what was 'romo'??

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

i wasn't there!

― minna, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two words: Simon Price

― Paul, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two more words: Taylor Parkes

― Paul, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romantic Modernism

― Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romo - it lasted/peaked for 1 week in the Melody Maker late, November? 1995, Simon Price wanted to invent a whole new glam electro- pop music scene to rid Britain of the grey dull trad songs britpop era. In theory it was good on paper, but unfortunately the new artists where crap. There were a few clubs centred in london, but Romo never caught on - because the bands being hyped had no substance - and no one outside London could participate. Melody Maker i think did a mini uni tour promoting a few Romo bands to places like Norwich, UEA and about twelve people turned up.

You did not miss anything, minna - trust me.

― DJ Martian, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It was big in Brighton. Big-gish.

― Jerry, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

In theory it was good on paper

i love the elegant double distancing here: martian covers himself nicely.

― pulpo, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Aye, but Minty were marvellous.

― Venga, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I was at that UEA thing on Norwich... It was bad...

(in fact I can't even remember why I went...)

― baxter wingnut, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I liked it.

― Alexander Blair, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Orlando were good, and Dickon is a hugely underrated lyricist.

― Darren, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.thisisromo.com should tell you everything you don't need to know

― joey, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.thisisromo.com should tell you everything you don't need to know

I love the fact that they've put down THE HIVES as one of the happening Romo acts of today.

Anyway, I wasn't there, either, Minna, but it's seemed kinda fun. Wish I still had that cassette that came with Melody Maker. Skinny, nerdy guys with makeup on, ridiculous manifestos, failure--how could I not love it? And, yeah, Minty were wonderful--I reckon Peaches, Gonzales, Miss Kitten must have heard "Useless Man" at some point...

Also, what about the American Romo band Romania? They were on Teenbeat, I believe. Must have been very lonely for them.

― Arthur, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romania were fucking great. Always wondered what happened to them. I heard a rumor they were actually from Hawaii!

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I was speaking to an old music biz PR person about this the other day. They told me, "Well, Romo got the Ones In Charge at the time (when it was all Oasis and Britpop) genuinely scared. That was no mean feat."

As for me, it was great. I'd forgotten just how extreme some of the crowd at Club Skinny dressed. Taboo - pshaw! There's a decent book to be made about it all. And a film. And a musical. Happy times. Good times. I was there, you know. The ones who hated Romo were just the ones who couldn't get on the guest list. Or pass the dress code. A common misconception is that we were celebrating the 80s New Romantics. The truth is we were celebrating our own wonderful selves, and each other. And the rest of the world could get knotted.

No trainers! No untucked shirts! NO SMILING ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

― Dickon, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

And that, readers, is how SchoolDisco.com became the worldwide phenomenon it is today.

― --, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"And that, readers, is how SchoolDisco.com became the worldwide phenomenon it is today"

You just don't get it, do you?

― Dickon, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romo was so full of ronan.

― --, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The fallout from Romo and Brit Pop were everywhere in the London scene just after I got here circa 1997: half-baked dressing up, directionlessness, the pannicky feeling that any type of music could be up for grabs as the next big thing. No one realised it was the end of an era, that there would be no more mainstream relevance for this type of guitar band, which in retrospect is very charming.

― Pulpo, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Always being a sucker for Melody Maker hype I also went to one of those Romo gigs at the Astoria 2 in Feb 1996. Awful night and for the first time ever I remember being was quite ashamed the next day at witnessing such non-entity bands. The one good song was the Orlando track that appeared on the free MM cassette and that ironically sounded like one of the slower 'britpop' numbers. Dickon, you somewhat looked the part up on stage but that singer with the rodent features just didn't cut it. Although I enjoyed some of the writing from Parkes n' Price 'manifesto'.

― David Gunnip, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm sure this is a question you've been asked a million times, Dickon, but I'll ask it anyway...

What do YOU think of 'electroclash', Fischerspooner, etc...?

― Robin, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"What do YOU think of 'electroclash', Fischerspooner, etc...?"

I can't stand that gruesome genre term, for one thing. At least with "romo" there's ample scope for puns. Romophobia, romosexual, Romocop, romo pomo promo...

I still haven't sat down and listened to Fisherspooner proper, but going by their image alone, they certainly wouldn't have been out of place at Club Skinny in late 1995.

At a club on Saturday, someone rushed up to me and said "you MUST come to this - you'd fit right in", and handed me a flyer for a club which plays "NO WAVE, ELECTROCLASH, DISCO POGO". So there you go.

― Dickon, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Thought: if Romo had taken place in NYC in 2002, as opposed to London in 1995, would things have been different?

― Dickon, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Absolutely. Saw Star*Spangleds recently in NYC, and they could've fit right in with romo - tunes not as good, obviously, and personally I feel that whole Heartbreakers shtik is so passe - and has been for each and every one of the 25 years NYC has tried to reinvent the form - why now, why the Strokes? - but they certainly had the cheekbones, and flashy dress.

― Jerry, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i still think its quite amusing that jeff mills is somehow linked to this electroclash business. but then, like, felix and green velvet and others are getting to indugle their 80s euroness, which, felix especially, they didn't really get to do in the 90s (afrohead anyone?)

― gareth, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romo was great fun from where I was watching it. Went to the Romo tour in Glasgow to do interviews with the bands for a student radio station, and despite my friend Neil managing to fail to record the best interview, it was great. Least attitude (ego?) on display from a group of bands that I can ever remember. Plus the guitarist from Plastic Fantastic nearly cut his hand opening a bottle of beer on the bar for me, which was really quite a rock and roll moment...

― alext, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ROMO PORNO!

― Chupa-Cabras, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

god if jeff mills could be linked to electroclash then so could any Detroit/Chicago techno DJ/producer surely...this is obviously because electroclash owes pretty much everything to Kraftwerk and Detroit musically. i'm sure Mills and co were influenced by the likes of Can and Stockhausen too - it all goes in cycles, back and forth...

― blueski, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

(btw, i wandered in from here>>>http://members3.boardhost.com/staybeautiful/msg/48003.html)

saw the romo tour in bristol. i remember feeling ENERGISED and POISED FOR THE FUTURE. i played pool after with hollywood. i had terrible hair then.

romo = bowie/roxy/eno and associated bloodlines.

hey! did somebody mention the STAR SPANGLES? shaolin's always raving about them. i got the olde 'can't be with you' single. the new stuff's (apparantly) better. tommy volume is such a cool name.

the strokes? why now? £2million worth of hype = why now. but! the songs are amazing, so who cares?

can i just point out (as i'm prone to doing) that 'can you see me shining' by shelleydevoto is a fantastic ROMO record?

― rob, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"that singer with the rodent features just didn't cut it. "

I've always though I was more of a weasel faced arse but maybe you were at the back. And I have never in my life wished to 'cut it' so that was one thing I succeeded at...oh and getting Warner Brothers to give us a quarter of a million pounds and getting Universal to give us £120,000 and getting on the front cover of a music paper I'd read all my life and being called the best new band in Britain...failure? If I was in The Cooper Temple Clause then I'd feel like a failure.

It was the funnest thing I've ever done in my life.

― Timothy Mark Chipping, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes but how did you spend the money?

― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wish I still had that cassette that came with Melody Maker.
You can have mine if you like, Arthur. You may have to wait a year or so, tho' as it's currently in storage in the UK. I can't remember if I ever actually played it, but I never throw music out.

― Jeff W, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i was there and thought it was one of the greatest times of my life. The music was great, the people looked good and there was a real sense of belonging without having to resort to the 'mob mentality' of most scenes. And despite the bands attempting to look a million dollars on the budget of a few quid and the air of pretentiousness about the whole thing, people i met at that time (bands included) were some of the best…and Passive Soul remains a brilliant brilliant record.

― kendall, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh and getting Warner Brothers to give us a quarter of a million pounds

So it is true! My brother works at Warner Music and he said he was bored the other day, so he started reading the Orlando file and he said there was a piece of paper saying that you'd been given that much (I think it said "Balance: -£249,501" or something) Apparantly, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief whilst exclaiming "Zoinks!" Actually, he didn't say that he did that but he probably did do it.

― jamesmichaelward, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

This is true, for I am that brother. What actually happened was I was looking idly through a filing cabinet (looking for the Gina G file, Gina G fans), and came upon (no, not literally - wash your minds out with soap and water) the Orlando file instead. Warner has a slightly comical track record of giving huge advances and failing dismally to recoup any of the money, so I thought I'd see if that was the case with Orlando. It was.

― wardytron, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

please mr andrew sir, can you fix it for my rocking beat combo to sign to warners? we are playing the bull&gate a week on friday.

yrs, hopefully

mr rob

― rob, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You know what? If I had any power whatsoever to sign people, I would, and I would give you a large sum of money with which to buy cakes and pies and sweets. Sadly I have no influence over anything, ever.

― wardytron, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

PUNKA! whilst Wardytron might not be able to make your rock n roll dreams come true, i know that he does have a spare copy of Shout At The Devil, which is worth more than all the pies and cake in the world. of course, he's far too much of a scardey girl to listen to it. and he didnt even know who RATT were… (note to non-romos: its not all Plastic Fantastic and Dexdexter round our way you know…:))

― kendall, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

damn.

un romo activities such as 'hard graft' and 'paying our dues' then, that's the way.

'learning your chops'. that's what they called it in the olden days.

pork, lamb. i think i can remember that.

― rumbaba egronicrum, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have one copy of Shout At The Devil = I have a spare copy.

If Channel 4 ever does a Top 10 Romo, will there be enough to make it up to 10?

― wardytron, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Thread of the week, surely? Let's have an Orlando reunion with James and his brother as the rhythm section -- the Sales brothers to Tim and Dickon's Bowie/Eno. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

orlando

plastic fantastic

viva!

minty

hollywood

dexdexter

nancy boy

inaura

sexus

damn, that's only 9.

eeerm -

i dream of wires?

― cap'n peacock, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

More Chuckle Brothers than Sales Brothers, I fear. NB I'm the tall, good-looking Chuckle Brother, he's the weasly Sammy Davis Jnr one.

The Venus Hunters?

― wardytron, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i dream of wires?

Which oddly enough I'm about to listen to -- the song, that is. Yay Gary!

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

what exactly did happen to post-Dickon Orlando? i seem to remember an interview with Tim in a fanzine (Peppermint Pot?) where he was talking about the band's future with a new singer.

the new Fosca album is sitting next to me right now. the front cover is rub.

― Wyndham Earl, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

No new singer - that was Fosca (they sacked him). We recorded a whole album for Rough Trade then had a bit of a nogoingback row with Geoff Travis and it remains unreleased. We played four small gigs that were quite good but it seemed a bit pointless so I split up at the last one.

By the way Wyndham. How's Annie? How's Annie?

― Timothy Mark Chipping, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Orlando's «Just for a Second» stil makes me go all teenager for a few precious minutes. Just like that Sexus song, «Cheap Thrills & Expensive Regrets» (I think that's the right title).

I reviewed both singles at the time and I think I gave them 5/5. The editor didn't agree with such high marks, and lowered them to 4/5. I still feel I was right and he was wrong.

And yes, things might have been drastically different for Romo if it came out in NY 2002. But, as someone much wiser than me once said, pop is context.

Now, if only Simon Price and Taylor Parkes could just take care of their long overdue comeback to the music press...

PS - Jasper Fascinating, anyone?

― JML, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Orlando's "Contained" is still a piece of beautiful, gripping and heartfelt pop magic and I don't care who knows it. It was a crime that it was buried away on the Magic EP, alas.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, the Orlando album is pretty good. Too bad it's so hard to find. It certianly has some great over-the-top production moments, i imagine some of that Warners cash was used for that...

― g, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

if only Simon Price and Taylor Parkes could just take care of their long overdue comeback to the music press...

There's not really much of a music press now to come back to, is there? At least in the traditional sense.

― Nicole, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

«There's not really much of a music press now to come back to, is there? At least in the traditional sense.»

True, but I wouldn't mind having as many of my favourite music writers as possible on a single magazine (Uncut, The Wire, Careless Talk...). Bit old fashioned, me. :)

― JML, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

taylor parkes has made a return this month to music journalism in Terrorizer ! all be it as a minor contributor, [Terrorizer is edited by his old MM chum Jonathan Selzer]

― DJ Martian, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jonathan Selzer is the editor of Terrorizer.

Taylor Parkes has just written something for Terrorizer.

I, er, well, must...lie...down, take...a...deep...breath, and...rest...

― JML, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Terrorizer is edited by his old MM chum Jonathan Selzer"

Jonathan Selzer wrote a 'I love Duran Duran' type piece (sorry, I can't remember it's exact content) for the Romo issue of Melody Maker. If you go to the press section of www.akercocke.com you will find that Mr Selzer gives generous press coverage to avant garde death metal band Akercocke.

Once you realise Akercocke contain an ex-member of Orlando and ex- member of Fosca you realise how pervasive the 'old boys romo network' really is.

― Little Jimmy Romo, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have that issue -- and it wasn't Duran. ;-) Instead, Jon S. wrote about how he was a huge Japan fan in them early eighties daze, which personally I find very cool.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Once you realise Akercocke contain an ex-member of Orlando and ex- member of Fosca you realise how pervasive the 'old boys romo network' really is."

Wow ! You do your homework!! Or are you my mum? Actually she doesn't even know that. They contain our old guitar tech too. We're all in the Masons.

― Timothy Mark Chipping, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, but the Yob Rock debate in 96 was *fantastic* (as in funny).

Featured Neil Hannon haughtily sneering down his pince-nez at the lower classes, only to be justly buried under a mountain of approbrium from Gem Stereoasis and Ben Stud. Klassik.

By the way, er, Orlando, do y'all still think that "the wrong people are breeding"? For fuck's sake.

― Venga, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Given the full extent of the Orlando/Akercocke connection would be too much of a stretch to say that Akercocke are an offshoot of Orlando and therefore Romo?

Akercocke = Romo? After visiting Akercocke's homepage you could probably convince a few people that they are Romo, or at least, partly Romo.

― Bertie Bassett, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Romo = a Ben Elton novel's view of music's future Brit pop = a Ben Elton novel's view of music's past

― please give me a green card or kill me, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"By the way, er, Orlando, do y'all still think that "the wrong people are breeding"?

In the sense of "parents are the last people who should have children" (which is what I should have said), I do. One of my more arch moments, I concur. Still, it's nice you remembered.

― Dickon, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You and your kind gave pretentiousness a bad name, Dickon.

― chris sallis, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If you check your dictionary, it's not really possible to give pretentiousness a bad name

― Jerry, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You mean I have a "kind"?

― Dickon, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The best of times for the thoughtless kind?

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

the more i read about this romo business (i was blissfully unaware of it being stateside and all), the more i wish that it woulda succeeded.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 1 December 2003 08:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I imagine it's a bit difficult to get a big magazine sponsored scene going if it's based around pale shy boys with suits and Human League hair.

(This breaks my heart).

― F. Anthony O'Reilly (Ferg), Monday, 1 December 2003 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Zoot Woman = Millenial Romo?

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 1 December 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Romo = Electroclash, in my head at least. It certainly shares a lot of the same tropes.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 1 December 2003 18:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey, for what it's worth, I noticed in the Virgin Megastore today that there was a new Dave Rimmer book on the eighties and the New Romantics -- and although it's essentially a picture book + words, it looks GRATE!

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 1 December 2003 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Check out I Dream of Wires - didn't put a foot wrong.

― Keith Watson (kmw), Monday, 1 December 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

99 per cent image, 1 per cent hype, 0 per cent music.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 1 December 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Romo=image
Electroclash=music

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 1 December 2003 22:03 (twenty-two years ago)

a new Dave Rimmer book

Wowzer! But a revision/revisitation to Like Punk Never Happened would be such the better thing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 1 December 2003 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I never got to hear the Plastic Fantastic single "Fantastique No. 5" (or whatever it was called). Searched soulseek and possibly a few others for it, to no avail. I still have that MM tape with a Plasic Fantastic song called "Complementary Electron".

I can remember NME's total hostility to the whole Romo thing - they hate it when anything happens without their permission. Yet they still did a feature on Plastic Fantastic just in case the whole thing succeeded. It would have been brilliant for Romo to have taken off, if only to witness the entire NME staff bend over backwards in abject worship to something they did their damndest to destroy.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Monday, 1 December 2003 22:44 (twenty-two years ago)

almost all romo records were unutterably shite. i liked Orlando but that was it

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 1 December 2003 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

a record store here in melb had a half dozen copies of that PF record. i never felt compelled to buy it

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 1 December 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

http://images.nfl.com/photos/img5877061.jpg
THUG LIFE

― Hunter (Hunter), Monday, 1 December 2003 23:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I Dream of Wires rocked. Best band of their time. Terrific live.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Monday, 1 December 2003 23:46 (twenty-two years ago)

It would have been brilliant for Romo to have taken off, if only to witness the entire NME staff bend over backwards in abject worship to something they did their damndest to destroy

See the Darkness, 2003.

― Ben Dot (1977), Monday, 1 December 2003 23:56 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

Revive!

Plastic Fantastic are/were really well executed pastiche. Super competent musicianship and vocals. Deserve gold medal in "cramming as many references to different Roxy/Eno songs into three minutes as possible."

― anode (anode), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 23:37 (twenty-two years ago)

There should be a nu-romo/crunk fusion band.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 23:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Basement Jaxx sorta qualify.

― anode (anode), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 23:44 (twenty-two years ago)

That's why I love them so.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 23:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Romo was all image. Sadly. Because it was a good idea, but the music has to work too.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 12 February 2004 02:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Anode and El Diablo have made me very happy with these thoughts! :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 12 February 2004 03:16 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

There was a link up above but somehow I'd never been here before. I love any page that has the words "5 unreleased Plastic Fantastic tracks added!"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 04:08 (twenty years ago)

How about "Tons of Unreleased Sexus Tracks"? Here: http://www.psychodelicates.com/sexus.htm

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 04:16 (twenty years ago)

That looks enjoyably ridiculous.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 28 February 2006 04:27 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Did I Dream Of Wires really exist? I thought they were made up. The coach crash report in the NME was rather confusing to me age 12/13.

I have a Boutique 7" which was rather good. According the the website above they were "Also Romo".

I remember a good Orlando track being played on the Evening Session.

Warners signed loads of "indie" bands in the late 90s who all did nothing - Snug! Arkarna! Dweeb! Jaguar/Carson! Orlando! some others i've forgotten!

― Michael Lambert (Michael Lambert), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 20:47 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

The Ackercocke / Orlando member connection, as mentioned upthread, has filled me with strange joy.

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 9 August 2006 19:37 (nineteen years ago)

What a hilarious thread. Were the members of Orlando regular posters, or did they just sit and endlessly google their names in case anyone was talking about them? I hope the latter.

By the way, I have that Plastic Fantastic 7" and AM WILLING TO SELL/GIVE AWAY, if whoever it was is still interested!

― Jamie T Smith (Jamie T Smith), Thursday, 10 August 2006 14:40 (nineteen years ago)

Ah, golden memories of the MC/Dickon flame wars that put paid to "Romo" once and for all...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 10 August 2006 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

if ilx does sink, i don't want it to do so without my name being on this romo thread.

(above opinion based upon the 10/10ness of 'the official end of it all' and the orlando album)

― Affectian (Affectian), Friday, 11 August 2006 14:40 (nineteen years ago)

three years pass...

Digging up some random Sexus tracks and I have to wonder if they and St. Etienne ever played together because I could see that happening circa 1995...

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 04:40 (sixteen years ago)

this thread is a walk down memory lane

― lorax & order (electricsound), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 04:46 (sixteen years ago)

Doubly so.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 04:47 (sixteen years ago)

I Dream Of Wires were a spoof. NME ran a news story about them dying in a Viennese underpass or something similar.

How they dared mock one of the Nume's finest songs (and one of Robert Palmer's strangest moments) is beyond me. I think they were still referring to him as a 'plastic spastic' in 1996. But there's more Numan love there now.

― Doran, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 08:17 (sixteen years ago)

No trainers! No untucked shirts! NO SMILING ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

― Dickon, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (7 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

And that, readers, is how SchoolDisco.com became the worldwide phenomenon it is today.

― --, Wednesday, 10 July 2002 00:00 (7 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^classic

― Vladislav Delap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 7 October 2009 08:59 (sixteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

*bump*

Interested in new thoughts on this

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 12:51 (fifteen years ago)

― acoleuthic, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 12:52 (fifteen years ago)

Any new bands that are influenced by this movement?

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 12:52 (fifteen years ago)

No-one's gonna spend promo on romo.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:01 (fifteen years ago)

<3 http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― laughing out loud lol (history mayne), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:09 (fifteen years ago)

He's got Simon Price-esque fins under that hat.

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:12 (fifteen years ago)

Wait how did Mark G do that?

― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:21 (fifteen years ago)

ahahahaaaaa

― Mark G, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:22 (fifteen years ago)

You're a sly one.

― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:23 (fifteen years ago)

You might say that...

― Mark G, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:26 (fifteen years ago)

The ones who hated http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG were just the ones who couldn't get on the guest list.

Or they lived outside that bit of london.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:29 (fifteen years ago)

haha

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:30 (fifteen years ago)

The ones who hated http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG were just the ones who couldn't get on the guest list.

if i were on twitter id totally rt this

― laughing out loud lol (history mayne), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:31 (fifteen years ago)

The r0m0ggy would be totally trending right now.

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 13:38 (fifteen years ago)

tried really hard to get into the orlando album a while ago but couldn't. should i try plastic fantastic next?

― teflon dawn (uptown churl), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 14:00 (fifteen years ago)

i'm sure it influenced loads more people/ bands/ clubs that we'd imagine. Trash was hugley influenced by it and Trash influenced basically *every* decent club in the last 10 years and lots of bands. when we were starting off our club Clique in Manchester 5 years ago there was a massive amount of the http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG influence in the initial ideas we bandied about when we first met. Affectian (now NI) and myself it turned out had both been big fans of the records and the clothes and the whole thing. especially Orlando's album. we thought that maybe the full on dressing up thing wouldn't 'work' in Manchester (i'd been at the original http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG gig at the Boardwalk in 96 and there was maybe 20 people there) but we ignored that and since day one we've had 'please dress up for dancing' on the flyers and posters, and people have been following that gentle instruction ever since. the 'dressed up' thing has *really* wound some people up over the years too for some reason; every few days over the past half decade someone will have a pop at me/ us/ the club in general either online or in person because of something they percieve as being snooty and exclusive or 'trendy' or whatever. god knows what the http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG lot had to put up with! anyway i'm very grateful to http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG. i'd defend it to the death!

― piscesx, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 14:18 (fifteen years ago)

Oh hello http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG cat. How did he get there?!

― piscesx, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 14:20 (fifteen years ago)

(btw, i wandered in from here>>>http://members3.boardhost.com/staybeautiful/msg/48003.html)
saw the http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG tour in bristol. i remember feeling ENERGISED and POISED FOR THE FUTURE. i played pool after with hollywood. i had terrible hair then.
http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG = bowie/roxy/eno and associated bloodlines.
hey! did somebody mention the STAR SPANGLES? shaolin's always raving about them. i got the olde 'can't be with you' single. the new stuff's (apparantly) better. tommy volume is such a cool name.
the strokes? why now? £2million worth of hype = why now. but! the songs are amazing, so who cares?
can i just point out (as i'm prone to doing) that 'can you see me shining' by shelleydevoto is a fantastic http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG record?
― rob, Tuesday, July 9, 2002 8:00 PM (8 years ago)

― polytetrafluoroethylene don (am0n), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 16:15 (fifteen years ago)

what was 'romo'??

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 20:46 (fifteen years ago)

It didn't sell many records but everyone who heard some all posted on this thread 8 years ago about it.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 20:48 (fifteen years ago)

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f358/cilamc/IMG_2170.jpg

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 20:58 (fifteen years ago)

If the intention of 'romo' was to kill the credibility of a music paper so that sales declined as noone took it seriously anymore so the paper "folded" (haw) a few years later, leaving the NME to exist all on it's own, then http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG succeeded!

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:03 (fifteen years ago)

xpost -- and I have that very issue still.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:06 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWNNGR9ou_8&a

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:07 (fifteen years ago)

Whale Hump America!

― crude interloper of a once august profession (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:07 (fifteen years ago)

haha paul weller was still in the mag?

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:08 (fifteen years ago)

ORLANDO * PLASTIC FANTASTIC * SEXUS * DEXDEXTER

― Neil S, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:08 (fifteen years ago)

Watching that Orlando video it's pretty hard to see what all the fuss was about

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:09 (fifteen years ago)

lol and the beatles

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:09 (fifteen years ago)

interesting dental choices, judging by that MM cover...

― Neil S, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:10 (fifteen years ago)

sorry xp

― Neil S, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:10 (fifteen years ago)

so wait, you're saying this was real thing? thishttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGbusiness?

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:11 (fifteen years ago)

yes a real cat

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:14 (fifteen years ago)

a real and very angry hobo cat. namedhttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:18 (fifteen years ago)

lol and the beatles

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:09 (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

'Free As A Bird' was out about then innit

― hoxton whores ahoy (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:21 (fifteen years ago)

lol "Free As A Bird"

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:24 (fifteen years ago)

Why does the Orlando guitarist walk like he's just shat himself at the beginning of the video?

Gotta agree that Minty were good, but I never really thought of them ashttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:29 (fifteen years ago)

Just reliased what's going on here. Applauds.http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGromohttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:30 (fifteen years ago)

Why does the Orlando guitarist walk like he's just shat himself at the beginning of the video?

Maybe he had. Must be intimidating playing to 3 people at a gig.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:31 (fifteen years ago)

what was 'http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:34 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL7CbHcFkAk

Yay, I love MInty! NSFW BTW

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:35 (fifteen years ago)

One to play at your funeral that.

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:37 (fifteen years ago)

KInd of sad that I can't find 'That's Nice' anywhere.

― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:38 (fifteen years ago)

was coincidentally listening to orlando last night

― pies madness (electricsound), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 21:46 (fifteen years ago)

Maybe he had. Must be intimidating playing to 3 people at a gig.

That's a bit unfair. I once saw them play to a half-full Cambridge Boatrace.

― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 5 October 2010 22:41 (fifteen years ago)

I heard even the dog walked out after one song at the tour at the arches in Glasgow

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 22:46 (fifteen years ago)

to pass the time this morning i checked a passage of bowie's wikipedia entry explaining that he got 2 blue eyes, leading to watch the ashes to ashes video (it had been a while) leading to click wikipedia's entry on new romantism (had read years ago so why again because steve strange is in that bowie video) leading to check the wikipedia page of a certain short-lived musical movement (that i had also read years ago because of this thread) . i guesshttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGis in the air!http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGis finally happening

― Sébastien, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 00:20 (fifteen years ago)

always thought hurts bit a lot of r0m0 elements, but with a great yawning chasm where the 'fun' should be

― NI, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 12:33 (fifteen years ago)

That's a bit unfair. I once saw them play to a half-full Cambridge Boatrace.
― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, October 5, 2010 11:41 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

was this supporting kenickie, or did they manage to topline at some point?

― laughing out loud lol (history mayne), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 12:35 (fifteen years ago)

http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGromohttp://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― (¬_¬) (Nicole), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 12:50 (fifteen years ago)

[was this supporting kenickie, or did they manage to topline at some point?]

Hmmm… maybe it was supporting Kenickie: sands of time and all that. In which case it wasn't even their half an audience! It would make more sense why I'd have bothered to drive 50 miles to see them.

― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 12:55 (fifteen years ago)

http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPG

― markers, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 13:08 (fifteen years ago)

three years pass...

rofl
http://i.imgur.com/UmHofFc.jpg

― ۩, Monday, 20 January 2014 17:41 (twelve years ago)

Can be change the cat image to that design classic when we say romo ?

― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 20 January 2014 19:02 (twelve years ago)

always thought hurts bit a lot of r0m0 elements, but with a great yawning chasm where the 'fun' should be
― NI, Wednesday, October 6, 2010 1:33 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― cardamon, Wednesday, 22 January 2014 05:43 (twelve years ago)

will always always stan for that debut orlando album. some of the greatest pop music ever on there, fuck all yer sneers

― NI, Wednesday, 22 January 2014 21:13 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

20th anniversary of the Romo front cover on MM today

― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 27 November 2015 18:18 (ten years ago)

definitely a significant historical event worth marking

― Karl Rove Knausgård (jim in glasgow), Friday, 27 November 2015 18:50 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9k4ZP2e7U

― soref, Friday, 27 November 2015 22:48 (ten years ago)

Taylor Parkes, a major figure in music and Hitlerian Blairism

― Noodle Vape (Noodle Vague), Friday, 27 November 2015 22:52 (ten years ago)

eh?

― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 27 November 2015 22:54 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9GBO7i-6GI

^ best song

― gazcom (NickB), Friday, 27 November 2015 23:05 (ten years ago)

actually it's dreadful but i do like it a lot

― gazcom (NickB), Friday, 27 November 2015 23:07 (ten years ago)

its the only romo song i remember

― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 27 November 2015 23:08 (ten years ago)

Another Car Another Carcrash by Dexdexter is awesome, also pretty much everything by Orlando

― soref, Friday, 27 November 2015 23:10 (ten years ago)

Dexdexter geocities page is here http://www.geocities.ws/retropalace/dexdexter.html

http://www.geocities.ws/retropalace/dextexter1.jpg

― soref, Friday, 27 November 2015 23:12 (ten years ago)

Viva sound a bit John Foxxy on that clip you posted, but the Spandau Ballet look is a definite no

― gazcom (NickB), Friday, 27 November 2015 23:15 (ten years ago)

trying to do GIS for romo, but all of the results are pictures of some american footballer, but there was also this dog who is pretty neat: http://www.dogster.com/the-scoop/romo-famous-dog-pictures-photos-washington-dc-hanging-out-window

― soref, Friday, 27 November 2015 23:15 (ten years ago)

Clearly the peak of everything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd939uTSjNg
Disappointed they cut out the latest internet news tho..

― Jonathan Hellion Mumble, Saturday, 28 November 2015 04:35 (ten years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.