Constructions of Spain and Spanishness in British and other anglophone popular cultures.

This article examines how Spain and Spanishness were portrayed in six music videos by prominent anglophone pop artists of the 1980s—Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Nik Kershaw, Madonna, The Pogues, and Simple Minds—during a pivotal era when music videos became central to popular culture. Drawing on José Varela Ortega’s identification of four enduring Spanish stereotypes—two positive (the brave and passionate Spaniard) and two negative (the idle and degenerate Spaniard)—the analysis finds that most videos emphasize the positive stereotypes, often depicting Spanish bravery through bullfighters and passion through flamenco dancers. While artists like Duran Duran, Madonna, and The Pogues actively embrace these images, Spandau Ballet presents Spain as a romantic, exotic locale, and only Simple Minds’ video reflects a negative stereotype of Spain as underdeveloped. Overall, the study highlights the persistence and global influence of historical Spanish stereotypes in anglophone popular culture of the late twentieth century.