Romo

Romo

Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia, as well as concerts by the chief associated bands. The Romo movement was essentially a derivation of late-1970s disco and early-1980s club music, with an emphasis on the extroverted sartorial style and decadent air of New Romantic-era bands such as Japan and Soft Cell. Nonetheless, contemporary features in Melody Maker (where the genre was championed mainly by Simon Price and Taylor Parkes – it was dismissed by the rival NME) tended to downplay the nostalgic connection with New Romantic, emphasising Romo's newness and contemporary relevance. Much championed by the aforesaid writers at the Melody Maker as a stylish and poppy backlash against the dressed-down style of the Britpop movement, while variously feted and lambasted by others in the media as a New Romantic revival (a tag rejected by those on the scene), Romo's prime legacy has been chiefly in club culture as it heralded a new generation of glam/style orientated club nights which would continue through the 2000s.

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