Here Today: The New Wave revival

Something's afoot at the Camden Palace. A dodgy indie disco, usually frequented by drop-outs with long, lanky hair and Suede T-shirts, its habitues have gone all smart. Suddenly, everyone's turning up in natty suits, shirts and ties: especially the girls. The unisex hairstyle is a short, slick bob, tucked beneath one ear. It all looks so very . . . early Eighties.

Elastica have a lot to do with this. The current music press starlets, and pop's great white hope for 1994, Elastica are both entirely wonderful and entirely receptive to their influences. They sound like Blondie, the Rezillos and Wire, and they dress like the Jam.

Early Eighties music is now so popular that even Duran Duran are cool again (huge in America and currently working on a covers album of their musical heroes). What's it all about? Ask any teenager. Most of them seem to have one thing in common: their first sentence was 'Hit me with your rhythm stick'. The song of the same title, by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, was number one in the charts at about the time today's pop consumers were learning to talk. It was catchy then, and it's catchy now. They were new wave babies. Now they want to be new wave babes.

Camden Market is the best place to find a good new wave two-piece suit. There are also great second-hand record stalls, where you should be able to buy the whole Blondie back catalogue for under a fiver. For the music to dance to, try the Camden Palace, 1 Camden High St, London NW1

Camden Market, Camden High St, London NW1. Stalls all week, but main market on Saturdays and Sundays

(Photograph omitted)