Mod: Clean Living Under Very Difficult Circumstances - A Very British Phenomenon
by Terry Rawlings
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List Price: ££19.95
Our Price: ££13.16
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Manufacturer: Omnibus Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 780
EAN: 9780711968134
ISBN: 0711968136
Label: Omnibus Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 210
Publication Date: 2000-12-01
Publisher: Omnibus Press
Studio: Omnibus Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book but slightly flawed
Comment: This is a very good book on what was as the author says "A very British phenomenon". However reading the book you would think it was a very "English Phenomenon". I live in a small town to the south of Edinburgh. And I work beside a few original 60's mods. Terry Rawlins has concentrated on the London aspect of the mod scene. Basically where he says it all began. However there were "Dandys" in pockets all over the UK in the late 50's early 60's.
If you think about it logically, when "Town" magazine did their article on Mods in 62. it would have given lots of like minded young men & women. A name to something they were already feeling all over the UK at that time. It was a reaction to having a little more money than their parents ever had. And of course to the Teddy Boys all over the country, who by this time were most probably getting a little dated. Fashion has always moved on, what's cool today is often old fashioned in a matter of months. This has always been the case.
I feel like a lot of people Terry's inspirations for the second wave of Mod in the late 70's is a bit too simple. The Chords! & The Who's album Quadrophenia? Nah! You have to look at the psychology of music. On the whole every 20 years or so you have revivals of music. Because young musicians are picking up on the music their parents listened too. Using those influences in the music that they create. And of course the film Qaudrophenia in 1979 & The Jam looking the part in 77 all had massive effects on a youth getting bored with Punk already. They wanted something different something cool. What would be more different to looking scruffy, yeah looking smart but at the same time different to the long haired masses of the time. You have to listen & read about the young bands at the time listing their musical inspirations. On the whole they were 60's blues & the main stream Mod bands such as The Yardbirds & Small Faces.
But just like the first wave of Mod the Moddy Boys jumped on the band wagon. Bought their second hand Parkas, cheap Tonic suits, Ben Sherman shirts & thought it was all about fighting Rockers! This was all down to the film Quadrophenia, in my eyes. If you read Alan Fletchers book, if you'll soon realise that the main character Jimmy was slowly getting disenchanted with the whole scene. He wanted to be a Face, he wanted to get noticed. It was the drugs & the fighting that spoiled the scene. That's why by 64 the real Faces of Mod had moved on. Quadrophenia really is a Moddy Boy film. And a lot (not all) of the 70's & 80's Mods based their understanding of the Mod scene on the Film Quadrophenia & the riots of 64. they thought that The Jam were Mods!! The Jam were on the original Punk tours with the likes of the Clash for goodness sake. And of course the mass media & clothing trade jumped on the scene. You had mass produced suits etc, which no self respecting Mod would have ever wore. But in the late 70's & early 80's loads of Moddy Boys & girls were wearing these cheap clothes. There were very few real Faces about at this time.
Having said all that this is a great book. Spoilt at times by the heavy graphics through the main type. Making it somewhat hard to read at times as the type is obscured. Most of the information can be picked up from other sources. And yes a lot of the photos too. A great introduction to anyone who is wondering what the whole thing was all about. But remember Mod is a very personal thing. I personally will have upset many of the second wave Mods by referring to them as Moddy Boys. But that's because I personally liked the ethos of the original Faces. To look smart, be different & get noticed not to follow the crowd but lead it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book on the Mod movement
Comment: This is the ideal follow up to Richard Barnes' Mods and is a well written record of the Mod movement. Forget the views of the elitists who make comments about the "appalling 1979 revival" - if it wasn't for that revival and the bands that led it there would have been no Mod scene in the 80's or 90's - something that those who are quick to condemn are quick to overlook
Customer Rating:
Summary: One view of mod only I'm afraid
Comment: An interesting book and worth owning - until you get to 1979! I suspect Terry Rawlings doesn't like or know anything about black music since the whole last section of the book is a concerted attempt to downplay the vital importance of soul/r'n'b events to the mod lifestlye. Yes, bands like the Chords were a big deal for about 10 seconds but then (thank god) anyone with an ounce of taste and sense discovered that 60s soul and r'n'b was really where it was at - and you didn't have to be an elitist to get into it contrary to what some think. The guy should have interviewed someone like Randy Cozens for a proper view of things. And, Terry, mods actually did exist in large numbers outside London!
Customer Rating:
Summary: 80's revival - what 80's revival?
Comment: Fantastic book, but I think the point was lost on the so-called revivalists and particularly by the Aus.(Sydney) reviewer.
The revivalist Mods simply took the iconic clothes,transportation and guitar chords to create a pastiche of the original movement at a time when there was not much 'else' happening as an alternative.
Not many handmade suits, male make-up, driving shoes or nylon 'pakamacs' made their appearance in '79-'80. That 'revival' was little like opting for Harry Connick (or worse still Brit-popper Robbie Williams) over Frank Sinatra's original work.
Modernism was dead, or in it's death throws by 1965, and only the UK. kids, now aged 55-60, really knew what it was all about, the rest are just guessing, or living on hi-jacked imagery and Quadrophenia videos.
The London 'Acid-jazz' movement WAS the closest 'scene' to Modernism, in as much as, there was a tactile originality to the fashion and the music. But, like it's predecessor, it too, lived young... and died fast!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spot on
Comment: Most Mods & ex Mods can appreciate that everyone had a different take on mod and had preferences with music, fashion, scooters etc, especially as they got older and wiser(?).
An honest book which illustrated how and why many people did get involved, particularly in regards to the Revival. Not everyone (post '79) was an R'n'B stylist or elitist. Good to hear from people who were integral in the revival who don't usually get a look in because they're ignored. Well, maybe these people WERE the PIONEERS of the 80's Mod....like it or not, at least it weren't overlooked.
Actually loved the photo's of the average mod, parka and all...'cos that's what most Mods were, particularly in the early days and to pretend everyone was into jazz, obscure R'n'B, coffee shops and hand made shoes wouldn't be accurate.
Was the "Mashed Potato" (or the like) really something the average (70's/ early 80's) Mod would do? That's correct, no.
That's why this book gets away from the usual delusions and shows it warts, and quite often poor dress sense, and all. Aggressive guitar music and pub rock were a big part of the early 80's to alot of Mods...and this book unashamedly acknowledges these FACTS. Also, many 60's artists that aren't usually spoken of at length were given coverage. Good to get an outsiders (like promoters, Club Owners and record company's) perspective as well.
I can confidently say that The Purple Hearts & The Chords had more in common with your average youngster getting into the scene in the late 70's / early 80's than any rare soul tune.
Could have mentioned a few of the other bands, but other than that, can't knock it.
How can the American Reviewer slag something that they weren't part of? How would a San Francisco reader know what was happening in London late 70's ?!?!?!? THE POINT, with giving a nod to Primal Scream and The Stone Roses was showing that bands from another era, without actually claiming to be mod, were influenced by their predecessors of a similar style....and were seen by some as more 'mod' (and better) than the self proclaimed mod bands of the Revival and mid eighties...The Risk!!??!!...gimme a break.
How can anyone who called themselves a mod knock this book?
Nice work.
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