Early Skinheads & Soul / Rare Soul 68-72

[Sean Hampsey]

Your right Ady it was Mods then Skins and later Suedeheads . As for music , my recollection was that Rock Steady was being played in the mid sixties along with various other Jamacian types of music . From the late sixties it was Reggae being played in the clubs . My first Reggae record was Skinhead Moonstomp by Symarip released in 1969 , still have the same copy today .

In my first era of Skinheads we wore Doc's turned up Levi's and Grandad vest's and the obligatory braces . it was always the done thing to get a Wrangler Jacket , remove the Wrangler label from the inside collar and sew it above the top pocket on the front of the jacket . As the movement progressed the code of dress change , out went the vest's and Denim's and in came Ben Sherman's and Levi Sta-Press.

I always thought the Suedehead era was the better of the two , musically and style of clothes . Soul became more upfront along with Reggae artist's such as The Maytals , The Pioneers , etc , etc. As for the style of clothes , I loved my Loafers , tonic sta press and Blazer with a regimental badge sewn on the chest pocket , and of course my brollie . Good days to be sure.

''Come on all you Skinheads , put your braces together and your boots on your feet and give me some of that ooool MOON STOMPIN

Your right Ady it was Mods then Skins and later Suedeheads . As for music , my recollection was that Rock Steady was being played in the mid sixties along with various other Jamacian types of music . From the late sixties it was Reggae being played in the clubs . My first Reggae record was Skinhead Moonstomp by Symarip released in 1969 , still have the same copy today .

In my first era of Skinheads we wore Doc's turned up Levi's and Grandad vest's and the obligatory braces . it was always the done thing to get a Wrangler Jacket , remove the Wrangler label from the inside collar and sew it above the top pocket on the front of the jacket . As the movement progressed the code of dress change , out went the vest's and Denim's and in came Ben Sherman's and Levi Sta-Press.

I always thought the Suedehead era was the better of the two , musically and style of clothes . Soul became more upfront along with Reggae artist's such as The Maytals , The Pioneers , etc , etc. As for the style of clothes , I loved my Loafers , tonic sta press and Blazer with a regimental badge sewn on the chest pocket , and of course my brollie . Good days to be sure.

''Come on all you Skinheads , put your braces together and your boots on your feet and give me some of that ooool MOON STOMPIN

My recollection is exactly like yours Mak. I was just a kid collecting Motown / Stax / Atlantic in '68 / 69 then, influenced by my older sister and her mates, bought 'Skinhead Moonstomp' on Treasure Isle and it all started getting messy. Turned up Levi's, OxBlood Doc Martens, Grandad Shirt, Ben Shermans, Braces and in our case Levi Jacket with the label unpicked from the inside and re-sewn above the left breast pocket! Thought it was only those of us round my neck of the woods that did that, Mak, cos I remember talking to some lads fom York at Skeggy one Bank Holiday and they thought we were crazy defacing the jacket! Guess it was a way of showing off the brand, but we never really thought about it, it was just the done thing.

Then Harringtons came along, Pewter Sta-Prest, Red Socks, Barters or Royals, and that paved the way for the suedehead look, with Crombie, brolly and a longer (suede) haircut. I always felt 'skin' was just a progression of Mod. The hard 'boot boy' apparel was 'fashion' for only a couple of years, and soon evolved into a 'smoother' more 'mod-like' smarter look (we even called ourselves 'smoothies' or 'smooths').

All the while, although I bought loads of Reggae, Soul never went away for me, or my mates, and we would collect and dance to a Maytals 45 followed by an Impressions track without even thinking much about it. It was all 'our' music.

By '72 I was buying more 'imports' and 'northern soul' was being talked about, but it was always a seamless progression for me: although I take the point made earlier regarding the 'cool' skin / mod / suede look and how the 70's Nighter gear seem totally unrelated. I always thought that style had a lot more to do with the Bay City Rollers than 'mod culture'. And it certainly attracted a lot of 'mainstream' people who wouldn't necessarily have any history or interest in Skin or Mod style, or taste in Music.

Sean

PS still got my orig copy of Symarip too and wouldn't sell it at any price. "Must Catch A Train" is still one of my favourite records of all time!

Edited November 15, 2012 by Sean Hampsey

[SHEFFSOUL]

Ah you have got it Pete Sugar, Marc Feld, Wayne Kirven. The drink was after the exhibition at Hackney Town Hall on the original Stamford Hill Mods (who weree in the original Town magazine article from 61)....between me and you Marc Feld struggled to keep up apparently and the tailor to visit was Bilgorri of Bishopsgate.Pete Sugar lives abroad now.

By the way it is often wrongly stated that Slade were the first group to don the skinhead look.....a london band called Neat Change (who featured Jimmy Edwards later in Time UK with Rick Buckler) were the first in 67/68.They were the hard mod crossover/skin look and released a psych pop 45 called I lied To Auntie May which they all hated as it didn't reflect their live sound..

www.stewarthomesociety.org/interviews/edwards.htm

spot on..my dad was a tailor and subscribed to Town magazine..remember that issue as a kid..wish i still had it..also the Stones first manager ALO..was a trendsetter..his first book is worth a read...

[Anais nin Carms]

Tunes that stood out for me from that time were :-

54-46

Vietnam

LIquidator

cherio baby

Al Capone

Skinhead moon stomp

Wet Dream

Stone Love

Aint' too proud to beg

Beauty only skin deep

Hey girl don't bother me was No 1

Sex Machine

Hey America

Funky Nassau

Move on Up

Under the boardwalk

Saturday Night at the movies

At the club

Up on a roof

Sign on the dotted line

Be young be foolish be happy

Westbound No 9

Little piece of leather

I spy for the FBI

The color pallette was wine and bottle green , also king fisher and stone

And tights had patterns up the side , My suit was two tone bottle green and gold ;) The pictures posted earlier really do take me back. Handbags were boxed , brolly was a must and that little bottle of BRUT was a statement.

I recall hitching to Birmingham once and going to a club in Chelmsley Wood and noticing a few girls wearing smocks , then the smock swing coat evolved ...and Chelsea Girl was the place to shop

Studs in hankys

And people used to fight a lot , sometimes girls that were mates dressed identically like wearing the same ben sherman or brutus shirt, also we danced the same dance in formation like in pairs or groups .

And it was a time of rolling in mud in your levi's and sitting in a hot bath with them on

Edited November 16, 2012 by Anais nin

[Smudger]

hi smudger , bet your on about les genders , still see him knocking about today , he still lives in bentley , got a big reggae collection he's trying to get rid of , or he was last time i saw him , he's got bigger to. i was a bit young for the attic , but went to the drum when they had the northern soul nights , bet we no a lot of the same people. all the best john

Yep it was Mr Genders ain't seen him for years always remember him being really tall ,and also remember broken wheel at Retford (some lasses from Retford used to come through to Donny every weekend),Mick Gaskill ang Adj are a couple of other names we used to knock around with,.saw Adj at the attic re-union in 90's ran by Al Taylor at Motel at Balby A1 roundabout. Great memories

[Bazza]

I was never a skinhead,just didn't like the look,but when the Tonic suits Crombies Loafers and brolly's came in around 70 71 time.I loved that trend,I was a Nottm lad ,I remember walking into the Navigation pub at Trent Bridge,was barred soon as I walked in,bloke said " out, we don't want your sort in here" was wearing a Tonic suit loafers crombie and a Trilby dead smart ,dint get chance to buy a drink

Oh and no such thing as Northern or rare Soul, was Ska Reggae and club soul back then,as far as i remember

Bazza

Edited November 16, 2012 by Bazza

[Pete S]

Did 'A Clockwork Orange' actually influence the Suedehead look at all?

I mean, which came first, the film or the Suedehead style, If that makes sense.

Or is it just coincidence that kind of style was adopted by 'the kids' on the street?

Aid

They certainly picked up elements of it, most notably, white skinners, but they went on to become a staple of 'boot boys' as the Suedeheads died out in 72-73

[manus]

I was out drinking the other week with Wayne Kirven and Jeff Dexter who were the original Stamford Hill Mods 1960-61 who told me Mod was finished in 63 and totally dead for them by 64.Some great record importing stories by Wayne who wouldnt touch British copies of records....anyway how about this for a list of dates for the Skin look...Ive got Nik Cohns Today There Are No More Gentleman book who adds at the bottom that Crombie boys had just superseded sudehead.In Ireland the bootboy look went on forever and was carried on by The Undertones.Theres a few NiK Cave biker books at the time where he describes Angels battling with sudeheads in 71....in a later book they are battling "The Dudes" who wear carnations.Now that Clockwork piccie I have is a scottish gang...the leader wears a bowler, eye make up, crombie (with velvet collar), parallel trousers (not baggies),dress shirt (with a dickie bow) and carnation. His mates wear the same but a few have collar length hair and one wears a top hat!!. All have brollies.Anybody have any comments about this list....and I wonder if anyone did the lot!! Stylists 60-63Mods 64-66Hard Mods 66-68Peanuts 68-69Skinhead 69-70Suedehead 70-71Crombie Boys 71Clockwork Look 72Smoothie 72-73Bootboy 73-78Theres also the northern scooterboys who were going throughout and jacked it in after the debacle of Quad and the mod revival

Boot Boys also existed in the 60s - going to football in the late 60s just pre skinhead. They tended to wear Ben Shermans , sleevless jumpers and turned up levis with pit boots and long hair and those heavy RAF type overcoats. These were the first people locally who first began to turn up with full skinhead cuts and gradually they all switched to the skinhead / suedehead look. The local terrace leader was nicknamed Kit Kat and people always talked about " Kit Kat and the boot boys". I always preffered the suedehead look myself.

Cheers

Manus

Edited November 16, 2012 by manus

[Kegsy]

Boot Boys also existed in the 60s - going to football in the late 60s just pre skinhead. They tended to wear Ben Shermans , sleevless jumpers and turned up levis with pit boots and long hair and those heavy RAF type overcoats.

Cheers

Manus

Quite correct, although it was combat jackets where I was.

kegsy

[SHEFFSOUL]

Sheffield Skinheads trip to Skegness, May 1971.

From what my Dad told me, he'd never heard of Northern Soul until after he'd grown his hair , and all that was played in the (youth) clubs and dances he went to prior to 1972, was chart Soul/Motown and popular Reggae.

very true..however in our YC..we took 45's that we'd managed to aquire ..more obscure Stax/Atlantic..i had roscoe robinson..soul bros six..mitch ryder..''IN'' sounds rather than northern soul..i first became aware of Northern thru B&S..and when a girl gave a C90 tape,and Torch badge sometime '72..

[viphitman]

very good picture from LA in 1966 !!!! Not from the UK but it shows how a certain style (skinhead, mod, suedehead) developed at various places around the world !!

[soulski]

This was certainly the start of my life long love affair with Soul Music - I lived in Hillingdon, West London at the turn of the sixties ( i live in Poland now ) and gradually started to wear the same fashions as most of my classmates - ben sherman, brutus, sta-prest, crombie style coats, sheepskin jackets, short hair etc, all depending on which items I could afford ( three weeks paper round money = my first pair of levi jeans) and whatever my parents could afford to buy me.

Some of the cooler/ harder lads in class also went to football - Chelsea mostly, which was when a lot of the firm/hooliganism stuff was starting too. My football allegiance had already been set so I didn't join in the fighting but once I had the clobber I did start going to dances - West Drayton boys club, being one venue I can remember. The music as many here remember was Reggae ( Trojan and Pama ) and Soul ( Tamla was a term used often ). The first singles I bought were Double Barrel, Stoned Love and Tired of Being Alone. The magic moment that probably did it for me was hearing 'Festival Time' for the first time at the aforementioned Boys Club and dancing closely to a lovely girl called Shirley with whom I later swapped records ( she gave me It's A Shame and i gave her Tired of Being Alone ).

James Brown was a big hero, he played the Royal Albert Hall around this time and some of my class mates went ( there was a mini riot apparently ) and his parts one and two singles were keenly collected.

This scene was also very much a class thing I think - my school served mostly the more working class estates of Hayes, Hillingdon and West Drayton where skinhead fashions were prevalent . I got expelled from that school at the age of sixteen and was lucky enough to be found a place at another school not that far away ( thanks to some lucky 'O' levels ). It was just a few miles away but located in what might be called a middle class area. Here my class mates all had longer hair and listened to Genesis, David Bowie, Focus etc and I was probably the only Soul lover in the whole year. i still remember the ' turn that crap off ' cries when I put a Motown Chartbusters album ( or was it Whats Going On ? ) on in the sixth form common room. But the girls were cute so gradually flares replaced sta-prest, desert boots replaced the brogues, t shirt/denim waistcoat combination replaced the check ben sherman and I was no longer a 'skin'.

The music stayed though - discovering Blues and Soul magazine helped there.

Edited November 16, 2012 by soulski

[Pete S]

This was certainly the start of my life long love affair with Soul Music - I lived in Hillingdon, West London at the turn of the sixties ( i live in Poland now ) and gradually started to wear the same fashions as most of my classmates - ben sherman, brutus, sta-prest, crombie style coats, sheepskin jackets, short hair etc, all depending on which items I could afford ( three weeks paper round money = my first pair of levi jeans) and whatever my parents could afford to buy me.

Some of the cooler/ harder lads in class also went to football - Chelsea mostly, which was when a lot of the firm/hooliganism stuff was starting too. My football allegiance had already been set so I didn't join in the fighting but once I had the clobber I did start going to dances - West Drayton boys club, being one venue I can remember. The music as many here remember was Reggae ( Trojan and Pama ) and Soul ( Tamla was a term used often ). The first singles I bought were Double Barrel, Stoned Love and Tired of Being Alone. The magic moment that probably did it for me was hearing 'Festival Time' for the first time at the aforementioned Boys Club and dancing closely to a lovely girl called Shirley with whom I later swapped records ( she gave me It's A Shame and i gave her Tired of Being Alone ).

James Brown was a big hero, he played the Royal Albert Hall around this time and some of my class mates went ( there was a mini riot apparently ) and his parts one and two singles were keenly collected.

This scene was also very much a class thing I think - my school served mostly the more working class estates of Hayes, Hillingdon and West Drayton where skinhead fashions were prevalent . I got expelled from that school at the age of sixteen and was lucky enough to be found a place at another school not that far away ( thanks to some lucky 'O' levels ). It was just a few miles away but located in what might be called a middle class area. Here my class mates all had longer hair and listened to Genesis, David Bowie, Focus etc and I was probably the only Soul lover in the whole year. i still remember the ' turn that crap off ' cries when I put a Motown Chartbusters album ( or was it Whats Going On ? ) on in the sixth form common room. But the girls were cute so gradually flares replaced sta-prest, desert boots replaced the brogues, t shirt/denim waistcoat combination replaced the check ben sherman and I was no longer a 'skin'.

The music stayed though - discovering Blues and Soul magazine helped there.

NIce one.

But wow your paper round paid well, I used to do 7 mornings and 7 nights for £1.50 a week and that was in 1974/75!

[SHEFFSOUL]

very good picture from LA in 1966 !!!! Not from the UK but it shows how a certain style (skinhead, mod, suedehead) developed at various places around the world !!

great pic..if you look at the LP covers from around that time..there was definitely an Italian or continental look going on..though the Levis (more than wrangler etc) were firmly US..and with style icons like Sidney Poitier ..Harry Belafonte..and lesser Sammy davis..its not hard to see why this look caught on ..especially in the more laid back climes of LA...

[Roburt]

Well us soul boys in 66 all wanted mohair (or hopsack) suits ... just so we would look like the US soul group members did up on stage (bright colours with long vents on the jackets).

One of my mates got a copy of the Van Dykes LP around 67/68 and after that everyone in our bunch wanted socks like the guys were wearing on the album cover.

We used to get Playboy for the men's fashions featured in the mag (honest guv !!).

Daft I know, but it kept us off street corners.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Roburt

[Wiggyflat]

Pulp fiction the blurb re The Ghouls was from 73...

[Wiggyflat]

The back blurb from The Parsons book 1976

[soulski]

NIce one.

But wow your paper round paid well, I used to do 7 mornings and 7 nights for £1.50 a week and that was in 1974/75!

Think i've got a few years on you Pete but I got paid around a quid for the seven days but often got tips - notably from some kind Soul on my round who used to get the Morning Star ( Workers of the the world Unite ) - Levis were about four quid I recall ( may be wrong though )

[Mak]

Anyone have a Pork Pie hat ?

[SHEFFSOUL]

Think i've got a few years on you Pete but I got paid around a quid for the seven days but often got tips - notably from some kind Soul on my round who used to get the Morning Star ( Workers of the the world Unite ) - Levis were about four quid I recall ( may be wrong though )

not far off we sold levis for 37/-6d (almost £4)..wrangler 35/-

[Pete S]

Think i've got a few years on you Pete but I got paid around a quid for the seven days but often got tips - notably from some kind Soul on my round who used to get the Morning Star ( Workers of the the world Unite ) - Levis were about four quid I recall ( may be wrong though )

I think my first pair were 5/6 quid so you're probably right there.

[Paddy Ferry]

not far off we sold levis for 37/-6d (almost £4)..wrangler 35/-

And that's all they are worth today, the quality is cr^p.

[Northern Soul Uk]

I remember going into Burtons in Leeds and finding a stunning grey suit with 6 buttons up each sleeve, and 6 down the front of the jacket, a beautiful petrol blue colour, fit like a glove and it was off the peg.

I went to Blackpool Mecca the same night (so this was a little later then discussed) and loads asked where I got it from, and when I told the Burtons off the peg, no one would believe me.

I know a lot of Mods and early Soulies had their fave tailor where they would take their own cloth and tell the tailor what they wanted, and all for just a few quid. Do such tailors still exist that know what Soulies are looking for stylewise, or have they all gone to the wall? My favorite was at the top of Domestic Street in Holbeck Leeds, not there now unfortunately.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Steve Luigi

[nubes]

Olly Pearson..formerly of Corby...now Nottingham ...(i belive) has posted some fantastic pictures of early skins/suedes from the Torch....the Lantern???/Harborough..and other local dos ...looks bloody fab.....if anybody has got pictures....please post them up....Del...Baby Rudie circa 70...xxxxx

[nubes]

Olly Pearson..formerly of Corby...now Nottingham ...(i belive) has posted some fantastic pictures of early skins/suedes from the Torch....the Lantern???/Harborough..and other local dos ...looks bloody fab.....if anybody has got pictures....please post them up....Del...Baby Rudie circa 70...xxxxx

Sorry shouldve said on FB...NERRRRR!!!!!!! ... Delxxxxx

[Guest manusf3a]

i do rember the older lads wearing bib and brace with doc martin boots for football matches. Ruperts are not the same as pow check ? Much louder as i reamber

Bigger louder than pow more like the steroetypical mens golfing USA style checks,round our way among all (well most of the lads soulies or not doc Martins boots were long gone by the start of the seventies,the more smoothie suedehead thing was leather soles,brouges ,basket weaves(the first solatio s style I think?)loafers etc..I remember from getting into clubs well under age though back then hearing reggae such as ,"Swan lake in reggae ,Elizabethan reggae ,and the like getting plays among the motown ,soul and stuff in places like the North Park,Shades ,The Corby Bowl and them always getting good reactionsBack on track I can recall the bib and brace thing,I can also remember the trend of spray painting Dms for football silver(glad to say not me).about the bib and brace time.Me myself I didnt have the bib and brace but I did know a few folk who were dab hands on the brace and bit. Edited November 16, 2012 by manusf3a

[Guest manusf3a]

Sorry shouldve said on FB...NERRRRR!!!!!!! ... Delxxxxx

Like to see them as thats my home town and there always has been quite a strong contingment of soulies,night people from back in the very early days onwards from there as well as a lot of other Northants towns .Pity about them being on fb,I closed my account with them(after a lot of being messed around and difficulty)some time back when I realised the amount of access people could have through me being unfamiliar with security settings.Theres some photos in the gallery on here of that time therabouts incuding some taken at Bletsoe of Corby and other folk that look really good but would still like to see the ones you mention.atbmanus.

[Wiggyflat]

Bigger louder than pow more like the steroetypical mens golfing USA style checks,round our way among all (well most of the lads soulies or not doc Martins boots were long gone by the start of the seventies,the more smoothie suedehead thing was leather soles,brouges ,basket weaves(the first solatio s style I think?)loafers etc..I remember from getting into clubs well under age though back then hearing reggae such as ,"Swan lake in reggae ,Elizabethan reggae ,and the like getting plays among the motown ,soul and stuff in places like the North Park,Shades ,The Corby Bowl and them always getting good reactionsBack on track I can recall the bib and brace thing,I can also remember the trend of spray painting Dms for football silver(glad to say not me).about the bib and brace time.Me myself I didnt have the bib and brace but I did know a few folk who were dab hands on the brace and bit.

Crombie boys and silver sprayed dm's

scooter flares.bmp

[Guest manusf3a]

I remember going into Burtons in Leeds and finding a stunning grey suit with 6 buttons up each sleeve, and 6 down the front of the jacket, a beautiful petrol blue colour, fit like a glove and it was off the peg.

I went to Blackpool Mecca the same night (so this was a little later then discussed) and loads asked where I got it from, and when I told the Burtons off the peg, no one would believe me.

I know a lot of Mods and early Soulies had their fave tailor where they would take their own cloth and tell the tailor what they wanted, and all for just a few quid. Do such tailors still exist that know what Soulies are looking for stylewise, or have they all gone to the wall? My favorite was at the top of Domestic Street in Holbeck Leeds, not there now unfortunately.

Nearly any of the Corby high street mens taylors,Colliers,Burtons etc of the time (seventies)would do made to meaure for you then,pick your material ,specify every detail.I dont think todays mens clothes shops(major brands)would offer such a service but more the older type blokes tailor would be a good place to try.At the time they seemed expensive,about twenty to thirty quid,dependent on material but hey that was for one hundred per cent lightweight tonic looking wool that fitted as the name stated "Made to measure".at the time you would more than likely see off the peg on sale for a tenner sometimes less but ,in my book the made to measure were worth the extra cash.It wasnt just soulies either that used to get made to measure quite a few of the lads not in to soul would do the same.Then I became a jeans,cords and t shirt wearer,not having had any made to measure articles( apart from an aquascutum suit altered by my cousin who was a seamstress for them for a family wedding)since mid to later seventies. Edited November 16, 2012 by manusf3a

[SHEFFSOUL]

Crombie boys and silver sprayed dm's

..blimey..that brings it back..i had an advantage in that my dad had a mens clothes shop..he had accounts with Ben Sherman (whom he used to meet in London) and Levis back in the 60's..anyway it was hard to get them in my size at 16 cos i was slim..but then he managed to get get some samples of (junior) Ben Sherman size 141/2 also a crombie from Covent gdn..later i had the (rupert type trs) which were more military wool tartan than bay city rollers..also two tone check bags..i dyed my brogues white (like correspondents shoes) anh a pair of crepe wedge bumper shoes i dyed silver..this was from '71 to '72..later budgie jkt..more bags inc my first cord pair..then it was bowling shirts..dragonette..and the first custom pair (I believe) of high waist bags..with extra pockets on the legs (a la combat) which carried my notebook for listing 45's..and spare vest..had a cream leather bomber like Steve McQueen racing type..then '74 a beret..after that a 1920's wool almost to the floor gangster coat and wool 8 panel cap..after that toned it all down..short hair ..suits..

[scunnyjack]

At our local Doncaster soul nighter The Attic in the old co-op emporium ballroom over the top of the shop up about 5 flights of stairs, first it was mainly mods and kids into soul,Bluebeat and ska records used to get played but not that many.Mainly soul and as i remember about 69 that's when we started taking more of an interest in reggae.We used to go to the Drum back room in Bentley (Friday night) and that was mainly reggae Upsetters {Clint Eastwood) Hippie Boys {Reggae Pressure) and loads of other obscure label items.Pete Smiths site really brought some memories back looking at some old reggae labels i'd forgotten about .Ben Sherman's , jeans with sewn up turn ups at half mast or stay press red braces and Docs. were the order of the day.Always remember one night walking into back room of drum and looking around to see if any of mates were in ,not seeing anyone went to bar when i was accosted by the biggest skinhead who accused me of looking at him and wanted to sort me out.That was my first encounter with Big Les from Bentley.We used to go to jumbo's at Leeds looking for records always remember them selling loads of reggae.

We still used to listen to soul as well ,a massive record in Doncaster when it first came out was Honk Kong Flu (Ethiopians I think ?),can't remember the racism being a factor at all though all mates together.

You know how it is when the charts were full of reggae it all seemed to die a death for us,plus people started pairing up and drifting off never to be seen again so we all got back into soul,although still love to hear a long lost reggae tune.

Ethiopians - Hong Kong Flu and Train To Skaville, not heard them for a very long time. These along with Symarip, Skatalites among others started to be played at our local Scunny soul nights, and whilst there were not many skinheads in our town, I went to see Junior Walker at the Attic (late 60's/early 70's ) and there was a huge presence there. I was too busy listening to rare soul stuff new to my ears to take notice of quantity of reggae played.

I dare say that a number of the same skinheads ( Donny boot boys ) chased me away from Belle Vue around that time as well.

I was actually banned from playing Max Romeo;s Wet Dream at my local youth club because our leader got wind it was banned by the BBC.

Judge Dread didn't go down well either.

Steve

[Guest manusf3a]

Crombie boys and silver sprayed dm's

That brings things back,that was when the suedehead had really started moving into smoothie,when hair started to get longer,long enough to put a parting in ,centre parting was the one went for most by people I knew and saw about ,including myself,keeping the parting when it went into feather cuts later on down the time line.Isnt one of those lads wearing the original "solatio",basket weave shoes,called "clumpy",footwear by the writer of the article.That photo has got that style down to a tee!The style I really liked though was when 22 inch parallels(normal waist band)came in with barathea blazers(badge of choice on breast pocket.There were these shirts ,half sleeve,cotton with a three button frontpolo style and on each side of the chest has three raised lines of stichings,usually coming in either,white or cream or slighty less white white.they had a sort of pointed collar.Did the penny round collars ,werent all that keen apart from the brutus patchwork ones.Where did that picture come from ,is it an old colour supplement? Edited November 17, 2012 by manusf3a

[Arabica]

Anyone have a Pork Pie hat ?

Hi Mak

One of the lads nicked a bowler hat and that got shared about and wore by some........but you know i remember those days well 69 i joined up Army and went in as a skinhead, i was part of a group of Nottingham Skinheads, HQ was the White heart on glasshouse Street, upstairs room the Electric Gardens, tunes i remember were Spirit in the Sky adopted as the anthem 1969, Some names, Cockney Stu, Tinlegs,Dress, two tone trousers, pork pie hats, Fred Perrys, Two tone mac, black leather gloves, Doc martins, brogues with doc martin soles, ( Done at Smedleys cobblers Bulwell) other tunes.....,Ive Been Blessed Levi stubbs,Al capone,Loads reggae

Now there was a barbers shop opposite the Co-op on parliament street Rons we had a number1 with a shaved in partin my mate ossie worked there,The clothes were great ,faded levi shirts, Brutus shirts,Made to measure suits from Burtons, 16 inch vent, 6 buttons on the cuff, and i think Roxy Rob was cutting trousers also i remember a pair i had Cords sown in crease, zip pockets, wide waist band, if Roxy tips up at my venue saturday i will ask him what year he started, Yes 68-9 was skinhead era in Nottingham, i will finish on a daft note we walked about the city in a large mob whistleing the tune from the bannasplits, wish i had wrote a book,

Regards Mal

Edited November 16, 2012 by Arabica

[Guest Mart B]

My Brother says Skinhead- Suede heads was.Mansfield Palais downfall it could have been The best Northern soul venue without question ever, even close to The casino,but was riddled with Trouble etc etc,so closed down around 1972 yes you guessed it A friggin bingo hall!.The Swan & Eight Bells also The Brown Cow- was The Upfront Soul Venues @ The time,Also The Brit in Notts with regular Soul Artists.

I went to a wedding venue this year @ The Brit -its got a Framed picture on the wall from i think 1964 maybe "later"-onwards i was amazed who have played @ that legendry club Soul & non soul over the years.

The subject in question i would imagine The Brit played its part from 1968-1972 in rare soul- which in my circles are now known as Club Classics

[KevH]

Crombie boys and silver sprayed dm's

Had mine DM's sprayed partly green ..for the football of course.Skinners and a sheepo...luvveerly.A friend had his DM's silver,but he was trendier than me.!!

Edited November 16, 2012 by KevH

[manus]

I was actually banned from playing Max Romeo;s Wet Dream at my local youth club because our leader got wind it was banned by the BBC.

Judge Dread didn't go down well either.

Steve

Our local beat bobby used to sometimes come into the welfare hall and stand at the door watching the dancers ,as a means of detering trouble I suppose ,but one time he stopped the music and made the DJ take Max Romeos Wet Dream off the decks mid play.

[Guest GARV]

This was certainly the start of my life long love affair with Soul Music - I lived in Hillingdon, West London at the turn of the sixties ( i live in Poland now ) and gradually started to wear the same fashions as most of my classmates - ben sherman, brutus, sta-prest, crombie style coats, sheepskin jackets, short hair etc, all depending on which items I could afford ( three weeks paper round money = my first pair of levi jeans) and whatever my parents could afford to buy me.

Some of the cooler/ harder lads in class also went to football - Chelsea mostly, which was when a lot of the firm/hooliganism stuff was starting too. My football allegiance had already been set so I didn't join in the fighting but once I had the clobber I did start going to dances - West Drayton boys club, being one venue I can remember. The music as many here remember was Reggae ( Trojan and Pama ) and Soul ( Tamla was a term used often ). The first singles I bought were Double Barrel, Stoned Love and Tired of Being Alone. The magic moment that probably did it for me was hearing 'Festival Time' for the first time at the aforementioned Boys Club and dancing closely to a lovely girl called Shirley with whom I later swapped records ( she gave me It's A Shame and i gave her Tired of Being Alone ).

James Brown was a big hero, he played the Royal Albert Hall around this time and some of my class mates went ( there was a mini riot apparently ) and his parts one and two singles were keenly collected.

This scene was also very much a class thing I think - my school served mostly the more working class estates of Hayes, Hillingdon and West Drayton where skinhead fashions were prevalent . I got expelled from that school at the age of sixteen and was lucky enough to be found a place at another school not that far away ( thanks to some lucky 'O' levels ). It was just a few miles away but located in what might be called a middle class area. Here my class mates all had longer hair and listened to Genesis, David Bowie, Focus etc and I was probably the only Soul lover in the whole year. i still remember the ' turn that crap off ' cries when I put a Motown Chartbusters album ( or was it Whats Going On ? ) on in the sixth form common room. But the girls were cute so gradually flares replaced sta-prest, desert boots replaced the brogues, t shirt/denim waistcoat combination replaced the check ben sherman and I was no longer a 'skin'.

The music stayed though - discovering Blues and Soul magazine helped there.

I know the area`s you talk of well. I live in Ealing but lived in Hayes & Uxbridge [ briefly ]. Worked with lot of guys from these area`s who were mods / suede heads. Ronnie Wood is a West Drayton boy . You must remember the scooter shop opposite the train station, they did a lot of stuff for the film " Quadrophenia ".

Here`s a picture of Eric Clapton from the early / mid ?? 60`s . Not a skin but very " hard " looking from the early mod style. Be interested if anyone knows the exact year as he looks very suede head to me & it could prove that skin / mod / suede co existed at a certain crossover point.

[Guest bury masonic]

Ah happy days! me & my sis used to hang around the Market Centre in Manchester, the main shop there was "Stolen from Ivors"

there was a huge array of Jaytex & Ben Sherman shirts,.

As for the clothes we used to wear, very smart beige Levi Sta Prest pants, or Wranglers, Ben Sherman shirt, & very highly polished

Cherry Reds from timpsons! I also had a red Harrington.

There was a shop called Crowthers on King street, does anyone remember it? we had lovely crepe skirt suits from there, we used

to wear our Ben Shermans & white tights with them, very smart!

We went to a youth club in Salford, called Peter Greens,(Swinton actually) the Tighten Up lps were played there, & there was always a fight! We grew up with a mixture of Reggae & Motown & of course Northern!

Mmm, seems so long ago now!

SHEILA

XX

[Ian Dewhirst]

Nearly any of the Corby high street mens taylors,Colliers,Burtons etc of the time (seventies)would do made to meaure for you then,pick your material ,specify every detail.I dont think todays mens clothes shops(major brands)would offer such a service but more the older type blokes tailor would be a good place to try.

I remember getting my first oxford bags made to measure from a local tailor in Dewsbury 'cos that was the only way to get them. When I finally got them it was almost a major test to actually wear them in public because, in my area, simply wearing anything different was an invitation for trouble. Plus, they obviously looked ridiculous with hindsight...

I got a very snazzy dark blue suit jacket with a light blue border (I've forgotten the exact terminology) and that was a boss jacket. It looked great and I loved wearing it. But being tall and quite soft looking, it was effectively a beacon for attracting trouble from local dickheads with no style. I once made the mistake of wearing it whilst out with my new girlfriend and visting the Mitre pub just down the road from Wakefield Tiffanies on a Saturday night. A guy came over to my table, drank a full pint and then smashed the glass into my table and then ground it down into the wood for the next 30 seconds and then just stared at me. I got the message. Don't be too flash when you drink in the Mitre LOL....

The whole Mod/Rocker//Skinhead/Suedehead and even Hippy era was good because for the first time in the UK people were allowed to define their personal identities and that helped eventually ease the way to a wider acceptance of different styles which probably peaked with Punk in the mid 70's.

The original mods defined my youth without a doubt. They seemed to carry themselves with a bit more panache and style and they grooved to the best music, so it was always a no-brainer for me.

Ian D

[Guest manusf3a]

Our local beat bobby used to sometimes come into the welfare hall and stand at the door watching the dancers ,as a means of detering trouble I suppose ,but one time he stopped the music and made the DJ take Max Romeos Wet Dream off the decks mid play.

Hope you are well Manus,I do think that was taking censorship a bit far even though it was a youth club,lucky he didnt confiscate the said offending record(which used to go down a storm in the local clubs round our way that I underagedly would frequent in my very youthfull days).I do remember a Corby youth club back then that banned "The Liquidator"",as it had become a signal for fights to break out ,the record interspersed in the correct places by chants of "Skinhead,skinhead!""from opposing groups who would then steam into each other.,.atb manus(the other one) Edited November 17, 2012 by manusf3a

[Mak]

Hi Mak

One of the lads nicked a bowler hat and that got shared about and wore by some........but you know i remember those days well 69 i joined up Army and went in as a skinhead, i was part of a group of Nottingham Skinheads, HQ was the White heart on glasshouse Street, upstairs room the Electric Gardens, tunes i remember were Spirit in the Sky adopted as the anthem 1969, Some names, Cockney Stu, Tinlegs,Dress, two tone trousers, pork pie hats, Fred Perrys, Two tone mac, black leather gloves, Doc martins, brogues with doc martin soles, ( Done at Smedleys cobblers Bulwell) other tunes.....,Ive Been Blessed Levi stubbs,Al capone,Loads reggae

Now there was a barbers shop opposite the Co-op on parliament street Rons we had a number1 with a shaved in partin my mate ossie worked there,The clothes were great ,faded levi shirts, Brutus shirts,Made to measure suits from Burtons, 16 inch vent, 6 buttons on the cuff, and i think Roxy Rob was cutting trousers also i remember a pair i had Cords sown in crease, zip pockets, wide waist band, if Roxy tips up at my venue saturday i will ask him what year he started, Yes 68-9 was skinhead era in Nottingham, i will finish on a daft note we walked about the city in a large mob whistleing the tune from the bannasplits, wish i had wrote a book,

Regards Mal

Bloody hell Mal theres a name who conjures up memories , one of the front runners in The Trent End .

I used to wear black rally gloves , the ones with the knuckles and the back cut out , I've been looking for years to find another pair , seem tyo be as rare as rocking horse shite.

Tony

[Bazza]

Anyone have a Pork Pie hat ?

Not a Pork Pie ,used to wear one very similar to this,in fact recently bought one

Bazza

Edited November 17, 2012 by Bazza

[Casper]

interesting thread .. some great memories too, started for me, as it did for many at school with the orangey yellow "tuff" boots , then by 69 at 14 was a skin , with docs , levis, or wranglers, grandad vests , (from paul rex) .. happy times lol .. as for the music it was all youth club stuff , cos thats where it was, local and school clubs , classic soul ., ska, rock steady, mod and pop all in one big melting pot .. as time moved on ,and very quick looking back ! I became a suede head and as already said by Sean, "smoothies" and brolly boys for a short time, then soul took a hold and thats the way its been since ... of time recent I have rekindled my skin , suede look .. love it .. (susan was too young to be first time round , but as the elton john tune says .. looks cute in her braces and boots )

pete n' susan ktf

[Northernguy]

When I went for my first skin cut in late 68 I had quite a good head of blonde hair went to the barbers and showed him a picture I had cut out of the paper he was hesitant at first to do it but he did .Got home from the croppers my mum and grandma where sitting in the living room when I walked in my Gran started screaming out Brenda Brenda oh my god look what's happened to our Ian's hair they where both nearly in tears he he he I got a right bollicking. A lot of the lads around 1969 / 70had skin cuts around Leigh /Wigan and where all into Ska..Blue Beat Regg and what's now termed club soul ie Go Go Girl Lee Dorsey Ride your Pony, Shake , land of a thousand dance

Girls are out to get you, The beat, Someday we,re gonna love again, wade in the water,Mr bang bang man ect ect and a lot of the

stateside and Tamla Motown sounds a few of the lads like myself collected soul records which we use to take around the local clubs and get ( threaten ) the DJ to play them Breakout, Agent double o soul Back Street you,ve got to pay the price ect ect the one that always eluded me was Chubby Checker At the Discotheque Uk Cp it was massive I spent a few years trying to get a copy .

We got most of our clothes Ben Shermans two tone trousers from Tony Sampsons shop in Leigh and Levis &bakers pants ( the white ones ) from the army navy store along with our Doc Martins ox blood boots. The Harringtons we got from Oasis market in Manchester where later on we got our Crombies from , another thing about the skins around this area we all had made to measure suits in sky blue or two tone colours from Alexandra tailors .It was around 72 that are hair started to get longer ie suede heads and buy 73 my hair had got pretty long like Kegsy,s ha could,nt pay for a haircut all mi money was going on rare soul records..

Regards Ian Cunliffe

I see loads of baldies at Northern do,s are Skins makin a comeback lol

I remember ordering made to measure jeans from Flemings in Liverpool.

Alan

[Smudger]

I went to see Junior Walker at the Attic (late 60's/early 70's ) and there was a huge presence there. I was too busy listening to rare soul stuff new to my ears to take notice of quantity of reggae played.

Yeah ! i was there ,next to stage on left hand side with a speaker right next to me,my ears were buzzing for a couple of days,he fell down on his entry and kept playing saxophone which we all thought was brilliant not realising it was all part of the act.Saw quite a few acts there J J Jackson twice Arthur Conley Edwin Starr , supposedly James and Bobby Purify ( which i doubt because in those days anybody who was black and could sing was passed off as real artists) The Original Drifters ,Fabulous Platters etc but best of all Billy Stewart who i loved and still do!

.Remember there were large pillars with a shelf around to put drinks on which were covered in people trying to get a better view.No alcohol was served just a food bar that sold soft drinks tea coffee so we would get a pass out and go to the pub over the road

.I remember coming home from school on a Friday night going to Attic all nighter coming out early morning walking to Askern ( about 7 miles) where a mates mum and dad were away on holiday dossing down and then having a party Saturday night and Sunday . Arriving home on Sunday afternoon where i walked in to Mum demanding where's my tea ,getting a swift clout across the earhole and a chastising "where the bloody hell have you been all weekend" Then doing the same thing all over again without a second thought.

Edited November 17, 2012 by smudger

[Pete S]

Crombie boys and silver sprayed dm's

Fantastic picture, such a shame there is so little from the period.

[Dirk Tiggler]

not far off we sold levis for 37/-6d (almost £4)..wrangler 35/-

Have the numbers ' fifty two and six' in my head for Levis. I'm sure that's what I paid in 1969, a shop called 'Dancers' (of all names) in Halesowen, WM. Ade

[Guest manusf3a]

Have the numbers ' fifty two and six' in my head for Levis. I'm sure that's what I paid in 1969, a shop called 'Dancers' (of all names) in Halesowen, WM. Ade

Dirk that figure sounds right,George Allans shop in Corby bout that time maybe a year or two before thats what they sold for two pounds seventy five pence in new money,and you took them home stiff as a board got into them and sat in a bath of cold water.Always buy a size to big for the fact they would shrink.The same price for sta press I think,at one time it seemed everyone had the light olive coloured sta press.Twenty shillings used to make a pound hence fifty =two pound ten shillings ,two and six = two shillings and sixpence,put them together gives you fifty two and six=two pound seventy five p new money. Edited November 17, 2012 by manusf3a

[Kegsy]

My first crombie has a bit of a tail behind it.

Me and a mate had been to a coffee bar in Bradford and were walking through

town to the bus stop home.

Anyway as we passed a shop that sold crombies we saw that somebody had kicked

the glass door in.

Being an enterprising young lad I was in there in a minute with my mate

keeping watch outside. Just as I've got the first crombie off a dummy in the

window my mate whispers through the door "Kegs the old bill are walking down".

Next thing I'm hiding in the shop with the cops shining torches in and checking

out the damage. Fortunately they didnt come in and left after a few minutes in the

direction of the cop shop.

I was out of there in a flash carrying my prize crombie.

When I got home, walked via all backstreets, the crombie was about six sizes too big

i flogged it a few days later.

Kegsy

Edited November 17, 2012 by Kegsy

[Autumnstoned]

I know the area`s you talk of well. I live in Ealing but lived in Hayes & Uxbridge [ briefly ]. Worked with lot of guys from these area`s who were mods / suede heads. Ronnie Wood is a West Drayton boy . You must remember the scooter shop opposite the train station, they did a lot of stuff for the film " Quadrophenia ".

Here`s a picture of Eric Clapton from the early / mid ?? 60`s . Not a skin but very " hard " looking from the early mod style. Be interested if anyone knows the exact year as he looks very suede head to me & it could prove that skin / mod / suede co existed at a certain crossover point.

Clapton joined the Yardbirds in Oct 1963 and left in May 1965. I'd say it's early in his career with the Yardbirds maybe early 64? El always had good barnets in the 60's!

[manus]

Hope you are well Manus,I do think that was taking censorship a bit far even though it was a youth club,lucky he didnt confiscate the said offending record(which used to go down a storm in the local clubs round our way that I underagedly would frequent in my very youthfull days).I do remember a Corby youth club back then that banned "The Liquidator"",as it had become a signal for fights to break out ,the record interspersed in the correct places by chants of "Skinhead,skinhead!""from opposing groups who would then steam into each other.,.atb manus(the other one)

Hello Manus - The beat bobby was real old school ( why charge someone with an offence when you could clip them round the ear and give them a kick up the arse and send them on their way home lol) I used to love MRs Wet Dream and a certain local older girl who used to dance to it and The Liquidator. Wish I had a time machine I'd head for Marcus Price shirts in Newcastle in 1970 and stock up on original Ben Sherman shirts. All the best Manus

Edited November 17, 2012 by manus