Blitz

The Club That Created the Eighties

Robert Elms

$39.99

Hardback

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English

Faber & Faber
06 January 2026

Music; Biography: arts & entertainment; Social & cultural history; Popular culture

A history of the club that set the '80s alight, by the much-loved presenter, writer and Blitz attendee Robert Elms.

The short-lived Blitz club in London's Covent Garden was more than somewhere to hang out or be seen: it was a catalyst for cultural explosion, a counter-culture blast against everything Thatcher's leadership had ushered in by the dawn of the 80s. Tuesday nights boasted a ferocious, fearless cast - from Boy George and Spandau Ballet to Grayson Perry and Peter Doig, to Michele Clapton, Sade and Alexander McQueen. This was the vanguard of a different England; socially liberal, loud, proud and diverse, fiercely individualistic and determined to succeed. Britain was black and white; the Blitz Kids switched on the colour.

In Blitz, Elms reflects on a club night founded by working-class kids, one whose impact reverberated beyond its doors, through the worlds of Art, Literature, Fashion and Music, and into the present day.

By: Robert Elms
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9780571394180
ISBN 10: 0571394183
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 06 January 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert Elms is a broadcaster and writer, best known for his eponymous radio show on BBC Radio London. He began as a journalist, writing for The Face and NME, and is the author of Live!: Why We Go Out, London Made Us, The Way We Wore, Spain: A Portrait After the General and In Search of the Crack. He lives in London with his wife and children.

Reviews for Blitz: The Club That Created the Eighties

""The Blitz was the most important club of the 80s and Robert is one of the greatest chroniclers of our age. He was born to write this book."" - Dylan Jones ""The maelstrom of creative energy that poured from The Blitz conjured the art and style of the 80s and beyond. Elms was not only in the room where it happened, he was at the very heart of it."" - Gary Kemp ""A dazzling dive into a scene I wish I could have witnessed with my own eyes and ears. It's sharp, funny and caked in two-day old eyeliner. The cast is all-star, the soundtrack is electric, the late-night tales hit like a blast."" - Jodie Harsh