The man who famously refused Mick Jagger entry to his club

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the late 1970s, Steve Strange curated a world of the 'weird and wonderful.' As the architect of the New Romantic movement, he enforced a door policy so strict it became legendary, shaping the visual and musical identity of an entire generation of London nightlife.

Steve Strange, born Stephen John Harrington in Wales, was far more than a singer; he was a cultural gatekeeper. In 1979, alongside Rusty Egan, he took over Tuesdays at the Blitz wine bar in Covent Garden. This became the iconic Blitz Club, a sanctuary for the New Romantic subculture. Strange’s door policy was famously uncompromising, once even refusing admittance to Mick Jagger—an act he later attributed to reaching fire regulation capacity rather than personal slight.

His influence extended from the dancefloor to the global charts. As the frontman of the synth-pop group Visage, Strange achieved significant commercial success. Their 1981 hit 'Fade to Grey' reached number 8 in the UK and topped the charts in Germany and Switzerland. His visual impact was cemented in 1980 when he appeared in the music video for David Bowie’s 'Ashes to Ashes,' a moment that helped propel New Romantic fashion into the mainstream.

Despite the glamour of the Blitz era, Strange's personal life was marked by significant hardship. He struggled with heroin addiction and a nervous breakdown, experiences he later detailed in his 2002 autobiography, *Blitzed!*. Even his later years saw moments of public eccentricity, such as a 1999 arrest for shoplifting a Teletubbies doll for his nephew.

Strange passed away in February 2015 following a heart attack in Egypt at age 55. His legacy remains etched in the London club scene, from the 'Club for Heroes' to the Camden Palace, and is honored by a heart-shaped gravestone in his home town of Porthcawl.

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