Still sharing the same passion
Jersey scooterist Paul Le Brocq has many happy memories dating from the 1970s, right through to modern times. Here, he tells his story:
My mates and I all have fond memories dating from the early days back in the 1970s and 80s when we were known as the Jersey Mods. Nowadays, however, we call our club the 79ers Old Timers, as we all met back in the day and many of us still ride and share the same passion for scooters.
We all first experienced the scooter lifestyle during the second generation of the Mod scene; and in 1979 we used to meet at The Weighbridge at 2pm on a Sunday. Back then, some members were in the Ace of Spades SC and a few branched out to form the
Purple Hearts SC. Seaside battles happened regularly with Rockers and other bikers during that time period, but we were a tight-knit group of friends that had each other’s backs.
We were heavily involved in the music scene of that time, listening to what every youth of our kind did; this included the likes of The Who, The Jam, Secret Affair and other Motown, Northern Soul and Ska music.
We would venture out to the likes of Ilford Palais to take part in Mod all-dayers and made regular trips to London to watch bands and to renew our wardrobes, shopping at places like the Rockafella Centre in Carnaby Street, Carnaby Cavern and Shelley’s to name but a few.
TIME MOVES ON
We have all had scooters since those days and decided to form a new club – the 79ers Old Timers – who aren’t Scooter Boys, Skinheads or the like, but just a group of men sharing the same passion of being a Mod and the scene lifestyle. Last year (2022) was the first rally we attended as a club (there are about 15-20 of us in total); six of us rode our scooters on to the night boat to Portsmouth and the following morning rode to Brighton (Mods Mecca) for the annual August Bank Holiday Mod Weekender – which was a great weekend. And to crown it off, two of us won trophies.
To this day, we still meet at The Weighbridge in St Helier. It’s great to have friends who share the same passion, and from 1979 to this day, still ride together.