With his death from cancer at just 59, I’ve been reflecting on the impact and legacy of the singer and model Nick Kamen. Here was a man who burned brightly in the mid-1980s and made a modest yet not insignificant contribution to the concept of masculinity.
Whilst his impact was mainly visual, he subtly challenged normative representations of masculinity. His mixed Burmese, Irish, Dutch and English heritage was transgressive at a time when mainstream masculinity was defined by white, straight men with mullets and power-suits reeking of testosterone and Aramis.
Nick was no Mel Gibson or Tom Cruise, rather he was introspective, nostalgic and a little mysterious. He epitomised a quiet masculinity. In an era obsessed with status and designer brands, the only label he needed was his 501s.
As for the man himself, by all accounts he was a deeply private individual. In his work as a model and singer he maintained an intriguing ambivalence, which sought no approval or validation. There is a nod to Brando and James Dean here, but there is none of the drama of their personas.
In the 1985 Levi’s 501 advertisement which made Nick a household name, his ambivalence is towards the female gaze. What's radical here is that there is a female gaze! A feminist, LGBTQ, and ‘new man’ message are all rolled in to one, yet the rebelliousness is subtle.
In remembering Nick, an ancient historical figure comes to mind, that of Antinous, the lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. In Nick’s look, there is the same tilted head, the slightly rounded, post adolescent features, the thick mop of hair. Antinous died at the age of 20 and was made a god. We know little about him, except that his cult remained popular for hundreds of years after his death. He was undoubtedly a precursor to the Christ image. His beauty represented a masculine version of fertility and sexuality, normally associated with female goddesses. Transgressive figures have the ability to facilitate change. They are often viewed as a danger to accepted norms, yet they have no obvious agenda, the revolution is quiet.
Nick was part of a British music and fashion scene in the 80s known as the Buffalo Collective. At the heart of this was the stylist Ray Petri, who the singer Neneh Cherry remembers, ‘cast girls as boys ... kids as men ... and put tough boys in skirts ... making women fierce.’ The collaboration included photographers Jamie Morgan, Martin Branding, Roger Charity, Marc Lebon, Norman Watson, and the stylist Barry Kamen who is Nick’s brother, as well as the child star Felix Howard, and the pre-supermodel models Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Kate's brother Nick. The attitude was about self-expression, the look arty, and androgynous, but accessible. European trends such as Paninari and BCBG were crossed with street and ball culture. Designers such as Katherine Hamnett, Red or Dead and Jean-Paul Gaultier not only created the look they embodied it, becoming household names. Levi’s 501s, a pork pie trilby worn on the back of the head, black turtle neck sweaters, and Ray-Ban Wayfarers were the essentials. Bands like Soul II Soul, Curiosity Killed The Cat, Fine Young Canjibals and even Madonna - in her Papa Don’t Preach era - brought it to the MTV generation.
Ray Petri died of AIDS in 1989, and the collective evolved into other scenes and creative endeavours, but their influence continued through gay rights, the YBA art scene and ‘the London look’ all of which defined the 90s and beyond.
Nick continued to make music but his star shone less brightly. Not that he cared about that. According to friends, fame and celebrity was not something that motivated him. He was no provocateur, his music boiled down to just a handful of tracks, and he rarely gave interviews, yet his influence remains culturally defining.
‘You were always such a kind, sweet human and you suffered too much’ - Madonna
Ivor Neville ‘Nick’ Kamen 15th April 1962 - 4th May 2021.
Nick Kamen - Nick Kamen. Album WEA, 1987
More about the Buffalo Collective: https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/26041/1/new-film-on-iconic-80s-buffalo-subculture-jamie-morgan-barry-kamen