The Mod Cod!
Mod culture Bandwagonism at its very worst... grrr.
Last month Dan wrote about how Southport is going to be the new Bridlington along with some of the factors behind it, such as the local traders who want to profit from the scooter scene and the outsiders who see it as a quick buck. In the same week as I read Dan’s article I also came across a product put out by Liam Gallagher’s ‘Pretty Green’ fashion label, I also found myself in Manchester next to a Mod Fish and Chip shop. Later I tidied my home office and found a copy of the book Mods! by Richard Barnes, and (finally) threw out a Fred Perry shirt that’s over 20 years old. Oh, and someone asked me if I ‘used to be’ a Mod. So how did these things come together to light my fuse?
Well, way back when I was 12 I was given a beaten up copy of The Beatles album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. At the time I was into The Sweet, Slade and Suzi Quatro. But listening to Sergeant Pepper’s opened a whole new world that I loved. So I got more 60s albums and researched. The Beatles led to Manfred Mann, they led to the Kinks, to The Who, to The Small Faces and the world of Mod! Now this was a fascinating world, but the Beatles were my real fascination. Also, my grandfather owned a Lambretta that I’d been sitting on since I was age four and so ultimately Lambretta became my thing too.
Now it was clear to me, that while the Beatles were extremely important, they most definitely were not part of what was the ultra-cool 60s Mod world. Mods were uber-cool, super-smart, and fashion orientated, hanging out in Soho espresso and coffee bars, wearing clothing styles which they duly dropped as soon as the mainstream picked up on them. Their look and style was always changing to keep it fresh and stylish. Which brings me to Liam Gallagher… I thought that he of all people understood both the Beatles and the world of Mod, so what the f**k is his fashion brand doing bringing out a US style parka, with ‘64’ on the front, and a huge Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the back, along with the Beatles logo, as part of a ‘Beatles range’!? Firstly, Sergeant Pepper came out in ’67 not ’64, and secondly… why is it on a parka? What has a parka to do with the Beatles? Bugger all in my opinion! Gallagher should know better. My conclusion? He is no different to those Bridlington traders jumping on a bandwagon of a world they really don’t understand.
So what about the fish and chip shop then? Well I ask you, what has fish and chips got to do with Mod? How does a super cool 60s scene translate to the branding on a fish and chip shop? Is a piece of cod really Mod, or is it just tacky branding jumping on a bandwagon to try and make it look cool? If you want to style a business on scooters and keep it cool then look at Cento Coffee in California, that pulls off a trendy coffee shop with a super stylish look that carries a scooter theme, with side panels and scooters on the wall and a yellow ochre espresso machine. It’s hip, trendy and cool. It oozes style and quality. That is at the basis of what the 60s Mod world was all about. They pulled it off in a way that the Mod Cod doesn’t. In my business career I wore a shirt and suit most of the time, at first it was a three button bespoke Sixties style suit with a fancy lining, smart shoes, skinny tie. You know the look. As I got older I wore different styles of suit but always stuck with certain things like skinny ties and Ben Sherman shirts.
For over 10 years I didn’t wear anything other than Ben Sherman button down shirts. It was worn like a secret code to those who knew. The Sixties Mod world was like that, a kind of secret world that kept moving on to stay cool. My Fred Perry shirt was now about three sizes too big from weight loss so there was no point in keeping it anyway, but I often still wear a black merino wool long sleeved polo jersey. It’s understated and smart. I guess some would say it’s a ‘Mod influenced’ style… smart, cool, understated. No need to shout or have a huge label.
I had a scan through the ‘Mods’ book and refreshed my memory of some of the origins of Mod. I got to thinking – how the hell did we get from super cool kids wearing sharp suits and hanging out in Soho coffee bars to Bridlington ‘Scooterfest’, pork pie hats and huge target patches shouting MOD! True Mods to this day are cool, look smart and stylish but shouldn’t really need to have a huge label. Those that know – know. So how did I answer the ‘Mod question’? Yes I was! Now I am Mod influenced, and proud of that.