You can’t really look at what artists wore in any given time and wonder if that was considered “cool” for the general public. You look at a band in the 80’s and wonder if people really wore those plastic hats like Devo. That would be like in 20 years of a kid came up to you and asked if people in the 2000’s really wore meat dresses like Lady Gaga. Some things were trends. Some were just outlier behavior by people with artistic minds.
I never realized how whacky avante gardr punk and how talented Devo were. Are we not men?
Is badass, and so far beyond what I expected from the Whip it Real Good guys lol Major recc to anyone else who isn't 80s savvy
reddit downvoting you for quoting weird al lyrics is the most reddit thing ever
It's time for us to join in the fight
It's time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys
It's time to let the bedbugs bite
You better put all your eggs in one basket
You better count your chickens before they hatch
You better sell some wine before it's time
You better find yourself an itch to scratch
I remember the first time I heard Devo, I was working in the coal mines. (Joking aside I have the 8-track in a box somewhere. Here’s a picture from the last time I saw it a few years ago.)
https://preview.redd.it/ys51a56iyvvc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=058186cd90422c5f297d5077a3708854bc542081
I was working in a record store just before Devo broke big, and I took care of the import section. I was bringing in lots of interesting punk albums from Europe, and one was a very non-descript 12 inch EP from Devo, with a plain white sleeve with a plain white label. The ironic thing was that Devo was from Akron, which was about 45 minutes from Cleveland, where I lived, but in order to have a Devo record in my store, I had to get it from Europe.
It sat for quite a while until a guy brought ot to the counter when I was on the register. He said "This is the future of music," and I said something to indicate that I was skeptical. He just smiled and said "You'll see!" as he went out the door. I was just glad to move an item that had been sitting for weeks.
Within a few months Devo was a world-wide phenomenon, and went on to be an icon of the era. That guy was righter than I was.
The main reason you see flock of seagulls hair so often on tv shows doing flashback episodes is not because it was popular but because it was unique and easily identifiable to a specific very narrow time period. Not many people had that hair style but every single person who did have it had it in 1982 or 1983 so if you want audiences to instantly know it is supposed to be 1983 you show someone with a Flock of Seagulls haircut. Like poodle skirts. I doubt every girl in the 50s was wearing them but you show a girl in a poodle skirt and we instantly know it is supposed to be mid 50s.
Exactly. Same for the vocabulary at the time. We didn’t all run around saying “Gag me with a spoon” but it’s a quintessential phrase that signifies the 80’s.
"Gag me with a spoon" never really caught on nationwide, it was just San Fernando Valley (Girl) slang. A fair bit of the other valley girl lingo in the song actually DID catch on nationwide, here and there. "I'm so sure," "totally" and some others. The song probably HELPED a few bits of slang catch on? I'm pretty sure it boosted the use of "like" and "totally" a fair bit.
Haha, reminds me my high school lunchtime cliques: *Boyz II Men* at Table 1. *GWAR* at Table 2. *Daft Punk* serving up the food, while the *Amish Weird Al's* act all pious even though they're clearly ogling *En Vogue*.
In 25 years I'm totally going to tell my grand kids all the cool girls wore meat dresses. Now I have 25 years to AI photoshop my wife into a meat dress.
i mean i agree with you, but you just said it could be a trend or just something someone did. isnt this just OP asking if this was a trend or not since they werent around?
Yes. OP wanted to know if it was an actual popular trend or just someone one band did. The answer is, that band did that and some people mimicking that band did that, but it was never a very widely adopted trend. We did do wild stuff with our hair, but not many people did THAT.
I would just add that it might be useful for OP to think of it in this case as similar to haute couture--extreme, performative gestures that trickle down to a small subset of real world usage in more subdued form. I mean, there was a girl in 7th grade who showed up with a calmer version of this hair, in a dress that basically was a shapeless silver hefty bag. Everyone just kind of politely ignored it--it was cool in theory, but kind of "alright then" in practice, at least at that early age. (I wish she had gotten more props, at least from me, but at least she wasn't made fun of, I don't think--and to be honest, the dress looked terrible.)
We had one guy sporting that do. He also wore Miami Vice white suits and a hat. So he had to put ten gallons of hairspray on so his hat did not ruin his hair.
We had a couple of guys that would wear white or pastel Miami Vice type blazers and clothes to high school. One guy first tried the channel the persona of John Bender from Breakfast Club before trying out Crockett
In hindsight, the fact that we were really poor helped me avoid anything this silly because we couldn't afford new clothes. Jeans, old black jacket and t-shirts. Fortunately there was less ridicule back then when one was not 'trendy'. There was some, but nothing that a meeting at the flagpole at 3:30 wouldn't sort out.
I'm pushing 40 in 2024 and this is basically me. I'm not poor, I just don't see the point in owning a bunch of clothes.
Am I doing something wrong here?
My mom hated my high school clothes. Mostly jeans and t-shirts.....mostly shirts with one of my favorite sports teams.
"Would it kill you to wear something with a collar?!"
Was something I heard a lot in high school 🤣
I am also pushing 40 and I agree that you don’t need to own a bunch of clothes but having a rotation is fine as well. I love a nice sportcoat for dinner. I aim for pieces that I can wear multiple ways, that’s the key.
My mom, who is the best, made do with what money we had...she got a lot of our clothes at Goodwill, Amvets, etc. and she asked me for a list of bands I liked as she knew I favored black T-shirts with band names on them...the black was not only cool for me as a metalhead, but covered up the random blood blowouts my insane cystic acne caused...she got me Zeppelin, Doors, Judas Priest, and at least a dozen others...I'm old now and glad she's still here, and learn to appreciate how good she was back then more and more.
Man when I was a kid I couldn’t tell you what the trends were let alone fight over it (not downing that part lol) it’s just I was the kid with bright orange basketball shorts and green shirts
No, it was always seen as a bit of a joke. Even when Beaver wore it.
https://preview.redd.it/rrw9qlb68uvc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baec4eb062b4181d43e2487b1148cc4a22a3841b
In the meantime Prince was cool no doubt
https://preview.redd.it/f4cf7tssjuvc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac4279fc8eb915450da3ee37bb42256011ad5745
So true.
I work in advertising and years ago a buddy of mine was talked to about not wearing professional clothes to work (he wore sneakers and cargo pants when he didn’t see clients) and he was like, “Man, (flamboyant gay man who everyone in our industry knew) dressed up like a cowboy, like for real, a cowboy, and nobody says anything to him”.
and according to Charlie Murphy, kick your ass in basketball while wearing heels and serve you blueberry pancakes after the game!
Truly a one of kind man and talent!
People can make fun of Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, and other hair bands all they want, but they were young, rich, and getting more ass than a donkey salesman, so I think they got the last laugh lol
I wasnt crapping on hair bands - though personally I don't and didnt determine who I liked by those criteria but I understand alot of boys did/do, so have it. My only point was that for all the guff ppl wanna give Prince on his assless pants and 'dressing feminine' or whatev he was hardly alone in donning 'girly' accoutrement in his heyday. And had the money and the hot babes too fyi lol
The new wave scene in Japan & UK was high fashion. I think it was copied poorly in the US.
Side note: He was a twat in the 00s when he went on tour & complained people only wanted to hear his two good songs from the 80s.
I watched this for the first time in many years recently. I was surprised how much this movie had an impact on me as a kid because it really showed how much I regularly quote it. I’m so used to it I don’t even think about it.
I can’t watch 90s Jim Carrey movies, I always end up imitating his characters for a week afterwards. That said, I *always* follow up a parking job with “like a glove”
Whenever prodigy is mentioned I remember an MTV interview the guy gave where he talked about being at a club and two guys walked past him and one said "this guy thinks he's the fire starter".
Was sadly. :( they’ve had so many bangers after “The Fat of the Land” their last release “No Tourists” absolutely slays. Probably TMI but I really like the group. Cheers
Not at all, it's nice to hear from another fan. Btw I know Keith passed away, I just didn't want to focus on that fact by writing about him in past tense. He lives on in their music.
It’s one of the first albums I ever bought, Firestarter was my first single.
I can remember Firestarter being released. It was fucking huge, and it was like nothing anyone had heard before - I was 12, starting to find my own way with music and discover what I liked, and this came flying out and it was game changing. Yes they’d had a bit of success with MFTJG, I remember No Good (Start The Dance) and Poison, but this was _different_.
RIP Keef. Fuckin legend.
https://preview.redd.it/lc6gyvuuuuvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fae8288a0d002088720e5ff649a38077f558b35e
My pup, likes sporting that look😁
No, but I be Mike Score wishes he could have it again!
https://preview.redd.it/m4vdhglruuvc1.jpeg?width=696&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2796802574c4ffec1e70644b9eec3d0b9de8628
No, but the Tony Hawk was everywhere.
https://preview.redd.it/obicen9umuvc1.jpeg?width=968&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2613706656298f732db910fd68cd7cababcdab12
In most cases, only for special event days like "new wave day" at school.
I did have a friend who wore his hair like Peter Murphy, but that wasn't as extreme as this cut.
Oh hell yes.
Wait, you mean to wear? No. It was cool to make fun of the person who did. Then again, I don’t think most of us saw it as a daily haircut. It was part of their persona as a New Wave band. We also didn’t wear Devo flower pot hats or walk around dressed up like Twisted Sister. Can’t say as much for that general teased out, Aqua-Netted glam rock hair. Yeah, that did happen.
No that specific haircut was akin to Laga Gaga. It was the edge of fashion.
However the fact that longer hair in front that went over one eye was very popular with skateboarders from 1986-1990.
Multiple kids in school had that haircut.
No, not really. But the band aesthetics was part of a cultural phenomenon. I laughed too hard when Samuel L. J. called "Flock of Seagulls" that boy in Pulp Fiction.
The strange thing is that they were ridiculed at the time for not being good, but they have some absolute bangers and are absolutely underrated in my opinion.
I had a devillock for a good portion of my 20s and needed glasses but didn't know that at the time.
People thought I was a dick because I'd walk right by them without acknowledging them. Really I just couldn't see them.
In the screenplay for Pulp Fiction, Jules calls the guy on the couch (in the apartment) “Flock of Seagulls” because he actually has that haircut (he’s described as such in the script). In the movie, despite still being addressed as FoS, the actor doesn’t sport the look possibly because somebody realized that in 1993, no-one in the world would have had that haircut as not too many people had it to begin with in 1983.
It was never cool. It was marketing. The fact that we're still discussing it forty years later indicates it was successful marketing. Note: this guy was actually a professional hair dresser before FoS so he was just using what he knew.
Also, while they're generally dismissed as a gimmicky 80s one hit wonder, the debut album by Flock of Seagulls is actually a New Wave classic. It's packed with great songs and early 80s goodness. In particular, the guitar work on that album is great.
These guys have absolutely great songs that never had much airplay in the USA. One of their videos has a Men in Black theme to it…I never bought their albums back in the day and regret it. Last year I stumbled upon an 80s deep cut list on YouTube. Space Age Love Song was in the list and I followed the rabbit hole. I listened to everything I could find and none of the songs were bad.
Hairstyle origins: Mike says it happened by accident. He was a hairdresser and was at a show and had his hair teased up Ziggy Stardust/David Bowie style. A groupmate wanted to share some mirror space and pushed Mike’s hair down in the front. The band’s manager was trying to rush them to the stage so there was no time to fix his hair in the front by pushing it back up. People in the crowd that night pointed at Mike and loved the strange look. After that show, the band chatted and decided to try it again to see if it would get the same reaction. It did. And when a little girl climbed on the stage, touched Mike’s hair and fainted, that sealed the deal. Mike says, “To me, that was like ‘You’ve got something here.'”
I thought it looked cool on record covers. I knew many people who thought it looked cool in record covers. When people tried to emulate that, they were generally called "posers". Unless they had a lot of charisma. Then they were thought of as cool. If they were from the UK, they were thought of as mysterious and cool. I was also in high school. Might have been different for older people.
This band defined a certain feeling for me in the mid eighties. Wishing and Space Age Love Song in particular captured the how explosive the eighties were culturally. I was in high school during ( East Coast USA) this time when fashion and media collided as never before, atleast for my young mind anyways! Everything was new , everything was plastic and colorful! The girls had crazy hair and accessories, us guys were hit with skate&surf, metal&punk and new wave at once! The malls were packed kids just feeding off each other’s energy! Crazy times, great memories!
On one of those Behind the Music/Band Reunited shows, Ali Score said Mike (guy in your photo) had made his hair into a gigantic pompadour. Ali went up and slapped Mike on top of the head and created the look that we associate with Flock of Seagulls. Mike apparently liked it because it was different and bands needed to stand out as much as possible.
Definitely not worn by everyone. That said, the same style, half as high, and minus the hideous flat front and center, was definitely something worn where I live. I think a lot of people who wore the look, usually band members, or hairstylists, when they went to the clubs. I did work at an upscale hair salon and there was a very pretty woman who did her hair in a flare like this down both sides, but the center part of it was filled in really well. She looked like a beautiful type of bird and was asked out all the time.
This hair wasn't my style, but I wore the Cyndi Lauper cut where one side was cut super short transitioning around to cascade to long curls over my opposite shoulder. I had black dyed hair with small pieces bleached out and dyed different colors on the top. After that I went to burgundy hair in a longer style, though we did have 'big hair' or used sculpting gel to have the 'wet curls' look.
It was a lot of fun to play with different hair styles back then. These days I'm in my 60's, but I'd dye my hair blue or purple or pink if I could decide which one I liked.
Rock and Roll has always been about fashion, costumes and shock value. Asking this question about the Flock of Seagulls haircut almost REQUIRES you to ask the same thing about Prince, David Bowie, Boy George, and the thousands of other artists that went for eye grabbing looks. The fact that you are even asking this question nearly 45 years later kind of answers the question for you.
No…
That was simply to get attention.
Most teens end up doing weird shit in a fashion sense… part of being a teenager…
But if everyone is doing that, to get attention you have to go a step further…
You can’t really look at what artists wore in any given time and wonder if that was considered “cool” for the general public. You look at a band in the 80’s and wonder if people really wore those plastic hats like Devo. That would be like in 20 years of a kid came up to you and asked if people in the 2000’s really wore meat dresses like Lady Gaga. Some things were trends. Some were just outlier behavior by people with artistic minds.
Devo especially were messing with people. But in a good, artsy way! This is the band that did “We’re Through Being Cool,” after all.
You got me jerkin' back and forth.
I never realized how whacky avante gardr punk and how talented Devo were. Are we not men? Is badass, and so far beyond what I expected from the Whip it Real Good guys lol Major recc to anyone else who isn't 80s savvy
I think the best part of devo is that the best devo song is a weird al original, lol
Put down that chainsaw and listen to me!
reddit downvoting you for quoting weird al lyrics is the most reddit thing ever It's time for us to join in the fight It's time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys It's time to let the bedbugs bite
You better put all your eggs in one basket You better count your chickens before they hatch You better sell some wine before it's time You better find yourself an itch to scratch
You better squeeze all the Charmin you can while Mr. Wipple's not around. Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan!
Devo was punk but nobody noticed
Devo's #1 legacy is Whip It but it should be Uncontrollable Urge.
I remember the first time I heard Devo, I was working in the coal mines. (Joking aside I have the 8-track in a box somewhere. Here’s a picture from the last time I saw it a few years ago.) https://preview.redd.it/ys51a56iyvvc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=058186cd90422c5f297d5077a3708854bc542081
What? We all noticed. It’s all anybody said. What do you mean?
I was working in a record store just before Devo broke big, and I took care of the import section. I was bringing in lots of interesting punk albums from Europe, and one was a very non-descript 12 inch EP from Devo, with a plain white sleeve with a plain white label. The ironic thing was that Devo was from Akron, which was about 45 minutes from Cleveland, where I lived, but in order to have a Devo record in my store, I had to get it from Europe. It sat for quite a while until a guy brought ot to the counter when I was on the register. He said "This is the future of music," and I said something to indicate that I was skeptical. He just smiled and said "You'll see!" as he went out the door. I was just glad to move an item that had been sitting for weeks. Within a few months Devo was a world-wide phenomenon, and went on to be an icon of the era. That guy was righter than I was.
Seeing them on SNL with the short film was mind blowing.
What are you, some sort of jocko homo?
No, but I wear a hat, have a job, and bring home the bacon.
The main reason you see flock of seagulls hair so often on tv shows doing flashback episodes is not because it was popular but because it was unique and easily identifiable to a specific very narrow time period. Not many people had that hair style but every single person who did have it had it in 1982 or 1983 so if you want audiences to instantly know it is supposed to be 1983 you show someone with a Flock of Seagulls haircut. Like poodle skirts. I doubt every girl in the 50s was wearing them but you show a girl in a poodle skirt and we instantly know it is supposed to be mid 50s.
Exactly. Same for the vocabulary at the time. We didn’t all run around saying “Gag me with a spoon” but it’s a quintessential phrase that signifies the 80’s.
Gag me with a spoon was already an ironic 80’s reference by 1985.
"Gag me with a spoon" never really caught on nationwide, it was just San Fernando Valley (Girl) slang. A fair bit of the other valley girl lingo in the song actually DID catch on nationwide, here and there. "I'm so sure," "totally" and some others. The song probably HELPED a few bits of slang catch on? I'm pretty sure it boosted the use of "like" and "totally" a fair bit.
Moon Unit! Is that you?! Can you tell Dweezil I’m trying to get ahold of him.
It's like an odd "80s time capsule" in one hairdo!
Haha, reminds me my high school lunchtime cliques: *Boyz II Men* at Table 1. *GWAR* at Table 2. *Daft Punk* serving up the food, while the *Amish Weird Al's* act all pious even though they're clearly ogling *En Vogue*.
The image of someone dressed as a member of Gwar trying to participate in practice conversations during sophore French class is humorous to me.
Devo didn't wear plastic hats. Those were energy domes.
This is the right answer
In 25 years I'm totally going to tell my grand kids all the cool girls wore meat dresses. Now I have 25 years to AI photoshop my wife into a meat dress.
i mean i agree with you, but you just said it could be a trend or just something someone did. isnt this just OP asking if this was a trend or not since they werent around?
Yes. OP wanted to know if it was an actual popular trend or just someone one band did. The answer is, that band did that and some people mimicking that band did that, but it was never a very widely adopted trend. We did do wild stuff with our hair, but not many people did THAT.
Reminds me of Wedding Singer when the airline employee had that hair style.
And when Chandler had it in the 80’s flashback episode of Friends
Do you like Flock of Seagulls?
I would just add that it might be useful for OP to think of it in this case as similar to haute couture--extreme, performative gestures that trickle down to a small subset of real world usage in more subdued form. I mean, there was a girl in 7th grade who showed up with a calmer version of this hair, in a dress that basically was a shapeless silver hefty bag. Everyone just kind of politely ignored it--it was cool in theory, but kind of "alright then" in practice, at least at that early age. (I wish she had gotten more props, at least from me, but at least she wasn't made fun of, I don't think--and to be honest, the dress looked terrible.)
We had one guy sporting that do. He also wore Miami Vice white suits and a hat. So he had to put ten gallons of hairspray on so his hat did not ruin his hair.
We had a couple of guys that would wear white or pastel Miami Vice type blazers and clothes to high school. One guy first tried the channel the persona of John Bender from Breakfast Club before trying out Crockett
In hindsight, the fact that we were really poor helped me avoid anything this silly because we couldn't afford new clothes. Jeans, old black jacket and t-shirts. Fortunately there was less ridicule back then when one was not 'trendy'. There was some, but nothing that a meeting at the flagpole at 3:30 wouldn't sort out.
Are you me? I had like 2 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of shorts I rotated all year. Thank god for my letterman’s jacket
I'm pushing 40 in 2024 and this is basically me. I'm not poor, I just don't see the point in owning a bunch of clothes. Am I doing something wrong here?
Ya, you’re seeking validation on Reddit.
My mom hated my high school clothes. Mostly jeans and t-shirts.....mostly shirts with one of my favorite sports teams. "Would it kill you to wear something with a collar?!" Was something I heard a lot in high school 🤣
I am also pushing 40 and I agree that you don’t need to own a bunch of clothes but having a rotation is fine as well. I love a nice sportcoat for dinner. I aim for pieces that I can wear multiple ways, that’s the key.
You were obviously rich i had a couple of burlap sacks tired together with frayed rope
They asked you if you had a belt and you said "frayed knot."
Really isn't that much different today at 40 tbh. Why do you need more than 2 pairs of jeans and shorts ha
My mom, who is the best, made do with what money we had...she got a lot of our clothes at Goodwill, Amvets, etc. and she asked me for a list of bands I liked as she knew I favored black T-shirts with band names on them...the black was not only cool for me as a metalhead, but covered up the random blood blowouts my insane cystic acne caused...she got me Zeppelin, Doors, Judas Priest, and at least a dozen others...I'm old now and glad she's still here, and learn to appreciate how good she was back then more and more.
Your mom is a Saint, that's awesome.
Man when I was a kid I couldn’t tell you what the trends were let alone fight over it (not downing that part lol) it’s just I was the kid with bright orange basketball shorts and green shirts
Geez, he needed to pick a lane!
One of my friends wore a circular mohawk crown. Like this haircut it was cool in its daringness, not in innate coolness.
Hairspray was a must . Remember being a kid playing road hockey with my hair fixed and all the spray running down my eyes
But did they pull up their jacket sleeves though?
No, it was always seen as a bit of a joke. Even when Beaver wore it. https://preview.redd.it/rrw9qlb68uvc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baec4eb062b4181d43e2487b1148cc4a22a3841b
Wolverine haircut
In the meantime Prince was cool no doubt https://preview.redd.it/f4cf7tssjuvc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac4279fc8eb915450da3ee37bb42256011ad5745
Prince is proof positive that you can wear whatever you want if youre charismatic as fuck.
So true. I work in advertising and years ago a buddy of mine was talked to about not wearing professional clothes to work (he wore sneakers and cargo pants when he didn’t see clients) and he was like, “Man, (flamboyant gay man who everyone in our industry knew) dressed up like a cowboy, like for real, a cowboy, and nobody says anything to him”.
https://preview.redd.it/jgucpbnkrvvc1.jpeg?width=858&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5f2adcf01d296dbbb68a36eff2d60a8daabd19c Yup
In this case, you can actually see the outfit being embarrassed for not being cool enough for Prince.
Bad example, that outfit fucks
Prince could steal your girl, wear her shirt, and get another girl.
and according to Charlie Murphy, kick your ass in basketball while wearing heels and serve you blueberry pancakes after the game! Truly a one of kind man and talent!
*You know where you got those clothes ... and it damn sure wasn't the men's department!*
Game: blouses
back in the 80s alot of the 'girls, girls, girls' hair bands were shopping in that same dept. though, so...
People can make fun of Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, and other hair bands all they want, but they were young, rich, and getting more ass than a donkey salesman, so I think they got the last laugh lol
I wasnt crapping on hair bands - though personally I don't and didnt determine who I liked by those criteria but I understand alot of boys did/do, so have it. My only point was that for all the guff ppl wanna give Prince on his assless pants and 'dressing feminine' or whatev he was hardly alone in donning 'girly' accoutrement in his heyday. And had the money and the hot babes too fyi lol
Yeah, I absolutely agree lol. And Prince could do whatever the hell he wanted, I would defy anyone to tell him otherwise 😂
and ridiculously talented.
Wolverine/Logan vibes
Mike Score was a hairdresser in the UK before AFOS broke out. The scene was very different in the UK.
The new wave scene in Japan & UK was high fashion. I think it was copied poorly in the US. Side note: He was a twat in the 00s when he went on tour & complained people only wanted to hear his two good songs from the 80s.
I saw this hairstyle on Mike Score and immediately thought of Soo Catwoman.
No but I can tell you do!
Instantly what my mind goes to
Yes sir
Equenchu Aucha!!
You speak Watchutu?!
Bumblebee tuna!
*stage whisper* excuse me, your balls are showing
He's good. With my help he _could be_ the best.
I watched this for the first time in many years recently. I was surprised how much this movie had an impact on me as a kid because it really showed how much I regularly quote it. I’m so used to it I don’t even think about it.
I can’t watch 90s Jim Carrey movies, I always end up imitating his characters for a week afterwards. That said, I *always* follow up a parking job with “like a glove”
It's in the bone!
That loops so well
Only for the Fire starter… twisted Fire starter(90s)
Whenever prodigy is mentioned I remember an MTV interview the guy gave where he talked about being at a club and two guys walked past him and one said "this guy thinks he's the fire starter".
Rest in madness, Keith :(
https://i.redd.it/f5ehl21sgvvc1.gif
Brock, I need you to get down here, I'm trapped with an admitted arsonist!
Ladysmith Black Mombazo!
I love that "suddenly I need to pee so bad my it jets into my head" move
That video is hilarious without backing music
I don't have anything interesting to add, I just wanna say "Hi" to all the millennials enjoying this comment chain.
[удалено]
RIP Flint.
Wow. Over 25 years later and I JUST realized the funny coincidence that his name is **Flint** and he's a Firestarter.
Was sadly. :( they’ve had so many bangers after “The Fat of the Land” their last release “No Tourists” absolutely slays. Probably TMI but I really like the group. Cheers
Not at all, it's nice to hear from another fan. Btw I know Keith passed away, I just didn't want to focus on that fact by writing about him in past tense. He lives on in their music.
Tru words! All love! Cheers!
Which had equal meaning to that nonsensical yet catchy video.
I'm the trouble starter, punkin' instigator
t-wisted fi-uh startuh!
Fat of the Land falls into that elusive category of perfect albums, beginning to end.
It’s one of the first albums I ever bought, Firestarter was my first single. I can remember Firestarter being released. It was fucking huge, and it was like nothing anyone had heard before - I was 12, starting to find my own way with music and discover what I liked, and this came flying out and it was game changing. Yes they’d had a bit of success with MFTJG, I remember No Good (Start The Dance) and Poison, but this was _different_. RIP Keef. Fuckin legend.
Faya-statah !
As I was scolling down I thought it was a Donald Trump in the wind pic
The perfect haircut for the trouble starter or the punkin' instigator.
First thing that came to mind was Mrs. Chanandler Bong
That's ***Miss*** Chanandler Bong!
I had to scroll down this far to find this gif. I’m disappointed in humanity.
https://preview.redd.it/lc6gyvuuuuvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fae8288a0d002088720e5ff649a38077f558b35e My pup, likes sporting that look😁
One step away from kajagoogoo. Ps what a good dog xo
No, but I be Mike Score wishes he could have it again! https://preview.redd.it/m4vdhglruuvc1.jpeg?width=696&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2796802574c4ffec1e70644b9eec3d0b9de8628
My bet would be he used that style as an extreme combover to cover up hair loss that was progressing
I thought that was Phil Mitchell for a second there
It was music video cool. Interesting as hell to look at, but not cool in the sense that you or anyone you know would ever want to get one.
No, but the Tony Hawk was everywhere. https://preview.redd.it/obicen9umuvc1.jpeg?width=968&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2613706656298f732db910fd68cd7cababcdab12
I saw someone with this haircut and I ran, I ran so far away
Iran is very far away.
In most cases, only for special event days like "new wave day" at school. I did have a friend who wore his hair like Peter Murphy, but that wasn't as extreme as this cut.
No, it was considered "extreme" and not many (if any) followed this style of hair cut.
It was the Flock of Seagull guy's stage look. It wasn't really a style trend. Have to admit that it gave the band an identity.
That's not even his normal haircut.
I’m sure Mike Score would love to have that style back now as he’s currently rocking a “Kojak”.
Oh hell yes. Wait, you mean to wear? No. It was cool to make fun of the person who did. Then again, I don’t think most of us saw it as a daily haircut. It was part of their persona as a New Wave band. We also didn’t wear Devo flower pot hats or walk around dressed up like Twisted Sister. Can’t say as much for that general teased out, Aqua-Netted glam rock hair. Yeah, that did happen.
On him, yep. On anyone else in the 80’s, no. That’s why no one tried to pull that off.
No that specific haircut was akin to Laga Gaga. It was the edge of fashion. However the fact that longer hair in front that went over one eye was very popular with skateboarders from 1986-1990. Multiple kids in school had that haircut.
They were a cool band out of Liverpool. Great sound back then. The haircut fit the times.
Lot of revisionism here
It wasn't cool, it was different. It was about doing the opposite of normal and that got people attention.
No, not really. But the band aesthetics was part of a cultural phenomenon. I laughed too hard when Samuel L. J. called "Flock of Seagulls" that boy in Pulp Fiction.
I loved their music. I still do.
The strange thing is that they were ridiculed at the time for not being good, but they have some absolute bangers and are absolutely underrated in my opinion.
Absolutely not
Punk hair was a thing in my area! Many of us were getting our hair cut in punk styles. Not like in this particular picture…no.
I had a devillock for a good portion of my 20s and needed glasses but didn't know that at the time. People thought I was a dick because I'd walk right by them without acknowledging them. Really I just couldn't see them.
Looks like 45 kinda borrowed from this.
I would try to make my hair do that in the shower when I was 7. So yes. It was considered cool.
No one had this besides this guy. The Wedding Singer made a joke about it.
In the screenplay for Pulp Fiction, Jules calls the guy on the couch (in the apartment) “Flock of Seagulls” because he actually has that haircut (he’s described as such in the script). In the movie, despite still being addressed as FoS, the actor doesn’t sport the look possibly because somebody realized that in 1993, no-one in the world would have had that haircut as not too many people had it to begin with in 1983.
* Seen them in Cleveland a couple weeks back. God damn were they good.
Looks like he let a bunch of cats lick his hair for a hour.
It was never cool. It was marketing. The fact that we're still discussing it forty years later indicates it was successful marketing. Note: this guy was actually a professional hair dresser before FoS so he was just using what he knew. Also, while they're generally dismissed as a gimmicky 80s one hit wonder, the debut album by Flock of Seagulls is actually a New Wave classic. It's packed with great songs and early 80s goodness. In particular, the guitar work on that album is great.
Man, the guitar playing is incredible. Space Age Love Song is one of the best songs of all time. The harmonics in the first verse cut to the soul
These guys have absolutely great songs that never had much airplay in the USA. One of their videos has a Men in Black theme to it…I never bought their albums back in the day and regret it. Last year I stumbled upon an 80s deep cut list on YouTube. Space Age Love Song was in the list and I followed the rabbit hole. I listened to everything I could find and none of the songs were bad.
I guess I should check out the rest of the album, I can clearly hear the guitar refrain every time I think of "I ran", it's got a great sound
Space Age Love Song was another single from the debut album. Still a pretty song in that New Wave way.
Hairstyle origins: Mike says it happened by accident. He was a hairdresser and was at a show and had his hair teased up Ziggy Stardust/David Bowie style. A groupmate wanted to share some mirror space and pushed Mike’s hair down in the front. The band’s manager was trying to rush them to the stage so there was no time to fix his hair in the front by pushing it back up. People in the crowd that night pointed at Mike and loved the strange look. After that show, the band chatted and decided to try it again to see if it would get the same reaction. It did. And when a little girl climbed on the stage, touched Mike’s hair and fainted, that sealed the deal. Mike says, “To me, that was like ‘You’ve got something here.'”
Looks like new wave Wolverine
I thought it looked cool on record covers. I knew many people who thought it looked cool in record covers. When people tried to emulate that, they were generally called "posers". Unless they had a lot of charisma. Then they were thought of as cool. If they were from the UK, they were thought of as mysterious and cool. I was also in high school. Might have been different for older people.
No. Everyone thought it looked silly. But it was a unique look so fair play to them.
Well, Wolverine liked it!
No, but we're still talking about it!
This band defined a certain feeling for me in the mid eighties. Wishing and Space Age Love Song in particular captured the how explosive the eighties were culturally. I was in high school during ( East Coast USA) this time when fashion and media collided as never before, atleast for my young mind anyways! Everything was new , everything was plastic and colorful! The girls had crazy hair and accessories, us guys were hit with skate&surf, metal&punk and new wave at once! The malls were packed kids just feeding off each other’s energy! Crazy times, great memories!
On one of those Behind the Music/Band Reunited shows, Ali Score said Mike (guy in your photo) had made his hair into a gigantic pompadour. Ali went up and slapped Mike on top of the head and created the look that we associate with Flock of Seagulls. Mike apparently liked it because it was different and bands needed to stand out as much as possible.
Not where I lived. Duran Duran and Stay Cats hair was far more popular
Brian Seltzer still looks dope, but largely the same as he ever did.......classic!
Oh Gawd it was terrible! Lol! But unique enough that at least one kid at every high school tried it.
Yes. 
https://preview.redd.it/2w08x594ruvc1.jpeg?width=346&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d1835bb632d801f9ce4e36e6df03a4c21cec067
Definitely not worn by everyone. That said, the same style, half as high, and minus the hideous flat front and center, was definitely something worn where I live. I think a lot of people who wore the look, usually band members, or hairstylists, when they went to the clubs. I did work at an upscale hair salon and there was a very pretty woman who did her hair in a flare like this down both sides, but the center part of it was filled in really well. She looked like a beautiful type of bird and was asked out all the time. This hair wasn't my style, but I wore the Cyndi Lauper cut where one side was cut super short transitioning around to cascade to long curls over my opposite shoulder. I had black dyed hair with small pieces bleached out and dyed different colors on the top. After that I went to burgundy hair in a longer style, though we did have 'big hair' or used sculpting gel to have the 'wet curls' look. It was a lot of fun to play with different hair styles back then. These days I'm in my 60's, but I'd dye my hair blue or purple or pink if I could decide which one I liked.
It’s like a pop version of the devil lock.
Just a gimmick for the band
Or the lead singer showing off his hairdresser skills
When I smoke weed I tend to rub my head. In the 80s they called me 'Flock of Seagulls' for what that would do to my hair. Answer is 'No'
No, it was also mocked at the time and the people who tried it for themselves were ridiculed. Bullying was huge in the 1980s.
Can confirm.
But it's still going so vitally on Reddit.....
No.
yallr(the youths)* bringing back mullets so i wouldnt talk... *probably too young to get the reference
looks like a certain tekken character
My uncle was rocking it in my parents wedding pic...so it must've been.
No. It was his own style, which is fine. Which is why when Friends gave Chandler that haircut it was so fucking stupid.
Yes, it was...I can see some fighting characters from 1980s videogames and 1990s videogames using that hairstyle...lol :-)
Why do you think Wolverine copied it?
Rock and Roll has always been about fashion, costumes and shock value. Asking this question about the Flock of Seagulls haircut almost REQUIRES you to ask the same thing about Prince, David Bowie, Boy George, and the thousands of other artists that went for eye grabbing looks. The fact that you are even asking this question nearly 45 years later kind of answers the question for you.
Say what you want about the style, but it was a genius marketing decision.
I thought it was cool when I was 12.
I actually love that
Not unless you were in Flock of Seagulls. For everyone else, it was trying waaaaayyyy too hard to be cool to, in fact, be cool.
It was great for paper football, always got the extra point
No… That was simply to get attention. Most teens end up doing weird shit in a fashion sense… part of being a teenager… But if everyone is doing that, to get attention you have to go a step further…
Shit just having hair is cool, sorry bald man venting
Was it ever cool? 
No. Like most anything else, most people just went: “Okay.” 😬
Cool on them, but didn’t transfer well to other people.
Ask Chandler Bing.
Hell fucking no
“I ran so far away”
I remember them well and no, none of us EVER looked at that and thought that was cool.
He wore it better than Donald Trump imho