Arm dance

[Wessexy Witch]

A lot of the gig rituals you see at NMA gigs werent that unique to NMA - but were quite common at most mid/late 80s alternative rock gigs. Many alt rock bands had followings who would hitch around following the bands.

I think the arm dance mutated from chicken dancing (early 80s psychobilly/goth dancing). It probably developed from people sitting on shoulders, or standing on others shoulders or on human pyramids and needing something dramatic to do with their hands!

The other big factor was "circles". Gigs would get quite hectic and groups of people would form a circle facing inwards to dance and er "defend" their territory. This led to feet being firmly planted on the floor and dancing with the top half of the body

NMA are about the only band from this time who have continued without a break (give or take the mid 90s) - but you'd have found similar dancing a gigs by The Mission, Ghost Dance, Fields of the Nephilim, Salvation etc Here's some footage of the Sisters from 1985 and the MIssion from 1986

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XXMLXcf-N4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLZ_sVMLoJQ

That's because it's the same people at all those gigs !!

 

 

[Stoney]

Some of the same! lol ONLY SOME of the same people!

[JohnnyM]

That's because it's the same people at all those gigs !!

There was fair bit of cross over - but the Ghost Dance/Balaam/Salvation type following was a bit different to the NMA following - not sure I ever saw many BOY sweatshirts at Army gigs!

[Wessexy Witch]

I used to wear a rather tacky Kylie Minogue shirt most of the time.

I was interviewed by a woman from the NME once, while following The Nephs and she couldn't understand why I didn't fancy Mc Coy (yep,she really did ask that !) and confussed why I was wearing the Kylie shirt.