Quickly becoming disaffected by the British punk scene, he became one of the most influential figures behind the New Romantic subcultural movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which spawned the Blitz Kids.

The family moved back to Wales and lived in Rhyl, Denbighshire, on the north coast, where his parents bought a large guest house and opened sea front cafés.

[4] After attending a Sex Pistols concert at the Castle Cinema in Caerphilly in 1976, Harrington befriended the bass player Glen Matlock.

[7] Later in 1978, Harrington briefly joined the punk/new wave band the Photons (originally from Liverpool) as vocalist and co-songwriter at the behest of David Littler (ex-Spitfire Boys).

Shortly after leaving the Photons, and using the alias Steve Strange, Harrington joined Visage, with Rusty Egan and Midge Ure from Rich Kids, Billy Currie from Ultravox, and Barry Adamson, John McGeoch and Dave Formula from Magazine.

Adhering to Strange's strict door policy of admitting only "the weird and wonderful", the club took off and became an essential location in the rise of what would become the New Romantic movement.

Following the Blitz, Strange and Egan then fronted the "Club for Heroes" in London's Baker Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1981, before moving to the Camden Palace nightclub in 1982 for two years, which became one of the most famous venues of the era, attracting major celebrities on a regular basis.

Later in the 1980s, Strange went to Ibiza, Spain, and became an integral part of the budding trance club movement and hosting parties for celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone.

With a plan to re-record some of the older, classic Visage tracks as well as produce some new material, the project never seemed to fully get off the ground despite some television appearances.

The first Visage Mk II song was called "Diary of a Madman", which was made available for download in 2007 in return for a donation to the Children in Need appeal.

In 2006, Strange collaborated with electronic music duo Punx Soundcheck for their album When Machines Rules the World, co-writing and performing on the track "In the Dark".

[8] In early 2013, Strange announced another new version of Visage featuring himself and former member Steve Barnacle, along with former Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon and vocalist Lauren Duvall.

While appearing on the chat show Loose Women in February 2012, Strange stated he had recorded a full album with the group, with another single, "Aiming For Gold", to be released later in 2012.

[15] In 2002, Strange published his autobiography, Blitzed!,[16] in which he spoke openly about his career, his heroin addiction, his nervous breakdown, his sexuality, and his attempts to get his life back together.

On 12 February 2015, Strange suffered a heart attack, at the age of 55, while in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt; he died later that day in hospital.

[22] His coffin was carried by Boy George, Jayce Lewis[23][24] and Spandau Ballet brothers Martin and Gary Kemp; the funeral concluded with a burial at Jubilee Gardens Cemetery.