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Retro English
Welcome to Retro English, the place
that's all about yesterday's phrases and crazes. Today, we'll be entering
the strange world of '80's subcultures - and listening to some of
the music of the decade.
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| The 80's: subculture |
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Listen to Boy George and his band Culture Club with their 80's
hit song 'Karma Chameleon'. |
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Gender
benders
What comes to mind when you think back to those strange subcultures
in the UK of the 1980's? Well, the word 'subculture' refers to trends
or cultures that aren't mainstream or orthodox. There were the 'gender
benders', who blurred the differences between the sexes - for example,
men would make themselves look like women by wearing make-up and growing
their hair. A famous example was the singer Boy George.
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Listen
to Boy George using some descriptive words, as he talks about his
style:
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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New
Romantics
There were also the New Romantics, who dressed to impress in
glamorous, theatrical styles. Tony Thorne, Head of the Language Centre
at King's College, London, refers to the New Romantics as 'self- conscious',
which means that they were always aware of their image and took care
to cultivate it. |
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Listen
to Tony Thorne describing the New Romantics of the 80's:
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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Raves
- and arcade games
Then there was 'rave' culture - the culture of massive parties
- which grew up in Britain and then became a European phenomenon.
It was really the advent of new technology that made the new sounds
of rave possible. Well, songs weren't the only things that used that
new technology in the 80's. Tony Thorne also mentions some new types
of games. |
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Listen
to Tony talking about 'raves', 'arcade games' and 'hand-held games:
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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See how much of a 80's language expert you are - check out today's
Retro English exercise!
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