London

 Subcultures  1950-­1980  
 

 
 
Between   1950   and   1980,   groups   of   young   people   defined   themselves   as   different  
through   their   musical,   fashion   and   lifestyle   preferences.   These   'subcultures'   usually  
expressed   a   deliberate   opposition   to   established   ideas   of   morality   and   public   order.  
Disenchanted   by   the   staid   conventions   of   the   older   generation,   young   people  
demanded  freedom  to  behave  as  they  wished.  
The   confidence   of   youth   was   partly   based   on   prosperity.   Earnings   increased   by  
70%  between  1950  and  1970,  and  young  people  had  disposable  incomes  to  play  with.  
 
Teddy  Boys  and  Girls  
'Teds'  were  associated  with  the  rise  of  rock  and  roll  in  the  1950s.  Teddy  dress  was  a  
version  of  Edwardian-­‐era  dress.  Teddy  boys  wore  knee-­‐length  drape  coats  with  half-­‐
length  velvet  collars,  suede  shoes  and  elaborate  bouffant  hairstyles,  a  pastiche  of  the  
wealthy  patrons  of  Saville  Row.  
Teddy  Girls  wore  full  dirndl  or  circular  skirts  decorated  with  large  appliqus,  white  
fitted   shirts,   and   scarves   tied   around   their   necks.   Along   with   zoot-­‐suited   Hipsters   and  
Greasers,   Teds   were   associated   with   American-­‐style   rock   and   roll,   and   the   British  
stars  Tommy  Steele,  Adam  Faith  and  Cliff  Richard.  
 
Mods  
'Mods'  or  Moderns  were  fashion-­‐conscious  sharp  dressers  of  the  1960s.  Emerging  in  
part  from  the  jazz  modernists  of  the  1950s,  and  partly  from  working-­‐class  traditions  
of  competitive  dressing,  Mods  aped  the  look  of  middle-­‐class  businessmen.  They  wore  
Italian-­‐cut,  custom-­‐made  suits  from  Cecil  Gee  and  teamed  them  with  polo  shirts  and  
neat  Vidal  Sassoon  haircuts.  They  rode  Vespa  motor  scooters.  
Young   Mod   women   turned   towards   style   icons   such   as   the   androgynous   model  
Twiggy   for   inspiration.   Frivolous   or   ladylike   accessories   were   abandoned   in   favour   of  
figure-­‐hugging  sweaters,  mini-­‐skirts  and  shift  dresses.  
Mods   liked   Black   music   and   those   who   had   grown   up   with   newly   settled   West  
Indian   neighbours   adopted   elements   of   Black   styling   and   a   taste   for   Jamaican   Ska.  
London  Mod  bands  of  the  1960s  included  the  Small  Faces,  The  Who  and  The  Kinks.  
 
 
Skins  
By   the   1970s,   subcultures   had   turned   more   aggressive.   Skinheads,   or   'Skins',   were  
defiantly   working   class.   The   dress   code   consisted   of   a   shaven   head,   sta-­‐prest   jeans,  
braces   and   Doctor   Marten   boots.   Skins   listened   to   Black   music,   at   that   time   reggae,  
and   used   Black   slang   in   their   speech.   However,   as   racial   tensions   increased   at   the  
beginning   of   the   1970s,   Skinheads   become   associated   with   racism   and   far-­‐right  
political  parties.  
 
Punks  
Punks  emerged  in  the  mid-­‐1970s  as  another  working-­‐class  and  outwardly  aggressive  
group.   Promoting   themselves   as   the   'blank   generation',   punks   identified   with  
alienation  and  anarchy.  
Jonny   Rotten   of   The   Sex   Pistols   set   the   tone   for   punk's   renegade   attitude   and  
provocative   dress:   safety-­‐pinned   denims,   jackboots   and   spiked-­‐up   hairstyles.   The  
band's  manager  Malcolm  Mclaren  and  his  partner  Vivienne  Westwood,  who  ran  'Sex',  
a   shop   on   the   King's   Road,   masterminded   the   look.   Bands   such   as   The   Clash   and  
Buzzcocks  kept  the  punk  ethic  going  after  the  Pistols  disbanded  in  1977.  
 
Rastas  
From   the   late   1960s,   young   Afro-­‐Caribbean   Londoners   took   up   the   Rasta   lifestyle  
originally   practised   by   Rastafarians   from   the   Caribbean.   This   was   characterised   by  
wearing   dreadlocks,   listening   to   dub   reggae   music,   and   smoking   ganja.   The   lifestyle  
was  an  attempt  to  assert  a  Black  identity  distinct  from  that  of  earlier  generations  who  
had  been  content  to  be  'West  Indian  immigrants'.  
The   disadvantages   encountered   by   Black   youths   in   the   1970s,   combined   with  
mounting  racial  tension  and  apparent  injustice,  made  the  Rasta  lifestyle  a  political  as  
much   as   a   style   statement.   Rastas   saw   London   as   a   place   of   exile   and   conflict,   as  
reflected  in  Max  Romeo's  1976  release,  War  Inna  Babylon.  
 
(Adapted  from  http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/london-­‐subcultures-­‐1950-­‐1980)