Rocky Horror Show_LSB 2023

Licensing

that makes you shiver with antici...pation

WELCOME

Ladies and gentlemen, creatures of the night, “I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey…”

Through a world of seductive chaos and unapologetic eccentricity, welcome to the fun, thrilling and delightfully twisted realm of Rocky Horror!

The Rocky Horror Show is a rock musical like no other, a glorious fusion of sci-fi, comedy and horror, brought to life through unforgettable characters and an iconic soundtrack that will have you dancing in your seat. At its heart, it’s a story of self-discovery, liberation and the unapologetic pursuit of pleasure and self-love, all set against the backdrop of a spooky castle, mysterious aliens and a mad scientist’s wild experiment.

It is a pop culture phenomenon with an audience of millions, and now Golden Goose is launching it into the wonderful world of consumer products to find its home in the hearts of every new generation who discovers it for the first time. We’re excited to be launching products this quarter and developing some amazing ranges for the near future. With an impressive 50 years of performances under its belt, Rocky Horror’s core messages are somehow even more relevant today. Please get in touch if you’d like to come on the journey with us – let the madness begin!

Robyn Cowling, brand director

Golden Goose would like to thank its Frank-tastic Rocky Horror licensee partners:

Ata-Boy, Dark Horse, Fright Rags, Fun.com, H3 Sportgear, Party City, Pyramid America, Ripple Junction, Rock Roll Repeat, Smiffys, The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, University Games.

THE GOLDEN GOOSE TEAM

Adam Bass, director, adam@goldengoose.co.uk

“Everyone knows someone who is a Star Wars fan. But we all know someone who we don’t know is a secret Rocky Horror fan.”

ROCKY

TRIVIA HORROR

The longest continuous run of a contemporary musical anywhere in the world

Translated into 20 languages

700 million: the number of views of #ROCKYHORROR on TikTok

$1.4 million: how much The Rocky Horror Picture Show cost to make in 1975

Performed in 30 countries

Seen by 30 million theatregoers over five decades

The film adaptation is the longest continually running movie release of all time

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50 years of Rocky Horror

The Rocky Horror Show opened in 1973 in a tiny 63-seat theatre in Chelsea and was expected to run for just a few weeks. Five decades later, it is a globally recognised, cross-generational pop culture phenomenon seen by 30 million people, now thrilling a new audience of fans thanks to a sell-out 50th anniversary international tour.

It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed since Frank N Furter first strutted onto a stage and exhorted the audience to “Don’t dream it, be it”. Iconic musical the Rocky Horror Show may be officially middle aged, but its taboo-busting message of empowerment through joyful celebration of sexuality and gender diversity is as relevant today – if not more so – as it was when the show took the theatre world by storm. A pastiche of 1950s B-movies, sci-fi and horror films, featuring sing-a-long rock ’n’ roll songs, Rocky Horror was penned by jobbing actor Richard O’Brien and opened on 19 June 1973 at Chelsea’s Royal Court Theatre

Upstairs, a 63-seat venue. It tells the story of innocent American sweethearts Brad and Janet, who stumble across the mansion of crazed cross-dressing scientist Frank N Furter, his hunchbacked butler Riff Raff and a cast of

quirky characters. Cue mayhem, sexual discovery and some iconic songs, including the Time Warp, Science Fiction Double Feature, T-t-t-t Touch Me and more.

It’s a hit!

To almost everyone’s surprise Rocky Horror proved a hit, and after its initial stint in Chelsea was up, it transferred to other venues around London, running for nearly 3,000 shows straight until 1980. The show’s music publisher Andy Leighton recalls how, in the age of glam rock and women’s lib, Rocky Horror tapped into the zeitgeist. “I think we all realised that something theatrically special was taking place, and when the show won The Evening Standard Best Musical of the Year Award in 1973, this was confirmed. That the show then travelled to five continents of the world during the rest of the 1970s was surprising to say the least – my favourite production was in Madrid in 1975 during the last years of the right-wing Franco dictatorship. Subversive, liberating fun for sure!”

The ultimate cult classic

In 1975, an adaptation of the Rocky Horror Show hit the silver screen as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry as Frank N Furter , Richard O’Brien as Riff Raff and Susan Sarandon as Janet. Initially it wasn’t a success, but its latenight showings developed a huge cult following and the adaptation ended up taking over $170 million worldwide at the box office. Today, it holds the record as the longest continually running movie release in cinema history.

Today, the show is very much part of the cultural landscape. It has been translated into 20 languages, performed in 30 countries and holds the record for the longest continuous run of a contemporary musical anywhere in the world. Its passionate fans are

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known for dressing up as their favourite characters, singing along and shouting lines back at the cast, making each performance an event in itself. In May this year, a 50th anniversary gala performance took place at the Peacock Theatre in London, featuring original cast members Little Nell (the original Columbia) and Rayner Bourton (the original Rocky) and special guests Steve Pemberton and Brian Cox; a UK tour is ongoing. Not bad for a musical that was initially described by O’Brien as “silly nonsense”.

Even those who have never seen the stage show are familiar with the brand; a movie version [see box] and music publishing deals secured by Andy have ensured that Rocky Horror has remained at the forefront of popular culture over the years. TV show Glee dedicated an episode to Rocky Horror in 2010, while Time Warp has been featured in the Just Dance video game series. More recently, rock duo Tenacious

D (Jack Black and Kyle Gass) shared their own version of the Time Warp to urge people to register to vote in the 2020 US presidential election. Rocky Horror also has a devoted social media fan base, with searches for #RockyHorror on TikTok topping 700 million. “Richard is a formidable songwriter, and the Rocky Horror songs are perfect for TikTok clips,” Andy points out.

Now, the developing consumer products programme from Golden Goose is offering fans another way to celebrate their love for the brand, as well as encouraging new fans to join their ranks. As the show’s golden anniversary tagline reminds us, Rocky Horror has given us ‘50 Years of Fun’. Here’s to 50 more.

Let’s do the time line…

1973

The Rocky Horror Show opens at the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs in Chelsea. It runs for 2,960 performances.

1974-80

The show opens in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Japan and seven other countries. In 1975, the movie opens in London and the US.

1980-90

The show opens in Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and Poland. The UK West End revival features Ade Edmondson.

2000-10

UK tour continues. Show opens in Singapore, South Korea and the US (with a Broadway revival).

There is also an Australian revival and European tour.

2010-22

40th anniversary show in Singapore, South Korea and other territories; US Broadway revival, Australian revival and European tour.

2023

50th anniversary performance at London’s Peacock Theatre, followed by a world tour.

1990-00 Revival show in Argentina, Australia, Hong Kong, Spain, the US, Poland and the UK (starring Jason Donovan).

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Left: Artwork by Shaun Webb, used for posters and programmes in the 1990s.

Get ready to Rocky!

There’s so much opportunity for self-expression in this brand,” says Robyn Cowling of the Rocky Horror Show. “Potential partners are coming to us because it hits them in different ways. It seems to resonate differently with everyone, and that’s the beauty of it. Whether you’re dramatic or shy, experimental or strait-laced, there’s a character in Rocky Horror for you. And that’s why it translates so well into consumer products.”

Adam Bass agrees on the show’s across-the-board appeal, believing: “We now live in a Rocky Horror World.”

Rocky Horror was completely prophetic, says Adam. “It’s about free sexual expression, and was a way for people to be something other than the norm before that was truly possible or encouraged as it is today.”

Adam and the team took on Rocky Horror just last year. Having developed Original Stormtrooper into an evergreen brand, they recognised the potential for Rocky Horror to be a massive brand that would benefit from their expertise in the pop culture space. Marking its 50th anniversary this year – and with a celebratory world tour

Drawing on their expertise in the pop culture space, Golden Goose’s director Adam Bass and brand director Robyn Cowling explain why the time is ripe for a Rocky Horror celebration.

underway – Rocky Horror and Golden Goose proved a natural fit.

“Everyone knows someone who is a Star Wars fan. But we all know someone who we don’t know is a secret Rocky Horror fan.

Culturally, it’s the perfect time for everyone to come out of the closet and express their love for the brand,“ says Adam.

Over the past year, Golden Goose has laid the groundwork for that to happen. Robyn has been taken on as brand director, a new style guide (see p8) has been developed and the first licensed products are due to hit retail this autumn, including dress-up (Smiffys) and a board game from University Games, distributed in the UK by Paul Lamond; there is also a comic-book series by Dark Horse in development. Meanwhile, the US licensing programme (p10) is going great guns. So, what’s next on the agenda for Rocky Horror? “It’s about making the right moves for the brand,” Robyn says. “What Rocky Horror offers is a modern message within a familiar vehicle. There’s been a lot of ‘rainbow washing’ recently and retailers have had their wrists slapped for it. Rocky

genuinely positive

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“

Fashion, frolics and fun

Unsurprisingly, Golden Goose sees huge potential for the brand in the fashion space. “It’s about a lot more than slogan t-shirts,” says Robyn. “When Rocky Horror was first performed in 1973, Vivienne Westwood had a shop just down the road from the theatre, while David Bowie was on the scene in the nearby King’s Road. It was a time of experimentation and questioning gender roles, and the show is tied into that whole fashion moment and vintage vibe. We want this to be reflected in the licensed fashion products that are developed.”

Talking of fashion, Golden Goose is planning a Rocky Horror dress-up photo moment at this year’s BLE, Robyn says. “It promises a lot of frolics and fun.”

whatever that may look like. Consumers and retailers are searching for a fun, diverse, authentic brand that encourages sexual liberation and personal freedom and we definitely believe Rocky Horror will fill this gap. We want to align ourselves with partners who are aligned to that message – underwear companies who do inclusive sizing, for instance, and companies who question

gender stereotypes and fashion norms.”

Golden Goose is in talks with charities, high-end couture and alternative fashion brands, pop culture retailers and companies with disruptive marketing strategies, mobile gaming companies, licensees in the bath, body and beauty space, and more.

“Licensees are coming to us because the brand means something to them. They’re coming up with ideas we haven’t thought of ourselves,” Robyn says. Golden Goose is also tapping into the Rocky Horror fan community to take the brand to new places.

“If you want inspiration for products, just put it into a search engine,” says Adam. “Restaurants have created Rocky Horror-inspired ice cream sundaes, people have invented their own Time Warp cocktail recipes, everything’s already been done by the fans.”

Rocky Horror is a rare thing: a brand that celebrates difference while bringing people together. “I took some potential clients who are now licensees to see a theatre performance and the audience was so incredibly diverse,” says Robyn. “There was a 70-year-old beside me, some thirtysomethings to my left, a bunch of twentysomethings, in full costume, with their parents… It was quite a sight to behold and a feeling that we want the consumer products to radiate.”

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Above: The design of Rock Roll Repeat’s t-shirt is based on an original 1975 poster for the show.

Inside the style guide

From character artwork to fan-favourite quotes, Golden Goose’s Rocky Horror style guide reinvents the pop culture classic for today’s retail landscape, says product development director Rebeckah Dalton.

The characters

“For the style guide, we wanted to create artwork that stylistically embodied the spirit of each character as envisaged by the show’s creator; we didn’t want our Frank N Furter to be an exact likeness of Tim Curry in the movie version, for instance, but we still wanted him to be instantly identifiable as Frank. We started off by brainstorming each character’s main attributes, as well as looking at the original stage costumes – which aren’t too dissimilar from the film production’s – then we found a great illustrator who happened to be a fan of the show. Our style guide company, Dynamo, worked closely alongside him to create some fantastic character art. We feel the final art really captures the fiery spirit of Magenta, the conflicted subservience of Riff Raff and the innocence of Brad and Janet.”

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The icons

“Once we’d nailed the characters, we looked at some of the key items and features within the story and turned those into icons. The lightning bolt emblem, heart tattoo and the Time Warp dance steps were no-brainers, but we also included some of the subtler references, like the 4711 tattoo that Frank has on his leg; it references 4711, one of the first unisex colognes. We also included Eddy’s Teddy, whi ch has a cult following and a song dedicated to him in the show. W e reimagined him as a little punk Teddy with leather cuffs and a c ollar.”

The quotes

“Working with the Rocky Horror Show’s music publisher means Golden Goose can offer the publication rights to all the songs from Rocky Horror as well so we’ve been able to dedicate a whole section in the style guide to lyrics. We pulled out the major song titles and quotes, and included some

The design possibilities

favourite sayings.”

“Freedom of expression and fun are key elements of Rocky Horror, and we’re open to people interpreting the brand in their own way. The whole idea of the style guide is that it can be used as a toolkit or as a creative starting point. We’ve included a number of product mock-ups as inspiration but, if they wish, licensees can take the guide as a springboard and create their own icons, assets and fonts and really have fun with the brand. of apparel, digital and print partners who are using artists to create their own Rocky Horror art, because the brand means something to everyone, and designers really want to put their own mark on it.”

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Below: A magnet and badge by Ata-Boy.

Stateside success

An evergreen property that has become “embedded in the public consciousness”, Rocky Horror has caught the imagination of US licensees. Charlie Day of The Sharpe Company, Golden Goose’s California-based sub-agency, gives the lowdown on the latest partnerships.

It’s been a little under a year since boutique agency The Sharpe Company took on the Rocky Horror brand Stateside, but plenty has happened during that time. President Charlie Day and his team are currently working to finalise A/W 2023 launch ranges including board/card games and puzzles, apparel and fashion accessories, Halloween costumes and dress up, magnets, and buttons and key chains with licensees including Ata-Boy, Fun.Com, H3 Sportgear, Ripple Junction, Rock Roll Repeat and University Games.

Many of the deals The Sharpe Company has secured have been based on the “personal passion people have for the property”, Charlie explains. “For example, the University Games board game came about because the owner is a Rocky Horror fan himself. He’s been directly involved in the development of the game. They’ve secured extensive chain and speciality distribution for it, and we’re confident that by 2024 it will have moved into more mass-market retailers, because Rocky Horror is a mass pop culture phenomenon.”

As a pop culture specialist, The Sharpe Company is perfectly placed to tap into Rocky Horror’s devoted US fan base, starting with t-shirts and apparel – the “first stop for fans”. Licensees are already shipping into key speciality

retailers including Hot Topic and FYE. “We’re taking a grass roots approach,” Charlie explains. “There are multiple Facebook pages for Rocky Horror, there are fan websites, and there’s also a lot of locally based fan activity. We’re in conversation with the organisers of one fan convention that runs regional shows; they’ve already had a Rocky Horror theme to some of their breakout sessions which have seen thousands of people attending. We’ve also tapped into speciality Halloween retailers, and there are two or three major ones in the US that we will be running programmes with on a DTR basis.”

The pandemic nostalgia trend, which saw consumers leaning towards familiar properties, hasn’t

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Above: H3 Sportgear’s Time Warp t-shirt for Hot Topic.

abated yet, and classic movies are hot property Stateside as well as in the UK. Jaws, for example, has seen huge success in the licensing space, and a number of 80s and 90s movies (Mrs Doubtfire, Pretty Woman, Back to the Future) have recently been adapted as stage musicals. With its long history and devoted fandom, Rocky Horror sits comfortably within this cultural framework as an evergreen property. Although tongue-in-cheek, the brand’s horror credentials are also a draw for certain licensees. Charlie says: “One major US retailer said to me at Licensing Expo, Horror now is not just Halloween, horror is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

So we’ve also been speaking to a number of D2C web retailers who specialise in horror, and who will be running their own distinctive take on Rocky Horror Show ranges of merchandise.”

Looking ahead, Charlie is excited about seeing the first major ranges of Halloween product come to market this autumn. “I want to see how it performs. I think it will really stimulate the memory bank for legacy consumers.” 2024 will also see some exciting new deals come to fruition. “I’m also looking forward to seeing what happens with the relationship we’re growing with the fan conventions, because when you’ve got 15 or 20 thousand people attending, there’s a huge D2C opportunity there,” says Charlie. “Fans like acquiring products and they’re very active on social media, which stimulates interest, so it becomes self-fulfilling.”

Cross-generational appeal

The fact that American licensees have embraced Rocky Horror is no surprise to Charlie.

“I knew that the brand would be a huge pull for Americans – it’s a cultural force here,” he says.

“When Rocky Horror launched, it was the first time a lot of people went to a theatre and felt they could safely express themselves freely, whether they were transgender, queer, straight, or whatever. It’s a generational thing that has rolled forward. We see as many college theatrical productions now as we did previously, and we all know the movie is the longest running theatrical movie release ever; it will be on in hundreds of movie theatres every Halloween. That, and the fact that the music is just phenomenal, has kept the Rocky Horror Show embedded in the public consciousness over the decades.”

Charlie is also keen to see how the comic book series currently being developed by new licensee Dark Horse “is going to take the story of Rocky Horror into the next realm, and on to the next adventure. It’s going to be fascinating to see how the fans respond to it. It will expand the universe of Rocky Horror through what is ostensibly a traditional medium –books and storytelling.”

That said, Charlie is equally delighted that younger fans are using a far more modern medium – TikTok – to share their love of Rocky Horror. “Last time I looked there were over 700 million searches for Rocky Horror on the platform, and it’s moving upwards pretty fast,” says Charlie. “When you hit a billion, you’re really getting into the big time. This is just the beginning of the story.”

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Above centre: Enamel pins from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. Right: Rocky Horror partyware by Party City.

what’s on the slab?

Fans can now celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rocky Horror Show with a raucous party game from University Games. Players need to complete song lyrics and call backs, dance the Time Warp and build Rocky, and must navigate all three acts before escaping the castle or be blasted back to Transylvania. New games formats are scheduled for development in spring 2024.

Must-haves for show devotees, nostalgia fans and fun lovers alike, these are just some of the latest Rocky Horror Show licensed products hitting stores in the UK and US

Smiffys is set to launch four character costumes based on the Rocky Horror stage show in time for Halloween this year. Two Frank N Furter outfits plus Riff Raff and Magenta costumes will be available, with more costumes set to launch next year.

“We’re delighted to have this iconic licence as part of our collection and can’t wait to see the new Rocky Horror Show costume range launch this Halloween,” says Alice Knight, marketing manager, Smiffys. “The excitement around this launch is huge – we’ve had an amazing response from our trade customers ahead of the season, with strong pre-orders across the range. We’re looking forward to seeing the range debut at BLE, and to launching the Rocky Horror Show collection across Smiffys B2B and B2C.”

The creative team at licensed apparel specialist H3 Sportgear reportedly loved the chance to breathe new life into classic brand the Rocky Horror Show. The resulting two t-shirts launched into Hot Topic in the US in summer this year.

Pyramid America is set to launch a wide range of Rocky Horror products in the US market, including ceramic mugs, wall décor and posters. “We’re always on the lookout to ensure we bring our customers ‘the next big thing’,” says Mark Horowitz, chief growth officer at Pyramid America. “Our POD programmes will ensure we get our Rocky Horror merch on shelves quickly.”

Tempted to join the Rocky Horror Show licensing programme? Contact the Golden Goose team at info@goldengoose.co.uk

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