Robert Elms in Conversation with Tim Marlow

Robert is a writer and broadcaster best known for his long-running BBC London radio show, which explores the ever-evolving culture, music, and architecture of the capital. A key figure in London’s creative scene since the 1980s, he was part of the original Blitz Club crowd that helped define the New Romantic movement. His career spans journalism, television, and authorship, with acclaimed books on style, city life, and London’s unique spirit. His latest book, 'Blitz: The Club that Created the 80s', offers a vivid, insider’s account of the cultural revolution that reshaped fashion, music, and design for a generation.

Tim is Chief Executive, Director of the Design Museum in London. Formerly Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts and Director of Exhibitions at White Cube. Tim sits on the Board of Trustees for the Imperial War Museum was awarded an OBE in 2019. Marlow has been involved in the contemporary art world as a curator, writer and broadcaster and has worked with some of the most important artists of our time to deliver a range programmes to bring a commitment to diverse exhibitions.

A history of the club that set the ‘80s alight, by the much-loved presenter, writer and Blitz attendee Robert Elms. The short-lived Blitz club in London’s Covent Garden was more than somewhere to hang out or be seen: it was a catalyst for cultural explosion, a counter-culture blast against everything Thatcher’s leadership had ushered in by the dawn of the 80s. In Blitz, Elms reflects on a club night founded by working-class kids, one whose impact reverberated beyond its doors, through the worlds of Art, Literature, Fashion and Music, and into the present day.

A major exhibition on the legendary Blitz club night that transformed 1980s London style and generated a creative scene that had an enormous impact on popular culture in the decade that followed – from fashion and music, to film, art and design.