Youth Culture History

Fight!!! Skin girl and punk girl scrapping circa 1987, Kent Hotel, Margate.

A close up of Steve the Jurassic Mod outside the old Margate Magistrates’ Court. There is a story here (with some great pics of mods outside the court) about the 1964 Whitsun bank holiday in Margate and a local museum’s attempt to capture that period in photographs and on film. You can see an interview with Steve here. Definite proof of the concept of ‘hard mods’, some of whom later evolved (or devolved, depending on your opinion) into skinheads, a subculture first seen in numbers in Margate in 1968.

Merchandise from my first gig. Bad Manners supported by proto riot girl act Dolly Mixture, Margate Winter Gardens, 1981. I wrote about it in this piece for the Guardian some years later when This Is England came out, comparing the film’s plot with my own youth.

We shall fight them on the beaches: skinheads and mods clash on Margate’s main sands, circa 1980.

Scooters for miles, 1988 Scooter Rally, Margate.

My old friend Sean in Margate circa 1982. Often refused to get up or leave the house unless you helped him put his mohawk up. Last heard of living near Bristol.

Skinhead girls, Margate clock tower, 1981.

Opening night at the Turner Contemporary, 16 September 2011. Participants in the project pose in front of their portraits in the gallery. Former and current punks and skins (and a goth) from Margate and the surrounding area. Photo © Gita Malhotra.

Toast in the 1980s and in 2011, outside the West Coast bar in Margate (UK) which regularly hosts skinhead weekenders. You can hear him right now playing Ska on what is the UK’s best and funniest ska and reggae show: Ska Shack. He plays with Lee on there every Thursday 1930-2130 GMT. Enjoy!

Portrait © Iain Aitch.

Teddy Boy in Margate. Found out and about on Millmead Estate when I was working on finding new participants for my Cachet project in 2011. © Iain Aitch