MOD
ZINE
A SUBCULTURE
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INTRO LOOK MUSIC THE WHO CONFLICT NIGHT LIFE REVIVAL
WE ARE THE MODS!
Modern subcult popular working but wan “Modis under d an origi from Fr Italian
nists, more widely known as Mods are a ture started in the late 1950s that was rized in the mid-1960s. Mods were mostly g-class young men who didn’t have much money nted to look put together, hence the quote sm, Mod living, is an aphorism for clean living difficult circumstances.” Said by Peter Meaden, inal mod. The early modernists took inspiration rench and Italian films and fashion and bought scooters to get around on.
b
THE LO
OOK
Patches
Lambretta or Vespa scooter
Trilby hat
Gitanes cigarettes tailored 3 button jacket
Existentialist liturature
“blues” (amphetamines)
Desert shoes or Chelsea boots
skinny tie
Fashion was very important to subculture, it was probably the most important thing. People needed to have the right haircut, the right shoes, a suit that is perfectly tailored, a scooter with the right mount of mirrors, everything in its place.
MUSIC In the beginning, Mods listened to Ska, R&B, and American soul and jazz from artists like Don Covay and groups like the Marvelettes. Once The subculture had become more popular, there grew bands that had predominantly Mod followings. For instance, The Who and Small Faces who had more of a rock sound and would go on to become icons for their fans. Those in this subculture generally had
very eclectic music taste and mostly listened to catchy singles by obscure artists. This bred an almost elitist space, where the harder something was to find, the better it was.
The Who is iconic to the mod scene. Their album “My Generation” is THE quintessential mod album, and the phrase “my generation” became a mantra. The Modernists discovered the Who later in the scene after listening to American music. They then adopted their logo and wore patches and pins with the symbol.
Conflict THE MODS
V In the mid-1960s, England had two main subcultures of British youth: The Mods and The Rockers. The Rockers rode motorcycles and wore black leather jackets. The mods rode scooters and wore clean-cut suits. In 1964 conflict erupted between the two groups on multiple occasions, and the media blew things out of proportion. The two groups did fight
one another but news publications at the time developed a moral panic, where many feared these two groups, labeling them both as delinquent and deviant when in reality they were just stupid teenagers who wanted to hit eachother. Yes, the Mods and the Rockers had a rivalry, but there was also infighting and fights with other groups of people.
THE ROCKERS
S
Nightlife was very important to the modernist scene in the later years, after a long day of work at their menial jobs, Mods would go out with their group of equally well-dressed friends and have fun. They would take amphetamine pills, specifically Purple Hearts, French Blues, and Black Bombers also known as Drinamyl/Dexamyl, triangular blue pills. One would take 6 or 7 a night and 2 would cost about a quid. They would talk, dance, and go to concerts all night and repeat the next day.
NIGHT L
LIFE
THE RE 1978-on The mod revival started in 1978 and spread world wide in contrast to the original mod scene that was predominantly in england. A main player in the revival was the band The Jam. The Jam was inspired by the 1960s mod bands and style. They were the ones who spearheaded the revival. In 1979 the movie quadrophenia came out, showing a depiction of mods in the 1960s, it is still watched today. A new interest in mod music was growing and many were becoming inspired by the original mods and buying scooters and sharp suits. In the 1980s the revival spread to california in the us, and brazil. In the 1990s, there came bands like Oasis and Blur that were also inspired by the mod subculture and quadrophenia.
EVIVAL
WE ARE TH
HE MODS.