A new book about the 1960s Mod scenes in Nottingham and Leicester is to published to mark the 40th anniversary of The Who’s cult film Quadrophenia.
Mods: Two City Connection tells the story of how the scenes in both cities were connected via first-hand eye witness accounts and previously unpublished images.
It includes a foreword by Newark Mod, Alan Fletcher, the author of Quadrophenia and also a consultant on the film.
As well as celebrating the thriving scenes in each city, its author Shaun Knapp sets out to challenge some of the perceptions associated with the Mods.
“The Mods and their counterparts were the first post war generation to reach their teenage years without suffering the combined misery of national service or austerity and they were going to make the most of it,” says Shaun.
“Mod culture provided teenagers with a way out from the mundane lifestyle that their parents and older siblings had experienced, and most importantly, it provided them with an identity.
"But not everyone wore a parka or a suit, took amphetamines, fought on the beaches at Margate and Brighton or rode a scooter. Nor did they want to. However, many of them did exactly that. While some critics may see Quadrophenia as a pastiche of what actually happened, to many the film, or aspects of it, were spot on, it was exactly how the young people of Nottingham and Leicester lived their lives as Mods in the 1960s.”
The Old Market Square, or Slab Square, was the centre of Mod life in Nottingham.
Says Shaun: "Mods liked to meet up there, especially on a Sunday afternoon whilst waiting for the Dungeon Club to re-open in the evening, and it became the place to find out about any forthcoming house parties that could be gate crashed."
Recalls Jimmy Fahy: "It was the meeting place in Nottingham for the Mods, we always used to stand in front of the lions. It was great, I loved the square, the atmosphere was always good, and all your friends would be there. It was strange, you never used to arrange to meet your mates, you just went, and everybody would be there.”
The Square was an ideal spot for Mods to show off their scooters.
“We liked to congregate in the Old Market Square and show off our scooters by the Council House,” said Maurice Moore.
“The bit in front of it was a road back then with a parking area so we’d line the scooters up there. Suddenly, everyone would leave to go nowhere in particular, and a large snake of scooters would wend its way through Nottingham. Sometimes the police would move us on, it was usually done by Tug Wilson, a 6ft 7” policeman. He was a big bloke, and everyone knew of him in Nottingham. Once we’d moved on though we would inevitably go back there.”
Away from the Square and, like any other city in the UK, Nottingham had its cafes and coffee houses that were favourite hang outs, in particular the Lyons Tea Rooms, the Kardomah, the Four Seasons and the L Shaped Room.
Mods shopped at Burtons and small, independent tailors, outfitters and High Street stores. They would also hang around The Birdcage, a boutique on Bridlesmith Gate that would become synonymous with designers Janet Campbell and Paul Smith.
Brighton born Margaret Kerslake moved to Nottingham in 1959. “We did it at the right time," she said. "I was just in my pre-teenage years and we lived within walking distance of the city centre. My brother and I went to the coffee bars to start with, the L Shaped Room for example, then we progressed to the Dungeon, The Brit and the Beachcomber, they were full of Mods.”
The Dungeon Club on Stanford Street was not only a favourite haunt for Nottingham crowd, Mods from around the country would travel to be there, such was its reputation for live music, dancing and an exciting night out.
Says Shaun: "The list of bands that performed at The Dungeon reads like an A-Z of popular 60s music and included The Yardbirds, The Who, The Action, The Small Faces and The Spencer Davies Group.
“The Dungeon was a big part of my life, I used to go three times a week,” said Ann Barry.
“You’d never be hanging around on your own, it gave you a great feeling of belonging, especially if you felt that you didn’t fit in at home. You’d go there, and you were immediately with people who ‘got you’.”
The book re-visits the legendary hang-outs visited by the Nottingham and Leicester Mods that also included the Nite Owl, the Il Rondo, The Mojo and The Twisted Wheel.
"Both sets of Mods visited each other’s cities to explore the various venues and to attend the now legendry all-nighters,” says Shaun. “They also all shared a common desire to embrace a new found financial and parental freedom and to stand out above the crowd with regards to originality in fashion, music and social status and what they achieved still influences aspects of contemporary life.”
The Dungeon Club was not only a favourite haunt for the Nottingham crowd. “Mods from around the country would travel to be there, such was its reputation for live music, dancing and an exciting night out," said Shaun.
"It was up there with the Nite Owl in Leicester, The Twisted Wheel in Manchester and The Mojo in Sheffield as one of the key Mod venues outside of London that you had to visit”.
Mods: Two City Connection is published by DB Publishing on Saturday, March 30. There will be a launch event on that day at the Exchange Bar, Rutland Street, Leicester between 3pm and 6pm.
WHAT'S ON NOSTALGIA
