What happened to the skins?

Subject: What happened to the skins?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 27 Nov 09 - 06:39 PM

I wonder if there are any original skins/rude boys or girls here?
What happened to such an initially overtly interracial black/white musical youth culture, to end up as the opposite I heart Nazi's bollox it now is?
I was a bit too young to be a rude girl, tho' I have a fondness for the culture (being a seventies estate child), so I'd like to know from those who were there, what on earth went so wrong?
This may be the wrong forum to ask such a question, but it's such a mixed crowd that you never know..

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 27 Nov 09 - 07:23 PM

You seen This is England, CS?

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 27 Nov 09 - 07:28 PM

Yeah, I'm not sure it really answers my questions. Although it does illustrate it.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 27 Nov 09 - 10:17 PM

What happened is just what happens to all youth fashions — they went out of style & another one [Goths? whatever -] took over. One of my age might just as well ask "What happened to the Spivs?" or "... to the Teddy Boys?" Or "... to the Mods & Rockers?"

Or... Or... Or...

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 05:51 AM

You throw them away after you have eaten the black puddings.

DeG

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 08:38 AM

Interraccial? They were always into violence as I remember, particularly of the 'Paki-bashing' sort. Perhaps you just remember th clothes rather than the gangs.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Stu
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 09:30 AM

"Interraccial? They were always into violence as I remember, particularly of the 'Paki-bashing' sort. Perhaps you just remember th clothes rather than the gangs."

Early on ska bands were very interracial, and were heavily into promoting racial harmony. Think about The Specials, The Beat, The Selecter and any number of smaller bands. The skins of those days were not the National Front thugs that hijacked the look.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 09:42 AM

Well, those bands were all revival bands and came about a decade after the gangs.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 10:01 AM

Didn't the original skins develop out of the sixties mod thing as an extension of the whole sharp dresscode/black dance music thing, with a healthy dollop of Jamaican rudeboy style... and was partly a working class riposte to the emerging hippy culture? My understanding is that the move to far right politics and mass gang violence didn't emerge till the early/mid 70s... someone a bit older than me can probably correct me if I'm wrong.

Chelsea skins 1970

Skins & Hippies 1969

1960s rudeboys

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 05:54 PM

Over here in my area this thread would be dealing with the Redskins' current season, which I believe has been normally disastrous. But actually I'm not even interested enough to follow it.

US football has been described as "the worst of American culture:   senseless violence punctuated by committee meetings."   That about says it.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: pdq
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 06:08 PM

The picture of the "skins" and the "hippies" looks a lot like the Roundheads and the Cavaliers.

Perhaps little has changed since 1641?

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Matt_R
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 10:28 PM

The 1960s skins look like the Lollipop Guild from The Wizard of Oz.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Janie
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 11:50 PM

I'm lost. Don't know what 'skins' or 'rude girls' are. Are these UK terms, or is it my age and/or years without television that are the cause of my ignorance?

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Alice
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 11:55 PM

I'm with you, Janie.
what the ????

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 04:07 AM

Hi Alice and Janie! It's about minor byways of 1960s and 1970s UK youth culture. Don't worry - it's not you, it's us inhabitants of those strange little islands to the left of Europe... We get equally lost when you start to talk about bobbie soxers and so on. By the way, what is a bobbie sock?

Cheers

SplCr

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 04:14 AM

... & if you look back at my previous post, 4th on this thread, you will find other of our now-defunct youth cults listed which you can similarly safely ignore, as belonging to periods now long past. Believe me, they are not important except to intra-national cultural historians: & even then, not very. As with the 'Teds', the 'Mods' &c, so with the 'skins' & the 'rude girls'. At present, I believe, it's the 'hoodies' — unless that was last week & I haven't noticed yet.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 04:56 AM

MtheGM, I'd suggest that actually 'what happened to the skins' is of high current cultural relevance (in the UK) as the National Front - now the more socially 'acceptable' and increasingly popular BNP - were a highly *racist* organisation supported strongly by skinheads, while the original early skins were by contrast a highly *interracial* youth movement.

You still get the idealistic skin, who draws from the earlier model. They seem to consider themselves, the 'real' skinheads - by contrast more modern and indeed overtly racist skins don't seem to be aware at all of the interracial origins of the movement.

Of course instead of Ska (which was a distinct musical fusion of black & white) popular with early skins, modern racist skinheads are now getting into English folk music specifically for it's white ethnic 'purity'.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: scouse
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 06:16 AM

I remember a girl group called the "Rude Girls." played the Tonder Festival in 1987. They where great... Don't ever know what became of them.Anyone else know??

As Aye,

Phil.

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 07:06 AM

They evolved?

Subject: RE: What happened to the skins?
From: scouse
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 08:06 AM

Crow Sister, the mind boggles at the thought of ten hairy arsed "skin'eads." dancin' 'round with bells tied to their "Bover Boots." an waving "Ankies around their Heads!! singin' Hey,Nonnie No Etc.!!!

As Aye,

Phil.