Demented Are Go

Back in the early ‘80s alternative nightclubs in Cardiff were a bit thin on the ground. HQ for the funny haircut brigade was undoubtedly Nero’s which hosted the full gamut of post-punk tribes. Anarcho-punks mingled with flat-tops, first generation Goths, residual Bowie and Roxy fans, raincoated miserablists, synth-poppers, and even New Romantics. A colourful mix of south Wales’s culturally non-conformist youth could be found gathered there on any given Saturday night. They say you could smell the Boots firm-hold hairspray from as far away as Port Talbot. Nero’s’ clientele was drawn mostly from the estates and suburbs of Cardiff but also further afield. A regular trickle of 'weirdos' from the Valleys also turned up. Aside from the occasional fashion victim from the art college surprisingly few students ventured there. It was very much a Welsh scene. Together - in relative harmony - we all bopped the night away to Bauhaus, The Cramps, Sex Gang Children, Iggy Pop, Kraftwerk, Gina X, Magazine, the Velvet Underground, Virgin Prunes et al. At Christmas one would occasionally bump into Steve Strange in the toilets. More usually though it would be a member of local psychobilly band Demented Are Go who are featured in the above YouTube singing Pervy In The Park.