As annoying as it is, the one question almost everybody, who is not a skinhead wants to know, is about the racism connection to skinheads, which has become almost a synonym of the word Skinhead
I will try to explain the reasons behind it. Without denying or justifying. I can only talk from my own real life experience, having grown up in a multi racial environment, from a very young pre school age child. On a council estate on the outskirts of London, in a town called High Wycombe.
Britain had an empire for almost 400 years, which covered 1/3rd of the world, encompassing many cultures and races. Every British person was bred to work for it, as a military serviceman, Industrial worker, or tradesman. The Second World War put an end to Britain’s power base. Germany surrendered, but the UK lost more than most nations.
Skinhead appeared towards the end of the 1960’s a boom time, with high employment, as the Empire was being closed and sold off, a boom needed cheap labour, to fill the shortage, created by the war losses. The government of the day decided to award all ex colonies British citizenship, and actively went out to places like The Caribbean and India to recruit a workforce. Those early immigrants arrived in the UK and were immediately awarded social housing. The British working class communities were forced to accept these new cultures into their communities, with no real education or understanding.
A deep fear of change arose. This together with the economic bust of the 1970’s, huge industrial turmoil, with strikes, 3 day working week, and a poverty wide spread across the country, a collapse of Britain as a national power and world influence. Racism was an immediate reaction. Immigrants taking jobs from the countries indigenous working class population. Three million unemployed – three million immigrants, easy mathematics. But it wasn’t only the unemployment, there was a huge shift in culture. The single parent family, shop hours changing. Foreign languages and street gangs on the estates. Fear and ignorance of the unknown.
The average skinheads age was around 14 years old, he would be very influenced by his parents, the media around him. Political groups set up, and actively recruited these kids into the fold, to act as street fighters. The organisations, The British Movement and National Front became a fashionable rebellion, very popular in the white working class areas, organizing highly visual street marches, adopting symbols of previous fascist groups of the 1930’s.
Here we see photographer Nick Knight photographing a young Skinhead lad. Nick later produced a book of images, which became mainstream reference for the Skinhead Subculture. Nick is now one of the UK most highly successful and wealthy fashion photographers
Although skinhead had originally come from Mods, the music of Jamaican Reggae and Ska popular. The skinheads of the mid to late 70’s and 80’s were much more of an aggressive hooligan element, wrapped up in political instability. The cold war made it popular to be anti Communist. The Racial tension and conflicts created by mass immigration, made it real life on the streets and school yards to associate with your own, fight for your territory. But most of it was just a fashion, rather than a violent reality, often just a rebellion to left wing leaning school teachers.
In 1981 riots spread across the UK, as a reaction to police oppression, political instability and anger at the governments, who had destroyed industry and communities. Most of the riots came from the Black areas , like Brixton in London, St Pauls in Bristol, Toxteth in Liverpool, The Moss side in Manchester. But there was one which happened in Southall, west London, which was a Bengali Sikh area. This went off between Skinheads and the local population. A pub venue called the Hanborough Tavern, which had skinhead bands playing was burned to the ground, the skinhead kids in attendance almost being burned to death. But Margaret Thatcher, notorious for knee jerk reaction banned skinhead Oi! Music overnight. Records pulled from the shelves, blacklisting, no radio play. The fact 2tone, which was also a very popular music of the same time, was reggae based, with multi racial members, was ignored. Those bands distanced themselves from Skinheads or stopped playing.
Many of the mainstream Skinhead/Punk bands, known as OI! bands folded up, labels dropping them. But it didn’t kill skinheads. It just pushed it underground, and made an already violent subculture, more violent, and radicalised some, deeper into political extreme groups. In reality the actual racial violence was quite small, it was often nothing more than a few skinheads fighting a few left wing students, but it grabbed huge media attention, which actually fuelled it. Kids became skinheads, and thought it was a rule, to be racist, even though a big number of skinheads came from all white areas, and had probably never met a non white person. This rumbled on throughout the 1980’s, creating a small industry for some. Racialist motivated skinhead music was made and exported, which, not unlike Irish rebel music, got a fan base and fantasy wrapped around it. But also raised reasonably large amounts of money for those involved, and their political groups.
Industrial Strikes ravaged the 1970’s, ultimately culminating in a mass cull of industry right across the UK, making millions unemployed and destroyed working class communities
Skinheads never really recovered the huge numbers of 2tone 1979-1982.
The media constantly wrote that any violence or racism reported must therefore involve Skinheads, who would always be portrayed as the instigators, which drove huge divides and enhanced the public persona, but also exported the skinhead image, as one of a racist thug. White supremacist groups in USA, Hollywood and parts of Europe picked up the image and uniform, a monster was fed. Even today, and although Indonesia has one of the biggest Skinhead scenes on the planet, California has a big Hispanic Skinhead scene, whenever the word Skinhead is mentioned in the press, any random Racist white person, is often what they are talking about.
Yea good….a few things I would say is that there was racism with the skinheads in the 60’s ” Enoch Powell Rivers of blood speech” Paki bashing and the likes….. Also the racism of the 70’s was a trend of going against the status quo such as lefty teachers and a lot of kids attracted to being a skinhead were so because it was unpopular with the masses as with the NF…a lot went along with it as they did with the uniform…it was part and parcel…those days if you became a skin you became a racist and a lot loved to revel in there 5 minutes of TV glory seig Heiling for the cameras even though a lot couldn’t care…it was all about being anti social and what better way than pretend you agreed with what the country had fought against not 40 years previous….if we weren’t the outsider then we would make ourselves the outsider by any means possible…..I would also say that before becoming skinheads we were no bodies, part of a massive crowd then when we became skinheads we become something and infamous which as a kid we all yearned for. Jim
Skinheads were a violent youth culture, and a big part of that was street fighting with other young men, These days, would be seen as very politically incorrect. Squaddies, Pakistanis and even Gays were reported in the press, as being targets for skinhead aggression. But much of that was just media exaggeration, The mass majority of fighting was with any other group of young, mainly white men.
Recording artist and fashion designer Malcolm McLaren came to fame as manager of the Sex Pistols. Later, he recorded several albums of his own material.
Synopsis
Born in 1946 in London, England, Malcolm McLaren was one of the creative forces behind the sound and attitude of the Sex Pistols. With a passion for style and social friction, the daring McLaren went on to manage several other bands following the Pistols’ demise in 1978, as well as record several albums of his own material. He died in Switzerland from complications related to cancer on April 8, 2010.
Early Life
Artist, musician, band manager. One of the creative forces behind English punk rock and the Sex Pistols in particular, Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was born January 22, 1946, in London, England. The son of a Scottish engineer, he was raised primarily by his maternal grandmother, whom he later credited with fostering his well-regarded subversive spirit.
As such, school was not a perfect fit for the creative McLaren. He attended more than half a dozen different art schools, including Harrow Art School, where he befriended Jamie Reid, who would later serve as the brains behind the Sex Pistols’ provocative graphics. His struggles in school led one institution to expel him and another, Croydon College of Art, to try to have him committed to a mental institution.
In 1971 McLaren dropped out of school for good and opened a boutique shop in Chelsea. Initially called Let It Rock and later renamed Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die, the store specialized in 1950s “Teddy boy” fashions.
Life in Music
McLaren’s world changed when the New York Dolls, a glam-rock band that performed in high heels, visited his shop one day. McLaren and the musicians quickly hit it off and eventually he followed the band back to the United States, where he worked as its manager. McLaren brought an unusual approach to his job, pushing the band to shock its American audiences as much as possible. In one instance he had the Dolls perform in Maoist Red Guard uniforms and play in front of a hammer-and-sickle flag.
But the Dolls’ run was short-lived, and after the group broke up, McLaren returned to London intent on trying to ramp up what he’d tried to do in the States.
He found his new cause in a group of musicians headed up by lead singer John Lydon, later renamed Johnny Rotten due to the condition of his teeth. In every shape and form, the Sex Pistols was the product of McLaren’s imagination. He put the band together and orchestrated the outrage that made them the toast of the English punk rock scene. Rotten called McLaren “the most evil person on earth.”
With singles like “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen,” the Pistols climbed the charts in Britain. The group’s short run consisted of just one album, the 1977 release Never Mind the Bollocks: Here’s the Sex Pistols. In 1978 the group embarked on its first and only American tour. It quickly concluded when Rotten walked off the stage at a performance in San Francisco, leaving the band behind and marking the end of the Pistols as a group.
Even with the band’s demise, McLaren continued to stay heavily involved in the music scene. He went on to manage several other acts, and in 1983 issued an album of his own, Duck Rock, which featured a combination of world music and hip-hop. Several other albums followed, including Fans(1984), Waltz Darling (1989), and Paris (1994).
URGENT NEWSFLASH!!!! IT LOOKS LIKE THE ‘WORKERS’ OF OUR RETARDED RAILWAYS ARE THINKING OF STRIKING ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE GREAT SKINHEAD REUNION, I UNDERSTAND THEY WANT TO JOIN US FOR A PISSUP, BUT THIS DOESN’T HELP OUR SKINHEADS GETTING TO BRIGHTON. SO MY BEST ADVICE IS TO USE NATIONAL EXPRESS BUSES, THESE RUN FROM ALL LONDON AIRPORTS AND LONDON VICTORIA, GET OFF AT POOL VALLEY, BRIGHTON, WHICH IS ABOUT 2 MINUTES FROM THE VENUE ON BRIGHTON SEAFRONT BOOK HERE http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx
KEEP AN EYE ON THE NEWS REPORTS, HOPEFULLY, THE LAZY TWATS WILL AT LEAST SAVE THEIR HOLIDAYS UNTIL AFTER THE REUNION http://www.nationalrail.co.uk
In late 1975 a massive shake up within the music industry was emerging and with this came a teenage driven musical revolution, soon to be known as PUNK ROCK.
If the ‘Kings Road London’ was the birthplace of punk then its younger brother the ‘London Road, High Wycombe’ was equally as important. The ‘Nags Head’ High Wycombe as a venue was every bit as important as the legendary ‘100 Club’ in Denmark Street, both were linked by one person and that was rock promoter Ron Watts. At the height of this revolution as Ron booked the likes of the ‘Sex Pistols’, ‘The Damned’, ‘The Clash’ and the ‘The Stranglers’ at both venues, teenagers in Buckinghamshire were being introduced to a major shift in youth culture many months before Punk erupted nationwide.
Mimicking its older London brother in every way in High Wycombe it seemed everybody under the age of 25 was becoming a punk rocker. Hippies had almost been eradicated and with turf wars between punks and teddy boys subsiding further combined with a revival of mod’s, rockers and skinheads the town’s local population was slowly having to accept this new ‘melting pot of anti- establishment’ youth culture.
Shortly after the now infamous Punk Festival of 1976 and the riotous Jubilee boat fiasco Ron Watts continued to book well known punk bands at Wycombe’s Town hall, it was always his policy to give local talent a chance to shine through. There was a vibrant local music scene emerging but with so much focus on London bands I believe there was one band that unfortunately went unnoticed.
………..this is the story of THE XTR@VERTS…………
As early as 1976, a good six months before ‘The Sex Pistols’ played the Nags Head, a group of mid-teens including Kris Jozajtis/guitar, Mark White/drums, Carlton Mounsher/bass, formed their own band ‘Deathwish’. Inspired by 60’s UK bands such as The Who, Small Faces and The Rolling Stones and later stateside offerings such as Iggy Pop and the Stooges, The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls.
‘Deathwish’ were soon playing their own brand of Punk Rock well before the term ‘Punk’ was even coined.
Their first gig caused a stir when a confused audience who had been expecting the usual hippie drivel turned violent and threw lit fireworks at them. The band had to be escorted from the venue by the police.
At Deathwish’s second gig an A&R rep from CBS came to check out the band following Ron Watts recommendation. Every bit as confused as the audience from the first gig, unfortunately he lacked the vision to sign them, but at least he didn’t throw anything at them, lit or otherwise !!! As fate would have it during the show an enigmatic youth with brightly coloured hair joined in singing with the band on stage, soon becoming lead vocalist, a certain Nigel Martin.
Nigel, influenced by ‘Roxy Music’ and ‘Bowie’ was always outrageously dressed, so Punk was a natural transition for him. Unfortunately High Wycombe didn’t have alot to offer fashion wise in the mid 70’s, except flares and platforms. There was a great Teddy boy shop called ‘Goddards’ which in fairness sold some great gear but that wasn’t enough, so he used to hang out at ‘SEX’, Malcolm McClaren’s shop at the top of the Kings Road with his punk mate ‘Marmite’, probably the first black punk with peroxide hair. (One time Marmite wore a transparent rubber jacket with goldfish swimming inside it..!!)
Nigel was photographed in Malcolm’s shop by ‘Honey’ magazine, standing out because he would get free crazy colour hairstyles at ‘Vidal Sassoon’s’ courtesy of Vivienne Westwood. Malcolm took the fee for the photoshoot and deducted half of the payment, explaining to Nigel that would cover his loss on the t-shirts which Nigel had previously been seen stealing !! At the same time ‘Vivienne Westwood’ had a market stall nearby and Nigel used to go there and get his clothes made to order.
Meanwhile with ‘Deathwish’ floundering, Nigel together with Mark Reilly/guitar and Tim Brick/drums had formed a band called ‘The Xtraverts’ with Kris Jozajtis filling in on bass, a job he swiftly passed on to Carlton Mounsher. With the line up complete and with a set of original songs plus a few covers they played the University circuit and London venues such as ‘The Roxy’, ‘The Vortex,’ ‘Hope and Anchor’ ‘Fulham Greyhound’ and ‘Global Village’, supporting ‘Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ , ‘Gary Glitter and The Glitter Band’ and ‘Bernie Torme’. Further they were voted best new band in the Aylesbury ‘Friars’ poll.
Whilst at these gigs they rubbed shoulders with the up and coming soon to be punk icons, drinking with ‘Joe Strummer’, ‘Paul Weller’, wet toilet roll fights with ‘Billy Idol’, arguing with ‘Sid Vicious’ and pinching white label copies of ‘Anarchy in the UK’ from ‘Johnny Rotten’. Whilst at an Arsenal football game in early 1976 Nigel dressed up with brightly coloured spiky hair recalls seeing John Lydon later to become Johnny Rotten sporting long hippy hair and a black trenchcoat, one wonders who influenced who !!! These were remarkable times. Carlton also recalls being persuaded by Rat Scabies and Brian James of ‘The Damned’ to help them put just pressed copies of New Rose into their covers at Stiff Records. Although this meant he had one of the first copies of the UK’s first punk records , he still had to pay for it !!!
The band played around with new names and became ‘Nigel Martins Visage’ or ‘Mirage’, but with ‘Steve Strange’ having the same name finally agreed and settled on ‘THE XTR@VERTS’, a name which reflected their image and style. Soon they released their first vinyl single on Spike Records, ‘BLANK GENERATION’, b/w ‘A-LAD-INSANE’, there was a limited pressing of 500 and incidently these singles are now selling for over £175 on e-bay.
The band individually having strong creative drive, unfortunately disbanded the following year and moved in different directions with Carlton and Mark Reilly forming the ‘ Cathedrals’, later Reilly left to join ‘Blue rondo ala Turk’ and then formed and continues to have success with ‘Matt Bianco’. Carlton formed ‘The Ventilators’ later ‘The Vents’, and then ‘The Swamps’. Kris went on to join ‘The Folk Devils,’ whilst Tim did session work with ‘Japan’ and then moved into production.
Before leaving High Wycombe, Mark Reilly introduced Nigel to two young musicians ‘Mark Chapman’ and ‘Steve Westwood’, base and guitar players respectively, to continue with ‘The Xtr@verts’. Recruiting drummer ‘Andy Crawford’ they knuckled down and continued rehearsing and writing new material.
With a new line up, fresh and stronger than ever they hit the circuit running. Ron Watts gave the band many supports at the Town Hall where many well known acts were playing. First gig with the Jones Boys (aka Howard Jones) then support slots with ‘The Slits’ and ‘Creation Rebel’ and then headline gigs at the ‘White Swan’ Southall, the ‘Rainbow’ Finsbury Park and then ’Oranges and Lemons’ Oxford. Further concerts followed and a string of support gigs with the Damned’, ‘999’, ’Angelic Upstarts’, ‘The U.K. Subs, ‘The Vibrators’’ and ‘The Lurkers’.
The band went straight into the studio and during 1979 released two singles, the first was ‘POLICE STATE/DEMOLITION’ a double a) side, costs were shared with another local band ‘Plastic People’ with their song ‘Demolition’- released on Rising Sun records. The second release later in the year with the introduction of a new guitarist was ‘SPEED / 1984’.
The band with its new line up built up a very large following with in excess of 1000 people travelling to gigs far and wide, coaches filled with fans from all over the south of England would come and be a part of the Xtr@verts crew, especially when headlining their own gigs and with the support of ‘Rat Scabies’ drummer of the ‘Damned’ with a band he was managing ‘The Satellites’ played with the Xtr@verts on numerous occasions. Then there was the infamous ‘Oranges and Lemons’ gig in Oxford, The Clarenden, Fulham Greyhound, Hope’n’Anchor, plus many more memorable gigs in and around the home counties.
The Xtr@verts had a massive Punk and Skinhead following from as far as Birmingham to London and they would travel and support the band. The venues were packed with large chanting boisterous crowds and were more reminiscent of a Millwall -West Ham match than a concert.
At one gig in particular, 1980 at the Town Hall , High Wycombe, Rat Scabies even stood in and drummed for the band, and recently some 35 years later a recording of this electric gig has been discovered.
During late 1979, even after plays of both singles on ‘John Peel’s’ radio show, topping the N.M.E and SOUNDS charts, knocking ‘pretty vacant’ of the top of the independent charts also in the top 3 of the ‘Oi’ charts and a brief appearance on ‘20th Century Box’ a ‘Janet Street Porter’ production with an interview by ‘Danny Baker’ on the subject of independent record labels and unsigned bands releasing and distributing their own records. Unfortunately the writing was on the wall.
Coupled with musical differences, changing line up and dissallusion with the punk ethos and the arrival of a new breed of Punk more commonly known as ‘Oi’ which had started causing violent confrontations and injecting absolute ch@os between fans at latter gigs, on the 31st January
…………THE XTR@VERTS short life from 1976 to1980 was over……….
Reunions: album release and new line ups:
After the break up members went in different directions, Mark Chapman the totally flambouyant and outrageous base player became a top London DJ playing re mixes of 70’s disco classics in London Nightclubs becoming a promoter and entrepreneur, founder of ‘Car Wash’ and rubbing shoulders with new found friends ‘ Sigue Sigue Sputnik’.
Nigel played with a few local bands but moved into promoting rather than performing and opened the ‘Kat Klub’ under the flyover in the centre of town packing out the venue with bands like the U.K Subs, Crass, King Kurt, 999, the ‘Meteors’, ‘Angelic Upstarts’ and the ‘Vibrators’, keeping music live after the demise of the Town hall due to skinheads causing so much trouble at an ‘Adam Ant’ gig the venue was closed by the council.
During the next 10 years there was a handful of re union gigs, re hashing of old songs albeit very well received locally, during the mid eighties with the arrival of new guitarist Alistair Murray and drummer Steve McCormack ( who had been close friends with the band from day one) the Xtr@verts performed 3or 4 gigs with new image and style with a complete new set of songs.
After the release of a compilation Xtr@verts album, with songs and versions unheard of in the day, entitled ‘So Much Hate’ was released on ‘Detour’ records in the mid 90’s which has sold incredibly well worldwide, the Xtr@verts reformed once again and a launch gig was organised with the UK Subs….this was the last time the band were to play. A chapter in all the lives of the band members was finally put to sleep……….
Until now… 2014,
After the sad death of base player Mark Chapman and a chance meeting with long time friend and organiser of Brighton’s Skinhead Reunion Symond Lawes and with such a worldwide interest in past punk history and youth culture, the XTR@VERTS have reinvented themselves yet again and with a brand new and exciting line up are now in the process of recording a new album and rehearsing for a launch gig at the ‘100 Club’ (to be announced shortly).
The band’s new line up includes ;
NIGEL MARTIN Original ‘Xtr@verts’ and ‘Deathwish’ lead vocalist and front man.
CARLTON MOUNSHER Original Deathwish and Xtr@verts bassist now lead guitarist.
STEVE McCORMACK Later band member, having previously played with ‘Xtr@verts’ on many occasions, sang and recorded with his own band in the late 80’s early 90’s with his rocker outfit the ‘T-Birds’. Even supported ‘Screaming Lord Sutch !!’ Also appeared on Granada TV’s ‘Stars in their Eyes’ as ‘Billy Idol’ 1993/94 and has played drums with rockabilly bands home and abroad and is an accomplished Jazz singer.
NICK ‘BO’ CHAPMAN Also known as Joe Hope and brother of former base player Mark Chapman. Nick has played guitar for over 30 years, playing with local Folk Rock and Electronic bands throughout the 80’s to the present. ‘Were not the same were individuals’.
IAIN WOOSTER Iain has actively been playing in bands for the past 30 years, touring extensively through the 90’s UK and America, playing on albums for various artiste’s and an appearance with his band on the B.B.C’s ‘Eastenders’ during the 1990’s
The XTR@VERTS were a group that slipped through the media net and in their heyday were every bit as good as their contempories and although not up there with the flagship bands of the time they are credited and historically placed in the period that was punk rock. They appear in the top 100 punk bands of all time and have rubbed shoulders with many of the punk greats, perhaps now is the time to let people see what they missed or what might have been.
The Xtr@verts were one of Wycombe’s finest. So now let’s see what big brother’s little brother has to offer…….?????
‘Who Sent the Boys’. The story of the Xtraverts.
Biography written and researched by Steve McCormack. April 2014
What was I thinking, the day I decided to get involved with punk rock. My youth was way behind me, long gone were the days when I thought we were going to change the world.
In 1981, Decca Records released Strength Thru Oi!, a compilation album featuring 22 bands associated with the Oi! offshoot of UK punk rock. The title was reportedly a play on Strength Through Joy, an early LP by the Scottish group the Skids, though some charged curator Gary Bushell with co-opting a popular Nazi slogan. Bushell denied the accusations, but either way, the record was meant to introduce Oi! as a style of music capable of invigorating listeners—fortifying their bodies, minds, and souls.
The title may have been tongue-in-cheek, but music and exercise have long gone hand-in-hand, and with that in mind, we asked three New York City fitness enthusiasts to experiment with an all-Oi! soundtrack during their workouts and help us answer the question of whether one truly can gain strength through Oi!
Our methods, it must be pointed out, were quasi-scientific at best, as this music is—and this is no knock—some of the absolute dumbest shit imaginable.
BACKGROUND (Edited by Subcultz)
In its original incarnation, British punk rock was deceptively simplistic. Genre figureheads the Clash and Sex Pistols were intelligent, self-aware 20-somethings who’d been to art school and attained a set of skills—squatting, figure drawing, discussing politics while drinking and speeding—that left them with few viable career options. Thanks to svengali managers like Malcolm McLaren and Bernie Rhodes, these and other unemployable dole collectors were able to form rock ‘n’ roll bands, and while the music was fast and loud—three-chord 50s rock played with all the anger and frustration you’d expect from underachieving young people—early punk anthems like “God Save the Queen” and “Career Opportunities” bristled with a covert idealism that belied the subculture’s nihilistic reputation.
As exciting and influential as it was, punk was artistically limiting, and by the late 70s, the music had run its course. The Sex Pistols broke up, the Clash branched out into classic styles like reggae and R&B, and other bands—the Damned, the Stranglers, etc.—plugged in synthesizers and joined the ranks of the emerging post-punk and new Wave groups. The music grew artsy and pretentious, and that led to the birth of Oi!—the only style of music whose name is always capitalized and followed with an exclamation point.
Influenced by groups like Sham 69. Angelic Upstarts and Cock Sparrer. 4Skins and Blitz made it real. Championed by members of the UK skinhead subculture—a movement emerged from the British council estates—Oi! is proudly working-class music. Its blunt, aggressive songs center on drinking, fighting, football , and, “Fuck Maggie thatcher, and her boys in Blue, A V’s up to the British class system. I’m not gonna waste my life working at your factory.” Musically, it was and is ’77-style punk stripped of all subtlety. Because the choruses sound like football chants, every song is an anthem, giving voice to the lives many young people were living in 1980’s Britain, Police harassment, and mass youth unemployment. Oi! gobs in the face of authority—the government, banks, the military, teachers, parents, people who don’t like Oi!—and that makes it adaptable and timeless. The music has permeated all corners of the globe, and “Oi! Oi! Oi!” sounds pretty much the same in any language.
In the USA Strength Thru Oi was used in experiments.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
For the purposes of this study, we enlisted three individuals from different age groups with unique workout habits:
Kristen, a 32-year-old Pilates instructor, graduate student, and punk fan who hopes to make the synthesis of music and exercise an integral part of her practice once she becomes a doctor of physical therapy.
Spencer, a 28-year-old proponent of CrossFit—a popular exercise philosophy based on high-intensity interval training, weightlifting, and other extremely demanding exercises.
Francis, a 40-year-old runner, computer programmer, and member of the South Brooklyn Running Club.
All three were given an eight-song Oi! soundtrack composed of the following songs:
Cockney Rejects, “Bad Man” Cock Sparrer, “Riot Squad” The Business, “Suburban Rebels” Red Alert, “We’ve Got the Power” Blitz, “Fight to Live” 4 Skins, “One Law for Them” Sham 69, “I Don’t Wanna” The Templars, “New York”
The Oi! mix leans heavily on UK genre favorites from the late 70s and early 80s, though the final selection, “New York,” is a 1994 cut by the Templars, an American band formed in Long Island. “New York” was selected for geographical reasons, as we were interested in finding out whether (a) US Oi! songs stand up to their British antecedents and (b) whether an NYC-centric song might have added emotional resonance with our participants. (Note: None of the selections—and indeed, no aspects of this study—have anything to do with racist strains of the Oi! or skinhead subcultures. We like our punk rock dumb, not ignorant.)
Each participant was asked to rate each song on a scale from 1 to 10, as well as offer a score capturing Oi!’s overall usefulness as a workout aid. Through a series of follow-up questions, we were able to further analyze the athletes’ attitudes toward the music and garner their expert opinions regarding its pros and cons. Again, because we’re dealing with music that’s defiantly lugheaded and generally resistant to evolution, our methodology is extremely suspect and bound to provoke anger in real scientists and medical practitioners. It’s only marginally smarter than what a gang of drunken skins might sketch out on a barroom napkin after their ninth round of Guinness.
RESULTS
Assessing Oi!’s overall fitness benefits, our participants submitted scores of 8 (Kristen), 8 (Francis), and 4 (Spencer). That averages out to 6.3—a respectable number only Spencer would likely argue with.
“On the musical-taste front, I’ll caveat all of my below thoughts with the fact I acknowledge I have really eclectic (read: lame) taste in workout music,” Spencer says. “A random workout playlist is equally likely to contain Metallica, Eminem, Britney Spears, Beastie Boys, club music, classic rock anthems, 90s rock, and miscellaneous Top 40 from the last one to two years. It’s not inconceivable something from Les Mis sneaks in as well. Which is all to say (1) my girlfriend never lets me pick music, and (2) I seriously doubt I’m the general Oi! demographic.
“That said, I was excited to try working out to something new. And now that I have I can confidently say I do not enjoy working out to Oi! I seriously could not differentiate these songs while they were playing; it all sounded like a cat from the East End of London being beaten with a Stratocaster.”
Spencer cites the “cool accents” and fact that the music is “better than speed metal” as its major selling points. The cons, he says, are that it “does not provide the workout fuel of James Hetfield/Adam Levine.”
“Not liking it makes me feel like I’m yelling at kids to get off my lawn,” he says.
Relative to the other test subjects, Spencer’s preferred form of exercise involves arguably the most intense physical exertion, and his testimony would seem to refute the idea there is, in fact, strength to be derived through Oi! The music may, however, have benefits for people involved in activities like running, where a steady rhythmic pulse helps offset fatigue. Unfortunately, our findings suggest, the positive effects are negated when the music gets too fast, and any Oi! worth its salt is way the hell too fast.
“Overall, Oi! music has an aggressive upbeat beat that can give your mind something to stay focused on during an intense workout,” says Francis. “I found myself looking forward to the songs with more catchy hooks. The cons of Oi! music was that I found the tempo too fast for running, so it was hard to stay relatively in synch with the music. It felt like some of the songs were urging me to run faster than I could or wanted to during the workouts.”
Oi! might also be good for the core muscle groups, as Kristen has emerged from the experience “definitely inspired to create a Pilates punk playlist.”
“This genre has the ability to inspire energy and hard work which is great for a high abdominal endurance type of workout that is Pilates,” she says.
In terms of individual song scores, the Templars fared best, suggesting that hometown pride plays a role in enjoying Oi! This is not surprising, given the music’s association with packs of loutish London lads getting blitzed and head-butting one another at their local pubs and football stadiums. Oi! is tribalistic, and songs are pegged to specific cities and neighborhoods in a way that first-wave British punk wasn’t. All three athletes were asked to pick a favorite lyric, and Kristen’s comes via the Templars: “New York City is where we wanna be!”
“NYC is always a motivating factor,” she says.
Cockney Rejects and Cock Sparrer also proved popular among our participants, achieving average scores nearly as high as the Templars. Both “Bad Man” and “Riot Squad” have anthemic qualities that, while found in all eight selections, are arguably more pronounced, and that might explain the scoring.
The song-by-song ratings are below. The first number is the total score, followed by the average in parenthesis.
The Templars, “New York”: 24 (8) Cockney Rejects, “Bad Man”: 22 (7.3) Cock Sparrer, “Riot Squad”: 21 (7) The Business, “Suburban Rebels”: 19 (6.3) Red Alert, “We’ve Got the Power”: 16 (5.3) Blitz, “Fight to Live”: 16 (5.3) 4 Skins, “One Law for Them”: 14 (4.6) Sham 69, “I Don’t Wanna”: 13 (4.3)
“I liked Cock Sparrer’s ‘Riot Squad’ the best—I think because I found it had a catchy beat and interesting lyrics,” says Francis. “Also, the tempo wasn’t too out of synch with my running pace.”
CONCLUSIONS
Having crunched the numbers, taken a close look at the anecdotal responses, and consumed a six-pack Newcastle Brown Ale, we’re prepared to draw the following conclusions.
1. Oi! does not make you physically stronger—at least not in any way that might prove useful to hooligans looking to throw heavier objects through storefront windows or smash the jaws of street-fighting adversaries with fewer swings of their meaty fists. According to Spencer, “there wasn’t much of an energy boost for me from the music. My brain mostly seemed to tune it out after awhile. But, again acknowledging my terrible taste in music, I could easily see someone throwing down hard to this stuff. There’s clearly a ton of energy to the songs and some real anger and passion behind the lyrics, which I think could drive some solid gym time if a listener liked the sound of the music itself. And had any clue what the lyrics were.”
2. If you listen to Oi! while running or doing Pilates, you might slice your mile time or strengthen endurance in your legs, abs, hips, back, and arms. But after you take the lyrics to heart, go to the pub, and knock back a half-dozen pints of stout, you’ll likely undo whatever good you’ve done your body. That goes double if you get into a brawl on your way home, and if you’re really an Oi! fan, you will get into a brawl on your way home.
3. Oi! is far too boneheaded to warrant scientific study—even a half-assed one like this. This whole thing might have been a complete waste of time. Wanna fight?
Kenneth Partridge is not a scientist, but he plays one on the internet. Keep up with his research on Twitter – @kenpartridge
A few years ago, i flew over to USA to see friends in California. But also, to go see one of my friends bands, called Cock Sparrer. As we drove down from LA to The Great American Music hall in San Fransisco, listening to the car radio, it really struck me, how important British music is to the world. Here i was heading down to a sell out show, by an obscure punk band, in the cool capital of the world. The average British person, would have never heard of this band.
Everywhere you go, you will find it playing. its not only The Rolling Stones, Beatles and Elton John, or Oasis, but Punk Rock, Indie, 70’s, 80’s and every other decade of popular music. The same in Argentina, Brazil, Scandinavia, all across western Europe and beyond. Gone are the days that Britain is known for military, or railways. Whatever Governments have come and gone, British music has found its way to every corner of the Globe. A major export, not only for financial benefit, but for British cultural benefit. The welcome you get as a British person, in so many countries, is due to the love affair many nations have to our, British Music. Many of those music fans making a pilgrimage to the UK, to see where it all began.
But before it reaches those places, it is a seed in a kids garage, then a local pub. if they get lucky, they step up to the next town or city, playing their songs, working, promoting, and slogging away. One in a thousand, then get a bit of radio play, a larger gig, a record deal. One in 20.000 get BBC acknowledgment. A hard , hard career to follow. With no support from the UK Government. There are many reasons why live music, is in such a bad state. No more Top of the pops, no financial support, a lack of imagination with record labels. But the extremely high price of beer, is killing pubs at a rapid rate. Every town, is being raped, of the grass roots venues. Venues being sold off for development, for a fast profit.
Symond Lawes.
Independent venues are more than just places to see bands – they’re at the heart of their communities. But if the music industry doesn’t step in soon, we’ll be writing even more obituaries for these vital outposts of culture
What makes a great venue? From the perspective of musicians, it’s when owners realise that good customer service is at the core of everything they do. Give the musicians the basics so they are able to do their job. That includes a comfortable and warm backstage room, plenty of time for a sound check, a respectful crew and a good sound system. Most of these things can be achieved with common sense more than money. But can owners of venues really raise the bar if all they offer is a fridge stuffed with Red Bull? Sadly the lack of resources is keeping standards too low for independent music venues in the UK, compared with, say, the rest of Europe.
Often, venues don’t feel like an artist’s home any more. They’re treated as normal, independent businesses rather than being valued as centres of culture in their communities. Venue owners are often former musicians and they are passionate about live music. But even the best of them are forced into dark alleys to survive, making compromises and potentially killing their passion for the music as it’s dragged down into the shit with them.
Last week, I was a panelist at Venues Day, a conference that was organised by the Music Venue Trust and Independent Venue Week about the future of independent music venues in the UK. I was asked to represent the point of view of the artist, discussing what makes a good venue great.
Mindofalion Live and raw in 2014. The grass roots of music, which becomes a worldwide export
Madame Jojo’s Placards outside Madame Jojo’s nightclub in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images The event took place at the Purcell Room, in London. It was the first time I’d taken part in a conference. Venue owners from all around the UK had filled the room, and someone had told me the participants were “very angry”. I had no idea what to expect, although I knew very well that many small, independent music venues have been in crisis for a long time.
I got involved with the issue the day my favourite venue in London, the Luminaire, shut down in 2009. That day, I lost more than just a place to see live music – I lost my second home. As I walked into the Purcell Room, it was even more clear to me that the owners of such venues need help. They need money, and they need it now, or more of the hundreds of venues that are essential to the culture of the UK and the music business in particular, will follow the fate of Madame Jojo’s and the Buffalo Bar in London, which are each soon to become extinct.
“This has to be addressed at the very top of Government, Live music venues are the training ground for one of Britain’s largest exports, and Icon of pride, which excludes, no class, age or race“
The disastrous financial situation of independent music venues has direct consequences for everyone, including musicians. Take branding. No artist should have to play with a Jack Daniel’s logo on the stage if they don’t want to, or a Vodafone sticker on their monitors if they don’t want to. Artists should not become vehicles for advertising if that’s not how they choose to run their business. Don’t get me wrong, I am not 100% against branding; I understand the need to raise money. But the stage is a sacred place, and if a venue makes a deal with a beer company, it should not involve the musicians.
Let’s take another example: during Venues Day, many owners acknowledged that club nights are how they’re able to survive these days, which means they book two events in one night. Who can blame them? They need money. But what does it mean for the artists? Well, it means that even if they sell out a show, the promoter might book a club night to start after you finish. They eject you, your crew and your fans at 10pm, then a DJ comes in and a whole new crowd invades the premises. Instead of playing at 10pm, your show needs to start at 8.30, which means support bands have to play at a painful 7.30pm. Obviously, there is no time after the gig to sell your merch or to meet your audience. Not only does it kill the band’s small chance of making extra money, but it also kills guitar music. Who wants to see rock’n’roll at 8.30 at night?
Another iconic Music venue, the 12 Bar, on Denmark Street, London. Right in the heart of Britains world famous Tin Pan Alley. Been handed the death sentence, at the end of 2014, by Westminster council, In favour of commercial short term property speculators.
It is urgent that we find solutions to finance independent music venues which respect the spirit of live music and musicians. Artists are their customers, too, and we know that branding and club nights are not enough to keep some of our venues afloat.
How can we achieve this? One solution became apparent during the conference, where owners were joined by promoters and booking agents. Let’s do the maths: the venue owners need money and the large agents need to make a healthy profit. Got it? The last panel of the day, entitled What’s Next?, was supposed to address solutions available to venue owners. I took the mic to suggest that the industry itself should fund small venues. Agents, big promoters and venue groups should reinvest part of their annual profits into small venues. This is an idea my friend Andy Inglis, who used to co-run the Luminaire, has been talking about for years. After all, they belong to the same industry, don’t they? Just because small venues are the grassroots of the industry, that doesn’t have to mean they can’t benefit from the profits the others make.
I was surprised by the audience’s lack of response. The Music Venue Trust cautiously expressed its intention to create a charity system to support small independent venues, but I didn’t get the feeling it would pick up the funding idea and make it a priority. From what I understood, the two main ideas taken from the day were the need for tax cuts for small venues and an online resource for venues to share ideas and advice. Although it is important to begin with a couple of rallying points and get recognition from government, I still believe that music industry support is essential for the survival of independent venues.
At this point in the conference, I didn’t get a sense of much anger or desperation in the room. I could only assume people were too scared to speak up. Or maybe I’m totally wrong and most venues don’t want funding to come from the industry. I believe the idea is more popular among professionals than we think, but maybe it demands a bigger effort – or someone, a hero, to fight for it.
Next January, The band Savages and I will settle in New York City for three weeks to play a series of club shows. Sold out all nine shows in just one hour, which has never happened to us so fast before. Could this become a new model? Audiences love to see live music in small venues. Let’s hope they survive before we realise how much we needed them.
Find more information about Venues Day 2014, the speakers and partners on venues-day.com
The punks and skinheads were rounded up at a local concert
Dozens of young men and women have been detained for being “punk” and disturbing the peace in Aceh, Indonesia’s most devoutly Muslim province. They are being held in a remedial school, where they are undergoing “re-education”.
Rights groups have expressed concern after photographs emerged of the young men having their mohawks and funky hairstyles shaved off by Aceh’s police.
They look sullen and frightened as they are forced into a communal bath.
But Aceh’s police say they are not trying to harm the youths, they are trying to protect them.
The 64 punks, many of whom are from as far away as Bali or Jakarta, were picked up on Saturday night during a local concert.Aceh police spokesman Gustav Leo says there have been complaints from residents nearby.The residents did not like the behaviour of the punks and alleged that some of them had approached locals for money.
Mr Leo stressed that no-one had been charged with any crime, and there were no plans to do so.
They have now been taken to a remedial school in the Seulawah Hills, about 60km (37 miles) away from the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
“They will undergo a re-education so their morals will match those of other Acehnese people,” says Mr Leo.
But activists say the manner in which the young people have been treated is humiliating and a violation of human rights.
Aceh Human Rights Coalition chief Evi Narti Zain says the police should not have taken such harsh steps, accusing them of treating children like criminals.
“They are just children, teenagers, expressing themselves,” she says.
“Of course there are Acehnese people who complained about them – but regardless of that, this case shouldn’t have been handled like this. They were doused with cold water, and their heads were shaved – this is a human rights violation. Their dignity was abused.”
But Mr Leo disagrees.It is the second time the police have cracked down on punk culture in Aceh
“We didn’t arrest them, they haven’t committed any criminal offence,” he says.
“They are Aceh’s own children – we are doing this for their own good. Their future could be at risk. We are re-educating them so they don’t shame their parents.”
This is the second time Aceh’s police have clamped down on punks in the province, which is the only province in Indonesia allowed to implement shariah law.
There is a thriving underground punk music scene in Aceh, but many punk-lovers are viewed suspiciously by local residents.
Many of the young teens sport outrageous hairstyles, in keeping with punk culture, but against the norms of the keenly religious in Aceh.
Aceh is one of the most devout Muslim provinces in Indonesia, and observers say it has becoming increasingly more conservative since Islamic law was implemented a few years ago.
Indonesian punks stand in line before prayer. Indonesian punk rock fans, their head shaved clean, stand in line before prayer at the police school in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. Photograph: Heri Juanda/AP Mohawks shaved and noses free of piercings, dozens of youths march in military style for hours beneath Indonesia’s tropical sun – part of efforts by the authorities to restore moral values and bring the “deviants” back into the mainstream. But the young men and women have shown no signs of bending. When commanders turn their backs, the shouts ring out: “Punk will never die!” Fists are thrown in the air and peace signs flashed.
A few have managed briefly to escape, heads held high as they are dragged back. Sixty-five young punk rockers arrived at the police detention centre last week after baton-wielding police raided a concert in Aceh – the only province in the predominantly Muslim nation of 240 million to have imposed Islamic laws.
They will be released on Friday, after completing 10 days of “rehabilitation” – from classes on good behaviour and religion to military-style drills aimed at instilling discipline. Nineteen-year-old Yudi, who goes by only one name, said it was not working. He tried unsuccessfully to shake off police when they took an electric razor to his spiky mohawk. At the sight of his hair scattered in the grass, he recalled, tears rolled down his face. “It was torture to me,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out of here,” he added. “They can’t change me. I love punk. I don’t feel guilty about my lifestyle. Why should I? There’s nothing wrong with it.” His girlfriend, 20-year-old Intan Natalia, agreed. Her bleach-blonde hair has been cut to a bob and dyed black and she has been forced to wear a Muslim headscarf. “They can say what they want, but I like life as a punk,” she said. “It suits me.” Two young men hated it so much at the detention centre, they tried to escape. They pretended they had to go to the bathroom then fled to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, 30 miles away. Police found them strolling the streets nine hours later and brought them back. It was just after midnight. “They said they missed their parents, but it’s pretty clear they were lying,” said the local police chief, Colonel Armensyah Thay. “They didn’t go home. How could they? They’ve been living on the streets.” The crackdown marked the latest effort by authorities to promote strict moral values in Aceh which, unlike other provinces in the sprawling archipelagic nation, enjoys semi-autonomy from the central government. That was part of a peace deal negotiated after the 2004 tsunami off Aceh convinced separatist rebels and the army to lay down their arms, with both sides saying they did not want to add to people’s suffering. More than 230,000 people were killed in the towering wave, three-quarters of them in Aceh.
There’s something going on. An emerging scene reacting to the overwhelming EDM rains that floods every single garage here without mercy – wiping out the kids trashy hang-outs where they desperately tries to ruin their lives. Garages are turned into silent aquariums. It is such a perfect clean-up. But hey, the aquarium is cracking up.
It’s explosive, dark, potent, and psyched out. And the main little monster fish here is the band MANKIND.
Currently whipping up the underground and warehouse parties in Stockholm with their runaway, throbbing and decadent show, Swedish MANKIND is getting attention.
MANKIND, four guys that could have been seeds planted at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, drawing strength from the graves of Jim Morrison, Chopin and Gertrud Stein.
Instead the plants grew in Ingmar Bergman’s land of held back silence – bonded by a mutual musical love and existential brooding.
The bands first track “Blood, Sugar” – not least apparent by the video (directed by Johan Stolpe) – is unmistakably Scandinavian with Fever Ray-ish aesthetics. It’s produced by Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor). Although early recognized and loved by The Needle Drop, “Blood, Sugar” was never sent out in the world. So lo and behold, this is now corrected. Needle Drop:
MANKIND were brought up on music released long before they were born and in boroughs far from where they lived (the early 90’s Seattle scene, the Velvet’s New York, The Door’s California, London 60s…) and that’s exactly where they belong artistically. But in addition they also have their own DNA, a unique sound full of odd MANKIND figments, twisted song structures, lyrics that are clever, angry, darkly funny, upsetting and on-point and a world of imagery and ideas that we know will keep us busy and alert.
Band are Arthur Batsal (vocals), Oliver Boson (drum), Alexander Ceci (guitar), Fredrik Diffner (bass) – just over 20, lives in Stockholm, Sweden
So I love me some Laurel Aitken, and I’m singing along in my car to Sally Brown driving down the highway and my son starts laughing. I’ve belted out these lyrics so many times I don’t hear them anymore, but my son’s fresh ears pick up on perhaps the silliest words to ever grace a ska song–yes, the cukumaka stick. What the heck is a cukumaka stick? I decided I’d find out.
The cukumaka stick is actually a coco macaque stick. It was first used by the Arawaks in battle, even though they were largely a peaceful people. The Arawak, or Taino Indians as they were sometimes called, were one of the native people of the Caribbean. They came to the islands of the Caribbean from Guyana or perhaps from other islands in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. They were still a Stone Age people whose tools were primitive and they were an agricultural and fishing people.
The Arawaks used the coco macaque, a heavy solid strong stick or club, as a tool, but they also used it to bludgeon their victims or enemies in combat. In Haiti, the coco macaque stick was called “the Haitian Peace Keeper.” In Cuba, where Laurel Aitken was born, it was called “the Cuban Death Club.” And in New Orleans, the coco macaque stick is called “the Zombie Staff” or “Spirit Stick.”
The coco macaque stick was used in Cuba and Haiti as a weapon and became a part of the cultural vernacular after it was used by the dictatorial regimes in Cuba and Haiti against political activists. During the regime of Papa Doc in Haiti, the coco macaque stick became a symbol associated with the “guaperia,” or his military. According to one article, the “Cocomacaco was the main weapon of the notorious tonton macutes, his the personal body guards.”
The Daily Gleaner on March 1, 1915 wrote of a coco macaque stick when reporting on a corrupt Haitian dictator who stole money from the country’s coffers. It stated, “He could only find a few thousand pounds to seize, though he sent an army to make the levy: an army strongly armed with superdread-nought cocomacaque sticks.”
Aitken is likely informed by many of these interpretations of the coco macaque stick, but perhaps none as much as the one in his own country which saw the coco macaque stick as a weapon associated with slavery. On the Cuban sugar plantations, slave owners beat their slaves with a coco macaque stick. The weapon later became a “tool of correction” used by men on women, and there was a Cuban proverb that said that wives should be “corrected with cocomacaco hard,” which may also shed light on why, when Laurel Aitken was once asked about this lyric, he hinted at a sexual connotation, as was common in the calypso, mento, and subsequent musical traditions–just think of Jackie Opel’s “Push Wood” for an example with a similar object–wood–but there are dozens if not hundreds of others with different objects–shepherd rods, needles, etc.
The coco macaque stick also had a life all its own. The Taino Indians and Haitians who practiced Voodou believed that the coco macaque stick walked by itself. The owner could send the coco macaque stick to run errands or dirty work, and if the coco macaque stick hit someone on the head, they would then be dead by morning.
Here is some information I found in an article on voodoo: “Coco macaque is what many refer to as a very real magical Haitian vodou implement or black magicians helping tool. Made of Haitian Coco-macaque palm wood or what ever wood one has at hand it is basically just simple thick 1 to 2 inch wooden cane, which is supposed to be possessing one of many magical powers, The strangest one is that to be able to stand up and walk on its own. Though it’s appearance of walking is described more like a hopping or bouncing action. This Voodoo Magic walking stick is not bound by gravity and is said to bounce off of houses and homes and even roofs as it travels to it’s commanded destination. Sometimes many people might refer to them as Voodoo Zombie Canes and swear that by all known accounts and means that they or it is possessed by the spirits of the dead. By all old Haitian accounts many will tell you that it is a simple design or sometimes crudely hand carved by a voodoo black magic priest using what ever found wood is available to them at the time. And it is a cursed or controlled by specific spirit that causes the walking stick to appear to move all by itself.”
Here are the lyrics to that classic Laurel Aitken tune, Sally Brown:
She boogey, she boogey, she boogey down the alley Let me tell you about Sally Brown Sally Brown is a girl in town She don’t mess around Let me tell you about Sally Brown Sally Brown is a slick chick. She hits you with a cukumaka stick Cukukukukumaka stick Hits you with a Cukumaka stick
CHESTERTON, IND.—Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music by Heather Augustyn has been published by Half Pint Press and is now available. The book is a comprehensive look at Jamaican vocalists, instrumentalists, record producers, dancers, wives, mothers, and deejays who helped to shape the course of Jamaican music on the island and worldwide. Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music is the fourth book from Augustyn on Jamaican music and culture.
The book features dozens of interviews with women who found a way share their talent in a culture and industry that was marked by brazen displays of masculinity. They endured harassment and received little or no pay to perform as backup or alongside or in front of the male musicians. They sacrificed family and home for a life in the spotlight, or they brought their babies with them on the road. They took over the studio and made it their own, or they suffered unimaginable violence, even murder. They changed the course of music all over the world. The book also features over 100 exclusive photographs and memorabilia that supplements personal narratives and archival material.
Heather Augustyn spent two years researching and talking to such women as Millie Small of “My Boy Lollipop” fame who rarely grants interviews, and she obtained photographs from her personal photo album. Others include Enid Cumberland of Keith & Enid who is now in her mid-80s; Janet Enright, the country’s first female guitarist who performed jazz in the 1950s; Marcia Griffiths of the I-Threes, Bob Marley’s backup singers, and vocalist for the Electric Slide, the staple of every wedding reception; members of the first all-girl ska band, the Carnations, featuring the parents of Tessanne Chin, winner of The Voice; Doreen Shaffer of the Skatalites; Patsy Todd of Derrick & Patsy and Stranger & Patsy; Althea & Donna, and dozens of others.
Augustyn is also author of Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World’s Greatest Trombonist, McFarland 2013; Ska: An Oral History, McFarland 2010; and Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, Scarecrow Press 2013. She is a correspondent for The Times of Northwest Indiana and an adjunct professor at Purdue University’s North Calumet campus. She lives with her husband and two boys in Chesterton, Indiana. Songbirds Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music is available at Here and amazon.com.
Friday, July 4th, 1981 had been a hot summer’s day in the Western suburbs of London. Late that afternoon, a small group of us took the bus from South Harrow to Hayes and met up with Hayes skins. From there about 15 of us travelled the short distance up the Uxbridge Road and arrived early at the Hambrough Tavern in Southall. As we walked from the bus stop, along the pavement and into the pub’s forecourt, we hadn’t noticed a hint of trouble anywhere and we weren’t expecting any either!
The pub was a good size. Inside it was bright from the evening sun thanks to the large bay windows but more on those later… The pub is located on the edge of Southall, on the main road leading into a town renowned for its large Asian population but we never thought that going to an Oi! gig on the edge of Southall would provoke a large part of its population to riot. Oi! bands had played in other areas across London with large immigrant populations before and there had never been any trouble.
Inside the pub, it grew noisier as more skins started to arrive. The atmosphere was buzzing – the 4-skins, the Last resort and the Business were going to play.
rob smith and friends
Inside, I remember thinking this gig had very little that was extreme right wing about it. I was aware of this because I’m of mixed race. There were no Nazi flags, no siege heils and it definitely didn’t feel like an extremist’s right wing get-together. Everyone was there – for this much looked-forward-to gig – for the bands, and to hear some good Oi! music.
Round about 8 O’clock, the crowd was getting a little impatient because the 4-Skins hadn’t yet arrived – you could see the gig organisers were getting a bit impatient too; but sure enough, through the large bay windows, we saw the band arrive, hurrying through the forecourt, ready to go straight on stage.
While the 4-Skins were playing something else was going on. Through the large windows, out in the darkening Uxbridge Road, we could see more and more Asians arriving and gathering by the wall of the forecourt. Inside it was stiff upper lip and the music carried on but there were a lot of murmurings as it became obvious there were going to be a lot of trouble.
The crowd outside got surprisingly larger by the minute. A few police had arrived and were forming a barrier between the restless, shouting Asians and the pub but as the crowd outside became larger and noisier, it became clear that the music inside would have to stop.
Events passed the point of no return when a brick came crashing through one of the bay windows. The music stopped and everyone inside took up defensive positions but no one would go outside – that would’ve been suicide. In the falling darkness, more bricks and missiles came hurtling in through the windows and it wasn’t long before we knew we had to get out… petrol bombs were being thrown at the pub. Many of us weren’t sure if we were going to get out alive because the police outside were looking as if they were failing to contain the situation. Inside, what had just been a calm evening’s entertainment had turned into a war zone. Broken furniture and glass lay all over the place as we fought to defend ourselves.
As more busloads of police arrived, a passage was formed to escape through. As bricks and bottles flew from 100’s of amassing Asians, we headed out of the pub across the no-man’s land forecourt, into the Uxbridge Road, behind the protection of police lines. Looking back, we saw a hijacked police car being set on fire. It was then rammed into the pub by Asian youths, sending the Hambrough up in flames. Fire engines, ambulances and more police cars arrived. Blazing sirens were drowned out by the noise of the riot. The night sky turned a reddish hue from the huge blaze. Even after we’d got back to Harrow, 4 miles away, we could still see the red glow of the sky from the burning pub!
The national newspapers, and radio and television news headlines the next day and for the next few days, were full of it but what I read in the papers and heard on the news didn’t match what I saw that night. The media were pinning all the blame on us skinheads, accusing us of going to Southall to start a riot and throwing petrol bombs at Asians. But I clearly remember going to Southall for a drink and a gig in a pub. There were no Nazi saluting skinheads in the pub. There were no skinheads throwing petrol bombs at Asians and there were definitely no plans to incite a riot.
Because of what happened at Southall, left-leaning media outlets and much of the right-leaning middle classes found every excuse under the sun to marginalise skinheads and Oi! music but their prejudices were based on false accounts! It was the assembled Asians that were the cause of the rioting that night, no matter how much they thought they were justified in doing what they did. They even continued rioting long after the last skinheads left the scene! But it was skinheads who got blamed, even though it was the police who had to defend us, not the other way round. We were the small minority needing police protection from the 100’s of rioting Asians! In fact, there were a few Asian skinheads inside the pub for the gig… these Asians weren’t rioting, the ones outside were! There were a few Black and Greek skinheads inside too.
On a lighter note, one funny thing I heard, don’t know if it’s true, was that the manager of the 4-Skins band chased the pub manager up the Uxbridge Road, wanting his money for the gig!
Seriously, the Southall night changed the course of Oi! – From that time on, the media ensured that Oi! would never get the positive publicity it deserved but despite all attempts to stamp it out, Oi! is still around and now global and long may it be so, but it will always be at home in London, where it all began.
Hanborough Tavern Southall, burned down by Asian Mob
cheers Rob Smith
Hounslow Robs Account I also went to that gig at the Hambrough tavern in Southall, the area itself is not too far from where I was living in Hounslow so it was an ideal opportunity for me to get to see a couple of the bands I was well into at that time, the 4skins and the Last resort.
Anyway, being only 15 at the time (turned 16 later that month) I hadn’t been to that many gigs, one that I had been to was at the Hambrough tavern a few weeks earlier. It was the Meteors and I hadn’t even planned to go; I’d been hanging around Hounslow bus garage which was a meeting place for the younger skins in my area when a local skinhead girl turned up and asked me to help her find the pub. Being a true gentleman (and because she was a right looker!) I went with her. As soon as we got off the bus on Southall Broadway we started to get abuse shouted at us by groups of Asians that were hanging around. Feeling nervous but putting a brave face on we headed towards the pub after asking one of the few white people we saw for directions. We noticed a group of Asians up ahead and as we got closer they blocked the road and surrounded us, there were maybe a dozen of ’em and looked to be in their late teens or early 20’s. One of them said “what are you doing in our area? “, as I turned to answer I got punched from the side and they all piled in. Would love to be able to say I had a good go back but didn’t have a chance really and ended up curled up on the ground getting a good kicking! To be fair they didn’t hit the girl although that was the only fair thing about it! Eventually they ran off and I found I wasn’t in too bad a condition, a few cuts & grazes but nothing serious. We made it to the pub and saw the band and I’m just mentioning that night cos it gives a bit of background to the area and how the Asians saw it, they regarded Southall as their town and you even had graffiti on the walls saying “whites out”!
Going back to the night of the riot I obviously had bad memories of the place but wasn’t gonna miss the chance to see the bands so headed to the bus garage in Hounslow where I knew some older local skins would be meeting up, an advance guard had already left but another 20 or so were there so I tagged along with them. Luckily we got a bus to Hayes and then another into Southall, I say luckily cos if we had taken the direct route it would have taken us to the Broadway and we’d have ended up on the other side of the massive mob of Asians that had already gathered by the time we got there. I don’t remember any talk on the bus about it kicking off with the Asians that night, the only time I can recall someone mentioning trouble was about the possibility of old area rivalries between skinheads coming up at the gig. On reaching the Tavern there was a line of police further up the road heading into the main part of Southall and you could clearly see the Asians on the other side of them. In the pub itself there was a good crowd and it was mainly skins but I noticed a few rockabillies and straights. As was mentioned by Cockney Express and London Rob there were also a few black skinheads in the pub and although there would have been right wing skins in there as well I don’t remember any friction between the skins inside.
West London Skinhead Girls who were at the infamous Southall gig
As for the bands themselves, the gig itself is a bit of a blur and my memory has failed me a bit there. I’d never heard the Business before but enjoyed their set. The Resort I did like, having heard the 3 track tape on sale at the shop. I remember Hodges & co on stage and have read elsewhere that they were playing “Chaos” as the windows came in, dunno about that but it would have been perfect timing!!! I do remember the bricks coming into the pub ‘tho, were standing quite near to the big bay windows where the curtains had been drawn. Looking back I suppose this stopped the bricks and flying glass doing more damage but a number of people did get hurt. I got a small cut on the cheek myself but others had much worse, can still picture a skinhead girl who had blood all down the side of her face. Of course everyone moved away from the windows but many also headed for the door, partly because you didn’t know what was gonna come in next but also to get out and get stuck in if they could, Skinheads were breaking up chairs and tables to use as weapons & to say people were angry would be an understatement! Outside it was chaos, the old bill was trying to keep the Asians away from the pub but because of the numbers they were struggling. It’s true that some skins were in the front line standing shoulder to shoulder with the police, through the lines you could see the Asians were going mental and were well tooled up, waving sticks, bats and even swords above their heads! Some skins actually managed to get into them, talk about suicide missions! One guy came back with the whole inside of his lower arm opened up, said it had been done with a meat cleaver! From the look of it I didn’t doubt it! We were being pushed back away from the pub and I can remember seeing the petrol bombs flying, didn’t actually see the moment the pub was hit or when the van was pushed into it but recall seeing the pub burning and the flames high in the sky. Looking back now I dread to think of the outcome if a petrol bomb had entered the pub whilst everyone was still inside really doesn’t bear thinking about!
On our side of the police the skins were pretty much able to do as they wanted as the police had their hands full trying to control the Asian mob. A few lighter moments did occur, a number of shops had had their windows smashed and some skins had entered into ’em to find weapons or just to do a bit of looting! One of the older Hounslow lot reappeared out of a shop with a box full of crisps! A full blown riot going with petrol bombs flying around and you’ve got skinheads walking about munching crisps! I’m sure some were even asking what flavours he had! (I was at the back of the line so had to make do with ready salted!) Cockney Express mentioned in a post that he saw people throwing bottles of cresta at the Asians; I remember that drink, they should have tried setting fire to it, probably would have burnt better than petrol!! At one point word went round that some Asians had managed to get around behind the police line and were up one of the side roads, we all went steaming up there but it was either a false alarm or they had thought better of it and scarpered. Anyway on the way back a couple of skins started knocking on doors and whacking any Asian that answered, out of order maybe but then again the circumstances that night weren’t normal! One door flew open and a bloke came running out waving his arms and shouting “I’m white, I’m white, paki’s 2 doors down”!!
London skinheads who were at the Hanborough Tavern when it was attacked
Eventually most of the skinheads were rounded up by the police and we were marched away from the area towards Hayes and Harlington station where the skins from other parts of London were to be put on trains. Those skins from west London carried on as we didn’t want to get trains into town. One thing I did notice was that the further we got away from the pub the worse we were treated by the old bill, we were being stopped every 100 yards or so and searched and hassled by ’em. The police earlier in the night had been fine with us because they knew what had happened and knew the score. Now there were coppers being brought in who hadn’t been at the front line and probably thought we had been the ones who had kicked it off, maybe not the case but it might explain their attitude and actions. Also on that walk there was a confrontation with a group of white geezers who had pulled up in a van and jumped out with baseball bats calling us Nazi bastards, we were well spread out by this time and only about 10 of us were together in a group but we stood our ground and after a short stand off the police turned up and the blokes jumped back in the van and sped off, dunno who they were but they’d obviously been watching the news! We ended up getting a night bus back to Hounslow and found a few local skins that hadn’t been to the gig waiting at the bus garage. Of course we played it up and you could tell they were gutted to have missed the night. I must admit I was guilty of the same when I met up with my mates the next day, probably bored ’em to tears going on about it, just like I’m doing now to anyone whose bothering to read this!! Eventually got home about 4 in the morning, my mum was still up. She just looked at me and said “I don’t have to ask where you’ve been, I’ve been watching you on the telly”!
Looking back now the young Asians in Southall must have planned to attack the Hambrough tavern that night, they were just too organised for it to have been a spur of the moment thing, and they would never have got those numbers out at short notice.
I personally think Southall happened cos the local Asians were never gonna let a skinhead gig take place on their manor without having a pop at it. They did see it as their town and thought they had to put on a show of strength. The fact that most of ’em probably thought (as did most people not in the know thanks to the media) that every skin was a raving Nazi obviously played a part as well! Still. it was a lively night! Wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Cheers Hounslow Rob
Cockney express (terry London) Account Before I go any further I should point out that the following is my version of what I saw at the Southall riot. It is my own view of what lead up to the riot and it is my own view on the bands and the era itself. No disrespect is meant to any person/persons or bands. As far as I know there are only two people that have taken the time to sit down and write what they saw. Both of those versions lead to the same end but, differ because of the people that wrote them and perhaps where they were on the night. At the time of the riot I was Living in Bethnal green in London’s east end which was just a stone’s throw from the shop; The Last Resort. This shop at the time was world famous because of the Skinheads that used it on a regular basis and, because it was just THE place to be. Living so close didn’t mean that either me or, any of the other Skinheads that lived nearby used the shop or went to it regularly. To us it was just a shop that was around the corner. Any novelty the shop held had long since worn off. We left people from outside the East end to hang around the shop and look hard? And indeed get ripped off by the owner a certain Mickey “Millwall” French and his wife in crime…Margret and of course who could forget their fellow muggers of Skinhead money…”Fat Andy and “Shorditch” Ian. Anyway before I lose my thread………………. I had followed first Sham 69 then obviously the Cockney rejects but as these two bands either lost their way or, turned heavy metal I needed to find something new. That something new came in the form of a fellow that lived just a few streets away by the name of Gary Hodges and of course the now legendary 4 SKINS. To most at the time they were THE oi! Band. To us no one came close to them and if the truth be known it’s my opinion that since they (Hodges line up) split no one ever has. As far as I’m concerned since mid-1982 everything that came after has just been clutching at straws but please remember that is just my opinion. It is however an opinion that is shared by many that grew up during that time; living in the birthplace of oi! And, as a lot see it the eventual death place of oi…London’s east End. Yes I am aware of the bands that carried on and in some cases went from strength to strength I/e the Angelic upstarts and the Business but for me what followed was second rate. I will add that yes it was good music but to me it was second rate. If you like oil! at this time had started to grow up and spread throughout the country and in doing so newer bands injected their meaning into the music. For me oi! Was about life in London, no, life in the East end….tuff, hard and a slum where no one gave a toss about us…the kids. The only ones it seemed that cared were the bands of the time. Listening to the likes of Blitz from Manchester or the Angelic Upstarts from the North east just wasn’t the same as listening to the Cockney rejects/The 4 Skins/Eastend badoes or, Cock sparer. Perhaps the only band that came later that made us listen again was the Ejected. You could call this narrow mindedness and I couldn’t give a f**k if you did…hey it’s not the first time I’ve been called that and, I doubt it will be the last. My take on it is simple….we came from an era which was very tribal and as such listening to what we called a foreign band Like the Upstarts was a no no. Of course we went to see them and of course we bought there albums and played them until they wore out but they just didn’t speak for us in the same way as our own. Just as a side point regarding the Upstarts; in later years I have spoken to many people from the North east and they felt the same way about London bands as we did about, non-London bands…like I said we were tribal. Who knows perhaps this is the real reason for the demise of the oi! Scene. Some say that it was the right wing whilst others say it was the left wing. Some even say it was when Skinheads grew their hair. There are many factors that contribute to its demise but, without a shadow of a doubt the main one IS the now infamous Southall riot.
Could this album really cause so much trouble for the Oi! scene? In the eyes of the media/government and any other dimlo that wanted to jump onto the “lets ban Oi! bandwagon” it could…or could it? The album ‘strength thru oi’ which takes its name from a Nazi slogan ‘strength thru joy’ has been used as a scapegoat to justify the unfounded claims of the media from the day of its release until now. It’s true that the front cover had a photo of the late Nicky crane who was a member of the British movement and, head of the leader guard. It’s true that he had British movement tattoos. It is also true that he was a last minute stand in because the cover should have featured Carlton leach the notorious West ham and ICF hooligan but due to one thing and another he didn’t show. It’s also true that on the rear of the cover it pays homage to various non-white peoples.Thats as far as I will go with that because I don’t feel it’s worth going into detail about what Jesse Owens did or who he was or/Sugar ray Leonard etc. etc. What I will say is this. It has been common knowledge for a long time now that the Front cover was changed because of the real cover model not showing. What you might not know is this. Others who I cant mention have indicated it was actually the rear cover that was changed due to its right wing content…..think about it! Either way that album was and always will be the best of all the Oi! Albums in the series. To me everything that came after carry on oi was a waist of money. I and others were due to leave on coaches for Southall that were to leave from the Last resort in Goulston Street, East London. As it turned out around twenty of us didn’t because a couple of weeks before we had arranged to meet Skinheads from Ealing (West London) at Ealing. We had met the Ealing Skinheads at various 4 Skin gigs and got to know them and would travel to a pub that they used called the Victoria. I also knew a couple of the Green ford Skinheads who at the time were working at the same place I was in Old Street. One of these Skinheads was talking about the planned gig at the Hambourgh Tavern in Southall one Monday morning at work. To come to the point the same Skinhead told me on the Wednesday of the same week that he wouldn’t be going because he had heard that the Southall youth Movement was going to try and disrupt the event. Talking with some Ealing Skinheads later that day it was confirmed that they had also heard the same. This is a bit of information that to my knowledge has never been mentioned anywhere by anyone that has ever spoken or written about what happened on the night. It turned out that we got held up in Ealing and arrived in Southall almost forty five minutes late. As we made our way to the Tavern it was obvious that what I had been told was quite true because of the huge amounts of Asians that were gathered and, armed. We were a good thirty in numbers and just cut straight through these people without any sign of them even trying to have a go at us. As we came near to the tavern there was about ten Police already on duty outside. We got the usual bollox that they tended to give Skinheads back then but it did them no good because they were just ignored which I don’t think they liked all that much. Now, at this point I would like to point out that the media has established a myth which goes something like this. They, the media claim that what sparked the riot was us. Skinheads came into the Southall area and were abusing Asian woman/daubing walls with Swastikas and racist slogans etc. This is complete and utter bollox. The real reason is this. Two months prior to the event a gang of Asians had been arrested and two had been beaten whilst in Police custody (something that was quite common back then). The end result of the tension that this event caused lead straight to the doors of the Hambourgh Tavern. The Asians were looking for an excuse to get back at the Police and despite three meetings with the elders of their community and the Southall youth movement to keep the peace it was going to go off. Claims that the British Movement and National Front were in the pub were complete rubbish. Claims that on one of the coaches that brought people from the Last Resort there was a National Front flag in the rear window are rubbish. Perhaps what people don’t know is that inside the pub there were Black Skinheads that had travelled from the Kilburn area. It was these that were the first to be hurt as the windows came through and believe it or not it was these that were pulled to safety by white Skinheads. Any notion that this was a right wing motivated event is an untruth. Obviously there were right wing supporters in the pub as there was left wing. We all knew each other and it was an unwritten rule that on a 4 Skins bill you kept that at home. Who would want to tangle with Gary Hodges and those that he had with him? Only a fool that’s who. Playing on the night were three bands…they were. The Last Resort. The Business. The 4 Skins. It was those Black Skinheads that were hurt first and as ive said were pulled clear. I don’t know if they were in the bay window on purpose to wind the Asians up or what but if that was the case then it worked. One of their names was Lenox and he came from Ladbroke grove and as a side point was also injured at Acklam hall during another event that went tits up. As the windows came through i would have to say that we were still not too worried inside the pub about what was going on outside because we thought the Police would move the Asians on. I have never worked out why they didn’t or, why it got so out of hand.We have to be honest here because the Police could have been heavy handed and forced the issue but obviously the event with the Asian gang had something to do with it. The only thing people were concerned about was the woman that were there…one of whom was pregnant and the younger ones. I’ll never know how everyone got out safe and sound but, we did. It certainly hasn’t got anything to do with the Police because they just lost it. I was in a group of East end Skinheads which included Gary hitchcock/The 4 Skins and Lol Prior. Because we all knew each other we all stayed together and stayed in the pub until we were forced out by the fumes and smoke that at this point was pouring in through the smashed windows. The now legendary story about Lol prior trying to get the bands equipment out before it burned is quite true. He was beaten back by the flames and he was dragged out kicking and screaming. Just a head of us as we came out of the pub were the bulk of the Skinheads that i presume Rob is talking about when he says they were escorted through the Asians. There are many stories about that night that have been told since and some i smile about because i know that they are rubbish. One is when Hoxtom Tom the bassist with the 4 Skins was supposed to have knocked on the door of an Asian seeking help and was knocked over the head with a frying pan…funny but untrue. Another is that Gary Hitchcock jumped into the back of a Police van and wouldn’t come out. also untrue. These people were all in the same group together until we arrived back in East London safe and sound.
One thing that is true is this. As we left the pub and tried to charge at a group of Asians that had begun to fight toe to toe with the police that were trying to get away from the pub; they ,the Police screamed for us to help them which we did. With hindsight this was a mistake on both ours and the polices part because this just enraged the Asians even more. I mean, there we were with a solid line of police between us and the Asians and we were beating the living daylights out of ten or more Asians that had been caught as the police reinforced their lines. I suppose it must have looked or was seen by the press as a racist attack but……one of the black Skinheads was also having a go at the Asians…figure that out. Rightly or wrongly but those Asians that were caught and hurt and, i do me they were hurt deserved it. What stuck with me as i sat and thought about it over the following days was the amount of camera flashes. What the f**k was all that about? how did anyone from the media arrive on the scene so soon? In the papers the following weekend these photos began to appear along with photos of burnt British movement and National front leaflets? One word can describe these leaflets and I’ll leave you the reader to make up your own mind…the word is…PLANTED. During a conversation with Gary Hodges he came up with the idea that the police had put those leaflets there the following morning as a ploy to avoid any questions raised about their complete incompetence over the tactics they used on the night. I’d say that is as true an explanation as I’ve heard. I don’t recall seeing any leaflets being handed out. The only leaflets i was given were for future Oi! events and one for a gig which was to take place in the pub two weeks later for a Rockabilly night with the band the Deltas.
The police gathered up the Skinheads that were left over from the pub and tried to force us to the Local British rail station and onto Paddington I believe. Gary Hitchcock gave them a simple two word answer “fk Off”. The police couldn’t argue because they had other things to attend to. For some unknown reason we ended up in North Harrow When we arrived they MADE us all buy a ticket or they would arrest us. Anyway, whilst on the platform another group of Skinheads arrived who obviously had the same idea as us which was to somehow get back to Southall and have a go back. Among the group which was mainly Chelsea and the South London Skinheads was Chubby chris of Combat 84.By now we were a good forty in numbers and these were all the people that you wanted with you. Thinking on it these days it was quite a surreal situation because there on that tube train platform were two sets of people who probably hated each other more than any other group. The hatred all came down to East/South London and West ham/Chelsea. Funny though, because none of that was mentioned as the hate for the Asians was a lot greater. Well as it turned out we didn’t get back to Southall because we were being followed every step of the way by the Police who were at all the stations we went through. I would like to be telling you how we did make it back to Southall and, how we did take revenge on the Asians but if I’m honest its lucky we didn’t. Looking at it now im older there’s a good chance that i might not have lived if we made it back. It goes without saying that the amount of weapons we had gathered up and the mood we were in we would have killed or been killed. As it was many Asians throughout London fell foul to Skinhead attacks in the following weeks and during one of these attacks one Asian that got a little too mouthy was knifed to death. I don’t have a problem with that because not one Asian when asked by the media said that what happened in Southall was wrong. We are aware of the tightknit community these people have and we were aware at the time that they knew the truth that was hidden behind that riot so ,fk THEM. You could say that im a callous bastard but i was at Southall and was also there the night the Asian was killed. I don’t think it too relevant to go into detail about his death but he deserved what he got as did those that turned up on the night in question. What you have to remember is tensions were running high within the Asian community and, amongst Skinheads. Some of the younger Asians took what they read in the papers as truth. Lets just say that when a group of Asians turned up to gloat and gave it large to a group of Skinheads that were at Southall then they were inviting trouble…..like i said tensions were running high.
The story came out about the Asian gang and the beatings the police gave to two of them but by now people’s minds were closed. We all thought f**k it then…if this is what you think we are then that’s what we will be.
We eventually ended up at Harrow on the Hill where there was also a large number of Skinheads but by now the police had, had enough. Everyone just drifted off onto the tube and went home. Obviously we all knew it was on the cards that there would be a backlash but i don’t think that anyone realised it would be on the scale that it was. At the time it was as if the whole world and his sister had something to say about the oi! Movement and, everyone wanted to have their say. The papers were full of it each and every day for two solid weeks or more and no one wanted to touch an oi! Band or, even touch and oi! Event. Clubs and pubs that were due to host an event pulled out and gave some lame reason. It really was a case of us and them at the time. Skinheads were getting grief from every direction; even those Skinheads that were still at school were being threatened with being kicked out if they didn’t grow their hair. Those that were putting the records out were it seems fighting a losing battle with the music industry and the bands were being slaughtered by people that had been all ready to promote them just a few weeks before. The right wing was claiming a victory over the left and in turn the left was claiming one over the right. It was even spoke of in parliament………………… None and, i do mean NONE of this dampened the spirits of those that were involved in the scene because all though at the time we didn’t realise it, this is what we all thrived on and lived for……Confrontation. That is what the whole meaning of oi! Was and should be about even today. What an absolute victory the Carry on Oi! Album was and, what a sigh of relief was breathed on the streets. Out of all the Oi! Albums this one might not be the best but, it certainly was the most well received of them all. This album to us at the time represented two fingers firmly stuck up to the them……………………………..The establishment. I would have to say that most if, not all didn’t like the cover notes because to us they went too far…..they were too apologetic. It was if the words wrote on the rear of that cover played straight into the hands of those that were trying to destroy the Oi! Movement. It felt like the establishment had said, either toe the line or, we WILL destroy you. This was too much for some of the more loyal within the Oi! Scene and so they left it. Gary Hodges and the 4 Skins came in for so much flak that it got too out of hand and caused too many arguments so he (Gary Hodges) did the natural thing and left the band. It goes without saying that he went out in a blaze of glory and this was all down to the track that was on the carry on Oi! Album…………….Evil, it says it all really. Once Gary left the scene it began to fill with what can only be described as kiss arse apologists who played straight into the hands of both the right wing and, the left. It was these people that really brought politics into our movement with their bullste rantings. You only have to have a look at the so called Oi! Albums that came after Oi! Oi! that’s yer lot. Just have a look at the bands that were on these albums and also the cover notes………….Bollox to all that ste. With the exception of perhaps the new 4 Skins/Vicious rumours and of course the Business the following albums were rubbish. It was the people that were behind the said albums that played straight into the hands of the right wing. You can try all you like to pull that statement apart but history will prove you wrong. By mid-1983 the door was well and truly closed on the whole Oi! Movement; it wasn’t a shadow of its former self and because of those that were now running it….Oi! was lost. Everything was turned on its head by the middle class, suburban rebels that had taken it upon themselves to try and speak for the kids. These people were on a collision course with a man that came onto the Skinhead scene kicking, growling and causing havoc. He met these people head on and; with his band he just took over and, blew away the cobwebs and told the establishment exactly what they could do and, where they could go. Oi! Was dead but, Ian Stuart had arrived and, in style. The left put up a form of resistance but it was just too weak…….. Who honestly could take Chris Dean, Nick King or Martin Hewes of the Redskins seriously? Please, If anyone is in any doubts then think…..Jubilee gardens. Probably the biggest pile of bullste that came out of those few years was that the Redskins were signed to Decca records which in my mind says it all. The Redskins were supposed to be what they the establishment wanted Skinheads to be like Bollox to that idea because there was no way that any self-respecting Skinhead would listen to three middle class drop out types that had nothing in common with us. These people openly supported the Socialist workers party anyway. Correct me if I’m wrong but the way i see it is like this; if you can’t have the right then you can’t have the left Oh! But of course these type of people don’t think like that do they….too much bullste floating around in their heads and not enough streetwise suss’. It’s at this point in the history of Skinheads that the so called S H A R P Skinheads began to pop up. Yes i don’t understand them either. The bit i can’t seem to get my head around is when they say they are non-political…..errrrr if you say so. Now before i get accused of championing the right wing let’s just get something straight. In Ian Stuart those people that were beaten down by the media over Southall saw someone that again spoke for them. Those people would be the ones that came from the street., the real Skinheads/the real Herberts and the real football thugs. Not the Sussed Skins as they were known as at the time or the loony left wing lets ban everything and support everything that just isn’t worthwhile, types. We are all aware of where Skrewdriver went and what they did and that’s not relevant so, it won’t be spoken of. By the time Skrewdriver had announced their true intentions most if not all of the original Oi! scene had moved onto either; Football hooliganism and the casual way of life or were too busy earning a crust to give a fk. As the 80’s wore on under a Thatcher government people began to think in a different way to a few years before i mean…like her or hate her she gave us money/jobs and a meaning. The spirit of Oi! Was about changing the way we were living and getting ourselves out of poverty. She gave us that and, we took it. We are all aware of the miners’ strike but we didn’t give a toss about that because it was a case of “were all right jack”. It takes me back to the point i made about being tribal so nuff said. In any case a lot of the Skinheads that i grew up with watched our Dads being made unemployed as they the establishment closed down the docks in the East end of London…the same applied for the hated ones that lived over the river in South London. We had experienced it…..i don’t recall any miners standing alongside my Dad on picket duty in the 70’s.His favourite saying to me as i grew up was “Boy, the dosh is out there so grab it with both hands and never let go…fk everyone else” too bloody true. Now if that aint Oi! then i don’t know what is.
2004. Oi! Can never be as it once was because of the way we live today but that doesn’t mean the bands that have emerged and in some cases re-emerged cant still play good old fashioned Oi! The way it should be played. There are allot of bands that call themselves Oi! but as far as I’m concerned the only two that are worth a mention are…Argy bargee and Section 5.These two have the spirit of the old bands. The rest are too busy with politics which was not what we were about. It’s good to see younger people getting involved in the newer scene and enjoying the music of the older one. The future Who knows, let’s just take it as it comes and try to enjoy it while it’s here. It could soon be gone.
And lastly, It would not be right to end this article without naming the bands and recordings that made it all worthwhile. The Bands…… 1.The 4 Skins (Gary Hodges line up) 2.The East end badoes. 3.The Cockney rejects. 4.The Business. 5.Vicious Rumours. 7.Cock sparrer. 8.The Gonads. 9.The Ejected. 10.The Last Resort.
The Records…… 1.One law For Them.(The 4 Skins) 2.1984.(The 4 Skins) 3.Class of 82. (The Ejected) 4.England belongs to me.(Cock Sparrer) 5.We can do anything.(The Cockney Rejects) 6.Working class kids.(The Last Resort) 7.Work or riot.(The Business) 8.The Way its got to be.(East end badoes) 9.Vicious Rumours.(Vicious Rumours) 10.Fighting in the streets.(The Cockney Rejects)
As i said at the start, this article is not meant to upset or insult any band/bands/person or persons. If it has then…toughen yourselves up and get a life you mugs.
The Final words come from Max Splodge when asked for his opinion on the riot and i quote… “I think it was a conspiracy between Esso and Unigate”. Follow that. Cockney Express ( Terry London
Jinkys Account So much rubbish has been wrote about what really happened and I’m not sure I have ever read anywhere either in a book or on the internet anything by people that were there. Well that summer was a scorcher as those that remember will tell you and tempers were running high among a lot of people on the streets hence all the riots. I had been to the Hambourgh Tavern before the night of the riot but that was a Rockabilly gig. In fact I had been there a month before. Whilst on our way we got no end of grief off the local Asians but just pushed through them to the pub. I had gone the month before with two Rockabillys and another Skinhead and it was us the Skinheads we thought they were targeting but as we found out inside everyone had been given grief so we just assumed it was because we were White. Now some people have said that the Skinheads going to Southall was provocative but what a load of old tosh because explain the grief the Rockabillys got or the grief that the Soul boys got when they went there. We were told by someone that worked the bar that everyone that came into that pub on gig nights was greeted with the same hostile reception from the Asians and hey ho…they were ALL White so go and figure that one out.
What Tel says about the geezer from Greenford is quite true.. Tel his name was Greg Page in case you had forgot mate. I knew Greg through the Ealing Skinheads. Jason Harrison (Arty), Tony Jarvis (Samson) and the others; you should remember them Tel. So Greg tells us about the gig but a few days later he explains about the Southall youth Movement and what they had threatened to do if it went ahead. As a point on the side I think that if the Police had called the gig off they would have still gone on the rampage because I don’t think to this day that it was us that they really wanted to have a row with…it was the Police and the reasons have already been pointed out. Also, why didn’t the Police stop the gig because they MUST have known all the things that we knew. Maybe they wanted to use this as a way of avoiding a full on riot by the Asians against them and its far easier to blame us the Skinheads than have questions asked about them…..now there’s a thought for you to mull over. Right, I got one of the coaches that left from the last resort along with a few other pals from the East end, yeah it’s true that there was a Union jack in the back window of one of the coaches and why not?, And so what? Those that I’d gone with had already had a right good drink up and were still at it on the coach. On the journey we gave all the usual waner signs to everyone and that included the filth; Funny coz id have thought they would have stopped the coach and wiped us off but no? maybe im reading something into this that isn’t there but how about this for an explanation…the old bill knew where we were going and they knew what was going to happen and that’s why they waved us on ,sit you never know. Right, we arrive at the Hambourgh tavern in good time but you couldn’t help but notice that the little journey that we had to take from the coaches to the pub was not pleasant at all. The Asians that were gathered were making cutting gestures across their throats to us and giving the wan*er sign but I don’t think any of us realized that this was any more than a few locals giving it large. We understood what they thought we were i.e. Nazis and so we swallowed it. Some returned the gestures but can you believe that those old bill that were with us threatened us with arrest and started to get heavy handed. At the time I didn’t think on it but now I reckon that is was all for the Asians benefit but it did them no good because those that were being shoved about shoved back. Inside the pub now. I won’t talk about what happened there because Tel/Rob and Rob have spoken about that. I want to talk about what happened as we came out. Tel talks about the group he was with being the last ones out and by rights that should have been me as well but because of where I was in the pub I had to leave because I couldn’t breathe. Correct me if I’m wrong but those bay windows had large curtains hanging from them and they caught on fire and gave off smoke. It had gone from enjoying ourselves and told by Hoxton to keep calm to sudden chaos and blind panic. I thought I was going to be burned alive and I’m not afraid to admit it. As I say I was forced out of the place and was shoved towards two rows of Police and bundled forward still coughing my guts up. I managed to find two pals that I had gone with and we mobbed up with all the other Skinheads some one hundred feet from the pub. It was at this time that the last lot came out of the pub and got straight into some Asians that had come across to where a few Police had got in front of a small wall. To me it looked like these Skinheads were trying to make a stand and this caused some of those that I was with to try and get back but it was all done in a few minutes and we were bundled away. It was just as we were being told that we would be taken to the local BR that a huge bang went off then a flash that lit the place up; the Asians were all cheering and I have since found out that it was the Police car that was rammed towards the pub. There was no way I was going to get on a train and go to Paddington or wherever it was because my only interest was getting back home to East London and the same went for the seven or so I was now with. We managed to escape from the police escort and walked what seemed like miles through all these back streets. Along that way we just kept bumping into one mob of Asians after another and they wanted it and they got it. I hope this doesn’t sound like we were some kind of super heroes because trust me I was shitting myself and I don’t give a toss about admitting it either but we had to fight our way through a good fifty plus Asians in little gangs for about fifty In one of those little rows we had we came across ten or so Asians that I think wanted to kill us. As we turned a corner they were coming the other way and it went straight off but we managed to get the better of them and get them on their toes. It was as we were leaving them behind that another lot came out of an alleyway and I was hit over the head with a bottle. I tell you I went down like a ton of bricks but those that were with me stopped the Asians from putting the boot in and fought the cunt’s off me. These Asians also ran off but the talk was that a huge mob will come back our way so we had better get off ourselves. I honestly can’t remember too much about getting home because I was dizzy and seeing double. One thing I can remember is the looks I was getting from people on the bus we had jumped on and this was down to the claret coming out of my head. None of us knew where we were or where the bus was going but as long as it was heading away from that pub I don’t think any of us really care. As it turned out we ended up in a place called Eastcote where we got a tube train all the way home. Now that was luxury I can tell you. By the time we got back it was all over the TV and radio and guess who got the blame? The following day after getting along to the hospital to be stitched up from cuts I bought the papers and they were full of it and I still can’t understand to this day what the press thought they were doing. They made out that Skinheads had gone to Southall looking for trouble and got turned over by the locals. One report said that a Swastika had been sprayed on a window. If that is true I can’t see why the riot happened. The press basically said that the Asians gave us a good hiding because some of us gave them some verbal….the press were gloating over it instead of condemning it which they should have. It seems that the press were saying that two wrongs do make a right so if that was the case then why did all the revenge attacks that took place across London get bad press? No, something was most defiantly dodgy about that night and I think that somewhere in a Government vault is a paper with the names of the ringleaders from the Southall youth Movement and the names of the Police that let it all happen to protect themselves. My account (very boring one) My Memories of that night – said in short quick version. We had been drinking in the Hambrough for a few weeks before the gig It was just inside Southall on the border of Hayes. Obviously, it was mainly skins from Hayes and Southall and local areas pre the riot night and there hadn’t been much trouble every time I had gone there. I had gone there as usual but was looking forward to the gig. It was slow to start but the atmosphere was great inside. I was getting hot so went outside for some air and saw groups of Asians gathering. Suddenly Peter Soda a black guy that had gone to the same school had spotted me and came rushing over to me. He asked me why i had come tonight and that i shouldn’t have come with my skinhead as it was going to be kicking off in a few minutes and he said “loads of them have got petrol bombs ready”. He grabbed my hand and told me to go with him. (By the way I forgot to mention he was a friend) He walked me through the gathering groups to the other end of Southall – the wrong end!!! He left me near a copper close to the police station and said i should be far enough away to be safe. The Petrol bombs started going off and i saw the smoke from a couple of cars that had been set alight and could hear screaming and shouting. Loads more police shot out of the Station and towards the trouble. The copper i was standing with shot off so i dashed right into the front of the station. Some police were coming back bleeding as the Asians were attacking them too. It was getting dodgy near the station too so a copper told me to get in his car and drove me to another part of southall down the backstreets that could connect up to Yeading. He left me there then drove off, I started walking and not long afterwards I heard my name being shouted. It was my mum who had driven round the back way with the minibus from the children’s home and she was picking up some stray skinheads she found and was dropping them over to Hayes via Yeading. There were both black and white skins in the pub that night and my mate who was Black had gone with me. She had got out and got back to Hayes and had told my mum she didn’t know where I was, my mum then came out looking for me. My mate Peter told me that the Asians had gone prepared with the petrol bombs. It was a load of crap that the skins had gone there for trouble but the next day on the news it was saying we started it all and were provoking the Asians but the rioting carried on with Asians attacking the police even after all the skins had left.
When I was thirteen years old, I was miserable. I had acne, I had only hand-me-down clothing from my older sister (who was 3 sizes smaller than me), I had no friends, and worst of all, I felt like I didnt belong in any crowd. I was exposed to pictures, music videos, and songs from major mainstream pop stars, and I just could not relate. I had no idea what they were singing about. The supposed universal topics of broken hearts, dancing, and the expression of teenage sexuality all seemed like distant and irrelevant subjects to me. I knew that I would never look like them, I would never live their lifestyle, and more importantly, I knew I never wanted to be like them. I felt lost, different, and profoundly alone. Then, one day, my life changed forever.
I was in junior high, eating alone in front of my locker as was my usual routine, when I came across an old fanzine lying on the floor of my school hallway. One of the other students in the school had probably been reading it and accidently left it behind. Having nothing better to do, I started flipping pages. My eyes caught an image that I had never seen before in my life a woman with spiked up blue hair, studs all over her black leather jacket, and wailing on a guitar. It was a picture of Bekki Bondage, and that was my first exposure to women in punk rock. I decided then and there that instead of unsuccessfully trying to fit in all the time, I would do my best to stand out. I was inspired by Bekki outrageousness, her energy, her unfaltering self-confidence, and I made it my own mission to find that sense of passion and assurance in myself. I ripped the picture out of the magazine and pasted it into my locker as a reminder, and I’ve still got the photo after all these years.
Going punk was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. Instead of trying to squeeze myself into whatever teenage girl fashion there was at the time, I cut my own path and made my own clothes. I found that by creating my own aesthetic, I avoided a lot of the societal pressure placed on adolescent girls to look and act a certain way. Instead of focusing on my body image, I embraced the fact that I was a unique person with a multi-dimensional world view and personality. Through bands such as The Wednesday Night Heroes, Cock Sparrer, and Riot 99 I learned to triumph the values of authenticity, independence, and critical thinking, and I have no doubt that this subculture helped me create the strong sense of self that I have today. Punk rock is a potent medicine that I would prescribe to any young woman going through a crisis of confidence.
However, as the years went by I found myself getting more and more interested in oi! music, and eventually cropped in as a skinhead. I still loved punk, but I no longer felt the need to spike my hair out in a million different directions in order to show the world that I was different. I already felt the difference on the inside, and I wanted to find a subculture whose values incorporated not only the importance of being distinct, but also a sense of community, a sense of self-pride, and a sense of loyalty. I love the fact that oi! music is still working-class DIY music, but I also love the fact that behind its
John Lydon told an Oxford audience that all religion is “vile, poisonous and idiotic” and spoke of his exposure to paedophile priests as a young boy.
The former Sex Pistols and current PiL front man was speaking to an audience of around 300 at Oxford University’s Sheldonian theatre on Monday evening (December 8). It was his final public appearance to promote his 2014 autobiography, Anger Is An Energy.
During the talk, the punk icon took a swipe at Mick Jagger for his “embarrassing” performance at Glastonbury last year. Discussing his musical future, Lydon said he’d give up music “only if I got bored with it, and as long as there’s human being in the world, I’m not going to get bored”.
When interlocutor David Freeman asked if there was an age limit on performing, he replied: “No, only if you’re Mick Jagger. Did anybody see last year’s Glastonbury? I mean come on Mick… it’s not about age here, its about the show off bullshit… I wanted the Stones to give us the juice, the stuff that really put them there in the first place.”
He added: “But no, it’s Mick in ladies’ tights and his testicles are frocked and he’s running around like a speed freak and then there’s the band looking incredibly embarrassed and wearing the awful, I call them Tommy Hilfiger kind of colours, like Cliff Richard-on-holiday wear. And if I turn into that… then you’re all welcome.”
Asked about a possible future for the Sex Pistols however, Lydon replied, “Oh no, that’s finished. I mean have you seen us? I mean We’ve all put on weight but Mr Jones here [guitarist Steve Jones] is coming it at 500 pounds! And I did the butter advert!”
On a more serious note, Lydon also said in his talk that he was put off singing because of his mistrust of priests. “My early childhood, as far as singing goes, was spent deliberately not knowing how to sing, because I was raised a Catholic, and yeah, those priests were at it. So what you would do is everything in your heart and soul not to be co-opted into the choir because that meant the priests had direct access to you. And once that happened to you there weren’t nothing you could tell your mum and dad, because it would be mortal sin to accuse a priest of any wrong doing.”
He continued: “All religion to me is vile and poisonous and idiotic. They spend all their time trying to make you believe things that can’t possibly be true. Sounds a lot like the Tory party.”
The appearance was Lydon’s last in promotion of the book. The message of the autobiography, he told the audience, is that “self pity is for arseholes”.
The Xtraverts formed in 1976 at the outbreak of the punk movement. Creating music in a garage belonging to the guitarist Mark Reilly (Matt Bianco).
Playing classic venues such as the Roxy, Clarendon, the Greyhound and all over Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire they created a massive following from all over the country with gigs selling out nationwide. The Xtraverts appealed to the skinhead and punks alike and garnered a reputation for clashing with the local hooligans, while often a deterrent, it was also a draw to those fans wanting to revel in the atmosphere and feel part of the Xtraverts Crew.
The Xtraverts played with many the bands of the time, such as 999, The Vibrators, The Damned, Visage, The Satellites, UK Subs, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and many more. They also were part of the emerging punk scene playing alongside bands The Lurkers, The Slits, The Banshees, in 77-79, were regulars in the crowd and sometimes onstage at the Roxy
They released three singles in their early career, Blank Generation, Police State and Speed, which are now highly collectable records (especially the limited edition “puke” pressing of Police State). Their first album “So Much Hate” was released on Detour Records in 1978, and is still available in digital format today.
Their unique sound also appealed to a more mainstream audience, with appearances on John Peel’s radio show, a TV feature with Danny Baker and a show called Twentieth Century Box with Janet Street Porter looking at the impact of independent bands and labels on the popular music scene.
Over the years, many of the band members ended up in prison, however through quick changes and substitutions, the band carried on regardless. The death knoll for the band finally tolled however when singer Nigel Martin was imprisoned in 1980, the band finally naturally grew to a close. Without its front man and driving force, the musical direction faltered and the band members went their separate ways.
Over their relatively short career, the band had underground success with the single “Police State” and were Number 1 in both the Sounds and NME independent charts. While the band was enjoying its indie success former member Mark Reilly was topping the National mainstream charts with “Get out of your Lazy Bed” with his new band Matt Bianco. The Xtraverts past and present were enjoying a heyday that dominated across the music scene.
The band often made the alternative and oi! charts in sounds magazine in the early 80’s, and picked up a huge following, but circumstances and perhaps major labels not picking them up, like contemporaries, the Clash and Sex Pistols, the world never got to see the band.
30 years later,and after the death of bass player Mark Chapman, the Xtraverts, After meeting up with an old mate Symond Lawes, Manager of X-ray Spex and Concrete Jungle promotions, have decided to release some of their material, at the moment busily digging through the loft and remastering, what will always be pure Punk Rock. There may possibly be a one off gig, sometime in 2014…… Watch this space
“The Xtraverts were such a major influence on my life. Of all the Punk shows i have attended over the last 10 years, i have always thought, i would just so love to see the Xtraverts up on that stage. Lets hope that dream comes true, and the world get to hear such classic tracks”
Scores of youths have been given prison sentences following a Whitsun weekend of violent clashes between gangs of Mods and Rockers at a number of resorts on the south coast of England.Yesterday two youths were taken to hospital with knife wounds and 51 were arrested in Margate after hundreds of teenagers converged on the town for the holiday weekend. Dr George Simpson, chairman of Margate magistrates, jailed four young men and imposed fines totalling £1,900 on 36 people. Three offenders were jailed for three months each and five more sent to detention centres for up to six months.
Obscenities
In Brighton, two youths were jailed for three months and others were fined.
More than 1,000 teenagers were involved in skirmishes on the beach and the promenade last night.
They threw deckchairs around, broke them up to make bonfires, shouted obscenities at each other and at passers-by, jostled holidaymakers and terrified elderly residents.
At about 1300 BST Mods and Rockers gathered at the Palace Pier chanting and jeering at each other and threw stones when police tried to disperse them.
The teenagers staged a mass sit-down on the promenade when police, using horses and dogs, tried to move them on.
In Margate, there were running battles between police and up to 400 youths on the beach early yesterday morning. Bottles were thrown and two officers were slightly hurt.
Later, on the high street, around 40 young men smashed council flat windows and vandalised a pub and a hardware shop.
Last night, hundreds of young men and girls were still wandering around the resort long after the last train had left.
Police stepped in to prevent further violence and dispersed about 30 youths in leather jackets who marched up the promenade shouting “Up the Rockers!”
There were further clashes at Bournemouth and Clacton.
From the early to mid-1960s young, mainly working class, Britons with cash to spend joined one of two youth movements.The Mods wore designer suits protected by Parka jackets and were often armed with coshes and flick-knives. They rode Vespa or Lambretta scooters bedecked with mirrors and mascots and listened to Ska music and The Who.Rockers rode motorbikes – often at 100mph with no crash helmets – wore leathers and listened to the likes of Elvis and Gene Vincent.Inevitably the two gangs clashed. The 1964 Whitsun weekend violence in Brighton was famously dramatised in the film Quadrophenia (1979).In August that year police had to be flown into the Sussex resort of Hastings to break up fights between the two gangs.
But two years later, most Mods had turned their attentions to the burgeoning, more laid-back, hippie culture. While the harder working class Mods created the Skinhead Subculture
There are many great British bank holiday traditions; determined but ultimately doomed DIY projects, staring from stationary car windows in lengthy traffic jams or simply avoiding the predictable rain. One tradition though which has largely been consigned to history is the invasion of south-coast seaside resorts by teenage youth cults; namely the Mods and Rockers.
The seaside battles between the sartorially elegant Mods and their leather-clad rivals the Rockers fuelled much sensationalist media coverage in 1964. As news of the fighting and arrests filtered out, these youngsters found themselves at theforefront of public outrage. In fact, the Easter weekend shenanigans were pretty much the first mass-media scare over a drug-taking, mindless, violent youth. Of course there have been quite a few scares since. Newspaper headlines from March 1964 screamed ‘Wild ones invade seaside’ and ’97 leather jacket arrests; youngsters beat-up seaside’ as fighting broke out in Clacton-on-Sea. The trouble caused enough outrage for Panorama to investigate the groups and work out whether this phenomenon would be become a regular feature of future bank holidays. The results were strikingly candid; providing a snapshot of working-class youth at the point where deference to the establishment was beginning to wane. The Mods preached a hedonistic take on life; enjoying drugs, music, clothes and violence to a lesser or greater degree and set a blueprint for many a youth tribe to follow. The Rockers seemed more about the bikes.
Perversely for a group with an anti-establishment reputation, the Rockers citied Mods lack of education and class as factors behind their behaviour. The reality though was that both groups were predominantly working-class. The battles may have ceased almost as quickly as they began; but they have become the stuff of legend, immortalised in the album, film and now stage play “Quadrophenia”. But as with any legend, it has tarnished a little over the years amid claims that many seaside punch-ups were actually faked for the press. This tradition carried on through peaks and troughs, right up until the early 80’s when cheap Spanish holidays, took British youth abroad
Both groups still thrive today albeit in smaller, underground circles. The great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton or the resurrection of the Rockers haunt the Ace cafe in north London, or the continued vogue for modish Fred Perry clothing and their mainstream influence is still evident today, although the violence is consigned to the past.
Thought this bunch of clips might be of interest to you, a short movie around the Fred Perry 60th anniversary event and if you missed them, the Subculture movies themselves.
The Fred Perry event took place last week, a showcase for the clothing label and its heritage and the Don Letts-directed mini movies, throwing in some live performances and DJs, headed up by The Charlatans.
You can watch it here…
Episode 2: This Is A Modern World
Episode 3: Made in England
Episode 4: Soul Power
British youth culture and style has gone around the globe, but there is a growing number of events back on home soil. The Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton, cant be missed for any self respecting Skinhead, People travel from across the World to the Mecca annual event
There are many great British bank holiday traditions; determined but ultimately doomed DIY projects, staring from stationary car windows in lengthy traffic jams or simply avoiding the predictable rain. One tradition though which has largely been consigned to history is the invasion of south-coast seaside resorts by teenage youth cults; namely the Mods and Rockers.
The seaside battles between the sartorially elegant Mods and their leather-clad rivals the Rockers fuelled much sensationalist media coverage in 1964. As news of the fighting and arrests filtered out, these youngsters found themselves at theforefront of public outrage. In fact, the Easter weekend shenanigans were pretty much the first mass-media scare over a drug-taking, mindless, violent youth. Of course there have been quite a few scares since. Newspaper headlines from March 1964 screamed ‘Wild ones invade seaside’ and ’97 leather jacket arrests; youngsters beat-up seaside’ as fighting broke out in Clacton-on-Sea. The trouble caused enough outrage for Panorama to investigate the groups and work out whether this phenomenon would be become a regular feature of future bank holidays. The results were strikingly candid; providing a snapshot of working-class youth at the point where deference to the establishment was beginning to wane. The Mods preached a hedonistic take on life; enjoying drugs, music, clothes and violence to a lesser or greater degree and set a blueprint for many a youth tribe to follow. The Rockers seemed more about the bikes.
Perversely for a group with an anti-establishment reputation, the Rockers citied Mods lack of education and class as factors behind their behaviour. The reality though was that both groups were predominantly working-class. The battles may have ceased almost as quickly as they began; but they have become the stuff of legend, immortalised in the album, film and now stage play “Quadrophenia”. But as with any legend, it has tarnished a little over the years amid claims that many seaside punch-ups were actually faked for the press. This tradition carried on through peaks and troughs, right up until the early 80’s when cheap Spanish holidays, took British youth abroad
Both groups still thrive today albeit in smaller, underground circles. The great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton or the resurrection of the Rockers haunt the Ace cafe in north London, or the continued vogue for modish Fred Perry clothing and their mainstream influence is still evident today, although the violence is consigned to the past.
Schylar Davis– Skinhead girl from and currently residing in Austin, Texas I was never really good at anything except art growing up. I played the oboe, and various classical percussion instruments, but still spent the time I should have been practicing concert pieces, drawing portraits of people I knew, or doodling random things to fill up a page.
I got into the skinhead scene when I was almost 16, through music, Laughter and good times. I was into punk rock, but It wasn’t so much me, I worked hard and had more aspiration to be something than most of the punk rock mantras proclaimed around me at that time. I felt more in tune with my skin friends than my punks, music and ethic wise (love them equally, just making a point). When I cropped, I was exhilarated, that’s when I figured myself out. I can be found at most local punk, Oi!, and Ska here in Austin. Like most people I am currently working my ass off at a job I hate to get the bills paid. Things are looking up,though! I’ve got apprenticeships coming my way within this year, And I’m considering continuing my education in illustration or graphic design at the local institute. I hope to do tattoos, become a barber, and learn to weld and do maintenance on anything. If you or anyone else need art done for flyers, tattoos, something to fill wall space, I’m always down for a challenge. If you just wanna say ‘hey’ that’s cool too. Contact me at poisnappl@gmail.com, Facebook.com/schrilla
News broke this morning that The Echo has cancelled what was to be the first installment of an event called Insta-Fest, to take place March 30. The punk rock festival, sponsored by Insta-Press Clothing, Durty Mick Records and others, was slated to feature a who’s who of international punk and oi bands, including Old Firm Casuals (featuring Lars Frederiksen of Rancid), Pressure Point from Sacramento and Toughskins, from L.A.
Durty Mick announced the cancellation this morning via Facebook, alleging that, after the Echo management caught wind that the festivities would feature “the skinhead element” it decided to pull the plug.
Instafest Cancelled
As we’ve previously written, the skinhead scene in Los Angeles is non-racist and overwhelmingly Latino. Neither it nor any of the bands scheduled have any connection to Nazi elements, whose members are referred to as “boneheads.”
In their statement (which you can read in full below) Durty Mick Records took issue with the cancellation and The Echo’s management. “Their lack of communication and unprofessionalism is beyond words,” it says. (A representative from the Echo did not immediately return a request for comment; we will update this post when they do.)
Insta-Fest certainly would not have been the first time skinheads have performed at the Echo. In November, reggae legend Roy Ellis performed there, while in June The Gaylads played to a packed house as well.
Still, the boots and braces crowd won’t want for something to do on March 30. Skamania!is presenting rocksteady legend Errol Dunkley at Los Globos.
Durty Mick Records statement:
After 6 months of planning, unfortunately Insta Fest will be cancelled.
The Echo at the last minute realized that some of the bands playing Insta Fest had band members and fans they referred to as “the skinhead element” and they do not want those types in their establishment. They now have decided to cancel this show two weeks before it was meant to happen. Their lack of communication and unprofessionalism is beyond words.
I would like to thank all the bands and people who have stuck by my side and helped me relocate after our first venue cancellation. Their tireless efforts to promote this event and to make sure it was going to be a success is immeasurable. However, sometimes things are not meant to be. I will be contacting everyone who purchased tickets via Durty Mick Records individually.
Where the fuck is Soho¨? Jack said to Gav studying the tube map on the wall,
I am sure it’s in the west end¨
A bit to shy to ask adults, as Soho was known for sex shops and sleaze, not really the sort of place to encourage teenage kids to go hang around.
But where ever there was danger, there was always fun
The first time the lads had gone looking for Soho, they had studied the tube map looking for Soho station. But to no avail. Being street wise 14 year old skins, they didn’t want to have to ask a stranger and risk embarrassment, but just managed to find it by chance, wandering up through china town behind Leicester square, the shops changed from Chinese restaurants to small shops with the words ,Adult shop’ on the window. Handmade signs saying ´Model upstairs, above a shabby unpainted doorway, a bell hanging on the frame with exposed wires. Not really the place for a twiggy jack thought to himself. More like a model zeppelin he imagined.
Designed for ripping off rich Americans or drunks on a stag night, famous for sleazy shops and overpriced drinks in basement strip clubs. Porn cinemas and prostitution.
A few streets down, in Leicester square were the large theatres showing the Hollywood blockbusters, the caricature artists, painting pictures of ugly kids, whilst throngs of Japanese tourists photograph everything that moves, and most things that dont . The street buskers singing the same old Beatles and rolling stones songs to passing tourists. Well behaved London police officers playing the part of ´Bobby´, giving directions to the tourists, desperately trying to keep the image of nice London safe for the US Dollar and Japanese Yen. Smiling kids posing by red telephone boxes, in their plastic bowler hats.
But for the young skinheads it was a different world.
I´m bursting for a piss¨ jack announced to his mates, just gotta go to the loo¨
In the middle of Leicester square by the small garden there are some public lavatories. Walking down the steps the smell of disinfectant hits the nostrils mixed with the rancid smell of human waste. The tiled black and white chequered tiles, as you enter. The shiny polished copper pipes. Jack wondered to himself, who took so much pride in cleaning toilet water pipes. But any pride is a good thing he reckoned. All the lads piled down the steps to go for a pee.
But even in such a public functional place, there lurked danger.
Like rats, you are never far from a nonce in the west end, and like rats they scamper around looking to feed their hunger. A lot of runaways head for London. The bright lights, the romantic notion of a better life, the anonymity of the big city. Escaping some form of child abuse or unhappiness.
Like Ying and Yang, there is the Salvation Army and churches which are there to help and support. There is also the anti Christ waiting to feed.
When jack was 10 years old he had gone to the seaside, to Selsea Bill, on a very rare trip with his family.. Jack had been so excited, as lots of his mates had been there on family holidays, and had come to school telling stories of the sea and riding donkeys on the beach. Jacks town was about as far inland as possible in the UK, and it took hours to ever reach the ocean.
It was late autumn, and the place was almost deserted, a cold wind coming in off the sea. A closed fair ground and shuttered fish and chip shops, but any trip with his family was a great thing for jack and his sisters, and to see the ocean was almost magical.
Almost as soon as jack got out of his dads car, he needed the bathroom, his dad went crazy if his kids ever asked to stop for a toilet break on the journey, and the excitement of a glimpse of the sea, kept all the kids in anxious excitement anyway. His mum fed them boiled sweets for the journey, which was a lovely treat.
On the edge of the closed fair ground was a public WC. So jack headed straight for it, leaving his sisters and parents to wander along the promenade admiring the view, his sisters dashing down onto the beach to look for sea shells. The seagulls screaming overhead searching for washed up fish.
Jack was so excited to explore the seashore, he thought nothing as he ran into the toilet. Straight into a cubicle he slammed the door behind him, slipped the bolt across and took a seat on the toilet.
As he sat there, a piece of toilet paper flew under the gap beneath the door, and some footsteps walked away. Glancing down, jack noticed there was something handwritten on the piece of paper.
IF YOU WANT A WANK OPEN THE DOOR. The paper read.
Jack was absolutely frozen with fear.
Öh my god, he thought, what can I do, I have to open the door to escape, but if I open the door, then he will get me. He had only just about heard of the word ´wank´ . It’s something Pitwell often talked about, but jack was a lot more interested in collecting football cards and climbing trees for conkers, than anything vaguely sexual. But he realized he was in serious danger.
He understood the danger from his father’s tempers, he got at home, the canings and beatings from school teachers, even the bullies in the street of the council estate. But this was a whole new danger. Something that even scared adults. There were often rumours around the streets about strange men in red Austin mini cars. His mother always told him, never to speak to strangers. Kids talked about this danger, but never in detail, no one really knew who they were, or what they did to kids, when they kidnapped them.
What was he to do, he sat frozen, unable to breath, as it might let out a noise, holding his heart trying to hide the sound of the beating, he let out a slight uncontrollable murmour of fear. Where was he to go, he would have to open the door at some point. Perhaps his dad would come looking for him. But maybe not. Maybe this man will kick in the door. Thinking about it, he realized that as he had came into the building, there was a whole group of men in the toilet. Why were they all there? Were they all bursting to use the bathroom, as he was, maybe they would help him. But then a thought hit him. Maybe they are all together, maybe they are all kidnappers and perverts.
He slowly stood, pulling his belt tight. Raising his courage. Very slowly, he pulled the bolt on the lock, trying desperately not to make a scraping sound of metal on metal, mustering every bit of courage he could in an attempt to allow his escape. The door slowly opened. With every ounce of strength, every piece of energy, he ran. Not looking at anyone, not giving anyone a chance to grab him, he darted for the door to exit. Within a few seconds he was outside. He ran straight into a car parked outside, and as he looked into the window he saw the face of the devil. A thin old man in bottle glasses, with greased hair, staring at him. The look chilled his bones, as he ran for safety towards his sisters and parents. He could feel the eyes of the demon on his back, but he wasn’t going to look behind him.
Making the promenade, he saw his family down on the beach, his sisters bending over and searching the sand for shells, by the edge of the tide, jumping waves and running to escape them. His parents walking along further inland.
His anxiety dropped as he reached safety. Running down the otherwise deserted beach, his sister called him,
¨jack, look I’ve already found a shell fish, as she held it to her ear, listen you can hear the sea inside¨
Instantly he decided not to mention the toilet experience to anyone. His dad would only get angry, his mum wouldn´t know what to say. And it would at the very least, ruin the day for the whole family.
Instead he picked a flat stone up and threw it as hard as he could into the sea, trying to make it skim the surface of the sea. It went up twice then disappeared into a large white rimmed wave of the ocean. Jacks dog ´George ´chased the stone straight into the ocean, which filled jacks heart with joy. The dog had never seen the sea before, and had been howling on the entire journey from home.
´George had endless energy for chasing sticks, balls and anything you threw for him. He was jacks closest friend. One of the few kind things his dad ever did, was to save George from being killed by the vet. He had been bought as a German shepherd, but had not grown. He was just a mongrel, so the neighbour had taken him in the pub and asked if anyone wanted to save the young dog from its death sentence. He soon became one of the biggest personalities on the estate, being Jack, the paperboys dog.
Walking along the beach, the kids were all having the best fun ever. As usual feeling starving hungry, but otherwise loving it. Along the side of the ocean road were lots of shops, all looking tatty, selling rock and postcards and one large one with red flashing lights and music blasting out. It was an arcade filled with amusement and gambling machines. Oh how jack wished he had a few coins to go inside.
¨right that’s it we´re going home!¨ jacks dad barked
What, why? His mother asked quite shocked
¨Bloody Wogs¨ his dad barked with hatred in his eyes, staring at a group of black teenagers who were in the amusement arcade. ¨
So that was the end of the family holiday.
Leicester square was buzzing with crowds of people as the young teenage skinheads entered the toilets. Jack eyeing up the situation, looking for an empty cubical. Most people would be oblivious to the parasitic nonce. They don’t look very different to any man you could see on a Sunday watering his garden lawn, they don’t wear anything different than anyone else. They could be a school teacher or a bus driver, married to a fat wife with blow dried hair. But hidden behind that mask is the sexual deviant, who prey on young boys in public lavatories.
As Stuart entered the toilet, he went immediately to the standing urinal, undoing his jeans zip. Richard a bit further along. Jack was on watch, and sure enough, a man came running up beside Stuart from one of the wash basins. As Stuart was going about his personal business the man stood and looked down at Stuarts hands .
¨Stuart, there’s a fucking nonce next to you¨ jack screamed as loud as he could.
Stuart, bewildered, looked to his side, to see the man of about 45, wearing a sports jacket and backpack, looking at him, trying to get his kicks.
The pervert realizing very quickly he had been noticed ran for the door. This was jacks chance.
¨ let´s do the fucking scum¨ he cried to his mates.
Racing forward. He wanted this piece of scum before he could make the street outside.
Stuart and Richard joined in the chase, but were slightly to late, as the nonce made the crowds of Leicester Square. He went immediately into hiding behind the tourists. But Richard chased straight into the crowd, throwing a can of coke which had been discarded on the litter bin.
´clang´. It bounced off the side of the nonce’s head, sending its contents splashing over the pervert, and some other people in the crowd.
¨fucking nonce¨ Richard called after him.
¨Bloody Yobs ¨ a voice came from the crowd
Yes did you see what that thug did to that poor man?¨ came the sound of his wife
Bloody skinheads, where´s the police¨?, another startled onlooker called out¨.
Quickly coming to his senses jack realized they were in a volatile situation. The west end is crawling with police, and the skinheads would be the first arrested.
¨leave it he cried out to his mates, there´s old bill about ¨
Yes I hope they lock you away¨, came the voices
¨Aww bollocks to you fucking lot, what do you know¨. jack shouted into the crowd.
As the lads got together and mutually decided to leave the scene sharpish, running up the side of the theatre into Leicester place.
Bring back national service¨ came a comment as jack stuck up the V´s to the onlookers as the young skins made their escape into china town.
Another statistic for the newspaper reports
SKINHEAD THUGS ATTACK INNOCENT MAN IN LEICESTER SQUARE, WITNESSES REPORT.
Jack thought to himself as they trotted north into Soho. Sexual perversion and child molesting was a lesser crime than parking on a yellow line in the British court system. For the parking offence the driver immediately gains a fine. For the nonce the most he could expect was a few hours counseling if he ever made it to court.
The courts were full of nonce’s anyway, judges and barristers all had attended private schools and been buggered by rugby playing elder kids as part of the normal initiation. So they didn’t understand what crime had been committed. They would often go to whores in the back streets of kings cross to have their arses spanked by some sexually abused runaway and pay them money for the service.
Whilst Mrs. Judge was at home in Twickenham worrying about the colour of the curtains, as little Harriot and Bartholomew were away at school studying law and sociology in the hope of following their father into chambers, or failing that, getting a high paid job at the BBC, or in the media to write about the menace of the lower class thugs in British society.
Soho peep shows were always good for a laugh. The darkened hallways and the row of booths, a little like confession boxes in a catholic church. Only instead of getting father O´Reilly, when the flap opened after inserting 50p you got a naked girl sitting on a bar stall touching herself for the gratification of anyone with a few spare coins. Sometimes she would be so excited she would be sitting there reading a book, with her lily white skin, cellulite and stretch marks visible to anyone with a few spare coins.
Amongst the sex shops and porn cinemas, Soho was also a place for the drugs trade, it was not uncommon to see a few smack heads lying in the gutter, or spaced out in shop doorways, pallid white skin with blackened eyes. Pupils like pin dots. The living dead, covered in cysts and boils, from too many poisoned needles. Resorting to thieving or begging for any spare change, once the good looks had gone and there was no room left for them on the peep show stool, when the curb crawler kept driving, the nonce onto his next victim. The wheels of the sex industry, ploughing on through the harvest of human destruction.
Jack wondered why in this day and age with all the information out there, people would still take that first puff of opium. That first chase of the dragon. Was Sid Vicious or the rock stars of the 1960´s so cool as to want to follow them to a lonely end. Did they really believe that they were immune to addiction. Or was it just a death wish that would soon be granted, their bodies being found in cardboard city under waterloo bridge. another victim to the paupers grave.
Late night cafe, for a hot mug of tea, or a Spanish omelet. A place to escape the cold night air, or to wait for the morning trains to start. A few drunk clubbers, some musicians sitting for an after work coffee. Late night whores on a break. Old school gangsters wearing the immaculate fitted suites of a bye gone era, after spending too many years behind bars, cooped up in wormwood scrubs. Undercover vice squad with yellow fingers, from too long sitting on stake outs smoking players number 10. The proprietor watching over his flock of misfits.
On the wall are pictures of beautiful Spanish hillside villages, the sunsets over the Mediterranean, white painted buildings and tango dancers, all slightly faded and worn, a tea urn sitting on the edge of the surface, with a steady flow of steam escaping from the top rim.
Family photos of children in Sunday best clothing, posing with their mother and father, proudly hanging on the wall behind the service area. Jack wondered what brought this guy to London, the city of thieves. Maybe he had got on a boat to seek excitement of the most magical city on earth, His own business feeding the English people Spanish food. Sending regular letters home about the great business in London, hoping one day for his Spanish sweetheart to join him, or to one day return a rich man to the village he had come from.
Furniture from 1960´s square melamine tables with wooden chairs. A yellow glow from too much cigarette smoke and cooking fat, creating a warm homely atmosphere, the transistor radio playing wonderful world by Louis Armstrong.
A politeness and courtesy to the night owls of Soho. Two young skinheads feel welcomed as they take a seat, resting the tired feet from the constant walk around the streets of the west end.
Two overdressed and over made up girls stand, the smell of perfume hanging over them mixed with cigarette smoke. One wearing tight leather dress and leopard skin coat. The other in a bright red micro mini skirt short enough, it almost reveals her panties. Her boob tube squeezing the breath out of her chest, pushing her ample breasts to bursting point. Bright red lipstick and almost red blusher on her face.
¨see you later Luca, back to work¨ one says as she blows the proprietor a kiss walking out of the late night omelet café.
¨stay safe darling¨ replies the Spanish guy behind the counter
Jack and Gavin sit by the window sipping mugs of tea. Jack watching the Mercedes outside with the Arabic looking guy behind the wheel.
¨mind if we sit here?¨ a strong female northern Irish accent asks.
Yes sure you can¨ jack says, looking up to see two pretty punk girls standing smiling at him and Gavin. Jack offering a big smile to the girls as they take their seats.
¨god I could murder a cup of tea¨, one of the girls remarks as she looks at the menu written on the wall.
¨I think you have to go ask at the counter, Jack says, I’ll come with you, I need a refill, thinking it a good excuse to talk to the girl.
The proprietor , a thick set man in his mid 50´s with jet black hair and dark brown eyes, a few too many hairs sprouting from his nose and ears, wearing a white shirt with rolled up sleeves, an apron not hiding his petruding stomach very well, a tea towel laying over his shoulder.
¨how can I help you kids¨, he asks the couple as he places some clean plates on the shelf.
¨two cups of tea, please Mr.¨, the young punk girl asks
Holding the silver aluminium teapot under the water boiler, he pulls the handle and a high pitch hiss comes as the boiling water squirts into the open pot. Swirling it around in circles, he pours the thick brown tea,
¨And what about you son?¨ he says to jack without looking at him, preferring to concentrate on the boiling water.
¨I´ll have two teas as well please¨, he says placing his two cups on the surface.
Rejoining Gavin and the other girl, who had already struck up a conversation, the two friends placed the tea cups on the table and sat down opposite each other.
Where you two from¨? Gavin asks, my mum is from Ireland.
¨really, where from, asks the girl, we are from Belfast¨
Port Louth, by the prison¨ Gavin replies.
¨Wild place that, all the families from both sides go and live there, to be near the old man in jail, the girl says with a laugh, having their own private war¨.
Gavin continues ¨my mum hates it in Ireland, she has been here since she was about 18, got out as fast as she could, my uncles also moved to England, so we don’t really have any family there at all nowadays, I have never been there, but my uncle was a champion hurling player.´ Billy Dargan .
¨Oh that’s grand, I hope to move away from Ireland too, maybe we will stay in London, we just got here today, so we don’t know yet. London scares me.¨
Ha-ha jack laughed, you are scared of London, and you got the IRA blowing the fuck out of your town?
¨Oh it’s not as bad as that, don’t believe all the news reports, if you don’t get involved with it, they leave you alone¨.´ The IRA blew up the police station down my street once, but that’s about it¨. London is full of muggers.
¨Yes I guess so, Jack said, my brother was in the army over there, but he was stationed down in south Armagh, a place called Crossmaglen¨
¨Oh yes that’s called bandit country, they have shite going on across the border down there.¨
¨I´m Mary by the way, and this is Bridget, nice to meet you´.
¨My brother is a Belfast skinhead, but he´s over here now, living in Kilburn, do you know him, he´s called Mickey Doyle¨.
¨No can’t say I do know him, there’s a lot of skinheads in London´, but might have met him at some time or other,¨ Jack replied.
So what brought you to London, you just visiting your brother and shopping¨?
Well , something like that. Bridget here thinks she is in the family way, so we had to come over here, you know how it is being catholic in Ireland, she is going to the family planning clinic tomorrow, her ex boyfriend doesn’t want to know, he´s a waste of space, the feckin ejit¨.
¨Oh well I am sure you will be ok in London, there´s more Irish here than in Ireland.
Is that a fact, I was a bit worried we might get a hard time here, because of all the political shite.
¨No, like you say, don’t believe the media, our estate has loads of Irish, I don’t think the average Englishman blames all Irish for a few fucking scumbags, Gavin said, when my mum came over in the 50´s there was a bit of ignorance to the Irish, they used to have signs up in lodging houses, saying no dogs or Irish, but that’s ancient history.
So what brought your brother here, work¨? Asked jack.
Ha-ha, our brother, she said with a big smile. Biggest fool of them all, wherever there is trouble , our brother won’t be far away, he decided one night to steal a car, to get home from the pub, him and a few ejit mates of his.
The next day we get a visit from the ´Boys´, they tell our brother he has one hour to leave Ireland, turns out the car belonged to them. Luckily for him our Dar knows a few people, so managed to sweet talk them into agreeing not to take my brothers knees, if he left, and my father paid for the repairs to the car.
Silly fool, he parks the car a few streets away, thinking no one would notice, the local skinheads, in their big boots and no brains. You can´t blow your nose in my street without all the neighbours knowing how many tissues you use¨. ´
´so of course the Provo’s were round the house before breakfast, knocking me Ole Fella out of bed in his Y fronts
Hahahaha, so he moved to safe London, full of muggers, hahahaha, Jack said with sarcasm.
Yes, something like that, she said, he has to send me father money every week. He got a solid leathering from me Dars belt, to send him on his way. ¨she said, as all the four new friends laughed together.
A man came into the café, immaculately dressed in a sharp 3 button Italian suite, with a full length Crombie style overcoat draped over his shoulders, a pair of smooth’s, so shiny you could see your face in them.
¨hey Peter! The man behind the counter called out, in a very pronounced Spanish English accent, a huge smile across his face and an outstretched hand. The two guys hug, and the proprietor kisses the man on the cheek.
¨how’s the lovely clean air of free London my friend,
¨just great Luca, but the air is not so clean these days, with all these cars about¨.
¨what you want my friend? anything you like on the house, my home is your home¨ he continues
With that, the two old friends went into conversation about old times, dropping the volume levels gradually to a quiet talk.
Jack watched them as they spoke, imaging the stories those two guys could tell. Men from a different era, The jazz clubs of Soho, the swinging 60´s of the Mods . And The London underworld. Judging by Peters clothing, the way he held himself, with confidence, and the fact he wore a deep scar down the side of his face. Not a Chelsea smile, but a sign of an old street fight and a cut throat razor.
¨jack stop staring, Gavin’s voice broke through jacks thoughts¨.
¨Ur ur yes, shit, jack stuttered realizing he had been eyeballing someone who could take it seriously the wrong way, and returned his attention back to the girls.
¨so how’s the punk scene in Ireland¨ jack asked Bridget.
¨Yes pretty good, I like the English bands more. I love Sousxie and the Banshees, X-ray Specs¨ she said.
Yes they are good bands answered jack, but I love Stiff Little fingers and the Undertones¨.
¨Yes they are good an all, but all the best music, comes from London, you have so much here, most of the Belfast punks have turned skinhead now, they all love madness and the specials¨.
The conversation carried on about the punk and skinhead scenes in London and Ireland. As peter the sharp dressed guy crossed the room towards three other older guys of similar age who were sitting in the corner. As he passed the young skinheads table he smiled.
¨Tut tut, what’s this town coming too, he said, bloody skinheads
Hey Luca you don’t want these trouble makers in here, he called over to the proprietor, who was in the process of washing some blue and white striped mugs.
¨Get them all a hot drink on me, he said with a wink and a smile, as he took his seat with the other three guys.
Jack gave a shy thank you smile, in recognition of the generosity shown by the charismatic stranger, the 4 fresh cups of tea arriving soon afterwards to the table.
¨see London’s, not so bad¨ jack said to the Irish girls, who seemed enthralled by this new city.
Gavin pulled out his camera and took a few shots of the girls, which sparked conversation.
¨ I wanted to go to college to study photography , remarked Mary¨. But I couldn´t afford it, I had to get a job, so I ended up working in Woolworths, but at least it was in the photographic processing department ha-ha¨ she laughed.
¨ I never studied a thing, Gavin said, just got hold of a camera off my old man and started taking pictures.
Gavin often used his camera for opening doors, got him free into gigs as well as a good tool for chatting up women.
¨Great fun printing the pictures in the bathroom, as well, interjected jack, then turned his attention back to Bridget and the conversation of music. Jack loved punk music, and also liked punk girls, as they tended to be feminine and wore more revealing clothes than the skinhead girls.
Bridget was a small framed girl, her hair dyed black, with bright green Irish eyes. She was wearing tight fitting black jeans, destroy shirt which was torn across the chest to reveal a slight cleavage and black bra. Her leather biker jacket with love hearts and anarchy sign painted on the lapel in Tipex, with a few band pin badges, one saying Belfast punks, Sousxie and the banshees badges., alternative Ulster, oh bondage up yours, Her skin was crystal clear with a natural beauty. A soft gentleness about her. Small petite hands with manicured nails painted black, with a few silver rings, silver bracelets and pieces of material tied around her wrists.
¨Fancy going for a walk¨? Jack offered the girls
¨Yes sure, why not, can we go see Trafalgar square¨? Asked Bridget.
¨ I thought you said you´d been sightseeing today¨?
¨well we have, but London´s massive, we seen all the shops in Oxford street and Covent Garden¨ laughed Mary.
Yes bet you did¨, jack said with a raised eyebrow and frown, thanking god he wasn’t mugged into that sightseeing trip.
Taking the last mouthful of tea, jack stood and slipped on his prized Crombie, doing up the three buttons, adjusting the red handkerchief in the top pocket and brushing it off with his hand, he walked towards peter, the sharp dressed guy, but as he did he noticed the guys all stopped talking, on his approach. Jack sensing not to step to close, stopped and just nodded at peter.
¨thanks for the tea mate¨!
Peter rose his eyebrows. Don’t mention it , enjoy your girls. A short pause as jack turned away,
¨Keep your nose clean son,¨ Peter chipped in,
As jack walked away, ¨ if you can’t keep it clean, don’t get caught! ¨
Walking through Soho at night was a different experience than during the daytime. Gone were the shoppers and city workers, the black cabs and motorcycles couriers. Replaced by drunken clubbers wearing this week’s trendy clothes, staggering about looking for a kebab to wash down the alcohol, homeless sleeping in shop doorways, sheltering from the wind and rain, the scruffy dog sleeping at his feet, dirty clothing and one bag to hold the worldly possessions, making a bed on piss a stained pavement.
Piles of rubbish waiting collection from the council workers dustcart leaning against lamp posts.
Red lights flickering in upstairs windows above closed video shops.
¨If the Nuns could see me now, Bridget laughed, as she read the posters pinned to the porn cinema windows. Debbie does Dallas ¨she said as she tucked her hand around Jacks arm
Gavin and Mary were walking in front, probably discussing the meaning of life, knowing Gavin, he was always deep in thought about astrology, karma, from the latest hippy book he had read about metaphysics.
Through the streets of Soho the gay rent boys at old Compton street, the Chinese restaurants of china town surrounding Gerard street, on the edge of Soho, bordering Leicester Square and theatre land. Who knows where they all come from, rumours of human trafficking, stuffing people in container s on ships and backs of trucks, all the way from small villages in China, to work the restaurants and sweat shops of London and Europe. Controlled by the Chinese Triad gangs of Hong Kong. But no one really knows, they don’t mix with English people, live a parallel life within the city. But they don’t cause any public concerns. There are never stories of Chinese muggers or street riots, so they go un noticed, so long as the Peking duck stays cheap and tasty.
Maybe due to Bruce Lee movies nobody fucks around with the Chinese, as British kids are well aware that every Chinese person is a trained killer, who can take the biggest man down with one flying kick or karate chop.
Old Compton Street looks like any other West End Street, but Jack felt glad to have Bridget on his arm as they walked along. This strange group of bikers standing around, dressed in too much leather, with no obvious signs of motorbikes about, and even less females for comfort.
Jack felt eyes on him, as he walked, but kept his eyes on the path in front, his conversation with Bridget, perhaps subconsciously pulling her a bit closer to him, as he passed along the road. Bridget seemed unaware of anything odd about these people.
Reaching Charring Cross road unscathed, jack felt a sigh of relief. Relaxing slightly.
¨they give me the creeps¨, he said to Bridget, who was busy chatting about something , which had become a blur to jack, his mind was otherwise engaged.
¨who do, the Buzzcocks? ¨ Bridget answered, a bit confused.
¨No, said Jack, Fucking Queers¨
¨Are the Buzzcocks Gay?¨ She said
¨No, I don’t think so, said jack, but all those Poofs in Compton Street are¨
¨Who…. Those bikers¨? She remarked, looking back over her shoulder, I thought it was a hells angels club or something¨
¨Yes but with a few too many moustaches for my liking¨, laughed Jack
¨Aww leave them, they do no harm¨, She said tugging on Jacks arm
¨Idon’t want to know the harm they do to each others arses¨, Jack joked back
¨Urrr you´re disgusting, she said, screwing up her face.
She giggled a little and rested her head on jacks shoulder, as they walked, jack was worried slightly that her makeup would smudge onto his prized coat, but thought he wouldn´t mention it, he was quite enjoying the feminine touches coming from Bridget. He wasn’t sure if he was on a result here with the girl. Was she putting out inviting body language, or was it was just her friendly Irish nature.
Walking down Charring Cross Road, jack was giving Bridget a bit of a history lesson.
¨Denmark Street, they call Tin pan alley, because of all the musical instrument shops. The sex pistols used to rehearse in an upstairs room above a shop there, McLaren paid them 25 quid a week, before they made it big.
And that’s the National portrait gallery, where they have all the old biscuit tin classics, Constable, or whatever his name is, you´d know his paintings, countryside stuff, with horses and carts etc. the Heywayne or something like that.
That church is St Martin’s in the fields, weird to think this was all fields, once upon a time. The actual city of London, is only one square mile, and was once walled, its where the tower of London is and all the banks. It used to have gates likes Bishops gate etc.
They got a doss house now at St Martin’s for all the homeless, and a lot of those big buildings are embassies, like Canada and south Africa. And there is Trafalgar square, jack announced as Nelsons Column came into view.
¨You know a lot about this stuff Jack, I am very impressed, the perfect English gentleman tourist guide, did they teach you this at school?¨ Bridget asked.
HAHA jack laughed, they teach us fuck all, apart from how to bend over for a whack on the arse from a wooden cane. And especially nothing about British history, its politically incorrect. We have the industrial revolution, all about the toll puddle martyrs and who gives a toss who invented the fucking safety lamp. They teach us nothing about our culture or political history. I just like it, my ancestors were undertakers in Drury Lane, which is just up the road there, at the time the first white settlers were discovering America ¨.
♪have you seen the muffin man, the muffin man♪ Bridget began to sing.
¨Maybe you are the muffin man Jack hehehe¨ she giggled.
♪yes I know the muffin man the muffin man♪ she teased and kissed jack on the side of his cheek.
¨My family have always been Boggies, Bridget laughed, don’t think we ever had anyone as grand as the muffin man. I think a lot left during the famine, to England and America, and ever since then we have tended to leave Ireland, I don’t want to go back, there´s nothing there, in the North with all the guns, bombs, army and police everywhere, it’s no place to bring up children¨ she said with a sad sort of sigh, her mind drifting back to home for a short moment.
¨What about the south¨? Jack asked
¨Never live there, it’s all farmers and cows¨ she said, you don’t get much Rock n Roll in Cork¨. She laughed out loud to herself, putting on some sort of accent, as if laughing at people from Cork.
¨So you gonna be a born again cockney girl now then¨. Jack asked
¨yes something like that, I will start my own band and become the next Souxsie Sue¨
¨Irish Irene and the screaming Fenians¨ Jack suggested
¨sounds great, where the Albert Hall¨ she laughed.
♪ I came a long way from Tipperary, to the streets of London Town♪ jack began singing to make up a song
♪ Where I met a crazy English clown ♪ she sang
Up ahead Gavin and Mary had stopped and were talking to a guy in the street, who looked like another skinhead.
¨seen any skinheads knocking about?¨he asked
¨No not since earlier on¨ Gav replied.
¨You got any fags?, I’m gasping. He asked.
¨no mate sorry, jack answered, we don’t smoke¨
¨I got some rollies, Bridget piped in, as she opened her satchel which was covered in writing from a marker pen, and decorated with pin badges of mainly British punk bands, anarchy symbols and a CND patch.
Searching through her makeup and other things, girls carry around in bags, she pulled out a packet of Golden Virginia.
The guy looked a bit worse for wear, as Bridget handed him the tobacco, jack noticed his hands were black and bruised, visible sores across his knuckles, covered in dry blood, covering the Indian ink tattoos, blood was also all over his green flight jacket. Jack didn’t really want to ask him, what had happened to him.
¨That’s great.¨ He said raising a smile across his face, taking the tobacco and searching for some papers inside.
He stuck a paper to his lip and hissed a little, as he touched a cut , putting his fingers in the pouch to get a few strands of tobacco.
¨that’s looks a bit painful¨ Bridget said, as she curled her eyebrows.
¨ Oh its nothing, I just got out the cells, the old bill gave me a right good hiding. Look, he said as he poked out his tongue, to reveal that is was torn almost in two, from left to right.
Shissssshh, Bridget let out a sound, as she peered at him, touching the side of his face gently. Jack and the rest of the guys also stared in horror.
¨fucking old bill punched me in the face and I bit into my tongue¨.
It looked horrifically painful, jack thought almost cringing, as he felt his own tongue in his mouth, imaging the pain this guy must be feeling.
¨Oh you poor love¨, Bridget continued, as she looked at his mouth, in a caring almost motherly way, as if speaking to a young child who had just fallen off of his bicycle.
¨Why did they do that¨? she asked,
¨I got in a row with some Gooners up at Finsbury Park, and the fuckers nicked me, gave me a right pasting in the cells, but at least they didn’t charge me¨: he said with half a smile.
Jack noticed the skinhead was wearing a London Yids badge and a Tottenham Cockerel. Arch rivals to North London team Arsenal FC.
The guy handed back the tobacco to Bridget, but she held her palm up, and pushed his hand away.
¨No you keep it dear, it looks like you need it more than me, you have had a bad day, she said with a caring soft voice and smile.
¨oh if you insist, the guy returned, quickly pushing the Golden Virginia into his jacket pocket before Bridget changed her mind.
He then tapped his jeans and jacket, whilst holding the unlit cigarette in his mouth.
¨Got a light?¨ he asked from the corner of his mouth, with a raised eyebrow and a little boys cheeky grin, feeling really happy, with the generosity shown to him by Bridget.
¨Here you are, now go on with ya¨. Bridget passed a disposable lighter, closing his hand around it, with her hand.
¨You´re a sweetheart ¨. He said giving Bridget a hug, and a kiss on her cheek.
¨Hope you don’t mind mate. He said to Jack, you got a cracking bird there, make sure you look after her¨.
Bridget giggled slightly and looked at Jack for a split second, which in turn he felt a blush sweep across his cheeks
¨Have a great night¨! He said as the flame lit the end of his cigarette, allowing him to inhale a large lung full of relaxing tobacco smoke.
He took Jacks hand and shook it, and with that, walked into the London night, with a slight stride in his walk.
¨what’s a Gooner¨? Bridget asked Jack as they began to walk.
¨ An Arsenal football hooligan, Gooner is the name for Gunners firm. That guy was a Yid, which is Tottenham Hotspur, they are the big north London rivals, a bit like West Ham and Millwall in East and South London.
¨ha ha, you boys all want to be hero´s, always have to have something to fight about, thought you had a bit more education here, you are as bad as the lads back home¨.
¨Don´t look at me, I’m a nice boy¨. Jack said, giving his most angelic smile possible.
Bridget smiled, like a teacher does, not believing a word.
¨Besides, I come from High Wycombe, we got a shit team, made up of butchers and bakers.¨
¨and candlestick makers¨. Bridget added, giggling to herself.
¨ha ha you know the team then Bridge¨?
Jack paused to let the joke have some time.
¨No I never really been a big football fan, I think my dad put me off it, coming in pissed on a Sunday afternoon and turning the movie off we had all been watching, for the start of match of the day. I am much more into music and having fun. All that running about and millions of hours talking about 90 minutes of pretty boys kicking a bag of wind around, then getting in the bath together afterwards, doesn’t do it for me¨.
¨hahahaha you are funny Jack, she said. My sort of boy¨.
Trafalgar square was empty, just a few people standing on the road above the Square waiting for a night bus, and one guy in the far corner sweeping up discarded litter..
The four teenagers just messing about. Gavin leaned against the big grey stone held his hands together and gave the girls a bunk up onto the surface surrounding Nelson.
Jack jumped up himself, and immediately climbed onto one of the four brass lions, which sat at Nelsons column´s base.
¨pull me up jack¨. Asked Bridget, as she desperately tried to be the tom boy and join jack on the climb.
Jack leaned over and took her hands, pulling her up to join him. The both sat astride the lion, as if riding him, jack felt the closeness of Bridget against his body and smelled her perfume and the beautiful fragrance of female, as she looked out over London.
¨That’s Whitehall down there, where Maggie and the Government do their stuff. At the End is Big Ben, I think you can see that from here. And the next street over there is The Mall. We can go visit Lizzie if you like¨.
¨Who´s Lizzie¨? Asked Bridget.
¨You know, Lizzie, The Queen, Elizabeth¨! Jack Explained
¨Oww got ya, Bridget said, as she got the joke, Yes lets go see the Queen at Buckingham Palace, do you think she will make us some tea?¨
¨I am sure she will, we can tell her some loyal subjects are over from Ireland, maybe we will get some Digestives, or scones¨. Jack added.
¨I want to meet the Corgi’s, I love dogs¨, Bridget said as she slid down off the Lion.
Walking down through Admiralty Arch into the Mall, the sight of thousands of parades over the last few hundred years.
Jack was giving Bridget the tourist guide, all about how the Royal Navy was controlled from here, and the Horse guards which did all the ceremonial stuff for the tourists. Reading a few plaques, under military statues. From days gone by, when the British establishment, honoured its fallen heroes, killed on a far way field. During the time Britain was building her Empire.
Jack felt a sense of pride, as he walked down the Mall, admiring the palace buildings. The architecture. The flag poles lining all the way down the road, one of the few places in Britain they still flew the union jack on occasions. The guardsmen outside the palaces, in their immaculate red tunics and bearskin hats, were just there to collect the tourist dollar. But as an Englishman Jack still felt a pride in his heart, and yearned to be part of a Britain which travelled the Earth, spreading education, designing and building railway systems and hospitals. Trading with tribes, in distant nations. Discovering amazing new breeds of animals and forests. Being feared and respected by all the other World powers, bashing the French and Spanish for Gold in the process.
But this was 1981, what future was there for today’s youth, what did this country hold for him. Unemployment and maybe a council flat if there are any left. Some shit job in a factory or supermarket.
¨ It’s a bit dark and quiet down here Jack, are you sure we will be ok¨?
¨ Yes, this is tourist central, you won’t get any problems here¨ Jack answered,
The two walking arm in arm down the road. Jack felt good. It was really lucky to meet Bridget in the café, she seemed a really nice girl. Jack was wondering how he could see her again, and was hoping she decided to stay in London. Maybe she would come visit Wycombe some time. Was he going to get a kiss at some point tonight, he was wishing.
The City was quiet, just the odd car passing along the Mall, it’s not a bus or truck route, and there were no other pedestrians.
The pair were just wandering along casually, enjoying the evening, when behind him jack felt the thump of running feet. Looking over his shoulder, he saw somebody in the distance coming towards him. Not sure who it was or quite what to do, Jack immediately thought it best to keep Bridget calm. His natural male protectiveness coming to the fore.
He carried on chatting, but was concentrating on the feet, bracing himself for some sort of confrontation. Gavin was up ahead. Jack wondered if he had noticed yet, but didn’t want to raise the alarm, because he didn’t want to frighten Bridget, but she had noticed, jack felt her pull a bit tighter on his arm. Maybe she was also thinking about not to panic.
Speeding up his step slightly to close the gap between himself and Gavin, bracing himself as the footsteps got nearer
Jack was on high alert, his muscles tightening, but he didn’t want to look at the person running, hoping he would keep on going. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, clenched fists.
The guy passed him, overtook Gavin, then in front he stopped the run, and went into a slow pace.
He was a young black guy.
Gavin had noticed and looked back to Jack, to see where his backup was. Jack was thinking the same thing.
Something made jack look over his own shoulder, maybe for an escape route, but to his major alarm he saw a big mob running towards him.
Shit! He thought, this is going to be a proper row.
This was definitely getting more serious by the minute. The guy in front was holding them pinned in, as the rest of the mob caught up. Jack stood his ground and turned. He was used to street fighting, and knew Gavin would be thinking the same thing. He weighed his options up in his mind.
Fight or flight. Well he wasn’t going to run for several reasons, mainly that Bridget would slow him down, and if he did run he would almost certainly take a beating, or his friends would. He had learned that its always best to front out a situation, however much it goes against nature.
Bridget had stopped talking, she must have noticed the impending situation. Jacks stress levels were rising, the adrenalin and rushing of blood to the head. His sensing becoming hyper aware, as all the sounds disappeared. Jack focused
In a situation like this jack always applied the same rule, just go for the biggest one, take out the leader, in a firm, you will have the fighters and the followers. If you are going to take a beating then at least inflict as much damage into one of them as you can. Get hold of him. Bite him, punch and gauge his eyes out, but whatever you do, but don’t let go. If they are going to kick the shit out of you, then use their guy as your shield keep your face and body as close to him as you can and cause him maximum damage, the more vicious you are, the less you should get hurt. Most attacks will be over in a few minutes, so just hold on. Unless they have a blade, you should only end up with a few cuts and bruises. But long gone were the days when Jack would let anyone rob him, without a fucking good fight.
The mob approached, but as they neared it became apparent that they weren’t looking at jack. They divided and ran either side, as if Jack were a lamppost. He didn’t feel any punches, and kicks, were they going to attack Gavin first?
A thought struck him. These were white guys, and not the black mob Jack was expecting. Who were they?
They all ran past Gavin, then like a pack of wild dogs tore into the lone black guy.
The game had changed, but both jack and Gavin were pumped and ready to fight. But instead of defensive, it turned to offensive. Without a word Jack and Gavin charged towards the mob to defend the lone victim. Gavin grabbed one by the shoulder, spinning him around as Jack sprinted in, his fist raised, lining it up for the first jaw to smash.
The guy raised his hand up from his jacket pocket, he was holding something.
Pointing it directly at Jack came the words
¨Old Bill, Fuck Off¨!!
Like a sportsman’s getting the whistle, Jack just sort of froze mid flight, as reality hit him. Maybe with a little help from Bridget who grabbed his coat tail.
¨NOOOOOO, JAAAAAACKKK¨
Perhaps it was the girls company or location, but for whatever reason. The police didn’t react to the Skinheads, but put their attention back to the black guy, who by now was spread eagled on the pavement, Two undercover policemen holding him down, knees pushed into his back, as they pulled his hands behind him, clipping the handcuffs on him. Cursing and swearing at him, as another stood over him, speaking into a radio.
The four teenagers were all silent as they walked for a few minutes, past the dramatic scene.
¨We should be getting back. Was the first words Bridget spoke, as she hung onto Mary. I don’t feel safe, let’s get back to the room Mary¨:
Another night ruined by the fucking Police. Jack thought, scratching an imaginary ACAB tattoo into his knuckles, as the two girls said their farewells, never to be seen again.
Plan B Photographed In Skrewdriver T Shirt The Quietus , July 22nd, 2012 05:18
Has Ill Manors rapper had an attack of the Morrisseys?
As reported on Brian Whelan’s excellent blog recently, UK rapper/neo-soul star Plan B was photographed last week wearing a T shirt bearing the band name Skrewdriver.
The picture was taken from the front cover of popular free title, Shortlist which has a circulation of over half a million copies a week. The The Defamation Of Strickland Banks star was giving an interview to promote his new album and film (both called Ill Manors). The photoshoot took place immediately on his arrival at the studio, but it isn’t made clear if the clothes belong to the rapper or were given to him by a stylist.
The T shirt appears to bear a picture of Nicky Crane, a violent Nazi skin who provided security for Skrewdriver and served several jail terms for racist assaults. Donaldson and Crane both fell out when the latter came out as gay towards the end of his life. For many, the white power, bonehead band Skrewdriver represented the absolute nadir of popular music’s interaction with the Fascist movement, given that their message was evangelical, unironic, violent, radical and, to a certain degree, popular. That singer Ian Stuart Donaldson died in a car crash in 1992, did nothing to hurt their standing worldwide among neo-Nazis. The band however started as a non-politically aligned punk group in 1976 signed to Chiswick, and this incarnation of the group still has many fans internationally including J Mascis and Pink Eyes from Fucked Up. (Pink Eyes, aka Damian from Fucked Up, delivered a righteous screed on the subject of being a fan of the band’s early recordings on the Guardian which is worth checking out.) The interview with Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew aka Plan B is still viewable on the Shortlist website where you can clearly see he is wearing the neo-Nazi band top. It seems highly unlikely that Plan B has accidentally revealed himself to be – or indeed is – a Nazi especially given his recent, left leaning and nuanced ‘Ill Manors’ single but it is ironic and doesn’t help him any that during the interview he praises Tim Roth’s acting in Made In Britain, Alan Clarke’s 1982 film about racist skinheads. He was asked: “Do you look at actors such as Winstone, Gary Oldman and Tim Roth and think, ‘I’d like to be at that level in 20 years’?” And replied: “Oh mate, Tim Roth in Made In Britain – f*cking amazing. In 20 years, I’d love to be at the level they’re at, but it depends how I look. Some people don’t age well for films. They lose that spark. Oldman’s still got it, Ray’s still got it. It all depends on what fate’s got in store for me.”Yet another example of a complete lack of knowledge or investigation by the media, but printed as fact.Well here’s the real story of the ‘T shirt’ the facts are Gavin Watson has done a bit of work with Plan B, and he loved Gavins skinhead photographs, he asked Gav could he use some, and Gavin gave him a whole box of images to choose from, which he then printed a few to t shirts, as a way of using genuine British street images, and also supporting Gavins photography.
But the picture in question, printed on the T shirt is one that Gavin Watson took of his younger brother Neville, who at the time was about 14 years old. Taken in the mid 1980’s on a council estate in High Wycombe at the height of the Skinhead Subculture. Posing against a garage, which has the word Skrewdriver graffitied on it. At that time it was very common for punk bands names to be graffitied all over the country.Gavins photographs have been printed worldwide and have come to represent Margaret Thatchers Britain. Gavin was given a camera as a kid and went about photographing his environment, family and friends, in a complete innocent love of photography. It just so happens that the time was when the British youth culture of Skinheads was at its height, of which Gavin was an active part. Films like ‘ This is England’ and many fashion designers and marketting people have used Gavins images as inspiration, but due to 21st Century political correctness, the actual era that the photos represent is something the British establishment would rather bury under a carpet. and even today, 30 years later the media are still spewing out their lies about the time and the young people involved.This obsession withbelittling council estate kids, and anyone that tries to inspire them. i think its extremely brave and sincere of Plan B to take genuine images of real kids from the council estates that he now represents with his music. In the USA people like Biggy Smalls did that, with his own environment, to huge worldwide success. Yesterdays Skinheads who listened to Oi music, are no different than todays youth, listening to Grime . The more young people feel attacked and written off, outcast, the more chance they will take to the streets, as was seen last year in British cities and in 1981, with the previous generation. July 22, 2012 13:34
Plan B responds to NME ‘neo-Nazi’ t-shirt criticism
Rapper apologises, says he was unaware of the existence of Skrewdriver
Plan B has responded to criticism for a photograph which shows him wearing what appears to be a Skrewdriver t-shirt. The most recent issue of Shortlist shows the rapper sporting a top with the band’s name written on it. This prompted some commentators to question his motive. The New Statesman asked why the rapper had worn the T-shirt and quoted journalist Brian Whelan, who wrote on his blog: ” It is very unusual that Plan B would knowingly wear this t-shirt and that Shortlist would stick it on the front of their publication. Make no mistake about it Skrewdriver were a nasty bunch, [founding member] Ian Stuart became a martyr for the far-right when he died in a car crash almost 20 years ago.” The rapper has now released a statement, which has been posted on The Quietus, explaining that the garment was not an official Skrewdriver t-shirt. He also apologised for not knowing who the band were, or what they represented. He said: “I was ignorant to the existence of the band Skrewdriver. I don’t listen to music like that so I wouldn’t know the names of bands that make that music. I was wearing a T-shirt I created using a photograph from the photographer Gavin Watson’s book Skins. “I asked him if I could print shots from his book on to T-shirts. I made a number of these T-shirts. Gavin’s photos are relevant to me because they represent the demonised youth of the past. Just like my generation of young people are demonised in the media to all be hoodie wearing thugs and chavs so were the skinheads in the 80’s.” Speaking about the person on the T-shirt, who some thought to be former Skrewdriver associate Nicky Crane, Plan B explained: “Most of the T-shirts I had made were of his brother. The boy on the image is Neville Watson. Neville is Gavin Watson’s brother. The graffiti behind him is graffiti. Neither Gavin or Neville put it there; it was already there when Gavin took the photo. Gavin did not know I had printed that image on a T-shirt and I was not aware of the significance of it.” He concluded: “The minute I found out what the words on the T-shirt meant I was angry with myself for not questioning them. The T-shirt is not official nor is it on sale anywhere. It was of my own doing and therefore it is my mistake, but that is all it is.” Skrewdriver were a notorious neo-Nazi “white power” group with links to the National Front. Founding member Ian Stuart Donaldson died in a car crash in 1993 and his death is celebrated every year by the far-right movement. Shortlist’s interview with Plan B can still be viewed on their website, where he talks about his favourite actors and movies as well as his own film, and accompanying album, Ill Manors.
(Reuters) – Security guards scuffled on Wednesday with masked protesters demonstrating outside Moscow’s main cathedral in support of members of the Pussy Riot punk band who are on trial for an irreverent protest at the same church.
Witnesses said 18 demonstrators in colourful balaclavas like those worn by the band mounted the steps of Christ the Saviour Cathedral and held up placards reading: “Blessed are the merciful”.
Guards moved swiftly to disperse the demonstrators and treated some of them roughly, Internet TV channel Dozhd reported. Ekho Moskvy radio said five people were detained.
A Moscow court is to issue its verdict on Friday in the trial of three women who sang a “punk prayer” on the altar of Christ the Saviour in February, calling on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of President Vladimir Putin, then prime minister.
Prosecutors want the judge to convict Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentence each to three years in prison.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups called for protests around the world to support the jailed musicians on the day of the verdict.
Amnesty International in Washington said a senior counsellor at the Russian embassy refused to discuss “more than 70,000 petitions urging Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the women.”
“This representative of President Putin and his government not only rejected Amnesty International’s pleas to take our concerns to Moscow, he unceremoniously dumped the petitions on the sidewalk. If this and other actions taken by Russian authorities are any indication, Putin’s vision for the country is a complete breakdown of a free and just society,” it said.
The accused say they were protesting against close ties between the state and the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader supported Putin during his successful campaign in a presidential election in March.
They have been held in jail since shortly after their performance, which offended many people in mostly Orthodox Christian Russia. Kremlin critics see their trial as part of a crackdown on dissent as Putin starts a new six-year term.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Robin Pomeroy)
An international frenzy is building over the trial verdict that some are saying could decide the future of Russia. Artists in London and Berlin are organising protests. The European Union has accused Russia of intimidating judges and witnesses. Even stars like Yoko Ono and Madonna are getting involved.
Here’s what happened: Nadia, Masha, and Katya were arrested, denied bail, and imprisoned for months because they sang a protest song criticising Russian president Vladimir Putin. In just days, a judge will decide whether to sentence them to three years in prison on charges of “hooliganism.”
Nadia, Masha, and Katya joined the political punk band, known as “Pussy Riot,” to help raise awareness over government corruption. Together with a handful of other committed young women, they dress up in colourful clothing and sing about what they think is wrong with their country — like earlier this year when they performed outside a prison for political dissidents.
Their arrest and trial have drawn international attention. Musicians across the globe are rallying to the cause, with Madonna interrupting her concert in Moscow this week to voice her support, and Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky sewing his mouth shut in protest.
President Putin is starting to show sensitivity to the pressure, and the women’s defense lawyer has told the press that he thinks the judge may be moved by outside influence. To ramp up the pressure, supporters of the Pussy Riot defendants are collecting petition signatures from thousands of people around the world calling on Russian authorities to release the women.
Pussy Riot’s brief act of defiance last year helped lift the lid on some deep divisions within Russian society. August 16, 2013
Ayear ago, much of the world’s eyes were on a Moscow courtroom where three young women were on trial for a two-minute act of defiance in the Russian capital’s main Orthodox cathedral.The Pussy Riot case exposed deep divisions in Russian society — divisions the Kremlin was eager to exploit for its own purposes.In the latest “Power Vertical Podcast,” we discuss the implications of the cultural war and countercultural insurgency that has raged since the verdict.
Joining me is co-host Kirill Kobrin of RFE/RL’s Russian Service, a contributor to the online magazine Polit.ru, and Sean Guillory of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, author of Sean’s Russia Blog.
Enjoy…
Podcast: One Year After Pussy Riot, Culture War Vs. Countercultural Insurgency
Formed in 1991, the BROKEN HEROES are a New Jersey based band. Once complete, they hit the ground running. Playing many shows and shutting down most of those shows. The aggression that you expect from an oi!-punk band was prominant in BROKEN HEROES. It was a time when punk was still only cool to those that really loved it. (Not the whole entire friggin commercial world!) “The Pipeline”, in Newark …See more
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East Coast, U.S.A.
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Matt Bastard
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Influences
Each member of BROKEN HEROES comes from their own unique background, thus mixing a broad spectrum of musical interest & influence.
When I was thirteen years old, I was miserable. I had acne, I had only hand-me-down clothing from my older sister (who was 3 sizes smaller than me), I had no friends, and worst of all, I felt like I didn’t belong in any crowd. I was exposed to pictures, music videos, and songs from major mainstream pop stars, and I just could not relate. I had no idea what they were singing about. The supposed universal topics of broken hearts, dancing, and the expression of teenage sexuality all seemed like distant and irrelevant subjects to me. I knew that I would never look like them, I would never live their lifestyle, and more importantly, I knew I never wanted to be like them. I felt lost, different, and profoundly alone. Then, one day, my life changed forever.
I was in junior high, eating alone in front of my locker as was my usual routine, when I came across an old fanzine lying on the floor of my school’s hallway. One of the other students in the school had probably been reading it and accidently left it behind. Having nothing better to do, I started flipping pages. My eyes caught an image that I had never seen before in my life – a woman with spiked up blue hair, studs all over her black leather jacket, and wailing on a guitar. It was a picture of Bekki Bondage, and that was my first exposure to women in punk rock. I decided then and there that instead of unsuccessfully trying to fit in all the time, I would do my best to stand out. I was inspired by Bekki’s outrageousness, her energy, her unfaltering self-confidence, and I made it my own mission to find that sense of passion and assurance in myself. I ripped the picture out of the magazine and pasted it into my locker as a reminder, and I’ve still got the photo after all these years.
Punk icon Poly Styrene, former X-Ray Spex singer, dies aged 53
Punk singer Poly Styrene, former singer with the X-Ray Spex, has died at the age of 53 after suffering from cancer.
She was one of the first female punk icons, whose unorthodox yet infectious style was highly influential.
Real name Marianne Elliot-Said, she had cancer of the spine and breast.
A statement on her official Twitter feed said: “We can confirm that the beautiful Poly Styrene, who has been a true fighter, won her battle on Monday evening to go to higher places.”
Singer Billy Bragg was among those who paid tribute, saying: “Punk without Poly Styrene and the X-Ray Spex wouldn’t have been the same.”
Poly Styrene formed her band after watching the Sex Pistols perform on Hastings Pier on her 18th birthday and became known for her unpolished vocals and energetic rallying cries against consumerism and environmental destruction.
Poly Styrene released her third solo album only a month before passing away
X-Ray Spex’s signature tune was Oh Bondage Up Yours!, a riotous rejection of social and gender norms that began with Poly Styrene’s spoken line: “Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard.”
The band released just one album, Germ Free Adolescents, in 1978, before splitting up.
The singer went on to record a more subtle and subdued solo album, Translucence, in 1980, before retreating from the music industry to join the Hare Krishnas.
She moved into a Krishna temple in Hertfordshire with her daughter, and struggled with bipolar disorder.
Boy George – who once tried to break her out of the temple – wrote on Twitter: “I was a fan of Poly before I got to know her, she was a Krishna follower too, oh bless you Polly you will be missed! Legend!”
Former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock praised the “general joie de vivre nuttiness” shown in songs like Oh Bondage Up Yours!
X-Ray Spex, with Poly Styrene, right, recorded just one album before splitting up
“She wouldn’t kow-tow to even what the punk fashions should be, I think that’s what that song is about,” he told BBC 6 Music.
“I did see her not that long ago so it’s sad. Again, somebody from the punk rock scene has died far too young and it’s a loss.”
Billy Bragg told the radio station that Oh Bondage Up Yours! was a “slap in the face” to male punk bands and rock journalists.
“It’s always hard for women in rock music but it was particularly hard in the 70s,” he said. “I think she cut right through that. The work that she did and the things that she produced always stayed true to that original spirit of punk.”
TV presenter Jonathan Ross said his first concert was an X-Ray Spex gig, adding that the singer had “changed lives”.
Poly Styrene occasionally re-emerged into the limelight, holding a sell out 30 year celebration of xrasy spex live at the Camden Roundhouse in 2007 and released her third solo album, Generation Indigo, in 2011
“I know I’ll probably be remembered for Oh Bondage Up Yours!” she told 6 Music last month. “I’d like to remembered for something a bit more spiritual.”
From Concrete Jungle Festival to Xray Spex
What was I thinking, the day I decided to get involved with Punk Rock. My youth was way behind me, long gone were the days when I thought we were going to change the world. Call it a mid life crisis, or just plain madness, but I would like to think it was more the desire to preserve and celebrate a time in British culture and music.I had been away, become a father, worked for many years as a television actor, seen the world, discovered foreign cultures and philosophy. I didn’t need a pair of doc martins to define myself.Whether it was because I had often played skinhead roles on television shows, the bond I had with my friends, the memories of punks queuing up outside the town hall when I was a kid to see our local band the Xtraverts. The Clash at Brixton, Madness in Hammersmith Odeon, The fact Gavin Watson had made a living from photographs of my friends and me, or the TV documentaries I took part in on the subject. whatever it was, inside me was a belief which I discovered in my teenage years, which had kept me safe throughout my life. that said whoever you are, from where ever you come, you can get up there and do it. Punk Rock was a lot more than fashion and clothes, records and rock stars. It was a belief system, shared and loved by thousands.
Another Chance is Czech street-ska-punk since 2010. Home town of Another Chance is Bruntál. Bruntál is at northeast of Czech republic – at Silesia. Band is four members: Tommy – sing, lyrics, music and lead guitar, Jakub – bass guitar, Petr – trumpet and second vocals and Pavel – drums. Band is formed in part on former members of no idle ska band Náhradní Program. We play fusion between classic punk-rock and ska. Lyrics are primarily about entertainment, us, our future, and last but not least, about drinking. There is no politics as in other Czech bands. We are behind about 20 concerts in Silesia. We have a young, cheerful band always head upwards. We are not pure skinhead band, but we are punks and skinheads in one. Bands Perkele and Stomper 98 are our largest models, but we do not copy anyone, our style is ours and it is different than any other band.
Here is a link to our music profile at Czech music server Bandzone.cz and profile at Facebook: http://bandzone.cz/anotherchance http://www.facebook.com/dalsisance Here is our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/tmazal At this sites you can find our music, pictures, movies and lyrics. We are Czech band, so our lyrics are in Czech language. We would like to greet all the listeners oi! and ska around the world. Oi! to the World. Be happy and proud, thanks, Tommy, Another Chance
On Trial started with two Oi! fanatics, Ben and Wes, in January/February of 2007 in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The first two songs written were Friend or Foe and Unionize. They went about one year without a bass player until it dawned on them to just teach Sarah, a mutual friend at the time, to learn bass since she was at every band practice anyway. They played three shows with Sarah and she ended up being their first official bass player. The band finished their first full length titled “Thirty Years Too Late” referring to how their vintage sound could have fit in well with other late ’70s and early ’80s Oi! bands. Shortly after the release of their CD, they released their first E.P. titled “Underage & Full of Rage.” This title referred to how they were all under 21 at the time and how they got picked off by the cops while drinking and driving. About 6 months passed and Sarah left the band, moved to Pittsburgh, then later joined the military. Ben and Wes were once again out of luck with a bass player. There were a few tryouts but nothing really stuck. They couldn’t find anyone as influenced by early British Oi! as them and so they pressed on without a bassist. A year and a half went by without any shows or a bassist until they considered letting Zach try out. Zach tried out and he became On Trial’s new bassist. Since Zach joined the band, they recorded two full lengths, one in 2009 titled, “Falling Down” and one in 2010 titled, “Today America, Tomorrow the World.” Another release they were proud to be a part of was Boots and Booze’s first compilation release titled, “East Coast Oi! Attack Vol. 1” featuring On Trial, Maddog Surrender, Vanguard and The Hooliganz. Throughout their four years of existence they’ve played with bands such as Hub City Stomers, Stigma, The Toasters, Oxblood, Stomper 98, The Templars and many more. They are still looking for venues and bands to play with regularly. Thanks to the few people who supported us through the years by booking us shows, buying our merch. and believing in us. -Wes 3/21/2011
Well, i definitely was in love with drawing and graphic arts since i was a little girl, so, art does exist in my life since my childhood. I did schooling in Fashion Design, so when i moved to México D.F. the center of México Country in 2006, i met some people involved in the tattoo art. With another 4 skinheads we started “Upsetter Tattoo Shack” in downtown of México City in December 2009, was a great time learning about tattoo art and mixing it with the skinhead subcult. Now the guys are separated and with different ways, but still tattooing, like me.
I’m originally from Guadalajara city, the 2nd city by importance in México, but i lived at different places around México, and now i’m living at the coast, inna beach named “Barra de Navidad”; a beautiful spot in Jalisco, where every year a lot of canadians and americans comes to have a good time with sun, beers and beach. I’m here since 2010 and i really love my place; i have work, friends, my boyfriend and serenity every time i need.
I started my project of a tattoo shop with clothes and mexican kitsch handcrafts, the name is “Old Skull” referred by the Old School, the good times when everything started and the Mexican Sugar Skulls, that visitors from another countries loves because they’re so mexican, and traditionals in México from the “Dia de Muertos” at November 2nd. Our icon is a Mexican Sugar Skull with moustache, a glass of tequila and a big cigarette, sarape and hat, doing his thing haha.
Well, in the beach doesn’t exist a skinhead scene, i’m the only skinhead girl over there, but i’m happy with my friends who are rastas and my boyfriend who are skater. My music and love for my way of live follow me to every place i’m. In my city, Guadalajara, are a little new scene of young guys from 17 to 22 years very involved in the Jamaican music and skinhead style, but i’m feel older sometimes haha, (i’m 25) because i’m skinhead since i was 16 years, so, sometimes i get bored with the same things, do u know?
When i lived at México City, i had the opportunity to see many international Dj’s and artists from Jamaica and many places of the world, like Alfonso & Lola Diez (Torpedo 17) from Spain, Ryan White from San Francisco, Ca., Mr. Symarip Roy Ellis, Granadians from Granada, Spain, The Selecter, Desmond Dekker, Tommy Rock-A-Shacka from Japan, Mighty Ash Aquarius from UK, and many more that i can’t remember at this time.
25 years old, proud Skinhead Girl since 2002, 9 Years and counting, and i really can’t imagine myself as another person, with different choices, because Jamaican music mainly, smart clothes and beer are following me since i put my first pair of Dr. Marten’s when i was a little girl.
I’m skinhead because after the choice by fashion or influence, it becomes to be part of your life, your ideas and identity. Now sometimes i get mad with some girls & boys who started in the “fashion way” because internet is the easier way to get the groove, but i remember the first persons that i met, like Rose from Colombia, Helena from Catalunya, Chema from México City and Iván from Guadalajara, because they was my first skinhead friends, and internet still didn’t exist, if u needed to make an article for a zine, u wrote letters from the other side of world and waited 3 weeks to get the answer. It was very tasty; wake up in the ,morning and see the postman in your door, knocking with a pack from UK or Spain in his hand. Now all is easier, but still have known good people around the world, like u Symond.
Thanx a lot for the space in Subcultz. com, thanx for keeping the torch alive, my best wishes from México, the dub side of the world. xoxo
If you are lucky enough to visit the beautiful Mexico, go find Glammy Gal and get some ink. she can be found smiling at her shop. Address is: Gomez Farías Street 59-3 in downtown of San Patricio, Melaque, Jalisco.
In early 90’s, it was the begun of our punk/skinhead scene, and it’s very hard to get stuff from abroad, like europe, usa or somewhere. some people got from abroad, because they had went from there, like for working or studied there. and they back to indonesia, and spread the stuff. and we copied it hand by hands to friends. and we did not got many information about punk/skinhead, so we must find it by ourself. because no internet at that time here.which are your favourite bands
all bands with positive lyrics, and great musicwhat do your family think about you being involved.
no problem with that, they know i running online shop, and i’m selling skinhead clothing.
i live in bintaro, closer place to jakarta.
Tell me about the religion in indonesia and how that effects the skinhead scene
its not really effects. we don’t have problem with that. me for example, i’m protestant, i go to church every Sunday with my family. for us in scene, religion is our choice. about case in aceh, its different, Aceh have special laws, in their provinces. they do Syariat Islam there. because the citizens want Syariat Islam there. so they thought, being punk is bad, and it’s western culture.did you go to see the Last Resort,when they played there?Of course i went. me and my friends was bring the last resort to play to Indonesia. you can ask them about us. we have great memories with them. good mates! and really humble!
what would you like to tell the worldwide scene about indonesia and your friends
Indonesia scene is great!! Punk, Skins, HC kids, Metal, etc so many here, spreading in many cities, and proviences. come and enjoy with our scene. and that is my point of view about indonesia scene.
REGARD FROM INDONESIA Oi! Oi!
-ENJI- PS: sorry with my english, please edit my english words.
Thankyou from England, i think its amazing that the skinhead , punk and many Subcultures have found there way to Indonesia. Keep the Faith
Police in Indonesia‘s most conservative province have stripped away body piercings and shaved off mohicans from 65 youths detained at a punk-rock concert because of their perceived threat to Islamic values. The teens and young men were also stripped of dog-collar necklaces and chains and then thrown in pools of water for “spiritual” cleansing, the local police chief, Iskandar Hasan, said on Wednesday.
After replacing their “disgusting” clothes, he handed each a toothbrush and barked: “Use it.”
It was the latest effort by authorities to promote strict moral values in Aceh, the only province in this secular but predominantly Muslim nation of 240 million people to have imposed Islamic laws.
Here, adultery is punishable by stoning to death, gay people have been thrown in jail or lashed in public with rattan canes, and women must wear headscarves.
Punk rockers have complained for months about harassment, but Saturday’s roundup at a concert attended by more than 100 people was by far the most dramatic.
Baton-wielding police broke up the concert, scattering young music lovers, many of whom had travelled from other parts of the sprawling archipelagic nation.
Dozens were loaded into vans and brought to a police detention centre in the hills, 30 miles (60km) from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, for rehabilitation, training in military-style discipline and religious classes, including Qur’an recitation.
They will be held there for at least 10 days, after which they will be returned to their parents.
One 20-year-old detainee, Fauzan, was mortified.
“Why? Why my hair?” he said, pointing to his clean-shaven head. “We didn’t hurt anyone. This is how we’ve chosen to express ourselves. Why are they treating us like criminals?”
But the police chief, Hasan, insisted he had done nothing wrong.
“We’re not torturing anyone,” he said. “We’re not violating human rights. We’re just trying to put them back on the right moral path.”
However, Nur Kholis, a national human rights commissioner, deplored the detention, saying police must explain what criminal laws were violated by the youngsters.
“Otherwise, they violated people’s right of gathering and expression,” Kholis said, and promised to investigate it.
Aceh was given semi-autonomy as part of a peace deal with Indonesia’s central government after the province agreed to end a separatist struggle in 2005.
were you there? if so we would love to speak to you, to get the real stories of what happened
anda Aceh. Rizal Adi Syaputra says he is a proud punk, but still prefers to hide his dyed red hair under a cap.
The 20-year-old is a member of one of the Aceh capital’s five punk communities that have become the latest target of the province’s Wilayatul Hisbah, or Shariah Police, and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).
He spent 10 days in detention after being picked up by the Shariah Police, until his parents were able to secure his release.
“I was released recently,” Rizal said. “The officers did not shave my head because my mother told them she would cut my hair off herself. This is why my hair is still intact and not shaven off like my friends.
“There are punks whose heads have been shaved clean by these officers, possibly with the consent of their parents.”
Rizal said his parents were forced to sign a contract with the Shariah Police promising not to repeat his offense. But he said he still had no idea why he had been detained.
Marzuki, who is the head of investigations at Satpol PP and the Shariah Police in Aceh, told the Jakarta Globe that the raids on punks in Banda Aceh were in accordance with existing regulations in the province
“These raids have been verbally sanctioned by the Aceh governor and police chief, and we have received permission through writing from the Banda Aceh mayor,” he said, adding that young punk communities were a public nuisance.
“The presence of punks bothers the general public,” he said. “They are involved in theft, brawls, attacks and assaults in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar. They are criminals. Their actions are against Acehnese culture and violate Islamic Shariah law.”
At least five punks are currently being “rehabilitated” at the Satpol PP offices through religious studies, Marzuki said.
“They will only be released if their parents pick them up and sign a contract promising that they will not continue what they are doing now,” he said.
“Parents have thanked us because they have been unable to knock sense into their kids who have been influenced by this punk culture.
“If we catch someone three times after having undergone rehabilitation with us, we will hand them over to the police. We only arrest those who have committed crimes.”
Rizal told the Jakarta Globe that he and five friends from the Museum Street Punks community were arrested while they were hanging out at the Blang Padang field near the city center one Saturday night.
He said he joined the punk community in 2009 because he wanted more personal freedom and an outlet to create art.
“We asked the Satpol PP officers why we were being arrested; we were just sitting there,” Rizal said.
He was speaking on the side of a demonstration on Thursday protesting the Shariah Police’s targeting of punks.
“We asked them why we were being arrested, but the Satpol PP officers stayed silent. They did not tell us anything,” he said.
“We, as members of the Museum Street Punks, have never committed any of the acts they have accused us of. We are only involved in social activities,” Rizal said, adding that he and his punk friends had even raised money for the survivors of last year’s Mentawai tsunami.
At the demonstration on Thursday, members of the five punk communities sat together and sang in protest.
The demonstration’s coordinator, 19-year-old Juanda Syahfitrah, said they were angry about the accusations by the Satpol PP and the Shariah Police that punk communities were criminal groups.
“Punk kids are not criminals. We detest the stigma that has been laid on us,” he said, adding that Banda Aceh was home to more than 100 members of different punk communities.
“We have been here forever. Why are they [the Satpol PP] only now arresting us through no fault of our own?
“We are just young people who want to create art, but not for money. We have every right to organize and express ourselves.”
Compared to European and North american, the emergence of Mexican Skinhead Culture is more recent, but we consider it one of the largest and most established in Latin America
There are no clubs dedicated to Jamaican music regularily, but the gigs are held in various locations tailored just for the night. Despite this, we had the oppertunity to see international dj’s such as Alphonso Sacristan and Lola Diez, Jim mFox, Tommy Rock a shacka, Ryan White, Mark Morales and Hot Sound System, Ash Aquarious, Tiny T, Malene Soulful and jurassic Sound System, sharing the stage with our own Mexican DJ’s who are increasingly building their collection of Jamaican music for our entertainment.
The mexican scene is not only limited to sound systems, live shows with a long list of artists who continue to visit our country, playing their songs in the largest venues in the country, or in small clubs adapted for the event, giving a nice intimate event for a loyal following.
Artists thast have performed in Mexico range from the Jamaican classics, like the Skatalites, Desmond Decker, Max Romeo and Uroy, british 2tone bands The Selector, Babmanners. third wave bands like the Aggrolites,Toasters, Los Intocables, The Slackers, Skalariak, Tokyo ska Paradise Orchestra, Skaparapid and many more.
Recently we have had Roy Ellis and Los Grenadians participating in a festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Skinhead Subculture. a very Memorable show last December by The Stranger Cole. This festival was organised by, and for skinheads
Many people throughout the whole republic come to enjoy the great events, as there are fans all over the country. The Majority of shows happen in the Capital, Mexico City
Thanks to Daisy Uribe, aka Jamaican Jukebox
If you heading for the sun stop off in Mexico City
Bay Area Skinhead Scene by Pete/Suburban Rebels Fanzine As of right now and the past couple years, it is slowly expanding. I moved to San Francisco about 5 years ago from New Jersey and since I’m here now, I will keep this about the San Francisco Oi! scene only. The first Skin I saw on the streets was a loose canon named Jessie. He had a cross tattooed on his forehead and lived on the streets. I didn’t get to know him very well because I got word that he had passed away. So, I thought I may not meet another Skinhead again. As I started going to shows, I started to discover West Coast Oi! bands and meet other skins that lived in the Bay Area. Some of the local bands are Pressure Point (Sacramento), Harrington Saints, Reducers SF, Hounds and Harlots, Sydney Ducks, and the Old Firm Casuals. Pressure Point and Reducers SF are veterans of the scene around here. Sydney Ducks will soon take over the world and the Old Firm Casuals are taking over as we speak. Cock Sparrer has rolled through here twice and the Business come along every now and then. Slick 46 and Control are some other bands I can remember playing about. Powerhouse Productions (Black and Blue takeover SF) is a night where some Oi! is spinned. Along with hardcore and whatever else they are playing. Lars and Casey from the Old Firm Casuals DJ.
Faces pop up here and there from the Bay Area at shows but there aren’t a whole lot of Skins in the City. Then all of a sudden, Skinheads were popping out of the woodwork. New faces and old faces that started even adopting the Skinhead style and look. But there still is not enough of us! When, the Old Firm Casuals started up things started kicking off. I started Suburban Rebels , https://www.facebook.com/SuburbanRebels which is an Oi!/Skinhead zine around January this year because”we” needed something for our communtiy. I want more bands to come to San Francisco and have things really go off! It started off real small but the zine is starting to grow. I’ve had Roger Miret from Agnostic Front, Mike from Pressure Point, and currently Lars, Hounds and Harlots, and a super good band from Tacoma, called Noi!se.years to come. getting bigger in. I’m on my 3rd issue and I’mplanning a fourth issue with some NYC bands and possibly Stomper 98. I promote shows and I’m even starting to do flyers for people. The Traditional Skinhead scene is pretty big around here. A lot of reggae DJ nights and performers come through. There’s even a tattooer that does a lot of my Skin tats. He’s an oldschool Trad Skinhead. Dannyboy at Let It Bleed. So, we have a small concentrated scene that’s starting to break out.
We have touring bands from both East and West coast uniting the scene across the USA
Check out San Fransisco, if your on the West coast, and support our scene.
The Cockney Rejects were formed in 1978 in London’s East End by Jeff Turner and Micky Geggus. Fueled by their love of old-school punk and seventies rock, they recruited then brother-in-law Chris Murrell on bass and Paul Harvey on drums.
Their first demo, ‘Flares n’ slippers’ caught the attention of small wonder records supremo Pete Stennett who put them into the studio with producer Bob Sergeant to record the song as a single with ‘I wanna be a star’ on the b-side.
The single was a huge success which sold out its’ initial pressing and went on to figure prominently in the indie charts for months.
Realising that the original line up was only ever going to be temporary, they recruited 21 year old Vince Riordan on bass, who in turn brought in drummer Andy Scott from fellow East End band The Tickets, and the ‘classic’ line up debuted at their regular haunt the Bridge house in Canning Town in June ’79 supporting the Little Roosters and life was never the same after that!
As the press went potty and so did the punters, so the record deal offers came flooding in and in September ’79 the band signed with EMI after which the classic ‘Greatest hits Vol.1’ was released in Febuary 1980.
Not a band to rest on its’ laurels, in between touring the U.K the band found time to record ‘Greatest hits Vol. 2’ which was released in October of that year, and had two hit singles with ‘The greatest Cockney Ripoff’ and ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles’ which celebrated the fact that their beloved West Ham United had reached the F.A cup final that year.
Unfortunately at that time the band were beginning to be associated with the burgeoning football hooligan movement that had arisen in Britain at that time, and because of their unabashed association with West Ham united, battles with rival factions at gigs effectively ended the band as a touring unit, and when then GLC supremo Ken Livingstone slapped a totally uncalled for London- wide ban on them (there was never any trouble in London!) the band seemed doomed.
A hastily-arranged live album ‘Greatest hits Vol 3’ was released in March 1981 and from then on the band went in to ‘Beatles’ mode and only released records. Shaping their sledgehammer sound into a more refined beast, the band released ‘The power and the Glory’ in August 1981, and after leaving EMI after 4 albums they released the full-on metal ‘Wild Ones’ on the NEMS label in September 1982.
At that point Vince decided to leave the band, and the remaining three incorporated bass player Ian Campbell for 1984’s ‘Quiet Storm’ which was released on the Heavy Metal records label, which was voted by Kerrang! Magazine the fifth best release of the year, alongside such greats as Deep Purple and Aerosmith.
However, the boys missed Vince and decided to call it a day, only briefly reuniting for the hard rock ‘Lethal’ album on Neat records which was released in April 1990, after which they went their separate ways again.
However, nine years later, interest in the band was awoken by young American bands such as Rancid, green Day and Blink 182 who cited the Rejects as major influences and after a Levi’s ad featured ‘Im not a fool’ Rejects mania seemed to be in full swing and demand for the band to reform, record and play live again reached fever pitch.
With Vince retired from the rock business, Mick asked his old friend from Sunderland’s Red alert Tony Van Frater to join the band on bass, and Tony in turn brought in Andrew ‘Lainey’ Laing on drums, and they recorded an album of Rejects covers called, well well well, ‘Greatest hits Vol.4’ which was released on the Rhythm vicar label in November 1999.
The new line-up also clicked fabulously live, and sell out tour followed sell out tour all over the world, and they released a new album, ‘Out of the Gutter’ in June 2002.
They followed that up with the mighty ‘Unforgiven’ which was released on G&R London in June 2007, and have gone from strength to strength ever since, playing to packed houses the world over with high energy shows which literally take the breath away and show the youngsters how it really SHOULD be done!
In May 2010 they realized a lifetime’s dream and played ‘Bubbles’ to 25000 people at West Ham’s ground in support of their friend Kevin Mitchell on his world title challenge to Michael Katsidis.
The boys are currently writing new material for their forthcoming 10th studio album, as well as working on the forthcoming documentary about the band, ‘East End Babylon’ which is due for release in 2011.
What with all this and new tours being planned all the time, it really is time for everybody to Join the Rejects…….And this time, nobody gets themselves killed!
The band started in 2006 with members from Contemptuous, Dobermann Cult, Östermalm Boys, Sthlm Celtics, Headed for Disaster, The Righteous etc. We are influenced by punk in most forms and of all colours, friends, beer, working life, nostalgia, commieblocks and life in general. Antipati sounds like classic Stockholm skinhead punk played by people with great record collections, brains, muscles and attitude
After the Sleepless EP (which featured also as a bonus songs on last full length album Frågor som rör almänna) is out another EP of Swedish streetpunk band Antipati, now with Italian pizza title Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons). In band is vocalist Roban who you may know from The Righteous and the other members play also in reunited Agent Bulldogg. Band has two guitars and in two songs keyboards were used. On EP you will find four songs which are in relationship with the title of the EP so on A side there is Sommarpsalm (Summer Psalm) and Hösten (Autumn) and on B side Vinterhymn (Winter Anthem) and Våren (Spring). Antipati is based on melodiousness of their songs which is reflected in refrains and vocals time to time sang without musical instruments (like in summer song for example) but also on guitar solos (the good one is in autumn song and at the end of the spring song). I winter song you can hear a melody taken from refrain part of summer song. It reminds me little bit Booze and Glory in some ways. All songs are played with amazing ease which shine from the whole music. To EP is no paper with lyrics which is pitty because I want to know what can streetpunk band sing about four seasons. Cover is done as a gatefold with thankslist and band line up on the back side. The cover has very original graphic design and it is done by Sergio from BSOi! Records. EP is limited to 500 copies like other EP´s from Swedish Streetpunk Collective Series. It´s a pitty, that on cover is no band photo. Instead of this EP band has released also this year 10´´ split with Last Rough Cause on Randale Records and I have to buy it somewhere and you, who like quality and melodic stuff, you should do it also.
It was not long after an adolescent called Pedro came back from a holiday in London in December 1977 that punk started in Buenos Aires. He had travelled with his parents to visit his European family and came across with punks in the streets and the Sex Pistols and The Clash first albums in the record shops.
He was amazed by the style and raw sound, and since Argentina was under a brand new Military Dictatorship –fortunatelly the last that the country suffered- he realized that the setting was ideal and inspirational to import and create the most rebel kind of rock ever to exist on Earth that had just been born in London.
He soon learned to play the first chords on a guitar, adopted the nickname Hari B and Los Violadores, the first and most succesfull Southamerican punk band was on stage very soon.
Songs about repression, against the Government and its involvement in the Falklands War marked them as subversives and revolutionaries and almost all concerts ended with both musicians and the audience spending the night in cells.
“We were very influenced by Stiff Little Fingers music and lyrics, we thought that them coming from Belfast, they felt the same way as we did. They had Land Rovers, tanks and armed soldiers in the streets just like we had Black Marias and uncovered police waiting outside the venues we played to nick us”, he said in an interview.
In 1988, I was 14 years old and had been listening to Los Violadores and the local releases of Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Madness and PIL for more than two years. A compilation of local punk bands called Invasión 88 was released and out of it came Comando Suicida, an Oi! band, and Attaque 77, both recognized among punks worldwide.
Another successful band, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, bursted that same year and brought ska and two tone on every radio station so we learned about Mod and Ska as well.
I was hooked and amazed. I realized that this was the music I really loved. Suddenly, most of my friends were into it and we became a gang of teenagers leaving childhood behind, going to concerts, roaming the neighborhood streets and parks, making a racket with instruments and trying to look the part, in contrast to normal kids or those who chose other musical styles (Metal or Hippie were very popular back then).
Thus, getting clothes was very important . The boots came from the National Service surplus, the braces from our Grandparents wardrobe and the Fred Perry´s from a tennis or golf shop from a High Street.
mport records were hard to get and expensive, but a trip to a record shop downtown was typical on a Saturday afternoon or on weekdays after school. We would check out the layout of the album covers meticulously to see how Jimmy Pursey had painted in white the collar of a leather jacket in Live And Loud Vol 1, what brand of shoes The Business wore on Welcome To The Real World and how long was Wattie´s Mohawk on The Exploited On Stage.
Import records were hard to get and expensive, but a trip to a record shop downtown was typical on a Saturday afternoon or on weekdays after school. We would check out the layout of the album covers meticulously to see how Jimmy Pursey had painted in white the collar of a leather jacket in Live And Loud Vol 1, what brand of shoes The Business wore on Welcome To The Real World and how long was Wattie´s Mohawk on The Exploited On Stage.
At that age, 14-16, you hardly understood politics and you certainly did not care about it. All we knew, because of the songs we listened to, was that all coppers were bastards and all politicians had to be hated because they were liars, thieves and cheaters.
We liked to see ourselves as Anarchists because of the Sex Pistols and Crass thing so after painting a couple of big As in circles on the walls we decided to go further and take it seriously. We tried picking up a couple of books by the likes of Proudhon and Bakunin in the Anarchist Library, which was kind of a hippie- nerdie place full of pseudo revolutionaries. We understood fuck all of those books; it seemed like we had to study to be punk rockers.
We had too much school homework to do, so there was no way for us to read that. I even tried with Nietzche´s The Antichrist!!!. What the fuck???!!! After five pages, I was already reading again the only punk book written in Spanish at the time, Punk La Muerte Joven or kicking the football in the backyard with my army boots to make them look dirtier and older.
All we wanted to do was listen to music, buy records, go to concerts, get drunk, get stoned, fuck girls –we did not fuck but we tried more than a kiss or nipple touch- and fight against or take the piss of anyone who did not like us.
There was no Nazi / Sharp / Red / Anarchist nonsense at the time. Both punks and skinheads were seen as youth gangs who stood their ground and brought a new breed of music and image to a decadent and boring Argentinean rock scene. And we sure changed it.
Name: Karen Westbrook Born: Barking Grew up in Hornchurch Became a skinhead in 1979
The photo was Jay featherstone behind me, Karl Hayes is the little one and Dominic Attard is at the front. We were all friends and they all lived in Manor Park. We were all 14 at the time. It was at the back of the Last Resort, which was a clothes shop which sold skinhead, mod and punk clothing, down the East End near Brick Lane market.
The day it was taken was a normal Sunday down the shop, loads of skins, and if i remember rightly Nick was a skinhead too. He just asked people if he could take their pictures for a book he was doing. We did it for a laugh, never thought about it until a neighbour, years later said she had seen the pic of me in it!! Then my son bought it home from school!
Like any old American city, Philadelphia is full of famous sights and tourist traps, but with a little guidance from a local, you can discover some great underground bars, people, and events.
One place I can often be found is Tattooed Mom on South Street. Although it’s in a very touristy area, this bar is a diamond in the rough – good food with an ample vegan selection, regular cheap beer specials, and a jukebox that’s always rotating great stuff, including Trojan Reggae compilations, Black Flag, and Cock Sparrer!
If you’re looking for a cheap happy hour bar, The Dive on Passyunk Avenue in South Philly is your best bet. The name says it all – this hole in the wall features happy hour specials and free pizza starting at 5pm, every weekday. Lucky 13 at 13th and Passyunk is another cozy spot that has a friendly staff that DJ everything from indie and classic punk to reggae and 2tone.
The biggest night of the month for me, however, is Moonshot!, at the Barbary in Fishtown, which is just north of Center City. This DJ night features a mix of skinhead reggae, ska, rocksteady, and soul — and best of all, it’s free. This is the one night of the month where all our friends meet up and have some fun with affordable drinks and rare vinyl selections. Another free entry night at the Barbary is Rocks Off! every Sunday night, with DJs spinning a mix of classic punk, rock, power pop, and oi.
But there’s more to Philly than just bars and clubs. The Ritz movie theatres, which are located in Old City, offer a great opportunity to see an indie, foreign, or underground film at a reasonable price. The Wednesday night special knocks the admission price down to only $5.50!
If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, visit the Mutter Museum on 22nd street in Center City. It’s a museum of medical oddities, collected from over the years, and features such strange sights as “The Soap Lady” which was a corpse of a woman that had turned itself into a soapy substance.
If you happen to be a scooterist, make sure to catch the annual Independence Day Rally. Every year, on the weekend of July 4th, the Hostile City scooter club – Philadelphia’s overarching scooter association – hosts the Independence Day rally, which obviously coincides with the celebration of 4th of July. The rally includes bar meet-ups, rides through the city, more bar meet-ups, and of course, watching the fireworks that light up the sky over Philadelphia. For the avid brunch fan, they also plan Sunday brunches in various places throughout the city. It would include meeting at brunch, and after there will be a lengthy but informal group ride in the city.
All in all, Philadelphia has many exciting opportunities to get into, even if it is a small city. We have all the fine accommodations any other place would have along with our famous cheese steaks, the liberty bell, many arts murals, and so much more! If any of the events mentioned in the beginning seems to peak your interest, you should definitely visit us in Philadelphia!
