Sweet Dreams: From Club Culture to Style Culture, the Story of the New Romantics

Very long read but a great insight to the world of Punk into The. New Romantics. Loads of good stories

Excellent history of the music, culture and political world of the 80,s . Insightful and interesting at all times

I came across mention of this book in a Facebook group for Frankie Goes To Hollywood fans. Thinking it could be useful for writing my book, Frankie Fans Say, about Frankie and their fans, as well as interesting in itself, I got hold of a copy.The first thing that struck me was the size. It’s only the second time that I’ve ended up getting a book much bigger than I had expected (other being The Making Of The Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes).The other thing that stands out about this book is the cover; a bright yellow with colourful images of Boy George, Annie Lennox, David Bowie, Adam Ant, and Sade. Why these people?, I wondered. I also wondered about the subtitle – ‘The Story of the New Romantics’. Why was Frankie Goes To Hollywood in such a book – I’d never heard them categorised as New Romantics before. In the end, this ended up being a puzzle not just related for Frankie, but much of the book’s contents itself.At the heart of the problem of labelling a book being about ‘New Romantics’ is the problem of trying to label any group as being part of a particular genre. The underlying assumptions are that (a) the genre can be defined and (b) that an act sticks to that genre. In reality (b) rarely happens and, as for (a), the book never really does this. And these are two things that undermine the book – a problem that could have been solved by a better choice of title.The book takes us on a journey in the decade from 1975 to 1985. At least, that is how it is structured in terms of the chapters. In terms of a general narrative, it kind of works. One chapter tends to flow naturally from one to the next showing how certain types of music or artist were an evolution or linked to another. But, the reality is that the discussion also (naturally) goes back beyond 1975 and also beyond 1985. Not only that, particularly from half-way through the book, the discussions around particular acts tend to try to cover everything the book wants to say on that act, even if it means ignoring the apparent year that the chapter is meant to be focussed on.The main thing you need to be aware of with this book is that it largely a collection of interviews (according to the Acknowledgements, 153 of them). While most of these were done relatively recently, a few were not and at times that is clear. What is less clear is how all of the interviews were done. At times you feel as though we are reading a transcript where all 153 were on a massive Zoom call discussing their own parts in the overall story (which is probably how it should be), other times, it seems as though a discussion was going on between the author and a few people, and other times it feels more one-to-one. Generally all the interviews are edited together well, but there are a few cases where you wonder why a particular person has seemingly un-muted themselves and butted in to make a comment on the subject from several pages ago rather than keeping with the flow.As well as the issues with the assumptions mentioned above, there are other issues which I had with the book. Much of this, I suspect, stems from why I wanted to read the book and my own experiences of the period. For me, ‘pop’ music really started in 1984. That is when I really started listening to the charts and buying more music. I have knowledge of what came before, but I didn’t really live through it or in it. Consequently, while the book was educational in many ways, it felt disjointed as well as so many of the names (and there is a lot of name dropping and references to people throughout) have little meaning to me. The book seems to assume too much knowledge on the part of readers – or at least doesn’t do enough to help those who may not have lived through the period. Its primary readership seems to be those who want to reminisce about the whole period.As noted at the beginning, this is a huge book and I cannot complain about its size and the price for a book of this size. It’s great that even has some colour images in the middle. But, again, it could have done more – or done it differently. Throughout there are references to particular looks or album covers without these being shown. Yes, many readers will be familiar with these, or it can be Google-d, but it would have made the book more complete to have such images.While the book is supposedly about New Romantics, one thing to make clear is that this book is largely Bowie-worship. Also with big doses of Bryan Ferry and Kraftwerk. I am familiar with this kind of Bowie-worship as it seems that every act that I liked had a lot of love for Bowie. But, if like me, you are not a fan of Bowie (let alone Ferry or Kraftwerk… neither of which make the front cover), there are times where the book becomes more than a little tedious, reading more like a manifesto for why Bowie was the greatest person to ever walk the Earth than a book about New Romantics (or whatever the book is actually about).While the book is about New Romantics, it’s just as interested in punk and other genres. I certainly wasn’t expecting any discussion of Madonna or U2 (who rather bizarrely are referred to as a British group on at least one occasion) – although it fits with the flow of the discussion. In the end, despite the length, some of the latter chapters feel a bit rushed and more an excuse to show off who has been interviewed (and perhaps show links to the author’s other books) rather than keep on message (at least the message of New Romantics). It’s also surprising, given how many interviews that there are in the book and how wide reaching it is, when you find little mention of some acts (e.g. Thompson Twins) in comparison to some of those mentioned above (esp. Madonna, U2 and probably even Frankie – about which I’ll discuss in more detail in my own book).At times, there is either no connectivity, or it is tenuous at best, when the focus is meant to be about New Romantics. A useful resource for others looking for quotes to colour their own studies (whether it be about the period, music or sexuality/sexual identity), but it is not a complete study in itself and its occasional error or oversight (e.g. focussing on mentioning Kinnock going on Saturday morning kids TV without mentioning Thatcher also did this or thinking about whether all readers will understand what ‘postmodernism’ means) undermines the strengths of the book.In many ways I feel like the book would have worked better if framed as author’s journey through music or period. There really would have been no problem with that given the extensive experiences the author has clearly had. Like some of those in the New Romantics – the substance is there, it just needs a bit of repackaging.

Fascinating read about a time I remember with fond memories

The 1980s were very much my era when it comes to music. I turned thirteen in 1984, and music suddenly made sense around that time, and to this day it remains the era I turn to when I want to listen to something to lift my spirits. I'd heard good things about this book and was keen to read it.The first thing that you should know is that it's long - very long - although a chunk of its length is taken up with an index, some photos, a discography, and a list of people who appear in the book, so you can probably take about 200 pages off its length. It still feels very long though, and really deserved more of an edit, as it feels as though it contains everything the author assembled for the book, relevant or not, and there were many times I found myself wondering if the thing I was reading about really warranted a place in the work.The second thing you should know is that it is a collection of extracts from interviews, rather than an essay of sorts on the era. If you're happy to read transcripts of somebody's memories of the era, fine, but if you're expecting more of a history of the music of the time it's not really that at all.The third thing you should know is that it's broad - too broad perhaps - in its scope. Instead of covering the story of the new romantics, as the title suggests, it's more the story of the ten years from 1975 to 1985, so there's lots on the likes of Roxy Music, Bowie, The Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren, and the political and cultural events that occurred in those ten years, such as the Falklands conflict and the miners' strike, as well as the new romantic era that you may expect. In fact, it's probably over 100 pages before the new romantic era is even mentioned.Did I enjoy it? Yes, but some parts more than others, and it felt very, very long, and wasn't what I expected at all. Quite a frustrating book, and overall a bit of a disappointment.

While I agree that calling it 'The story of the New Romantics' may be a bit misleading, I actually found it a thoroughly entertaining read.I wasn't expecting that it would be made up of lots of talking heads (small t, small h) style quotes but it actually works very well. Interspersing the quotes with prose pieces to provide background information both helped to break up the quotes and to provide context.The club scene at the start of the eighties forms the core of the story but Jones, rightly in my opinion, starts with the end of the seventies and the general malaise that birthed punk.Ending the book in '85 with Live Aid also works very well to draw a line in the sand.As others have pointed out - if this really was the story of the New Romantics then more of the bands would be name-checked. Duran, Spandau and Culture Club are the main ones Jones focusses on. Wham/George Michael have a thread running through the book too.What does get covered extensively (and is the real core of the book) is the clubs, the rapidly changing fashions, the emergence of the style magazines and the way music evolved very quickly over a short period of time. Jones describes it all through the quotes and various anecdotes.As someone who lived through it I found the book superb. Reading it left me feeling nostalgic for those days.

Brilliant book. The natural successor to England’s Dreaming. Starts off with the roots of the New Romantic scene, The links between the punk and soul boy scene and how a lot of the the first people at Billy’s were a lot of the first punks.Brought back great memories.Well written by someone who was there and interviews with many others who were there.

weel, I lived through those times as a fan of music and mags and as a soon to be musician. even living in the end of western Europe, I managed to keep in touch with all the things that were happening and changing the music scene, and also my world. would meet, many years after,people like Chris Sullivan that stand out as true real influencers. great reading,lovely unseen photos.

A very special book about an equally special time. A must read for anyone with even a passing interest in pop culture at its most inventive and interesting

Item arrived quickly and in perfect condition.

If you are looking for a book about music and how it was created. At 600 pages more time is spent talking about the clubs, fashion, fanzines and the authors circle of college friends than there is about the details of how the music was made.

Ein tolles Buch!