Article©:
The Mods: where did they
come from ?
Copyright 2006 fishtailparkas.com
|
 |
Far
apart from the golden age of 1950's
America,
1950's Britain was still on rations,
and struggling to get over the
devastation suffered in World
War II.
However, for the British youth
a new dawn was rising. |
Thanks
to full employment and hire purchase
and a new found freedom from National
Service, the British youth was on
their own two feet with money in their
pocket and they wanted everybody to
know about. A new movement known as
the "teddy boys" was emerging
across the UK, influenced by American
Rock ‘n’ Roll and as Bill
Haley's cult movie "Rock Around
The Clock" premiered in the Trocadero
in London's Elephant and Castle followed
by outrage from the British establishment
and joyous riots from the youths,
the Ted movement was now alive and
kicking.
Ever
eager for a scoop, the press did not
fail to capitalise on this new front
page fodder. Soon the violence, and
imminent danger that the Teddy Boys
posed to British society was all over
the front pages. From the prime minister
to the archbishop, the British establishment
was in turmoil as they watched their
once dutiful youths turn into unruly
wild cats. Whether much of this was
by natural progression or greatly
fuelled by the press, the outcome
was a rough, dangerous youth movement
that was loving every minute in the
limelight and indeed acting up to
it.
The
teddy boys were here and soon the
music makers and fashion retailers
caught on to a new and untapped market.
Very soon, commercial Rock’n’Roll
was being slopped out and Teddy Boy
fashions were on the high street and
every kid wanted a quiff and a flick-knife.
Thus, almost as quick as they had
come, they were burnt out by their
own famed notoriety and at now at
odds with themselves for becoming
everything they despised, just another
high street fad, the Teds were gone.
By
late 1950’s the original teddy
boys were no more, broken up into
various sub cultures, most fell by
the wayside but two major groups remained
and grew from the ruins of what was
once the Teddy Boys to become the
“Ton Up Boys” and the
“Coffee Bar Cats”…
The
“Ton Up Boys”, were those
teddies that had held the motorcycle
and American Rock’n’Roll
as their foundations and now wore
leather, big boots and rode British
machines to and from various road
side cafés.
The
“Coffee Bar Cats” aspired
to a more Latin look, and their neo
Italian style appreciated modern jazz,
ventless thin lapelled box suit jackets
and they chose Italian scooters as
the superior mode of transport for
such well dressed Cats…
It’s
not hard to figure how these late
50’s early 60’s sub culture’s
and indeed underground fashions grew
into the Mods and Rockers of the mid
60’s.
The
Coffee Bar Cats felt they were the
modern movement and the Ton Up Boys
represented all that was gone and
should remain buried in a pile of
dirty bikes and dirty leathers. Hence
as they grew and needed to encompass
all their new members, they eventually
termed themselves the Modernists and
the Mods were born.
The
“Ton Up Boys”, enjoying
the same growth in numbers and being
known for their love of Rock ‘n
Roll found themselves becoming the
Rockers.
Unsurprisingly
the Rockers did not agree with the
Modernist view of themselves as outdated
and somehow lower class. They saw
the Mods with their dandy dress, penchant
for wearing eyeliner and popping pills
at every opportunity as an insult
to all that is British and macho.
The Rockers
did not like the Mods and the Mods
did not like the Rockers.
The lines were drawn…..
No
part of this article may be copied,
transmitted, stored or used in anyway
without the express permission of
fishtailparkas.com . If you wish to
use this article simply contact me.
|
