Rusty Egan

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Rusty Egan (born 19 September 1957 ^[1] in London) is the former drummer for the British new wave band Rich Kids.^[2] They were founded by former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock (bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), with Steve New (guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and fronted by Jim Midge Ure (guitarist, lead vocals and occasional backing vocals and keyboards player),^[3] from their inception in March 1977 to their disbanding in December 1978. He continued working with Ure, and later collaborated with , Skids, Shock, and Visage.^[4] However, Egan did not return to Visage when they reformed with a new line-up in 2004.

He was the DJ at Blitz, the influential New Romantic nightclub in London where he worked with Steve Strange from 1979 until 1981. Whilst there, he introduced German (Kraftwerk), Japanese (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and British (Eno, Ultravox, Landscape) electronic/synthpop to the British club scene, almost single-handedly putting together the soundtrack for the New Romantic movement.^[5][6][7][8] Egan also owned The Cage, a New Romantic-era record store on London's King's Road. As the club grew in popularity, Egan began to be recognised as a central figure in London's nightlife.^[9][10][11] In 1982, he and Strange opened up the Camden Palace nightclub in London, where he continued to spread and influence the development of electronica in the UK.^[12] For a time, he switched to producing records for many of the bands he used to DJ, including Spear of Destiny, Shock, Visage and The Senate.

Egan was later brought back into his career as a disc jockey by the allure of the internet as a medium for sharing music. Presently, he works as a DJ playing and promoting 1980s style synthpop and electronic music.

On 13 June 2008, Egan appeared DJing at the 'Big Top' as part of the Isle of Wight Festival.^[13]

Egan appeared alongside former Visage bandmate Steve Strange on makeover show Pop Goes the Band in early 2009 on Living TV. He had his teeth and hair drastically reconstructed as part of his makeover.^{[citation needed]}

Egan won the category for lifetime achievement at the 2009 London Club and Bar Awards.^[14]

In January 2011, Egan and Strange hosted Return to the Blitz on the site of the original Blitz Club with performances from Roman Kemp's band Paradise Point and electro punk artist Quilla Constance plus DJ sets from Egan himself.^[15]

2017 saw the release of Rusty's first solo album, 'Welcome to the Dancefloor'. It featured appearances from Midge Ure, Tony Hadley, Peter Hook and Erik Stein of Cult With No Name. The album was subsequently released in remix form as 'Welcome to the Remix' and 'Welcome to the Beach'.^[16]

Both of the album's cover photos were made by Adam Szigeti a web designer, photographer and illustrator.

On Friday 18 October 2019, Rusty performed a DJ set overlaid with a commentary of the post punk music scene at the London Palladium, followed by a performance of a number of Visage hits with long time collaborator and friend Midge Ure.

References[]

External links[]

• Rusty Egan discography at Discogs
• Rusty Egan on SoundCloud
• Artefaktor Radio