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In 1959 they were called modernists and listened to modern jazz, by the 1960s that were called
Mods and started a culture that would last over 40 years. They had there own dress style and
music, French and Italian clothes were adopted and changed. No Mod of the day would be seen without a
three button suit and button down collared shirt, and for more casual wear
a Fred Perry polo shirt and jumper, Sta-press trousers and Harrington
jacket. Shoes, for the decearning Mod, would range from bowling shoes,
brogues ,baseball boots, loafers, Chelsea boots and of course desert boots.
The females, also known as Modettes, wore hair short or in the
Cleopatra bob, with clumpy strapped
granny shoes or suede hush puppies, ski pants or a lined skirts and the same casual gear that the guys wore.
One piece of clothing that made a Mod stand out in a crowd is the ex army olive green parka,
but the most important part of Mod culture has got to be the chosen
mode of transport, the 'scooter', which had to be either the Lambretta or
Vespa, which was more often than not personalised with extra lights mirrors
racks and back rests aerials or chromed panels. Musically Mods had moved away from jazz too
American rhythm and blues, then British beat which was closely based on rhythm and blues from bands like
'The Rolling Stones', ' The Yardbirds', 'The Kinks', 'The Who'
and of course 'The Small Faces'. Soul music to was also to play a big part
in the Mod scene with labels such as 'Stax', 'Tamla Motown' and
'Atlantic'.
By the end of the 60s the mod movement was coming to a end. The new group to take over the scooter culture was the
Skinheads, but not in the same numbers as the Mods. In the early 70s the scooter had cult status in the north of
England as most of the clubs in the north were playing music based on 60s style soul which be came known as
'Northern Soul'. Clubs such as Wigan Casino, The Twised Wheel and
Blackpool Mecca were full of these soul boys and there mode of transport was the scooter.
By the mid 70s the scooter scene was all but dead and the Punk scene was starting to take off.
But in 1977, Mods could be seen again on the streets of
London, three button suits, Ben Sherman shirts and Parkas, but no scooters!
It was not until 1979 when 'The Who' released the film 'Quadrophenia', that the
Mod and scooter scene took off again.
The up and coming bands of the mod revival were 'The Purple Hearts',
'The Chords', 'The Jam' and 'Secret Affair' among others
othes bands of the time such as 'The Merton Parkas', 'The Lambrettas'
and 'The Jags'. Also at this time '2 tone' was bringing the sound of
Ska, Reggae and Rocksteady from bands such as 'The
Specials', 'Madness', 'The Selector', 'Bad Manners' and 'The
Beat'. Up until 1981 not a lot changed, in 1982 there was a new breed of scooterist the wore ex army drill
trousers, Doc Martin boots, faded denim jackets or MA1 flight jackets emblazoned with rally patches,
it was the birth of the scooter boy! By the time 1984 came along the scooter boy generation had taken
over, but in the years to come the Manchester music scene made a impact on the scooter scene
with bands such as 'Happy Mondays', 'Stone Roses', and 'The
Inspiral Carpets' up until the 1990s, when Britpop was born bands such as
'Blur', 'Oasis', OCS' and 'Cast', with members these bands owning
scooters.
Now in 2003 the scoter scene is still alive and well, so no matter who you are?
Whether your a Mod, Skinhead Soul Boy or Scooter Boy...
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