Dylan Jones’s definitive history of the Blitz Kids, Synth-Pop and the Style Press from 1975 to 1985.

Sweet Dreams charts the rise of the New Romantics, a scene that grew out of the remnants of post-punk and developed quickly alongside club culture, ska, electronica, and goth.

One of the most creative entrepreneurial periods since the Sixties, the era had a huge influence on the growth of print and broadcast media, and was arguably one of the most bohemian environments of the late twentieth century. Not only did it visually define the decade, it was the catalyst for the Second British Invasion, when the US charts would be colonised by British pop music – Depeche Mode, Culture Club, Wham!, Soft Cell, Ultravox, Duran Duran, Sade, Spandau Ballet, the Eurythmics and many more – making it one of the most powerful cultural exports since the Beatles.

‘Jones’ style – part testimony, part documentary – sheds light on one of the most unanticipated and misunderstood shifts in popular music and street fashion, that sudden lurch towards the swank and ostentation of New Romanticism, a style that seemed arrogant and contrary in its origins but would define the nature and direction of music for at least a decade. Compelling reading for those who lived and breathed the indulgence of the era without realising its significance or contemplating its legacy.’ – Simon Armitage

For a while, Sweet Dreams were made of this.

Dylan Jones studied at Chelsea School of Art and St. Martin’s School of Art. A former editor at i-D, The Face, Arena, the Observer and the Sunday Times, he is currently the Editor-In-Chief of GQ. His books include the Sunday Times best-seller David Bowie: A Life, the New York Times best-seller Jim Morrison: Dark Star and, most recently, the Amazon best-seller Wichita Lineman. In 2013 he was awarded an OBE for services to publishing.

Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics, publishing 1 October.
Available to Pre-order from Rough Trade.