of 80’s style and she was our age. Rest dressed as of today. Few younger people but think there because the club Is their usual hangout anyway, and some very old men, like 60’s. locals…. Bought a vodka tonic, £12. So really not sure what I would drink if there if my 20 year old self on 20 year old salary of 1982 had gone there and stayed longer than the hour/hour and a half I stayed.
Will go again, if can bring more mates so as to have my little possee. Was one other guy there I knew of , but not friend, though GC introduced, he’s MJ who owns that record label called Wall of Sound , very successful (les Rhythms Digitales, Royskopp, some Sigur Ros). GC said he’ a big electro/80’s fan., my mate M. knows him well. Turns out MJ has gone and signed the human league recently. Just because the poor sods are jealous that younger musicians make money out of the 80's sounds revival but they don't. Well am sure they get royalties but maybe not enough.

I asked GC where’s your mate Paolo Hewitt? Where’s your mate Paul Simper? But he said don’t go out much. I guess many live not central London any more .. As for work, he does a couple of shows on radio london, and ‘this and that’. I don’t think they earn much those djs .. Sullivan writes for local free west london magazine I get through letter box .It’s one thing to have royalties from old records (there’s a Best of Visage coming out I kid you not) but otherwise, they never had proper jobs so not easy. And not as lucky as your mates Stuart Matthewman and Paul Dennan still coining it from Sade’s co-writes.

Ps. Was freezing as waiting for night bus to go home. I sort of remembered I have money and could get cab from Kings rd to home quite easily but you know, was in ‘am 21 mode’. Only at 21 would have had possee boarding the bus with me. Miss those days.