Hair so big it could block out the sun

Cynthia Closkey, circa 1984

I’ve been invited to a birthday party next month, the theme of which is "1980s Prom." The theme was chosen because Ann, the birthday girl, was born in April 1984.

I didn’t go to my senior prom — prom dates were hard to come by in my all-girls school, but I wasn’t inclined to attend even if I could find one. Most of my class did though. I’m sure at least a few of them were shopping for dresses on the day Ann was born.

I could go to the party dressed in my high school uniform, but I don’t want to frighten anyone.

I’m instead going to dress as someone who would have attended a rock show in Boston in the 80s. A show, for example, like this performance by Human Sexual Response of "What Does Sex Mean to Me?"

I didn’t arrive in Boston until 1984 so I missed seeing HSR. But I was a big fan of the Zulus, a band that included former HSR members Larry Bangor (singing lead on this song), Rich Gilbert (playing guitar; later to join Frank Black’s band for a while, now making music in Nashville), and Malcolm Travis (drums, later played with Bob Mould’s band Sugar).

A close approximation of my late 80s club attire can be found in this Echo and the Bunnymen video, "Lips Like Sugar." The two girls at 0:14 seem to have both raided my closet and stolen my hairspray. (I don’t know where they came up with the outfits they wear later in the video though.)

I am looking forward to firing up my crimping iron and creating some big, big hair.

5 replies on “Hair so big it could block out the sun”

  1. The first time I read through this I thought the theme of the party was “1980s Porn”. One-track mind, I guess. Though to be honest, could anyone really tell the difference? Slightly different soundtrack, I guess.

    I still remember John Miller’s all-white tux, with pink bow tie and green cummerbund. Which matched his date’s dress. 1987 sucked.

  2. Gene: Thanks for bringing the spammers to the site. Then again, with all the filters and filter-breaking spellings, “porn” may be the cleanest way to spell it nowadays.

    TheJim: If you get a Ferrari, I totally want a ride in it. Excellent!

    Cathy: Sadly, there are few photos of my late 80s heyday. You must come to this party, and we will compete — not as good as comparing back in the day, but a useful alternative. We can have a “highest hair” duel.

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