Edinburgh
residents past and present have been sharing fascinating memories of the
infamous Mods vs Punks rivalry which swept across the capital in the early
1980s.
Local man
Douglas Brown is asking people to come forward and share their stories and
photographs from the era.
In a post in
our Edinburgh Back in Time group he called on those involved in the battles of
1980, and particularly the May Day Riots on Portobello Beach, to take a trip
down memory lane with him.
Douglas
admits he was part of the Mod movement which, inspired by Quadrophenia, The Jam
and The Specials, saw a revival in the late 70s and early 80s. He ran with the
Craigmillar/ Niddrie Mods as a teenager, and shared a cracking photo of himself
back in the day in his "cherished blue two-tone suit" while sitting
on a friend's scooter. He even wore the suit when he went to see The Jam live
at The Playhouse.
Urging others
to get involved, he posted: "May day riot 1980 Mods vs Punks Portobello
beach was a culmination of many mini battles between the two subcultures that
took place throughout Edinburgh, but mostly around Beefeaters at the West End,
Princes Street Gardens and the St James' Centre.
"I was
15 in 1980 and ran with the Craigmillar/Niddrie Mods.
"So who
remembers? And what where you, a Mod or a Punk?
"Feel
free to share your memories of that amazing period and don’t hold back, tell as
it was and how you saw it."
A number of
people got involved and shared their own memories from the era.
Gerry
McCafferty said: "I can remember these days. Jim's Pool Room was a good
hangout before and after."
Marc Spector
added: "I stayed in Bath Street in Portobello at the time and used to
watch the fighting on the beach. Strangely I have never been able to find
anything online about it until this post."
When asked if
it was a "retro Mod" movement given it first became big in the early
60s, Douglas continued: "My generation brought the Mods back around '79.
We were listening to the likes of The Who as in Quadrophenia, plus The Jam,
Specials, Merton Parkas, The Chords, Secret Affair etc. It was a mod revival."
The battles
around the capital, and on Portobello Beach, echo the May chaos of 1964 which
saw Mods and Rockers take to the UK's seaside towns to square off.
British tabloid press lapped the story up as thousands of young people rode their scooters or bikes to the likes of Margate, Brighton and Bournemouth to confront members of the rival subculture. The scenes would help inspire iconic 1979 movie Quadrophenia, starring the likes of Phil Daniels and Ray Winstone.
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburghs-mods-v-punks-battles-19958610
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