Born from punk’s flickering embers, goth has always been more than a soundtrack for the suntan-averse. In the late 70s and early 80s, as post-punk bands began slowing the tempo and deepening the mood, a new, nocturnal sensibility emerged.
The gothic sound was formed from the echoing drums, chiming guitars and otherworldly vocals of Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Cure – music that felt introspective, romantic, enticingly dangerous, and yes, spooky.
But goth was never just about sound. From the outset, it was inseparable from style: black-on-black wardrobes, back-combed hair, lace, leather and eyeliner worn like war paint. Clubs such as London’s Batcave and Slimelight became laboratories for self-expression, where music, fashion and attitude fused into a culture that prized individuality and theatricality alongside the ability to drink snakebite & black.
Goth sucked in influences from glam, electronica and classic rock’s moodier corners, creating a genre that was fluid rather than fixed, one that its progenitors were occasionally keen to distance themselves from. "It's so pitiful when 'goth' is still tagged onto the name The Cure", Robert Smith said in 2006, for possibly the thousandth time. "We're not categorisable."
Despite Smith's reluctance, the scene has proved remarkably resilient. Sisters Of Mercy and Fields Of The Nephilim carried goth into the late 80s with baritone menace and enough dry ice to choke a flotilla of penguins, while The Cure themselves (sorry, Robert) took goth into American arenas.
Today, a new generation of bands are keeping the black flame alive. Bands such as Drab Majesty, She Past Away and Twin Tribes draw explicitly on the past while sounding resolutely modern, and festivals and club nights continue to thrive around the world.
Which brings us to this quiz. How well do you really know goth – its music, its icons, its lesser mortals? There’s only one way to find out: Dim the illumination, take the quiz, and let us know how you got on in the comments.
