Adam Cooper is currently ‘Moving & Shaking’ to great effect on the current scene with a successful record label, the scene’s best current Modzine, a book publishing arm and maybe, just maybe, a Mod TV channel on Sky (if only that it were true - that is something that I would love to see). But how did he get to this point? I caught up with Adam earlier in the year to get the low down from the very beginning.
Paul Hooper-Keeley: When did you first get involved in the Mod scene?
Adam Cooper: It would have been around 1983 / 84 when I was eleven or twelve, basically a playground mod until I started going to Carnaby Street a couple of years later and spending my hard earned paper round money on Cavern clothes and that was that – addicted for life!
PHK: What was it about Mod that most attracted you – the clothes, music, attitude?
AC: Early on it would have been purely the music – I was really into The Kinks to start with and The Jam a bit later – as I was eleven clothes weren’t that important to me until the London visits and buying A Beat Concerto, Paolo Hewitt’s book on The Jam and seeing what Weller was wearing. Attitude comes from within and depends on your own personality – a lot has been written about snobbery within the scene, I think a lot is down to insecurity and shyness in a lot of cases and safety within your own group back in the 80s / 90s. Going to The Cavern for the first time in Carnaby Street was amazing too – loads of Mods milling around on a Saturday afternoon, those days are long gone sadly, but still stick in my mind.
PHK: Which clubs and events did you attend in those days?
AC: My first meeting with Mods en masse was the Great Yarmouth CCI rally in 1987. It was pure luck I was on holiday at the time with my parents and remember walking around towards the end of the week and seeing literally hundreds of scooters and smart Mods. I was still fourteen and luckily packed my Cavern Dogtooth suit with me and went to see the James Taylor Quartet on the Saturday – mind-blowing! 1988 was just spent collecting anything and everything – the only events I attended were the Mod Aid Alldayer in Wimbledon and a rally to Lowestoft or Gorleston. In 1989 I scooted my way to all the CCI rallies except Scotland, mainly with The Moreton Parka’s A.M.S. (you had to be affiliated then). After that I started going to the London clubs on my trusty PK125 with The Clique hand spray-painted on my side panel. Great clubs like Drummonds, The Mildmay Tavern, Circles and the 100 Club all-nighters in between the rallies. Also The Kings Tavern in Reading on a Sunday night – the closest to an authentic 60s style Mod club I ever attended.
PHK: What music/records were you listening to at this point in time?
AC: If we say 1989 it was literally anything connected to Mod; Revival, Northern Soul, Jazz, R&B, Ska – all the songs I heard in the clubs I went out and bought on vinyl the next week from people like Mick Smith, Paul Malone and the London record shops. Faves around that time would have been Shake Your Hips by Slim Harpo, Return Of The Prodigal Son (Freddie Hubbard), it was mainly jazz / R&B then but I never lost sight of the modern stuff and feel lucky within myself that I can appreciate all kinds of music; be it from 1962 or 2012 – it’s all good!
PHK: What were the earliest clothes you had that you considered Mod?
AC: After spending money in the Cavern on the poorly made suits, I still loved my Target sweatshirt the most and of course my parka which I still have (I remember spending Bridlington ’89 asleep in a bus shelter after falling out with one of the DJs about the merits of Northern Soul in the Mod Scene – ah to be sixteen again). In about late ’88 I started to go to Charlie’s in Carnaby Street and get clothes made – a really nice, genuine guy who helped out all the Mods at the time. My first suit was brown with velvet collars and pocket flaps. I remember wearing it at the first rally of ’89 and then seeing the same style as mine at future rallies – that made me feel good. It was normal then to go to Textile King in Wardour Street, straight up to Charlie’s, back to Textile King and onto Katy Stevens with shirt material… both places were always busy on Saturday mornings.
PHK: Did you have a scooter?
AC: Yes, got my first one – a 50 special aged 15 and rode it to Lowestoft (9 hours to do just over 130 miles), swiftly followed by a V90, then a PK125, a PX 125, a J-range lammy, a T5, a PX200, a primavera, a Li Series 2 and a Series 3. Now I ride a VBB with the old P2 still in the shed. Most were lights and mirrors, but not now, it wouldn’t feel right.
PHK: What are your key memories and highlights from the Mod scene over the years?
AC: I just remember now in hindsight how quickly it all went by – in ’89, ’90, ’91 you were out every weekend (well I was). Friday would have been a London club, shopping Saturday daytime and back up again for Drummonds or something, Sunday was Kings Tavern and the rallies were every month too – it was all on a scooter as well. When you are young you don’t think about it – you just do it. Best memories were probably being able to see The Clique many times, seeing The Prisoners and Jimmy Smith, Turin and Blankenberge, my record collection. I also kept all my fliers, tickets etc so can reminisce anytime too. I have also enjoyed seeing everything go around in circles, be it clothes, music, scooters. Overall it is was/is just a very smart scene and I have made and lost some firm friends over the years.
PHK: When did you set-up ‘Rowed Out Records’ and why did you decide to set up a label?
AC: Rowed Out started in 2006 with a release by The Shake! and to be honest I had no pre-conceptions about how it would do, I just felt like doing a label. Detour were a major influence and Dizzy has been helpful over the years with advice etc, but I have always been a collector myself and want to hear new bands and hoped that others felt the same. So far there have been over thirty releases and I still love every one. The Button Up single “I’m Gonna Leave You” has been the most successful – selling out its 500 copies. I felt it was important to keep the Mod tradition of vinyl going with new bands. Although there is not a scene as such anymore, from a youth angle, there are still plenty of good bands out there.
PHK: Since ‘Rowed Out’, you have produced the excellent ‘Heavy Soul’ fanzine and label – what was the thinking behind this, and how does ‘Heavy Soul’ records differ from ‘Rowed Out’?
AC: Thankyou. The fanzine came about due to a lack of fanzines around and a bit of nostalgia for the old days when I used to go to Carnaby Street and buy In The Crowd, Dedicated Follower etc – a return to the old days of paper! To be honest I don’t get time to reflect on the zine as they come out every ten weeks and the time involved is immense – I have been lucky enough to get some great interviews – calling up Mickey Tenner in Tazmania is one, Paolo Hewitt another. Other people like Bob Manton, Trevor French, Paul Newman, Allan Crockford, Rod Spark, Bart Mendoza, Ronnie Jones, Ian Snowball, Adrian Holder, Irish Paul have been great with their help. Derek Shepherd also has been an influence with his In The Crowd and Tailor Made zines and also more advice. I am constantly learning new methods and evolving the ‘zine and hopefully each issue is getting better. I have always included either a CD or 7” with each issue and now also there are supplements added too; a Motown one with issue 11, a Mod poetry one with issue 12 as well as implementing the return of the Reggae Newsletter that stopped production in the ‘70s. I work with the original writer. The Heavy Soul label was set up to run alongside the Rowed Out one, but to deal with the more guitary / soulful side of things. Rowed Out started as a garagey style label but moved on with the soul side after Button Up and The Fonxionaires. The name change was to coincide with the zine and used to combine the two. The limited company is Rowed Out Records and the catalogue numbers still start with ROR, but I think now I prefer the Heavy Soul title and will continue with that.
PHK: More recently you have expanded your empire to include book publishing too – how did that come about?
AC: My empire ha ha! The books are something that came about merely chatting to people. Ian Snowball from the band Aunt Nelly wrote the first; Long Hot Summer which has sold over 400 copies and the second book I wrote myself about the Irish Mod Scene of the ‘80s entitled To Be Someone; Mods In Ireland has nearly sold out too. That came about after an Irish Mod Marty McAllister had compiled a load of accounts from people who were there at the time and also Irish Jack and I added a few more (Bob Manton etc) and I made a story out of those accounts. I am currently putting together a novel and also an account of the CCI rallies. Both should be out this year. There has never been any great agenda to anything I put out. My philosophy has always been that when I get enough back from previous efforts, I can plough that straight into the next project. If memory serves me well I started back in 2006 by spending £500 on The Shake! single and haven’t personally taken anything from the proceeds – it all gets ploughed back in – I don’t think these days you can run a label with such a small market and expect to live from it. I have a full-time job as security luckily.
PHK: Are there any other areas of Mod media that you are planning to move into?
AC: The fanzine will be available in PDF form soon hopefully - time allowing. I am in negotiations with Sky TV at the moment for a Mod channel as well. Tony Class will be the anchorman like Jeff Stelling and we will be bringing Cathy McGowan out of retirement for an updated Ready Steady Go…..maybe…..
PHK: Which contemporary bands do you currently admire and are there any new bands you have seen that you are tipping for greater things in the future?
AC: The thing with the Mod scene is that there have always been great bands, some brilliant but have never got recognition out of the restrictions of the Mod crowd. Thinking back to when I started bands like The Truth got some media attention, but other bands like The Prisoners, Makin’ Time, The Scene etc not as much, this was true in the ‘90s as well when The Clique could have made it, but once again record label difficulties made it impossible. The Inspiral Carpets were similar in sound and became massive, but did so without the Mod restrictions and image. Today there are many great bands around that should appeal outside the Mod crowd; The Universal, D.C. Fontana, Cheap Cuts, Stone Foundation and Wideboy Generation to name a few have a very commercial sound with potential to cross over, also other newer bands like The Theme, This Modern Youth and New Street Adventure. I really like what the Acid Jazz label has been doing recently too with Jasmine Kara in particular
It will interesting to see what The Karla Milton Collective come up with as well and keep a close eye on Irish band The Strypes.
PHK: Which events/clubs do you most enjoy at the current time?
AC: My wife and I have a two year old so going out is limited, but we always look forward to Pid’s Birmingham nights, I also have just been to Dublin for a night which was something different. I have found myself going to gigs more than clubs lately, but the Lowestoft weekender in June should be fun.
PHK: What’s currently on your playlist?
AC: Blimey – it’s a cliché, but it changes daily – music is very mood focused. In my car I will always have The Jam, The Prisoners etc to drive along to, but I also buy a lot of new stuff to review in the fanzine so I am open to all kinds of new music and styles. Currently digging a lot of the Jazzman releases on their various labels.
PHK: What other projects are you currently working on for the future?
AC: At the moment the next big project is the CCI rallies book, I am getting stuff in all the time from various sources and have met Tony Class a couple of times and various other Mods too for their thoughts. It is a tricky subject due to the inclusion inevitably of Mark Johnson, but his input to the Mod Scene cannot go unrecognised. Hopefully August should see that available. On the record label side The Magnetic Mind are the latest release with more planned for the rest of 2012. The fanzine comes out every ten weeks too which keeps me busy!
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