Steve Strange, lead singer of 1980s synthpop group Visage, has died of a heart attack, at the age of 55.

Steve Strange was widely credited with being the pioneer of the New Romantic movement in the early 1980s. He came to fame with Visage, who were best known for their 1980 hit single “Fade to Grey”, which peaked at No 8 in the UK charts . It was a hit widely in Northern Europe, reaching No1 in Germany and Switzerland. There’s a certain irony that the artist behind “Fade to Grey” died on the day of the London film premiere of E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Steve Strange was anything but grey; he was every shade and colour of the rainbow!!

Steve Strange came to the fore when he formed and managed the Blitz Club in Soho, Central London, which became the home of the New Romantic movement; showcasing the talents of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Boy George’s Culture Club. Members of those bands have coalesced around him in death, as they did in life. Boy George tweeted he was “heartbroken” about the death of Strange, saying he was “such a big part of my life”.

Meanwhile Duran Duran lead vocalist Simon Le Bon tweeted that Steve Strange was “the leading edge of New Romantic. God Bless him”. Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp dedicated the band’s performance in Italy to “a maverick to the end”, while his brother and the band’s bassist, Martin Kemp, tweeted: “RIP Steve Strange goodbye my dear friend. I will miss you!” Billy Idol simply tweeted: “Very sad to hear of my friend Steve Strange passing, RIP mate.”

Born Steven John Harrington in Newbridge, Monmouthshire in 1959, Steve Strange became involved in music after seeing the Sex Pistols in concert at the Castle Cinema in Caerphilly in 1976. He went on to organise concerts for punk bands in his home town. At the age of 15, he went to London to work for the Sex Pistols’ manager Malcolm McClaren before setting up the Blitz Club. The Blitz Club counted among its fans David Bowie, who according to Steve Strange frequented the club “because he had heard how bizarre it was”. As a result of this, Steve Strange appeared in the video of David Bowie’s No1 single “Ashes to Ashes” in 1980.

After short lived spells in punk and new wave bands, Steve Strange formed Visage in 1978 with fellow Blitz Club night host Rusty Egan and Midge Ure, later of Ultravox and Band Aid. Visage released three studio albums and had four Top 20 hits in the UK, before breaking up in 1985. By then Steve Strange had made his mark on the music landscape. He said of his contribution to the New Romantic music culture of the 1980s: “It was about showing your creative side, and about showing that you’d taken time and effort in what you had created. It was about classic style and being outrageous, but done with an element of taste.”

R.I.P. Steve Strange. You will never be forgotten by the Record Press author’s generation. Our memory of you will never “Fade to Grey”, such was your flamboyance, colour and character……..

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