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Spirit of 69 · Nov 19, 2008

Well my user name will tell those of you that know of these things where I'm coming from.

I grew up in central London in the 60s and 70s - I'm 47 now.
And I still like to "keep the faith" at ska,soul and reggae gigs
And I still like to wear my DMs, a checked shirt and jeans.

Any other original traditional London skinheads here?

Get Smart · Nov 19, 2008

welcome to the board So69, good to see another member here with "suss"

I'm not a London boy, but as an American I'm def the biggest anglophile on here

I've been into the skinhead scene since mid 80s, started off with oi/hardcore as most guys did in the USA, then saw the light and progressed to 60s soul, northern, ska, skinhead reggay, hammond grooves etc. I still listen to copious amounts of all skinhead related music (mostly oi in my car, soul/ska otherwise)

I still go to our local soul/reggae nites on a regular basis. Will be in London for the New Untouchables NYE bash this year.

and I still wear the "uniform"...DMs, crombie, check shirt, jumpers, harringtons etc. I havent shaved my head since the mid 90s but I keep a short and neat 8-4-2 variation

There is another user here from Belgium (?) named SoulStylist that is also into traditional skinhead culture with a similar background as mine

And being from Sweden, I am curious if you know of the band Perkele (have been playing since 1993)....they are one of my fave oi bands from Sweden

there've been some threads you might be interested in if you havent already seen them

Doc Marten thread 1

Doc Marten thread 2

Doc Marten thread 3

Spirit of 69 · Nov 19, 2008

Hello mate, yea I know Perkele, I saw them at Sweden's biggest ska, punk & hardcore festival 2 years ago. Headlining at the same festival that year were Bad Manners, GBH and the Cockney Rejects. (BTW Perkele are currently recording a new mini album)

Sweden and Germany were pretty much like the US in that they came into the scene like yourself in the early 80s through the back door of punk and Oi!

Myself I've never really been a huge fan of Oi! But I still love a lot of the classic 70s punk and new wave.

In the early to mid 70s when I first started going to football matches (QPR is still my team as I grew up in Notting Hill) and actively listening to music and taking an interest in my boots, jeans and shirts

it was reggae, glam, ska and hard rock all the way.

Dave & Ansell Collins mixed with Slade mixed with Desmond Dekker mixed with Status Quo mixed with Harry J Allstars mixed with T-Rex mixed with the Upsetters mixed with Led Zeppelin mixed with Jimmy Cliff mixed with Susie Quattro mixed with the Melodians mixed with Mud and Showaddywaddy and so on...that was our soundtrack.

Then of course in 76 it all changed with punk and later Madness and the Specials and new wave. But what were the Sex Pistols and the Clash listnieng to? Exactly! The same as the rest of us, ska, reggae, original rock n roll and hard rock.

Get Smart · Nov 19, 2008

^^ nice.

speaking of glam era rock, Jook has always been on top of that list for me. It's funny how much divergent music can claim some kind of relationship to the skinhead scene.

and I'm still awaiting live dates for the Specials reunion (supposedly with ALL original members tho Dammer's participation is never certain)....I thought it was to start this fall but no word yet. I actually remember when the 2 Tone tour came thru LA in the early 80s, as that is the time I started listening to it, but being about 11 at the time it wasnt a show I was able to go to.

Spirit of 69 · Nov 19, 2008

Last I read a few months ago Jerry wants nothing to do with it.

In 1980 I was in the RAF and aged 19.

soulstylist · Dec 11, 2008

...just only found this thread...

...yes, I think I'd fit in the traditional skinhead world - though I'm kind of growing out of it - finaly!

...rarely DMs - though I still own about a dozen (most of em would only go down well in punk circles)...

...denim of course, button downs, brogues, smooths, harringtons, my beloved sheepskin, sta prests and cords, heaps of Perry! But also Canali and Coreliani suits (cuts fit me great, though not street lad) and stuff like this...

...oh, and of course 7 Lambrettas and 2 Vespas! And enough records to clear the dancefloors around town with soul and reggay!!!

Ok, I think I'll never grow out of it. GREAT!

And Jason - I'm german...

Get Smart · Dec 11, 2008

Originally Posted by soulstylist

And Jason - I'm german...

Martin, you ever go to the Punk and Disorderly fests over there? Hear it's great if you're into oi & punk oh yea, and there's Oi the Meeting which is somewhere in Germany too (have the dvd from 2005 i think....Perkele, Stomper 98, etc played that one)

soulstylist · Dec 11, 2008

...actualy NEVER! I really have to think back quite a while to remember the last Oi! gig I went to (I think it was Los Fastidios) let alone acomplete Oi! festival... Soul and reggae is what it is for me... Tomorow:

soulstylist · Dec 11, 2008

Outfit will be traditional suedehead - b+w gingham BD, grey tanktop, white levis, orange socks and black brogues - and as it's snowing the trusty sheepskin (with the beer stains on the sleeves from holding up the bar)...

Get Smart · Dec 11, 2008

nice. yea I dont do punk/oi shows-fests anymore either. just soul-ska-reggay

we have a club nite coming up as well that we regularly attend. now that the weather has cooled down a lot in the eve, it's much easier to wear proper attire.

I'm really looking forward to the London NYE club.....will be great to see how same/different their clubs are from ours. last year there were no shows going on during our stay unfortunately

btw, Nurnberg was where my wife was born

soulstylist · Dec 12, 2008

...that's about an quite near to where I live - so if you ever visit her birthplace... ...a style question: something I see on a lot of old pics but rarely (if ever) on the street/gig/weekender are those chunky cardigans with a structured knit. Has this knit or the cardy a special name? Can one get these anywhere? Any history? Like this one (would prefer a better fit though...) http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0bwB9D...04386224668248

Get Smart · Dec 12, 2008

Originally Posted by soulstylist

...that's about an quite near to where I live - so if you ever visit her birthplace... ...a style question: something I see on a lot of old pics but rarely (if ever) on the street/gig/weekender are those chunky cardigans with a structured knit. Has this knit or the cardy a special name? Can one get these anywhere? Any history?
yea man, we def want to go to Germany at some point... those cardigans are late 60s-mid 70s....not sure what they were officially called (granpa sweater?), they always seem to be referred to as "skinhead cardigans"...the real chunky knit, usually leather covered buttons. Vintage ones seem to be all in shades of mustard/brown Fred Perry has done a version but it's not a chunky knit, as has John Smedley...and again not quite correct but close not quite what you're talking about, but a shawl collar version

soulstylist · Dec 12, 2008

...not quite right - this 'pimply' structure would be, what I was looking for...

starcrash · Dec 12, 2008

It's just a cable-knit cardigan, right? Those were super-popular in the 80's, not just for skins.

Get Smart · Dec 12, 2008

Originally Posted by soulstylist

...not quite right - this 'pimply' structure would be, what I was looking for...

waffle knit right? yea that's why the Fred and Smedley ones werent quite right, not chunky enough....they have the leather buttons but not the knit texture

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