Introduction

Essay Excerpt

The British Mods loved the Rude Boys’ look, their ska, their dance moves and, reportedly, their ganja. This respect for the West Indian immigrants’ many contributions to British popular music and streetstyle would outlast the original Mods when the less than perfectionist, anything goes, pseudo ‘Mods’ of ‘Swinging London’ lost the plot. But when a small but ultra dedicated band of ‘Hard Mods’ surfaced a bit later in the ‘60s, their determination to get back to basics naturally acknowledged a great debt to the Rude Boys. This was even more the case at the very tail end of the ‘60s when the Skinheads emerged: as non-racist Skinheads are right to remind us, the first generation of Skins were respectful of and invigorated by the sharp, trim style and mesmerizing music which their West Indian neighbours brought to a now undeniably multi-cultural Britain.