Cuban heels, statement jewelry, capes, and top hats can all be seen.
|
|
Yet, as the men's wear industry has been trudging steadily away from gender fluidity and toward masculinity as historically constituted, the sight of a guy kitted out in Cuban heels, a garter belt, a pair of shiny culottes or a flounced figure-skating costume seemed less outrageous than, perhaps, passé.
|
|
To name a few: Little Richard, whose heels were encrusted with rhinestones; The Beatles, whose customized take on the Chelsea boot became a part of their signature look; David Bowie, who traded his own Cuban heels for stage-ready, sky-high platforms; Prince, whose heels could be likened more to stilettos than anything else; Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and finally, Styles, whose funky footwear repertoire has become the subject of many elevator chat since parting from One Direction.
|
|
Theatrical and ballet shoe maker Anello & Davide created a variant of the Chelsea boot in 1961 with Cuban heels and pointed toes for the Beatles, after John Lennon and Paul McCartney saw some Chelsea boots in its shop window and commissioned four pairs with higher, Cuban heels – this style became known as Beatle boots. Beatle boots, as were Chelsea boots, were frequently adopted by mods and worn with tailored suits.
|
|
In 1984 Kelly met Connolly when the latter was a member of The Cuban Heels, the pair would jam together, and were sometimes joined by Connolly's friend Barclay. "Hard Times" was written and had lead vocals by Connolly. "Other People's Houses" describes a female house cleaner who takes along her son who observes the residents' opulence.
|
|
French actress Brigitte Bardot wearing a transparent top and a feather boa, 1968 Footwear for women included low-heeled sandals and kitten-heeled pumps, as well as the trendy white go-go boots. Shoes, boots, and handbags were often made of patent leather or vinyl. The Beatles wore elastic-sided boots similar to Winkle-pickers with pointed toes and Cuban heels. These were known as "Beatle boots" and were widely copied by young men in Britain.
|
|
Other members of Kelly's 1983 backing band were Chris Coyne on saxophone, Maurice Frawley (ex-Paul Kelly and the Dots) on guitar, Greg Martin (Mick Pealing and the Ideals, Little Murders, Goanna) on drums. Late that year Michael Barclay (Japanese Comix, Little Murders, Runners, the Zimmermen) replaced Martin on drums. In 1984 the line up changed further with Steve Connolly (Cuban Heels, Rare Things, Zimmermen) replacing Frawley on guitar before Kelly disbanded the group and relocated to Sydney.
|
|
Released in 1990, Reference Point is the first album by Acoustic Alchemy released for jazz label GRP and their fourth album overall. The song "Caravan of Dreams" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best New Age Performance. Containing some of the band's more popular tracks, such as the title track "Reference Point", "Same Road, Same Reason" and "Cuban Heels", the nine-track album is also the only album by the band to offer a cover track: "Take Five".
|
|
In November 1977, Johnny & The Self-Abusers released its only single, "Saints and Sinners", on Chiswick Records (which was dismissed as being "rank and file" in a Melody Maker review). The band split on the same day that the single was released, with Milarky and McNeil going on to form The Cuban Heels. Ditching the stage names and the overt punkiness, the remaining members continued together as Simple Minds (naming themselves after a David Bowie lyric from his song "Jean Genie").
|
|
Just a Boys' Game is a 1979 Play for Today which aired 8 November 1979, written by Peter McDougall and directed by John Mackenzie. It features Frankie Miller, Gregor Fisher, Ken Hutchison, Hector Nicol, Jean Taylor Smith, Katherine Stark, Barry Malone, Michael Malone and band The Cuban Heels. The plot revolves around the life of Jake McQuillan who lives in the shadow of his dying grandfather, who used to be Greenock's hardest man. The play was filmed in and around Greenock and Port Glasgow.
|
|
Spencer Patrick Jones was born 28 October 1956 and grew up on a farm in Te Awamutu, New Zealand. His father was a funeral director, farmer and then news agent. When his family moved to Auckland, Jones and his siblings studied piano. On his 14th birthday he was given a guitar and became a self-taught musician. From 1976 he worked in Australia and his early groups were The Emotional Retards, Country Killed, Cuban Heels (1979–81), Beats Working (1981–82) and North 2 Alaskans (1982–83).
|
|
Johnny and the Self Abusers split up and its members went on to form The Cuban Heels and Simple Minds. With the bands playing in the upstairs lounge there was a resident DJ in the bar area from 1973 onwards. This was called The Pony Express where rock music was played to the bar customers and also transmitted into the upstairs lounge while the band had their break. _DJ Gordon Elrick_ also ran theme nights including the popular Tuesday Club where regulars dressed up and mimed to old standards.
|
|
The focus was again on fashion with the guys wearing tight fitting jeans from Lee, Levi, Westco & Eastcoast brands - and some wearing bib and brace denim overalls. The sharpie cardigan or "connie" was an essential and expensive piece of knitwear with many sharps spending up to two weeks wages on a particular design. Shoes were also a key component of the look with sharps wearing leather platform shoes or others with Cuban heels sourced from local shoe manufacturers. The sharpie gangs were highly territorial and wild brawls were common place at dance halls or disco's when two different gangs happened to both attend.
|
|
Hector had short cropped hair with massive mutton chops, Butler had a crop cut centre parting hairdo and large sideburns, Read had a lion's shag of dark hair and continually sported a black leather vintage motorbike jacket, with a blue/white hooped T-shirt and Cuban heels. Altogether their image looked liked the Clash several years before the Clash formed, and Hector's voice sounded like John Lydon only in 1969."Pretty Vacant" by Mark Paytress, Record Collector issue 226, June 1998 Breslau pulled in his friend, Gerald Horgan to help manage the group. They recorded at EMI, Dick James Music DJM studios and De Lane Lea studios.
|
|
In 1995 de Castro returned to Auckland and reconnected with former bandmate, Tumahai, with a view to record together. Tumahai had a heart attack and died in December 1995. In 1999 McFarlane described de Castro as a "permanent fixture of the pub/concert/festival circuit and was praised for his vocal abilities" as "one of the best soul singers working in Australia" during the 1970s. In a seachange mood, to further demonstrate the diversity of his musical palette, Leo de Castro and the Cuban Heels were formed in Hobart in late 1989, with Steve 'Keys' Grahame on piano/keyboards, Marcus "Piz" Pizzolato (ex Mary Lou and the Brokenhearted) on lead guitar, Mick 'Moonie' McCallum (ex Rainbow Stew) on pedal steel, Simon Gethen (ex Albino Spade/Tim Brewster and the Blues Roosters) on bass, and Dennis Matthews (ex Sydney Clubs/Mary Lou and the Brokenhearted) on drums.
|
|
The original line-up consisted of Steven Bonomi (vocals), Robert Farrell (guitar, synth), David Rudden (bass) and Jim Spender (aka Jim McKinven) (keyboards & synths). The band's sound was enhanced by the use of a drum machine which further added to their "Futurist/New Musik" tag at the time. They recorded their eponymous album (which was to be called 'Building on the Sand before a last minute change) at Rock City, Shepperton in January 1980. However, before the album's release, Rudden left due to "artistic differences" with Bonomi and McKinven and was replaced firstly by Russell Barrie for a very brief period in one or two gigs (Barrie is seen dressed in pink on the cover of their single "Science") and then by Nick Clark from Cuban Heels (Clark is credited on the album, although it was Rudden who played.) David Rudden went on to form Endgames.
|
|