“God I hope my children aren’t going to be like I was…It was definitely a rebellious time”
Young, wild, and in love, 19-year-old Clare Rhodes left her little village near Cambridge, England and embarked on a flight to San Francisco. “It was a really crazy 10 years, I was alone, lost. I mean I met so many great people, they were so awesome, but you know sometimes I’m like, “mom why didn’t you stop me?” Two years before, Clare had met a girl on a plane who invited her to stay at her house in San Francisco for six months. Of course after that time was up, Clare moved back to England to live with her family. Just a couple years later, she decided to make a new, more permanent journey to the states. Already being familiar with the San Francisco area made Clare feel as though she was “already used to” American living.
Before leaving England, Clare worked in the fashion industry in London. Without going to university, she learned her skills hands-on in the workforce, working for magazines and fashion editorials in the big city. “I think my mom was disappointed because I think I was doing really well in London and I think she wanted me to stay there.” But being a young, adventurous and in love with a charismatic English boy was much more exciting than the career success Clare was having in London.
“I came because at the time I was dating a man, a boy, who was part of the House scene. The music House scene. We were part of a sound system called Wicked Sound System. And we used to throw illegal house parties and so we came to set up the sound system in San Francisco. And that’s why I came.”
House music is a genre of electronic music created by club DJs and music producers in Chicago in the early 1980s. While House displayed several characteristics similar to disco music, it was more electronic and minimalistic, and the repetitive rhythm of House was more important than the song itself.
With House music already big in the ’80s dance-scene it was only a matter of time before it would penetrate the UK pop charts. The record generally credited as the first House hit in the UK was Farley “Jackmaster” Funk’s “Love Can’t Turn Around” which reached #10 in the UK singles chart in September 1986. In January 1987, Chicago artist Steve “Silk” Hurley’s “Jack Your Body” reached number one in the UK, showing it was possible for house music to cross over.
Back in America, the scene had still not progressed beyond a small number of clubs in Chicago, Detroit, Newark and New York City. However, many independent Chicago-based record labels were making appearances on the Dance Chart with their releases. In the UK, any House song released by a Chicago-based label was routinely considered a must play at many clubs playing house music.
By the late 80s, House had moved West, particularly to San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Seattle. Los Angeles saw a huge explosion of underground raves and DJs. The early 1990s additionally saw the rise in mainstream U.S. popularity for house music. Pop recording artist Madonna’s 1990 single “Vogue” became an international hit single and topped the U.S. charts. The single is credited as helping to bring house music to the U.S. mainstream.
“In the early 90s the House scene went off in London and there were illegal parties in warehouses and big sound systems and if you loved dancing, loved music it was really pretty awesome. And then being a part of that bringing it over to a city that didn’t know but that was hungry for it and wanted it, it was a movement.”
Being part of such a massive movement, and being in love with a man who was helping lead it, appealed to Clare’s wild side. “I was with my same boyfriend 10 years over the duration of time and he was very very charismatic and actually not a nice person at all, but you know sort of a bit of a star and very charismatic and a bit naughty and there was something I found very exciting about that.” Clare also kept reinforcing that growing up in a small, quiet village in England made her curious to see what else the world had to offer. Growing up, her parents always encouraged her and her older sister to be open to new and different experiences.
Clare (right) and her older sister (left).
Clare (left) and her sister (right)
After leaving England in 1989 for San Francisco, Clare stayed in the United States for the 3 months that her Visa legally allowed her to. During those 3 months, Clare lived with her boyfriend. The two of them, along with others involved in the House scene, threw dance parties at clubs around the bay area, their goal being to spread the music to a city that was, at the time, unfamiliar with it. After the 3 months was up, she went back to her home in England for a couple weeks to gather her records and other important and personal items. And that was the problem.
When going through customs, security stopped her and inquired why she had all of her personal records and belongings if she had no money and only a 2-week ticket. Clare told them that her parents were going to send her money, but her suitcase full of important documents made them too suspicious. Because of this, she “got put in immigration jail for the night.” Clare was taken to a “cage” in Seattle where she was interrogated and then put in a room with other immigrant women. “I had a return ticket thankfully so I had to stay the night but then I was sent straight back home, but a lot of them only had a one-way ticket so they were sort of just stuck in this jail.”
When Clare was picked up from the jail, she had a security guard assigned to her because she was not allowed to be left alone. “He was actually really awesome because I was a wreck.” The security guard, who even had to stand outside the toilet when she used the bathroom, ended up being Clare’s saving grace. “He had my passport. And he was like ‘I just have to tell you something. You’ve just got to lose your passport and get a new passport and then you’ll be fine” And I was like ‘ok?’ And then on the plane that’s what I did. I mean you’d never be able to do that now, but then it worked. 6 months later I got a new passport, flew in through D.C. and that was that.”
After being home for 6 months, Clare struggled to come to terms with what she had gone through. “I think I was a wreck because I shamed my parents probably and because I couldn’t go back to the life that I thought I wanted. You know I was being a little bit of a rebel and I thought I wanted that and I was devastated that I couldn’t have that and then I was really conscious of letting my parents down.”
Always being one to follow her heart, Clare eventually decided to go back to San Fransisco to be with her boyfriend and the people that she had come to know. Coming back into the United States, Clare flew into Washington D.C. with her new passport. She described the experience as very nerve wracking, as she was afraid she would somehow be recognized and get put back in jail. However, Clare made it through and eventually made her way back to San Francisco. However, because of what had previously gone down, for a period of time Clare was actually an illegal immigrant. “I actually couldn’t leave for like 3 years I was illegal here, an illegal immigrant so I couldn’t leave and I think that was quite insane to me. I missed my grandma’s funeral and there were a lot of things that sort of happened that in hindsight I would change but that was quite…and just being by myself in a completely foreign country with nobody, no family, with nobody you know was quite scary.” After 3 years, Clare got her American citizenship, and now lives happily and legally in her home in downtown Manhattan. (Who knew that the innocent little girl in the picture in the wooden frame would grow up with a story like this!)
Clare lived in San Francisco for about 15 years until she decided to move to New York City. “It was either I’m going to leave and go back to England or I should go to New York which was the hubbub and I just didn’t think I could have done 15 years in America and not have done New York.” So, Clare, now single and ready to explore another part of the country, packed her bags and moved to the Lower East Side where she still resides today (except now with 2 young boys and an Italian husband!).
When asked about whether or not England or America was her home, and whether she thinks she will ever move back to England, Clare immediately teared up.
“I think every European thinks about you know are we doing the right thing are we not doing the right thing, should we stay, should we not. I guess you just don’t want to leave it too long. At some point you’ve got to make a decision and not have regrets about not doing something.”
When discussing whether or not she and her family will move back to Europe, Clare determined that, as of now, both England and Italy, which is where she and her husband are from, have corrupt governments that she does not want to get involved with. Of course, she knows quite well that the current United States government is just as corrupt. However, taking into consideration the way the other countries handle employment, as well as language barriers, she says that for now, they will stay right where they are.
In her final reflections, Clare said this about her immigration to the United States:
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