Alaska y los Pegamoides formed in the late 70s in Spain. They were part of the post-Franco countercultural movement known as La Movida Madrileña. (Pedro Almodóvar is the most famous artist from this period.) They started out as a new wave band that I would put in the same category as Gary Numan and Devo. Here is the wonderful video of their hit Horror en el Hipermercado in all its remastered glory. Watch these young rebels wreak mellow, arty havoc in a grocery story.

The band went through several reincarnations and with each one drew further and further away from punk. In 1982 the band changed its name to Alaska y Dinarama and moved toward a more electronic sound. Alaska, the lead singer, stopped wearing her cute little punk outfits. She began to develop into the gay icon that she would eventually become, which meant dressing like Cher and having really big hair. Their song Mi Novio Es un Zombie (My Boyfriend Is a Zombie) sounds a lot like the Pet Shop Boys. The video really begins to hit its campy stride when Freddy Krueger appears at about the 1:30 mark wearing high-waisted jeans. He proceeds to start dirty dancing with Alaska.

El es un zombie, pero me quiere!

Alaska'a story will continue!