Rusty Egan: The Autobiography (hardcover)

by McNidder & Grace

Published 14th November 2025

Rusty Egan, co-founder of Visage, drummer with power pop outfit The Rich Kids, and resident DJ at London’s legendary Blitz Club, presents his book The Autobiography, which charts the life of a man who helped spark one of the most significant shifts in British music and nightlife.

The book opens with quotes from friends, collaborators, and well-known musicians who have known Rusty for decades, highlighting his profound influence. It then moves onto his childhood, growing up in a large Irish family with musical parents, which provides a clear sense of where his love of music originated. But life didn’t start easily, and in his teenage years things took a downturn. He ended up in the care system and had run-ins with the law; experiences he recounts frankly. However, those years shaped him, giving him a toughness and resourcefulness that would carry him through the highs and lows of his career. The book moves quickly through these early years, covering just the essentials before diving into the moments that shaped his career.

From there, we move to his early working life, hopping between studios and record company jobs while trying to make his mark. Egan’s immersion in the burgeoning punk scene is a key part of this period, giving him a network that would shape his next steps. He joined The Rich Kids as their drummer, a band already carrying significant weight: Glen Matlock, fresh from the Sex Pistols; Steve New, a guitarist whose talent could lift the ceiling off any room; and Slik frontman Midge Ure, the voice who would later front Ultravox. They released one album in 1978, Ghosts Of Princes In Towers, which was met with mixed reviews, only reaching number 51 in the charts. Rusty’s time with the band captures him absorbing ideas and sharpening his ambition, although the chapter feels tantalisingly brief and leaves you wishing for a few on-the-road tales to fill in the edges.

The Rich Kids didn’t last very long, but they were an important stepping stone. The connections and the experiences from that period fed directly into the next phase of his life, leading him toward the club scene that would define his career.

The heart of the book is the story of Rusty managing various club nights in London with Steve Strange, namely Billy’s, The Blitz, Camden Palace and Club For Heroes. Egan takes you straight into those nights, when he and Steve Strange wanted to create something new at a time when the world outside felt stale. Those club nights were small, built on ideas, a few records, and a lot of ambition. You get a real sense of how quickly that spark grew once the right people started walking through the doors.

Egan talks about the music he brought into the room, notably Bowie, Kraftwerk, Japanese electronic music, European synths, and anything that sounded like the future. You can feel how much care he put into building a sound that pushed things forward. Many of the people who attended went on to become big names in both fashion, art and music and took their early inspiration from those nights, including Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Pam Hogg, John Galliano and many more.

The book also covers the downside, years after the scene faded. Egan is very open about the struggles that followed – addiction, financial problems, homelessness, and lost relationships. The book illustrates how someone who played a pivotal role in a movement could nonetheless be sidelined, and the effort required to reestablish himself. He also writes about the people around him, the friendships that lifted him, the clashes that broke things apart. It becomes the story of the cost and reward of living a life fully tied to music and nightlife. Anyone who has ever been part of a music scene will recognise the feeling he describes; the late nights, the excitement of hearing something new, the sense that something important is happening, and the people around you can feel it too.

By the end of the book, you are left with a picture of a man who played a central role in a cultural shift and who also had to deal with the fallout when the world moved on. It is emotional, frustrating, and inspiring all at once.

Rusty Egans’ autobiography adds a valuable missing piece to the story of British music. It brings clarity to a period often remembered through haze and nostalgia, showing how the New Romantic movement emerged from a heady mix of music, creativity, and risk-taking. My only reservation is that, at 174 pages, it feels rather brief for its price. Egan notes toward the end that he “couldn’t fit in all the stories and details,” – so an expanded edition would have been very welcome. Even so, for anyone interested in the origins of electronic music, synth-pop, or club culture, this book is well worth reading.

2017 saw Rusty return with Welcome To The Dancefloor, an album showcasing collaborations with Midge Ure, Tony Hadley, and Peter Hook. In 2025, he is still active behind the decks. Egan released his latest album, Romantic, in October, to coincide with this book.

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The book is available at all good bookshops

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Words and live photo by Melanie Smith – Louder Than War | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Portfolio