Style: Skinny Rock Stars in Expensive Skinny Suits

This appeared in NY Times Style with the title “Ballad of a Thin Man……Godfathers of Glam Who can Still Rock a Skinny Suit” I think that pretty much says it all.

Iggy Pop in Prada

Nick Cave in a Chris Kerr suit and his own shoes.

Bryan Ferry in a bespoke Anderson & Sheppard suit

David Johasen in Vercase

Michael Stipe in Gucci

Dave Gahan in Roberto Cavalli

John Doe in John Varvatos and his own hat

Ray Davies in Calvin Klein

Lou Reed in Rick Owens

 

Style: 1976 Soo Catwoman

My waiter at the Thai restaurant where I had lunch today had the greatest haircut; short on the side but swooped up with a flat top. I knew I’d seen it before, albeit almost 40 years ago. That would be punk scenester – Soo Catwoman.  Born Soo Lucas in London (year unknown), Soo quickly made a name for herself with her extreme style. Punk was booming and Soo fit right in as part of The Bromely Contingent – a tight group of friends, among them Siouxie Sioux, Steve Severin, and Billy Idol who surrounded and supported the Sex Pistols. Soo would become one of the faces of the early punk scene, appearing on flyers, T-shirts and bags.

From her web site - “Soo Catwoman is a highly influential and inspirational figure, whose image has loomed large in public consciousness for the past 35 years.   She has pushed forward the frontiers of fashion with her handmade clothing and accessories, her striking make up and of course her  signature ‘Soo Catwoman’ hairstyle.  She remains a huge inspiration in  the worlds of music, art and fashion, her image is timeless and as striking today as it was in 1976″.

Soo Catwoman

Sex Pistols Tour Flyer

Siouxie Souix, Soo, Marco Peroni (Adam and the Ants) Photo Bob Gruen

Paul Cook, Soo, Johnny Rotten, Siouxie, ?

Soo and Joe Strummer

The Bromely Contingent

Soo on TV

Without the Haircut

Soo Today

With the family

 

Style: Clint Eastwood

Clinton “Clint” Eastwood, Jr. (born May 31, 1930) Clint seems to have pretty much done it all, and looked damn cool doing it. With an acting carreer in it’s 7th decade, Clint has been a TV star (Rawhide 1959-1965) movie star (too many to mention) Academy Award winning director (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby), Composer (scores for Mystic River, Flags of Our Fathers, The Changeling – to name just a few), performer (Gran Tarino), helicopter pilot and small town Mayor (Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA). At 82 he still continues to act and direct (J. Edgar being his last film).

Style: Charlie Watts – The Quiet Stone

Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts (born 2 June 1941) – the quiet Stone. Always looking slightly bemused at his bandmates antics on stage and in public, Charlie has held down the beat for The Rolling Stones for the last 50 years. Voted by Vanity Fair as one of The World’s 100 Best Dressed Men, looking neither like an aged pirate or a wrinkled 12 year old, Charlie, almost always appears dressed to the nines. Avoiding most of the pit-falls of the road, like drugs , alcohol and groupies, Charlie has been famously true to his wife of 47 years and steered clear of most vices his band-mates fell prey too (an alcohol problem in the mid-eighties sidelined him for a bit). No multiple wives and kids like Jagger, no famous herion stories like Richards he is indeed the calmest Stone, though a famous anecdote relates that during the mid-1980s, an intoxicated Jagger phoned Watts’ hotel room in the middle of the night asking “Where’s my drummer?”. Watts reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a suit, put on a tie and freshly shined shoes,  and punched Jagger in the face, saying: “Don’t ever call me your drummer again. You’re my fucking singer!” Maybe untrue but I like it none-the-less. Charlie has been suffering throat cancer but has been in remission for the last few years. He still looks good if a bit frail.

Mick, Ron, Charlie & Keith at premiere of "Shine a Light"

Charlie and the Missus - Shirley

Royal Ascot 2009

Style: Brian Setzer’s Hair

No matter what you think about The Stray Cats, Brian Setzer had a damn great head of hair. The rockabilly revival hit England hard in the late 70′s, early 80′s, after punk lost some of it’s shine, and The Stray Cats were right there to cash in. Having failed in their home country (USA) they fled to England to make their fortune – and briefly they did. By the time they finally got picked up in the States on a major label the movement was just about done (Brian even cut off his pompadour and dyed it black for the lp cover). Brian would eventually split to go solo with a sort of rockabilly-alt. country hybrid. He continues to play today w/ The Brian Setzer Orchestra and still has a pretty good head of hair.

The Quiff

Big Fan/Style: The Specials

The Specials (The Specials AKA) – The Specials came from Coventry England and started life as The Coventry Automatics, changing their name to The Specials AKA The Coventry Automatics (that’s a mouthful) and finally and gratefully, The Specials. They were the leaders of what became known as the Ska Revival of the late 70′s (along with Madness, The Selecter, et al). It was a mix of punk speed and ethos and Jamaican Ska beats (pre-reggae) and it would become huge in England. The Specials were more political then the rest, singing about racism, poverty and unemployment and looked good doing it in their mix of rude-boy suits, pork pie hats and Fred Perry polos. They weren’t made to last though and would disintegrate 3 years later (1980) with “internal disagreements” - each would go on to form or play in different bands, most notably, Terry Hall (singer) and Lynval Golding (guitar) and Neville Staple (vocals, toasting) would form The Fun Boy 3 and have a hit w/ ‘Our Lips are Sealed’. The Specials would reform again in 2009 with all the original members, minus founder Jerry Dammers, to tour to sold out audiences. Their biggest hit - “Ghost Town” number 1 in the UK in 1980. (you’ve heard it in Shawn of the Dead and a bunch of other movies, if not on the radio).

The break-up band The Fun Boy 3

35 years later