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@ Kingstonian I think probably people just assumed I was barmy and left me alone.

Originally Posted by Kingstonian

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Which clubs are you referring to? It seems to me from your description - unless I have misinterpreted it - that normal socialising would grind to a standstill. People would be confined to say NW10 or NW6. I remember going to Watford, Uxbridge, Harrow, Greenford with no bother. Similarly, football in the late 60s did not have to involve violence unless you sought it out.
If you read what i have said, many would not venture to far from NW6,NW2. NW11. The Kilburn would go to the, Ceasers, also named The Country Club, Belsize pk, The Cavalier, Golders Green, The Phonograph, also Golders Green, Prince of Wales Kingsbury, Birds Nest West Hampstead, If you was not known in the above you would be in trouble, this was 69, By 70/71, Half the Kilburn was in Nick or just got fed up and walked away, So these places would now became safer I also said because i worked in the Building Trade, I would met Skinheads from all over London, Because of this i got to most clubs in London, As follows The Boat House, Kew Bridge, The Bull Richmond, The Castle Richmond, Top Rank Watford, Room at the Top, Ilford Tottenham Royal, Lyseam, Strand, Surrey Rooms Oval, Hospital Tavern Whitechapel, Black Bear Stepney, Bricklayers Stepney, Old and New Globe Mile End Road, Lion and Keys Stratford, Charlie Chaplin Elephant Castle, Pinnapple Walworth Road, The Royal Oak Bermondsey, Dun Cow Old Kent Road, Frog and Nightgown, Old Kent Road, Wellington Old Kent Road, Fox on the Hill Eltham. As you can see thats North, South, East and West, London, I was never scared to venture away from NW London, The great thing about working on the Building Sites, You met Skinheads away from the Gangs and Football, Working Eight hours a Day you got to know Lads better than your own mates from your Area, We started to form little Gangs from work, because we came from all over London, We would invite them to our area, and they to ours, from this you met more people, It could come in handy... for example you could be in a club, someone may come over looking for trouble, You could often talk your way out of it by name dropping, I am not being funny Kingstonian, You said you came from a semi Professional Family, By you saying that,.. you would have walked in different circles from me. Everyone I every met as a Teenager came from Manual Labour, Or Skilled Tradesmen, Working Class, We was simple people, and maybe ignorant, The first book i every read complete was at the age of 21.

@ Lasttye

I seem to remember getting to the Fox on the Hill a couple of times and the Surrey Rooms too (got refused entrance there once), Roy. I see you never got down to the Savoy in Catford. It would have been amazing from my point of view if you had - I was there practically ever weekend.

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

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@ Lasttye

I seem to remember getting to the Fox on the Hill a couple of times and the Surrey Rooms too (got refused entrance there once), Roy. I see you never got down to the Savoy in Catford. It would have been amazing from my point of view if you had - I was there practically ever weekend.

I never got in the Savoy Rooms Catford Paul, My mates came from Bermondsey, New Cross and Abbey Wood, So i just tailed along where ever they went, I must ask my mate Alan if he went there also.

Originally Posted by Lasttye

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I am not being funny Kingstonian, You said you came from a semi Professional Family, By you saying that,.. you would have walked in different circles from me.
Everyone I every met as a Teenager came from Manual Labour, Or Skilled Tradesmen, Working Class, We was simple people, and maybe ignorant, The first book i every read complete was at the age of 21.


I have never mentioned what class my family was. It was not something I gave a lot of thought to.

My father was a carpenter. We were Irish. That said, in those days people who put in a good shift were on good money. So we were never deprived. I was also at grammar school, so I read plenty of books.

We have disagreed before of the state of the country in that era and I always maintain that full employment - particularly in London - meant a completely different outlook on life.

To some extent, you contradict yourself by saying outside your own area was a No Go Area and then stating you travelled all over London. Lots of people did likewise.

I can remember going to a club north of the river once but I'm blowed if I can remember precisely where it was or what it was called. I went there on a date with a local girl. She made a point of introducing me to all the blokes she knew there first!

Originally Posted by Kingstonian

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I have never mentioned what class my family was. It was not something I gave a lot of thought to.


To some extent, you contradict yourself by saying outside your own area was a No Go Area and then stating you travelled all over London. Lots of people did likewise.

No i was not contradicting myself, I should have explained better, I meant Local as in parts of NW London,
Kilburn and Hendon was mates, Willesden, and Burnt Oak was the enemy, So coming from Kilburn you would not go to say the Abbey Hotel Willesden/Stonebridge, although i did get in there once, Also you would not get in the Bull face Stag Burnt Oak,
These was local areas so you would be known, and get a kicking,

So local is NW London, the rest of London was different,

I do not know why you keep trying to trip me up Kingstonian, I recon you may know more about me than you let on, Also are you and Gingernut who posted 3 times on here the same person?

Originally Posted by Lasttye

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No i was not contradicting myself, I should have explained better, I meant Local as in parts of NW London,
Kilburn and Hendon was mates, Willesden, and Burnt Oak was the enemy, So coming from Kilburn you would not go to say the Abbey Hotel Willesden/Stonebridge, although i did get in there once, Also you would not get in the Bull face Stag Burnt Oak,
These was local areas so you would be known, and get a kicking,

So local is NW London, the rest of London was different,

I do not know why you keep trying to trip me up Kingstonian, I recon you may know more about me than you let on, Also are you and Gingernut who posted 3 times on here the same person?

I am not trying to trip you up, I am just offering a different view of those times.

I only post as 'Kingstonian'. I do not know 'Gingernut' - whoever he is. I only know you from your posts.

Interesting to hear recollections on local haunts. You mentioned The Abbey before. It was only ever a Friday lunchtime drink spot for me.

I did think you might be talking about youth clubs and rivalry between different schools at first though.

Originally Posted by Kingstonian

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I am not trying to trip you up, I am just offering a different view of those times.



I did think you might be talking about youth clubs and rivalry between different schools at first though.

I have talked about Youth Clubs, Not School though, Now you have mentioned Schools thats another angle thats worth studying further, Its where the rivalry first started, and all the hate that went on around NW London that followed us to our later Teens.
The Youth clubs was also very important to the Early development of Skinheads.

Originally Posted by Alex Roest

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I've always liked these pics, from some Spanish newspaper article IIRC, pretty staged of course but nevertheless:

Alex, do you recall which Spanish newspaper the above were in?

Did any of you ever get to "The Scene"? Or was that dead and buried by then?

For me the best Years of being a Skinhead was 68, to Christmas eve 69, I was 14/15, It was before we started to drink Alcohol, We would get in Micks Cafe, Drinking Tea & Coffee, and the odd burger, We would be in there all night, Mick never complained. The Duke box was always on with the latest tunes on. I walked into Micks one night Their was a Girl in there i liked, 'What does it Take' by Junior Walker was playing, I felt good but i did not have the confidence to ask her out, Back then we was so innocent You would get the Girls mate to let Her know you was interested, And when She wanted to end it, Her mate would do it for Her, Fcuking cruel Lol.
In saying that we could also be cruel, I had a date one night, I was to met Her outside the State Cinema, But i thought i would miss what was going on with the Lads, So I stayed on the Bus watching her standing outside the Cinema. awful thing to do, but to be honest i would rather be with me mates,

Girls would be on your arm, You would be standing there all night chatting to your mates, about Football and fighting, and the girl would say fcuk all. The thing is I am sure the Girls was the same as us and wanted to be with their mates. I think we dated just for the image.

People go on about the swinging 60s, how Promiscuous it was, well it was not that way for us, when it came to Sex we was so innocent,
Another thing only a few Years earlier the Mods was into Drugs, Purple Hearts Speed etc, My Brother, Cousins, Uncles, Aunts was all into them, But with us skinheads we never took them, never even mentioned them.
After Christmas 69 things just went down hill, The age of innocence was on its way out, I think it was discovering Alcohol, Drinking was the main cause of of violence, In a Club or Bar you never knew when it was going to kick off. No different from these days, Many a life was ruined due to Alcohol.

Originally Posted by Lasttye

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Another thing only a few Years earlier the Mods was into Drugs, Purple Hearts Speed etc, My Brother, Cousins, Uncles, Aunts was all into them, But with us Skinheads we never took them, never even mentioned them.

Roy I didn't see much of the drugs either S of the Thames, but occasionally I did see one or two blokes who were blocked. It was heard of, but not as much as in the earlier mod era. I knew where to get them if I wanted them, put it that way. It wasn't my thing, though.

We were talking about drink the other day, when I was a kid in the 80s we did drink (lager or bitter usually, not shorts or shots etc like now) And I don't know if we are just old gits but there's no way we used to get as mullered as kids do today. Was it down to the money? Or my memory

You didn't have the big binge drinking culture back then did you?

Was it more like a few in the afternoon, (fall asleep back at work ) then Fri/Sat nights, after all we got chucked out earlier then?

Originally Posted by bunty

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You didn't have the big binge drinking culture back then did you?

Not while you were saving up for a new shirt! A few light-and-bitters.