Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Sylvia Patterson

Goth’s undead! The dark return of Britain’s spookiest subculture

Release the bats … Jon Klein, Nik Fiend, Olli Wisdom and Jonny Slut.
Release the bats … Jon Klein, Nik Fiend, Olli Wisdom and Jonny Slut. Photograph: Mick Mercer

Last November, the Tim Burton-directed, Netflix Addams Family reboot, Wednesday, saw a dance scene go viral on TikTok: Wednesday herself, played by Jenna Ortega, flailing beautifully in black organza to the Cramps’ goth-schlock-psychobilly 1981 cover, Goo Goo Muck. It came after Burberry showed a dramatic, extreme-goth collection; soon after, the Cure sold out three nights at Wembley Arena. Now, two hefty books are about to arrive documenting goth’s endurably undead history, John Robb’s The Art of Darkness: the History of Goth and Cathi Unsworth’s Season of the Witch: the Book of Goth. And summer sees the return of the long elusive goth sphinx herself, as Siouxsie Sioux headlines Latitude festival.

This month brings the definitive original soundtrack, Young Limbs Rise Again: the story of the Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985. A stunningly comprehensive, 90-track compilation, it features the iconic ghouls heard at London’s early-80s goth mecca and includes a lusciously illustrated, 80-page history book, featuring the scratchy, B-movie, Batcave artwork that defines the goth aesthetic to this day.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.