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Blitz (Audiobook)

Robert Elms

A history of the club that set the ‘80s alight, by much-loved presenter and Blitz attendee Robert Elms.

Format
Audio book
ISBN
9780571400768
Date Published
23.09.2025

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Summary

‘Elms is one of the greatest chroniclers of our age. He was born to write this book.’ Dylan Jones
‘Fantastic! It is like time travel . . . [to] the most exciting, innovative, outrageous, wildest, most creative club ever.’ Steve Dagger
‘Elms was not only in the room where it happened, he was at the very heart of it.’ Gary Kemp
‘The perfect witness and commentator: open-minded, outward looking, and an expert and shrewd cultural analyst.’ Lavinia Greenlaw
‘Sharp, funny and caked in two-day old eyeliner.’ Jodie Harsh

A history of the club that set the ‘80s alight, by the much-loved presenter, writer and Blitz attendee Robert Elms.

The short-lived Blitz club in London’s Covent Garden was more than somewhere to hang out or be seen: it was a catalyst for cultural explosion, a counter-culture blast against everything Thatcher’s leadership had ushered in by the dawn of the 80s. Tuesday nights boasted a ferocious, fearless cast – from Boy George and Spandau Ballet to Grayson Perry and Peter Doig, to Michele Clapton, Sade and John Galliano. This was the vanguard of a different England; socially liberal, loud, proud and diverse, fiercely individualistic and determined to succeed. Britain was black and white; the Blitz Kids switched on the colour.

In Blitz, Elms reflects on a club night founded by working-class kids, one whose impact reverberated beyond its doors, through the worlds of Art, Literature, Fashion and Music, and into the present day.

Critic Reviews

To read about an era when you created yourself, liberated yourself from any expectations, transcended gender, race, class, and dreamed new selves… well, it cannot fail to be inspiring.

Martin Robinson, Evening Standard

Critic Reviews

Delightful . . . There are high-grade celebrity stories - but Elms is also good on youth culture's tangled threads, dismal late-70s London and the equally bleak political landscape, underlining just why Blitz was such a vital escape hatch.

Mojo

Critic Reviews

This book’s charm lies in its detail, enthusiasm and wistful nostalgia for the certainty of youth ... there's much outrageous fun.

Helen Barrett, The Spectator

Critic Reviews

The richness of London topography, and the rolling pageant of people, shops and venues, make this account as valuable as any formal study.

The Wire

Critic Reviews

The Blitz was the most important club of the 80s and Elms is one of the greatest chroniclers of our age. He was born to write this book.

Dylan Jones

Critic Reviews

The maelstrom of creative energy that poured from The Blitz conjured the art and style of the 80s and beyond. Elms was not only in the room where it happened, he was at the very heart of it.

Gary Kemp

RobertElms

Robert Elms is a broadcaster and writer, best known for his eponymous radio show on BBC Radio London. He began as a journalist, writing for The Face and NME, and is the author of Live!: Why We Go Out, London Made Us, The Way We Wore, Spain: A Portrait After the General and In Search of the Crack. He lives…

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RobertElms

Robert Elms