Mod to Suedehead

[Gsvs5]

Brilliant post R'boy.Mirrors my memories pretty much the same up to the point of A Levels.
Yank mod argues that Northern Soul as it's now recognised is not a genre,nor is Beach Music,but they were both compilations of Black music created from all pockets of of black America,NSE and West. Embraced and enjoyed by predominantly white kids.Beach Music in N Carolina,Northern Soul in the North of England.We never differentiated between where it came from in America,or who it's audience was in it's homeland.

 

[Gsvs5]

In reflection 1971/2 gave us Bowie,Bolan and Budgie.All strong images.A mate of mine who was a skinhead from Kingsbury said that seeing Bolan at Wembley then was a big turning point.

 

[Lasttye]

I found alcohol was the downfall of many of us in Kilburn....i am sure it was because many had a irish backgrounds, Violence happened every weekend...it was like normal to go out and fight...and it was all caused by drink...you would wake up in the morning with a hangover and go over the stuff you did last night ...I would spend days after regretting what i had done only to repeat it the next weekend...in the end i just walked away...Over the years so many i knew from back then have died from alcohol abuse.

 

[Clouseau]

I'm not completely sure this picture of Portsmouth's fans has been posted. I don't remember the kids.
But well, must have been, somewhere in the 1000 pages. Very difficult to find something unpublished.

 

[cocostella]

This thread has been a real pleasure to read from its inception. I've really appreciated the pictures you lot have painted of such a great era in style and music (though I prefer early reggae over more classic soul). Being in my later 40s and southern California bred, I was a long way off in both time and place from the originals. However, by pure chance mod did reach out it's hand and change my life forever:

In 1978 I was 11yo and way into music. My friends and I were mainly into the first albums by the Cars, the Police and Cheap Trick's "Live at Budakan." Nothing to be embarrassed about, even to this day IMHO. We were also soccer ("football" I know!) players. My parents decided to host an exchange student from the UK, probably to widen my cultural horizons and improve my soccer skills as well! I'll never forget them letting me off at the curb outside the airport to go meet him at the gate and bring him outside. I was feeling pretty good an my new-wave gear and two tickets to a Cheap Trick concert in my jacket pocket. I was gonna' show this guy what was up and turn him onto some real cutting edge ****... Lol. Next thing I know, out struts this guy in a dark green mohair suit, white shirt and socks, black tie and tasseled Weejuns, holding a stack of records in one arm and duffle in the other. Oh yea, his hair was buzzed to about a no.3, with a nice part and jet black. I was tripping. I knew right away he had me beat style-wise. However, I still had confidence in my music at least... Well, that was fleeting. We got back to my room, cranked up the stereo and went tune for tune. The albums he'd brought over consisted of the first 2 Jam and Clash albums, and some others I can't really recall. In The City and All Mod Cons, in particular, really floored me. Needless to say, I made up my mind right there and then. Mod was it and I was converted. Of course, I made sure to put my gear together without my friends' knowledge, and come out with the full kit in their faces all at once. Had to be ahead of the game and have them playing catch-up ever since.

 

[Lasttye]



This thread has been a real pleasure to read from its inception. I've really appreciated the pictures you lot have painted of such a great era in style and music (though I prefer early reggae over more classic soul). Being in my later 40s and southern California bred, I was a long way off in both time and place from the originals. However, by pure chance mod did reach out it's hand and change my life forever:

In 1978 I was 11yo and way into music. My friends and I were mainly into the first albums by the Cars, the Police and Cheap Trick's "Live at Budakan." Nothing to be embarrassed about, even to this day IMHO. We were also soccer ("football" I know!) players. My parents decided to host an exchange student from the UK, probably to widen my cultural horizons and improve my soccer skills as well! I'll never forget them letting me off at the curb outside the airport to go meet him at the gate and bring him outside. I was feeling pretty good an my new-wave gear and two tickets to a Cheap Trick concert in my jacket pocket. I was gonna' show this guy what was up and turn him onto some real cutting edge ****... Lol. Next thing I know, out struts this guy in a dark green mohair suit, white shirt and socks, black tie and tasseled Weejuns, holding a stack of records in one arm and duffle in the other. Oh yea, his hair was buzzed to about a no.3, with a nice part and jet black. I was tripping. I knew right away he had me beat style-wise. However, I still had confidence in my music at least... Well, that was fleeting. We got back to my room, cranked up the stereo and went tune for tune. The albums he'd brought over consisted of the first 2 Jam and Clash albums, and some others I can't really recall. In The City and All Mod Cons, in particular, really floored me. Needless to say, I made up my mind right there and then. Mod was it and I was converted. Of course, I made sure to put my gear together without my friends' knowledge, and come out with the full kit in their faces all at once. Had to be ahead of the game and have them playing catch-up ever since.

Great story Cocostella,

 

[Inks]

Hard Priest ? NYC 1970

 

[Basset]

I am that one person ! and I stand by my comments...change Shanks shirt to a button down and I would wear his look in the picture...If you dressed me in Keegans clothes when I was dead I would come back and haunt you.
I did wear the beagles,tank top,stacks look in the early 70s,even though I didn't like it ( I had looked foreward to being able to afford the proper Suedehead clothes ) Aces and Eights has said that you had to change to the new styles to keep up.People who kept wearing the old look just came across as not being able to afford new clobber or out of touch with what was happening ( IMO ).
You have to keep that in mind when you say most on here think its ****...yes they do,because they wore it then and they didn't really like it,thats why they are one here now....to remember a look that they DID like...........all IMO.

No you're not, if you think that my post was some thinly veiled personal pop at you, then you've mis-understood the point im making.
I used the KK shot as a recent example, there's countless others i could have used.
And as for loads of lads knocking about in the early 70's in clothes they hated, sorry i aint buying that, thats just being selective to fit in with what some wish to wear now.

I do understand that you and others no longer like it, fair comment, but that period did happen and was at the cutting edge.
I think it's widely accepted that the smoothie look and all it entailed was the end of the line, every book has a beginning, middle, and end, failure to discuss the ending in any detail, is short sighted, and the story will not be complete.

 

[Lasttye]



No you're not, if you think that my post was some thinly veiled personal pop at you, then you've mis-understood the point im making.
I used the KK shot as a recent example, there's countless others i could have used.
And as for loads of lads knocking about in the early 70's in clothes they hated, sorry i aint buying that, thats just being selective to fit in with what some wish to wear now.

I do understand that you and others no longer like it, fair comment, but that period did happen and was at the cutting edge.
I think it's widely accepted that the smoothie look and all it entailed was the end of the line, every book has a beginning, middle, and end, failure to discuss the ending in any detail, is short sighted, and the story will not be complete.

I sort agree with Cearnabbas Mike but only sitting here in hindsight..if that makes sense? ..because the skinhead style was fashion for the originals...moving on too Beagle Collars, Tank tops, Budgie Jackets..was just a natural progression...I did not think well thats the end of me being a skinhead..I never gave it a thought.
Looking back and that dawned on me around 77 when i got married how awful the cloths was post 71....by 79 I and many other ex Skinheads started to wear Brogues Harringtons and BD Shirts once again and have carried on to this day, me that is.

Just to add when i started to wear Ivy cloths in 79 ..i did not think i was a skinhead again..and was also unaware that their was a skinhead revival..I did see Bone Heads about but i just thought they was Punks.

 

[Ubuntu]

So today was my first attempt at incorporating the styles discussed in here.

I went for a burgundy Fred Perry, tucked into some dark blue Levis 501s, turned up to show some black Brogues.

 

[con man]



1972?

I haven't got the original 45, I'm going off a double album sleeve, I purchased in 86, called The Northern Soul Story 2
it states, I'm Coming Home In The Morning, Lou Pride 1970 Suemi Records.....of course this is a compilation Album, produced 16 years after it says this particular song was originaly produced...and could be a mistake

 

[Basset]

I sort agree with Cearnabbas Mike but only sitting here in hindsight..if that makes sense? ..because the skinhead style was fashion for the originals...moving on too Beagle Collars, Tank tops, Budgie Jackets..was just a natural progression...I did not think well thats the end of me being a skinhead..I never gave it a thought.
Looking back and that dawned on me around 77 when i got married how awful the cloths was post 71....by 79 I and many other ex Skinheads started to wear Brogues Harringtons and BD Shirts once again and have carried on to this day, me that is.

Just to add when i started to wear Ivy cloths in 79 ..i did not think i was a skinhead again..and was also unaware that their was a skinhead revival..I did see Bone Heads about but i just thought they was Punks.

Roy, in a funny kind of way, your post says to me that you do understand the point im making.
I fully understand what you mean by hindsight, i just think that has to be put to one side, and the period and it's clothes discussed so we can get a good picture of the whole story.

If i posted up a pic of, i dunno, a pair of stacks for example, most comments would be along the lines of, rubbish/i never wore that, a little bit of detail would not go amiss imo, surely the attitude/approach/eagerness of buying those clothes was not any different, to what was being bought a few years previous.

Bear in mind that what i've posted was off the back of casuals being discussed, and disagreements surrounding the term northern soul, both very interesting, but here?

I made another post regarding fashion from a design point of view and when it reaches saturation point, i wore a lot of the clothing mentioned as a kid, and i know what it led to, trousers could not get any wider, hair could not get any longer, and collars no more pointed and lethal looking, as a young un there was only one way for me to go, same for countless others, backwards.

 

[Lasttye]



Roy, in a funny kind of way, your post says to me that you do understand the point im making.
I fully understand what you mean by hindsight, i just think that has to be put to one side, and the period and it's clothes discussed so we can get a good picture of the whole story.

If i posted up a pic of, i dunno, a pair of stacks for example, most comments would be along the lines of, rubbish/i never wore that, a little bit of detail would not go amiss imo, surely the attitude/approach/eagerness of buying those clothes was not any different, to what was being bought a few years previous.

Bear in mind that what i've posted was off the back of casuals being discussed, and disagreements surrounding the term northern soul, both very interesting, but here?

I made another post regarding fashion from a design point of view and when it reaches saturation point, i wore a lot of the clothing mentioned as a kid, and i know what it led to, trousers could not get any wider, hair could not get any longer, and collars no more pointed and lethal looking, as a young un there was only one way for me to go, same for countless others, backwards.

I also agree with you Mike...In 71 I wore my old Skinhead suit too my Brothers wedding ..but could not wait to get it off..So I could put on my Beagle shirt, Bags, and leather bomber jacket, not sure what type of shoes i wore though.
As i have said its only looking back that i now know i looked ridiculous.

In saying that Girls looked much more sexier in this period.

 

[con man]

I might have started the latest discusions on Northern Soul and Casuals, Mike, I even bought up New Romantics haha!!
What you say about clothing styles in the 70's, when we were kids, is bang on and I never thought of it like that, fashion as the 70's progressed was dire and you can see why by the late 70's, some people must of been looking back towards a smarter look, hence the Skinhead and Mod revivals, I think that's what Jerry Dammers was thinking with 2tone and most of the lads and girls in the early stages, were smart or tried to emulate the smartness of what had passed 10 years earlier, I didnt really know there was a revival going on in 79 as a 12 year old, I just wanted to look like Chas Smash from Madness and my brother, who is 7 years older than me and was into Sham 69 and Punk, as well as Skinhead Reggae and 2 tone went it came along and then early Oi!, and as I can remember, was as smart as any of the photos I've seen of original Skinheads. I think everything started going over the top, with 14 hole Martens and shorter hair and t shirts after about 81, but even In the mid 80's we tried to look the part, if I could of still got Brutus and all the decent clobber then, I would have bought it, we made the best with what we could get, there was no eBay or charity shops to speak of, there were second hand shops, but dropping on anything decent was unlikely, not round here anyway and as I remember it the real bonehead look, ie, bald heads, skin tight jeans, black MA1's or lookalikes and heavy politial views was more towards the end of the 80's.... a lot of 80's Skinheads did look ****, but then, from what I've seen, a lot of originals did to

 

[Gsvs5]

Sorry I can not quote at the moment as my computer is messed up,but I thought to add a couple of thoughts re your comment Mike.
Hindsight makes the post smooth period ,very cringe worthy to most I would think ,because it was such a radical change to the previous few years.
The look was modeled on the unisex.Stagewear of Glam Rockers,everything exaggerated but made believable by Budgie.Seeing him totter around in flapping denim jeans as flared as a Biba bird was possible for a lad on the street.This in my mind made it,as Roy says,a natural progression.In all these things,one thing that can not be underestimated or ignored is the power of retailer persuasion.What is in the shop windows is what sells.What is in the photo shoots one week is,in the shops very soon.if that helps pull the birds,then that is a risk worth taking.Mod/ Skin/Suede was not really that different from menswear as we had traditionally seen for many years before.Slight adjustments and appropriations here and there,but still r recognizable as menswear.It could be said that the Hippies were the early adopters of unisex,but they didn't have a coolness that these 70's lads about town had.i am embarrassed to admit how I ridiculed a classmate for his blatant admiration of Roxy ,while I was late to the party,still clinging on to protectively to an increasingly distasteful Northern scene.The musical soundtrack is so important to the style,be it Jazz,Soul,Ska,Glam,Funk or Punk.They all hold the hand of a dandy.it may not look pretty to you now,but think of how it looked to your parents then.A huge proud sigh of relief spread out along the South coast as my Dad caught me getting my leg over in 76.up to that point I am sure there were latent concerns as to which way I was heading.My jeans were more like my sisters and I was spending more time in front of the mirror than a drill Sgt would allow a platoon.Funny how just a few years earlier he thought I might be heading for Borstal by the way I dressed.
I have written earlier bout this period and how in my opinion you had to take it the whole way or not at all.Half measures were obvious and looked it.To me the boot boys were like my school reports of the day....."tries hard sometimes,but doesn't quite make it"
I have no regrets about any of it,except maybe not having a smartphone then