The complexity & cross-fertilization of sub-cultures governed by politics and class.

[London Rudeboy]

In 79, just up the road from where I lived, the RAR gig at Acklam Hall in Ladbroke Grove went pear shaped, and ended up with the odd sight of skinhead and black youngsters side by side fighting other skinhead and black youngsters both inside and outside the gig, even the local ****** off the All Saints Road joined in, but more it seems for the fight than any political motivation. Bear in mind though that despite their laid back attitude, ****** are extremely anti-liberal and anti-communist, and the RAR gig was nothing if not a socialist event.

Here are several articles about what happened on the night:
http://www.urban75.org/music/beggar.html

 

[London Rudeboy]

One of the other complex issues and cross-fertilizations I remember seeing, was in the mid-70s with the initial siding of skinheads with teddy boys in the Kings Road in Chelsea to have rucks with punks. After a short while the skinheads, left the punks and teds to it, then a few years later returned listening to Oi!, dressed liked skinheads thinking of themselves as skinhead-punks, but with totally shaven heads so considered by most people as skinheads.

Another short lived odd one was with the leather jacket, jeans, boot clad greasers, bikers and pub-rockers siding with punks to fight the smartly dressed, quiffed teds, odd when you consider that they were both listening to similar music. Pub-rock of course was one of the strands that morphed into the punkier side of New Wave with people like Ian Dury, The Stranglers and so on.