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London Youth and Club Kids, 1978-1987


February 4, 2014 | Marina Galperina

Photographer Derek Ridgers never felt like a part of the crowd he made a name photographing. He was in his 20s, but he felt “too old” already.

“I was working in an advertising agency and I’d just gone down to a few gigs and started photographing the bands,” he tells The Telegraph. “Then the people in the crowd started looking more interesting than the bands so I turned to them.” His new book of photography  78-87: London Youth comes out this week, focusing specifically on London nightlife between 1978 and 1987 — “from the height of punk to the birth of Acid House” — and the various dressed up club kids, punks, skins, goths and various picturesque, now-dated people he found so interesting, documented and classified by tribes. (Images: Hunger TV, ArtBook, Sang Bleu)