We are the Mods!

We are the Mods!: By Joseph Weekley

This chant delivered by Jimmy and other mods in the movie Quadrophenia [1979] perfectly sums up the idea of the 1960s mod as a subculture, a sense of belonging and a way of life. The film carries this message throughout and suggests that being part of a movement or culture is a necessary part of young people’s lives. Whether it was mods, rockers, beatnik or even football hooligan, these subcultures     have            [The famous green parka]                stayed current from the 60s among both younger and older generations, defining fashion, music and a sense of perspective. One cannot talk about British youth in the 1960s without mentioning mod culture as it represented a complete change in society amongst young people, in stark contrast to previous fashions and coming into a new era of change, the mod style was fast, modern and sexy. Suddenly as the economy of the swinging sixties grew young men and women were enjoying a disposable income with which to indulge themselves, money was being spent on expensive sharp suits and designer brands such as Ben Sherman, Fred Perry. The famous green parka combined with the mod style clothing made any young mod easily recognisable as being part of the culture, a uniform to wear in the battles of Brighton or Margate.                                              [mod symbol right]

One of the biggest influences on mod culture was music, during the sixties the fashionable music among the young mods changed direction slightly throughout however certain bands did stand as being closely associated with the mod scene. In the late 1950s to the early 60s, the mod scene began with many European influences and in particular the influence of jazz music, this later changed as the mod style grew in popularity among the working classes and shifted soul and R&B music. As the style became more noticeable in the public eye and the explosion of British popular music became apparent, bands such as The Who, The Kinks, The Yardbirds and The Small Faces adopted the mod scene and became fashion icons in their own right. 

[Young mods]

 In my opinion the sense of uniform and belonging to a group, provided young people with a form of escapism from the nine to five grind and provided an outlet for release, it might not have been one that older generations would approve of but that defiance is something that defines the movement as a whole. It wasn’t meant to be something for older people it was new, fast-paced and exciting; driving lambretta’s to amphetamine fuelled clubs and fighting with the rockers helped change the way teenagers thought about life. Despite mod culture mainly ending as the decade closed, its legacy still survives today with mod revivals in the 80’s through bands such as The Jam. The 80s also saw a revival in skinhead culture; skinhead came out of mod listening to the similar music and fashions but adopting a more working class persona though Dr Martens and braces and the impact of Ska music.

References

Chambers, Iain. 2002. Popular Culture: The Metropolitan Experience, revised, Routledge p.7

Perone, James E. 2009. Mods, Rockers, And The Music Of The British Invasion, illustrated,Westport, Conn [u.a.]: Praeger Publishers.