Youth Culture History

All the young skins…

Young skinhead, mod/rude boys in Turner Contemporary, Margate, showing off their Harrington jackets. An older skinhead looks on in the background. © Iain Aitch

A new play by Alice Nutter of Chumbawamba fame, which explores the subcultures of punk, rave and the protest movement from the 1980s to the present day. Well worth a listen. Here is Alice Nutter back in the 1980s, the time that hairdressing forgot.

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

A pair of my pictures from my Cachet set that was on show at Turner Contemporary as part of the Nothing in the World But Youth show. This is rocker Ian Blyth in his teens and again on Whitsun bank holiday in 2011 on Margate seafront. All subjects were photographed in a spot in Margate that meant something to them in their youth or means something now. This shot is taken outside an amusement arcade.

Black and white picture loaned by Ian Blyth, portrait photograph © Iain Aitch.

Looks like this great book about Dublin’s youth subcultures has sold out of its initial print run. But Spring sees a reprint. Get in early to make sure you get one from http://wherewereyou.ie/.