Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

[Politics] Were you a Skinhead



oneillco

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2013
1,259
I'm a skinhead but centred around a different music scene. Dutch gabber/hardcore.
The really early scene, gabber at least, started in Germany and because of the shaved head, a lot of outsiders associated it with racism and neo-nazis. I'd imagine British skinheads back in the day were also tarred with the same brush.

Having a number 1 does not make you a skinhead, and Gabber has nothing in common with the original British skinhead scene circa 1969/70. I cite the following evidence:

1. hair - skinheads had short crops but not necessarily ultra short
2. clothes - skinheads made a lot of effort with their clothes, Ben Shermans, two tone tonic suits, loafers for smart, or levis, DMs, braces, and Harringtons. Gabbers seem to favour trackies and trainers
3. Music - skinheads were all about reggae, your lot are all about BPMs.
4. A lot of black kids were skinheads in the big cities; I'm not sure how integrated the Gabber scene is, but it seems to attract a lot of extreme right-wingers.

Of course when skinheads revived out of the punk scene in the late 70s they were a very different bunch, more focused on aggression than fashion and they should be really be classified as "boneheads" rather than skinheads.
 

Gabbafella

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2012
4,628
Having a number 1 does not make you a skinhead, and Gabber has nothing in common with the original British skinhead scene circa 1969/70. I cite the following evidence:

1. hair - skinheads had short crops but not necessarily ultra short
2. clothes - skinheads made a lot of effort with their clothes, Ben Shermans, two tone tonic suits, loafers for smart, or levis, DMs, braces, and Harringtons. Gabbers seem to favour trackies and trainers
3. Music - skinheads were all about reggae, your lot are all about BPMs.
4. A lot of black kids were skinheads in the big cities; I'm not sure how integrated the Gabber scene is, but it seems to attract a lot of extreme right-wingers.

Of course when skinheads revived out of the punk scene in the late 70s they were a very different bunch, more focused on aggression than fashion and they should be really be classified as "boneheads" rather than skinheads.

I didn't compare being the two, simply stated I'm a skinhead, I don't think that term is solely used for one scene/movement.
The music isn't about BPM at all, it ranges from 140-250+ so not sure where you got that from.
As I said before, outsiders seem to like to label gabbers as racists with little or no evidence, just as you have. I've been to events all over the place and mingled with thousands of ravers/gabbers black and white and never seen a single thing that would count as racism. Again, your info seems a little off.
Boneheads should simply be relabelled as dickheads, they have nothing to do with the scene I'm into and are basically thugs.
Only thing you got right is that we wear trainers, and that's only when we go to events usually, although I wouldn't be seen dead in air max which seems to be the gabbers choice.
 

oneillco

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2013
1,259
I didn't compare being the two, simply stated I'm a skinhead, I don't think that term is solely used for one scene/movement.
The music isn't about BPM at all, it ranges from 140-250+ so not sure where you got that from.
As I said before, outsiders seem to like to label gabbers as racists with little or no evidence, just as you have. I've been to events all over the place and mingled with thousands of ravers/gabbers black and white and never seen a single thing that would count as racism. Again, your info seems a little off.
Boneheads should simply be relabelled as dickheads, they have nothing to do with the scene I'm into and are basically thugs.
Only thing you got right is that we wear trainers, and that's only when we go to events usually, although I wouldn't be seen dead in air max which seems to be the gabbers choice.

You called yourself a skinhead, but it sounds like the only box you tick is having a crop...
 


Dick Head

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jan 3, 2010
13,607
Quaxxann
My elder sisters were both skinheads so tried to dress me in the gear, not totally successfully. Then went to a grebo council boarding school, they soon persuaded me of the error of my ways.

What? Tartan mini skirts and pinafore dresses?
 

AnotherArch

Northern Exile
Apr 2, 2009
1,172
Stockport & M62
Another skinhead here from back in the day. Not many people went away to university in those days, and most that did were pseudo-hippy using the freedom away from home to grow hair and dress as scruffy as possible. The rest were the 'swots' - short back-and-sides, possibly still with Brylcreem. This resulted in me having the shortest hair in the whole of Manchester University.
 

WildWood

Well-known member
Sep 6, 2011
798
Chichester
Have been a Skinhead since I was 18. I'm 41 now! Have been collecting & playing Ska, Rocksteady & early reggae for 20 odd years now & have been lucky enough to play this music all round the world, supporting some of the original foundation artists as well as 2-tone greats like Madness, Jerry Dammers etc. I don't have the OCD around the dress code like I did in my early days (not being seen dead in orange tab Levi's, red tab only!) although the sheepskin is about to make its way out the loft again in time for the Stoke game I think! Present a weekly radio show, playing solely early Jamaican sounds which you can listen to on Mixcloud if that's your thing - https://www.mixcloud.com/paul-homer/091117-ska-beat-soul-radio-show/
 


Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,829
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!

One of my top ten Reggae tunes.
The photo on this video was taken at the junction of Ship Street and Prince Albert Street in Brighton. One kiddie is wearing what looks like a football scarf. Unfortunately, being a black and white photo doesn't help to identify his allegiance. Anybody here in the photo by any chance?
 
Last edited:

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,829
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!


BN9 BHA

DOCKERS
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 14, 2013
21,391
Newhaven
One of my top ten Reggae tunes.
The photo on this video was taken at the junction of Ship Street and Prince Albert Street in Brighton. One kiddie is wearing what looks like a football scarf. Unfortunately, being a black and white photo doesn't help to identify his allegiance. Anybody here in the photo by any chance?

Chelsea fans.

image.jpg
 
Last edited:


Publius Ovidius

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
45,896
at home
One of my top ten Reggae tunes.
The photo on this video was taken at the junction of Ship Street and Prince Albert Street in Brighton. One kiddie is wearing what looks like a football scarf. Unfortunately, being a black and white photo doesn't help to identify his allegiance. Anybody here in the photo by any chance?

I used to audit Michael Norman antiques.
 

Flagship

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2018
424
Brighton
I started going to football matches in the late 1960s at Molyneux. You had to keep your wits about you and being scared shitless was pretty normal in those days. In the 70s I wore Ruperts (2 tone trousers) and Ben Sherman shirts. I remember we had silk scarves tied round our wrists and zip up cardigans with quartered colours.
You used to read reports in the Sunday papers about all the riots and every now and again you would see a photo of some poor sod with a dart in his head. There was always something to talk about at school on Monday mornings. These days its the bottle tops that are dangerous!!
 

Bevendean Hillbilly

New member
Sep 4, 2006
12,805
Nestling in green nowhere
I would see the said skinheads at the back of the North Stand with their braces and no shirt and wish I could be like them.

Er. You can. Just take your shirt off, shave your head, buy some braces. Jobs a good un.
 



Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports

Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills


Top
Link Here