Rock Steady Crew

Henry Chalfant was the first manager of the Rock Steady Crew. He soon quit because he thought he wasn't commercial and aggresive enough to continue. Kool Lady Blue followed him up. During the filming of Style Wars between 81 and 82, the crew got world famous and the film's focus changed from a short b-boy film to a hip hop movie with Greek tragedy elements. At the end of 1982 they were asked to perform in the movie 'Flashdance'. In November 1983, they were asked by the Queen of England to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in aid of the Artist's Benevolent Fund. During these spectacular performances Charisma Records approached the Rock Steady Crew with a record deal. The record 'Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew' was in the top ten charts in Great Britain and sold over a million copies. The Crew, however, saw very little of the proceeds. Due to their lack of knowledge of the music industry at such a young age, the company took advantage of the Crew and would not allow them any creative input toward their own project.

When Charisma Records went out of business and was sold to Virgin Records, the group was put on hold indefinitely. During this time, the crew's management told them not to dance in clubs. They tried to convince them that it was in their best interest not to dance they way they love to. Just for fun...Another sign the period had ended.

Style Wars

StyleWars from stylewars on Vimeo.

Vintage footage on the Rock Steady Crew