Losing Nick Kamen has triggered full '80s crush nostalgia - but where are they now?
Watch: Model and singer Nick Kamen dead at 59
The death of British model and musician Nick Kamen earlier this week will have propelled many women (and men) of a certain age tumbling straight back to the 80s.
Best known for stripping down from his jeans to a pair of crisp, white boxers in the local launderette, Kamen's infamous Levis ad had many of us wistfully wishing we didn't own a washing machine, in the vague hope we might bump into him when scrubbing our smalls.
It's fair to say Kamen left an impression on a generation, as British actor Matt Lucas pointed out on Twitter following news of his death: "If you didn't have a crush on Nick Kamen in the 80s, you probably weren't there. RIP."
As ex-teen mag editor Fiona Gibson points out, Kamen was the ultimate teenage pin-up. "Utterly beautiful with a perfect pout, he was the Just Seventeen readers’ ideal boyfriend: cool, stylish, drop-dead handsome but boyish enough not to intimidate," she writes in a tribute for the Telegraph.
But he wasn't the only heartthrob (as we called them back then) to regularly top teen mag Just Seventeen's 'most fanciable' polls.
And as we got deeper into the 80s and our mullets grew bigger, other celebrities joined Kamen in adorning our bedroom walls and making our hearts beat that little bit faster...
Matt & Luke Goss
Formed in 1986, boy band Bros was made up of heartthrob identical twins Matt and Luke Goss, and ‘the other one’, Craig Logan (sorry Craig!).
With their chiselled jaws and ice-blonde quiffs, the Goss brothers quickly gathered an army of die-hard fans, known as Brosettes, who practiced their devotion by copying the band's signature style of ripped denim and bandanas, and fainting at the very sight of them.
Having sold 16 million records worldwide, clocking up number ones with tracks including I Owe You Nothing and When Will I Be Famous, Britain found itself in the grip of wild hysteria, dubbed 'Brosmania'.
Fast forward four decades and the brothers have swapped the UK for the US. While Matt lives in Las Vegas, where he has enjoyed several residencies at three casinos, Luke is in Los Angeles and has acted in a string of Hollywood films including the Hellboy and Blade franchises.
John Taylor
In case you weren't around in the 80s, it's worth noting that Duran Duran were one of, if not THE biggest band of that decade.
Their high-energy dance-pop hits earned them the nickname 'the Fab Five' after The Beatles' nickname 'the Fab Four,' and they even got the royal seal of approval, with Princess Diana frequently referring to Duran Duran as her favourite band.
Their catchy dance-pop tunes including fan faves Hungry Like the Wolf and Save a Prayer earned them a collection of top 20 hits, but it was their good looks and bold fashion choices that earned them heartthrob status, particularly bassist John Taylor.
In 1985, John Taylor was voted most fanciable person and the second most wonderful human being alive (behind Bob Geldof, interestingly), in that year's Smash Hits readers' poll.
Taylor continued to play with Duran Duran and its changing lineup from 1978 until 1997, when he left to follow a solo recording and film career, but in 2001 he rejoined Duran Duran for a full reunion of the original five members of the group and remains within the band to this day.
Watch: Duran Duran performs at the Sands Event Center
Andrew McCarthy
Best known for his role alongside Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink, McCarthy was ranked at number 40 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Teen Stars of all-time list and was considered to be part of the infamous 'Brat pack'.
With his boy-next-door looks and affable charm,McCarthy was the 80s pin-up of choice for those who found Rob Lowe a little on the cheesy side.
Having made several more appearances in popular 80s flicks, McCarthy turned his attention from acting to travel writing, working for publications such as The New York Times and The Atlantic.
He has also worked behind the camera as a director, directing several episodes of cult fave Gossip Girl (our Noughties obsession), and the Netflix hit show Orange is the New Black.
He has been married twice and has three children.
Read More: 20 Famous 80s Heartthrobs Then & Now
Rob Lowe
If you didn't have a Rob Lowe poster on your wall in the '80s, were you even alive in the '80s?
The ultimate teenage heart-throb, his roles ranged from Sodapop Curtis in 1983's The Outsiders to his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Rory in Square Dance (1987).
But it was his turn in cult classic St. Elmo's Fire that made him a household name and earned him a position, alongside McCarthy, as part of the Brat Pack.
Later, however, a twenty-something Lowe found himself in hot water when a sex tape surfaced and he opened up about his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse.
Lowe made his comeback in the hit series The West Wing and has since had success with various TV roles, including Parks and Recreation and Moonbeam City.
Now, 57, Lowe is still rocking the chiselled features and twinkly eyes that earned him hunk status in the 80s.
Morten Harket
With his statement quiff, soul-searching eyes and toned abs, clad in an of-the-moment leather waistcoat, A-ha frontman Morten Harket was the ultimate 80s dreamboat.
When Harket and his A-ha bandmates, fellow Norwegians Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen, arrived on the music scene in 1985 he was a huge hit with the ladies.
Their debut single, Take on Me, shot straight to number 2 and cemented the band's status as the kings of Euro-pop.
But the ultimate test of their popularity with teenage girls was the number of awards dished out by pop magazine Smash Hits. In 1985 and 1986 they scooped best video gong, most promising new act award, best group and best male singer.
Having stayed in the band for 25 years and sold more than 55 million records, this year Harket proved he hadn't lost his swoon-worthiness after being unveiled as one of the celebrities on The Masked Singer.
Now 61, the Norwegian popped out of his 'Viking' disguise on the ITV show to reveal he still had the good looks that made him an 80s teenage pin-up and prompting panelist Rita Ora to point out what everyone on Twitter had already been thinking: "Can I just say, you look fantastic."
Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot
Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot made quite the impression amongst the teenage contingency when he shot onto the music scene with boy band Curiosity Killed the Cat.
The British band released three hit albums with popular tunes Down to Earth, Name & No. and Hang on in There Baby and Volpeliere-Pierrot was the band member who carried the heartthrob crown.
Fast forward several decades and the former teen model, rap artist and lead singer recently returned to the stage to sing his favourite hits on the 80s Invasion Tour, giving teens of the 80s the chance to relive their youth.
Oh and he also made a surprise appearance on First Dates back in 2018 – meeting a music manager who was a super fan of the group but failed to recognise Volpeliere-Pierrot in his more senior years!
