As you can tell, I love a bit of nostalgia and was thrilled to be directed to an 80s website by Blogging Queen TWRJ friend today. Our conversation began with me asking her if she could remember a shop in London called Demob. She directed me to a website on 80s style and before I knew it, I was scrolling through pics of gawdknowswho. While browsing I came across this pic and I had to stop and reminisce!!! Why, it's Steve Strange and Jack Nicholson of course, on a night when Jack was in town and popped up to the Camden Palace, where I worked in the top cocktail (VIP) bar. Steve and his girlfriend, heiress Francesca Thyssen, were dressed in similar, Nazi-ish uniform ensembles. Not a good look. Anyway, hers was by Dior, funnily enough, as she informed me when she took me upstairs to see the just-being-fitted out ultra cool, new VIP bar. This fact is relevant by the way because I sat next to one of her ex-in-law Hapsburg relations at a New York lunch recently. I can't repeat anything else. What I will say is: my fellow bar-babe Kate and I used to call Steve 'The Hapsburg' on account of his large, George III-style nose. Funny then, that after dating him, 'Chessy' went on to marry the real thing.....
Oh but so ANYWAY, Jack came to my cocktail bar and I spent the night mixing him Tequila Sunrises. He was ultra cool and this pic of that night took me right back. The Camden Palace had a sort of jungle theme going on inside and we, the unlucky staff members had to wear full safari gear. Not a good look. I wore mine with fishnets, flat boots and legwarmers - it was the 80s, after all. During that time I met all the big stars of the 80s, including Madonna, Grace Jones, Annie Lennox and Divine. It was a knackering time - I worked three nights until 3 a.m then went out until 6 or 7. All while 'attending' college. However, I was paid cash in hand, and made tips every night. The money came in a little brown envelope, something like 100 quid a night in all. I have never, in my life, ever been as cash-rich as I was then. I bought clothes at Demob and PX and ate the finest kebabs. I shared a pokey flat in cool Camden Town with a kitchen backing on to the communal toilet, in a house of four flats. A gas geyser with a steaming tap was our only source of hot water and we bathed three times a week in a bath with a 10p meter in a stone-flagged, unheated basement. Call me Montessa Python! We lived like they lived in the film 'Up the Junction'. Bob Elms has written lots about London at that time and it's all true. The West End was dead in the evenings and at weekends, dodgy characters roamed the streets and it was a Different World.
Have just found you via The Womens Room, and this has got me laughing out loud with memories.... do you remember the Demob hairdressers?? They refused to cut my long hair short and had to stand up for them to trim it - along with a severe Swing Out Sister-esque fringe. I was stick thin wore dm's black and green stripe tights, black mini and a bomber type jacket....I remember flogging my sisters printed t-shirts to the Demob shop.
ReplyDeleteShe used to waitress at the Zanzibar then we both waitressed at the Moscow Club, and like you I would rather like the wage packets I had back then! All sorts used to pass through the (private members) doors and I remember being on the door of the Club nights alongside Matthew Freud....going on to Cafe de Paris and seeing a very orange George Michael.....gosh I could go on and on. A different world indeed.....