Hardcore Hegelian: an interview with Stewart Home

The likes of the Cockney Rejects and East End Badoes have penned entire albums recently on the subject of East End gentrification, but for Stewart Home it’s a cause to fight. A one-time Neoist but always a novelist, a quick scan of his books since 1988 reveals a range of titles from The Assault on Culture to The Nine Lives of Ray the Cat Jones, via Blow Job and Cunt, naturally. Andrew Stevens met the crophead chronicler of pulp and punk at the foot of the Barbican and repaired to a nearby Spoons to talk Marx and mods. Continue reading →

by Categories: Literature, Oi!, Skinhead historyTags: , , , 6 Comments

Paris Violence in our minds: an interview with Flav

It wasn’t so long ago – five years perhaps – that I stumbled upon the name Paris Violence in a blog about the classic French Oi band Komintern Sect: “Paris Violence should be right up your alley”, was a commenter’s advice to frog-Oi loving Anglo-Saxons.

But then, the sounds I found on YouTube weren’t quite what I had expected. Although the Fred Perry-clad lead singer’s vocal style clearly placed the band in the skinhead camp and the melancholic overtones evoked Chaos en France-era memories, there was something else going on too. Continue reading →

by Categories: Music, Oi!Tags: , , 4 Comments

Cropheads Between the Covers – Books Roundup #1

9781138202115Skinhead History, Identity and Culture
Kevin Borgeson and Robin Valeri, 2017 (Routledge)

Skinhead History, Identity and Culture is published by academic imprint Routledge in their Crime and Society series and at £110 a pop you may be tempted towards criminal enterprise just to afford a copy. Continue reading →

by Categories: Literature, ReviewsTags: , 1 Comment

Another Rebel Thread: an interview with Roger K. Burton

Having dressed film stars (Quadrophenia, Absolute Beginners, Young Soul Rebels) and countless music videos, it’s unsurprising that Roger Burton sought to not only document his time in the business but also the vast attire he’s amassed along the way. Rebel Threads (Laurence King Publishing) is that book, spanning the range of British youth subcultures from the war onwards and delving into the fashions which gave them their name. Continue reading →

by Categories: Clobber, Literature, Skinhead historyTags: , , 4 Comments

Skinhead Classics: Books for Bootboys 1970-2000. Part Three – the 90s

This is an ongoing, decade by decade, attempt to catalogue in 500 words or less the most notable skinhead books, starting with Richard Allen’s Skinhead in 1970 and ending on ST Publishing’s output until the turn of the century. Click here for Part 2 – the 80s. Continue reading →

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Skinhead Classics: Books for Bootboys 1970-2000. Part Two – the 80s

This is an ongoing, decade by decade, attempt to catalogue in 500 words or less the most notable skinhead books, starting with Richard Allen’s Skinhead in 1970 and ending on ST Publishing’s output until the turn of the century.  Click here for Part 1 – the 70s. Continue reading →

by Categories: LiteratureTags: , , , , , , 5 Comments

Crophead record roundup #4

Klasse Kriminale: Construito in Italia 7’ EP (Skinhead Sounds)

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Skinhead Sounds is run by Italian skinhead historian Flavio (who we interviewed here) and has just reissued two classic 7-inches. Constriuto in Italia is the 30th-anniversary release of the debut EP by Klasse Kriminale, who in the latter half of the 80s were one of very few Italian Oi bands left. Continue reading →

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Skinhead Classics: Books for Bootboys 1970-2000. Part One – the 70s

As a youth cult and subculture, skinheads, their fashion and music, have been the subject of numerous books and documentaries, some favourable and others not so.  

This is an on-going, decade by decade, attempt to catalogue in 500 words or less the most notable (our own Research Unit, if you like), starting with Richard Allen’s Skinhead in 1970 and ending on ST Publishing’s output until the turn of the century.   Continue reading →

by Categories: LiteratureTags: , , , 5 Comments

Do the monkey: Eastern Bloc boots for East End kids

We hope this article will shed light on questions you were always afraid to ask, for few topics are more divisive than monkey boots. However, Matt Crombieboy does not pretend that his stab at tracking the history of the boot is comprehensive. It’s just an attempt that heavily relies on word-of-mouth accounts – for few topics are more shrouded in mystery than the history of this fine footwear item. If you know more than he was able to find out, we’d encourage you to enlighten us. Continue reading →

by Categories: Clobber, ReviewsTags: , , , , , , 50 Comments