Hair obsession! Girls (and boys) just wanna have fun

(Miss Kristi Maddocks breaks down the locks.)

One song that crossed from 1980s subculture into the mainstream was Cyndi Lauper’s “throw-it-to-the-wind” anthem “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!” And (inspired by everyone from Ms. Lauper to Madonna to Siouxsie Sioux, The Cure, Billy Idol and Duran Duran to earlier rockers like The New York Dolls, Patty Smith and the Sex Pistols), teens in the ’80s had fun expressing themselves through their HAIR.

Due to its mild climate and the relatively easygoing culture of middle-class affluence, San Diego was a warm host to post-punk and New Wave hairdos. There were three great places to find fun unconventional hairdos in San Diego: If you were over 21, it was Club I-D and Trevor Watson’s Revolt In Style magazine. If you were hip and gay, Studio 9. If you were on the younger side, (like me), you might keeps busy as a hair model at Vicky Lavanti’s Avanti Salon in La Jolla/Pacific Beach. Let me tell you people, Vicky Lavanti’s girls had a lot a fun — almost too much fun, if you know what I mean!

Modeling for Vicky Lavanti and her minions Kim Sproul, Mark Derringer and Cindy Havard meant free haircuts (excellent ones, at that); cutting-edge styles and Day-Glo hair colors; glamorous photo shoots; fittings in high fashion; fittings in offbeat street wear by Todd Tomorrow; cool make-up that mirrored the hippest London trends styled by the one and only Carol Anderson; fully choreographed and staged shows featuring members of both sexes; co-ed road trips up and down the California coast; open bars; and edgy, unchaperoned happenings. Good times, my friends, good times!

I have to thank Big Sarah and Little Sara (Sarah Spry and Sara Kopels) for bringing me into the fold, and introducing me to many people whom I consider lifelong friends. … Big kisses to the Avanti Gang! You know who you are, or were. …

On a side bite, I have to confess that (as a music lover and a vocalist) I have become quite the fan of American Idol, now in its eighth season on Fox TV. And it occurred to me, while looking over the Che Underground Blog, more specifically while proofreading my HAIR PIECE, that if it weren’t for punk rock, New Wave, rock n’ roll and good old “professional hair adventurists” — such as Vicky Lavanti and our early 1980s Avanti Family — the punk look wouldn’t be as mainstream as it is today.

As it is, numerous American Idol finalists have “got the look” … specifically the quasi-edgy, New Ro-goth and outlandish lad Adam Lambert (if you’ve watched a “final 13” episode of Season 8 AI, you know this “Disney boy on acid,” Sergio wannabe’s hair looks like a green & black Cocteau gone awry); the recently disqualified yet petite and pretty, blonde and pinked Alexis Grace; and the fire-engine-red, wise beyond her years, front-running 16-year-old rocker chic Allison Iraheta all show signs that what was once outrageous is now the norm.

Even the soulful former Baptist church choir-director-turned AI Season 8 frontrunner Danny Gokey sports a punky faux-hawk with highlights and low-lights. Well done, Team Avanti, well done!

This once Che Underground rousing rebel has now shown her true aging-hipster colors … Nonetheless, I hope these hair-show photos catch a glimpse of the glamor and fun that the Avanti girls and boys shared on the live stage in the early 1980s in SoCal. …

Queue Wham! or Spandau Ballet, please!

And please share your own 1980’s HAIR MEMORIES and photographs with the rest of us! These are the looks the world is (or at least your children are) dying to see!

— Miss Kristi Maddocks