NCJ Number
148505
Date Published
1982
Length
84 pages
Annotation
This narrative and photographic essay of the "skinheads" of London's East End focuses on their dress, appearance, music, behavior, and attitudes.
Abstract
Skinheads could be identified as a separate group in 1968 because of their distinctive dress and appearance, the type of music they liked, and the tough, aggressive behavior they displayed. They emerged from the working class youth of London and other cities. The skinheads derived their name from their hair style, which varied from short to bald. Dress included donkey jackets, army greens, tough working jeans, industrial boots, and braces. Steel toe-capped boots, highly polished, became an early badge of identity and a useful weapon, until they were banned at football matches. The skinheads have been obsessively interested in football and have appeared in large groups at matches and started fights with fans of the opposing team. The skinhead style never quite died out in the East End or in the industrial Midlands, but very few skinheads were seen on the streets between 1972 and 1976. The skinheads revived in the latter half of the 1970's, manifesting the most extreme elements of the old skinhead style and exaggerating them. Heads were shaved completely or the crop bleached, sometimes with Union Jacks or other symbols dyed into it. Only the boots, jeans, and braces were revived. A characteristic of the current skinheads is an intense nationalism and hostility toward immigrants, who do not share the history and culture of the British working class. The last section of the book presents the authors photographs of skinheads.