Gothic Covers: Music, Subculture and Ideology

Abstract

In British popular music there is often an ideological component to the way that an artist covers a song that was originally recorded by someone else. Nowhere is this more apparent than in songs that were covered by bands associated with English subcultures. Musical groups popular with the goth movement were particularly adept at remaking songs to reflect their sensibilities and express their concerns.This study begins by presenting an overview of the British goth movement and its music explaining why the subculture embraced Gothicism during the 1980s and how they used it to articulate their fears and voice their discontent. The article then examines how songs covered by goth artists provide insight into this often misunderstood subculture and musical genre. An analysis of several musical examples illustrates how goth groups used the music of others to breathe new life into punk and glam rock, celebrate British national identity, and assault rock’s misogyny and musical conventions. Goth covers of songs by The Beatles, T-Rex, The Rolling Stones, and Brian Eno will be explored, as well as Through the Looking Glass, a collection of covers by Siouxsie and the Banshees.