When reading that statement, most people will have an immediate knee-jerk reaction and images of bald thugs, in big boots, making racist comments and making nazi salutes will spring to mind. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Skinhead culture emerged as a result of two shifts in British culture and society in the early/mid 1960s. Firstly, the Mod scene which had been so popular amongst British youth had begun to split into different factions. While the middle class Mods were able to carry on pursuing the latest Carnaby Street clothes and fashionable haircuts, this was out of reach to most working class Mods. In a scene so heavily based on consumerism, this undermined the working class Mods’ status and ability to take part in the scene. This led to the emergence of “hard Mods”, who marked themselves off from their peers with shaved hair, tight jeans, braces (suspenders), and work boots. This style, based on the typical style of British working men at the time, served to separate them from the old Mods and the middle class hippies of their generation. It served as “a conscious attempt by working class youth to dramatise and resolve their marginal status in a class-based society.”

At the same time, there was an influx of Jamaican immigration to London. They brought with them Jamaican rude boy culture, reggae and ska. Many of them went to work in London’s docks and lived in the working class communities of London’s East End. As a result of living so close to one another, the ‘native’ hard Mods mingled with the Jamaican rude boys, swapping mannerisms, slang words and dancing together in West Indian dancehalls to all the latest ska, reggae and soul records.

Out of this, the Skinheads were born, a multi-racial, working class youth subculture with a clearly defined hostility to the police, government and bosses as well as being an expression of the discontent that many young people felt at the time. This culture would only flourish for a short while, peaking in 1969 and fizzling out in the early 1970s amidst internal violence and media hysteria.

Skinhead culture became so popular by 1969 that even the rock band Slade temporarily adopted the look as a marketing strategy.  The subculture gained wider notice because of a series of violent and sexually explicit novels by Richard Allen, notably Skinhead and Skinhead Escapes.  Due to largescale British migration to Perth, Western Australia, many British youths in that city joined skinhead/sharpies gangs in the late 1960s and developed their own Australian style.

By the early 1970s, the skinhead subculture started to fade from popular culture, and some of the original skins dropped into new categories, such as the suedeheads (defined by the ability to manipulate one’s hair with a comb), smoothies (often with shoulder-length hairstyles), and bootboys (with mod-length hair; associated with gangs and football hooliganism).  Some fashion trends returned to the mod roots, with brogues, loafers, suits, and the slacks-and-sweater look making a comeback.

In the late 1970s, the skinhead subculture was revived to a notable extent after the introduction of punk rock. Most of these revivalist skinheads reacted to the commercialism of punk by adopting a look that was in line with the original 1969 skinhead style. This revival included Gary Hodges and Hoxton Tom McCourt (both later of the band the 4-Skins) and Suggs, later of the band Madness. From 1979 onwards, punk-influenced skinheads with shorter hair, higher boots and less emphasis on traditional styles grew in numbers and grabbed media attention, mostly due to football hooliganism. There still remained, however, skinheads who preferred the original mod-inspired styles.

Eventually different interpretations of the skinhead subculture expanded beyond Britain and continental Europe. In the United States, certain segments of the hardcore punk scene embraced skinhead styles and developed their own version of the subculture. In the 1970s, many British youths emigrated to Perth in Australia and  in that city joined skinhead/Sharpies gangs , creating their own Australian style.

It cannot be denied that there are those who dress as skinheads, that have extreme right wing/nazi views.  However in the world of Skinheads, the True Skinheads that adhere to the original roots of the sub-culture (known as the Spirit of ’69), do not even recognise these individuals as skinheads. They are called boneheads and vilified for their political stance.

In short, next time you are walking down the street and see a Skinhead approaching, come over and say hello – we don’t bite – MUCH!!

Playing Ska, Reggae, Two Tone, Northern Soul, Motown, Power Pop, Mod Revival, 6Ts Beats, Alternative 80s music and other classic scooterist sounds.

Working on a co-operative basis, Pressure Beat also has several regular guest DJs and we are always willing to allow other DJs a slot at any of our major events.

In Conjunction with Lee Jenkins and his BigShot Sound System, Pressure Beat is proud to be one of the founder members of the Boss Sounds Cymru collective.

Pressure Beat was formed as a direct result of the lack of ‘real’ music being played in clubs these days. We are strong advocates of keeping music live and of real bands – not the mass produced vocal groups that tend to pollute the airwaves and clubs.

If you find yourself longing for the days of the ‘good old’ disco, get along to a Pressure Beat event – you will dance!

Enjoy your weekend, and dont forget to pray for Indonesia.

21-11-09 -
THE BEST NIGHT EVER:
2 deejay booths / 7 deejays / 3 instrumental bands!

live: Phantom Four, WestHell 5, The Anacondas
deejays: Ir.Vendermeulen / Charley Rhythm / De Pep / Marquee
De Krab / Johnny Torpedo / Doctor Bikini

Entree E8,- aanvang 22:00 – 04:00
maloe Melo – Lijnbaansgracht 163 – Amsterdam

Hey scooter friends

Another great scooter weekender.

Drinks on Friday night, a ride out on Saturday afternoon and the famous scooterist party at Pakhuis Wilhelmina on Saturday night

Lots of fun stuff organised so be there! No custom show this year although there will be some prizes for the best scooters at the ride out.

Hope to see you there!

Underbones are often sold in the the West as scooters. Underbones, based on the 1958 Honda Super Cub, have step-through architecture but feature footpegs similar to those used on conventional motorcycles.

Scooters were originally intended for low-power personal transportation with engines between 50 and 250 cc. It is still very widely used for this application. However, maxi-scooters, with engines from 250 to 800 cc, have been developed for Western markets.

The popularity of scooters as a form of personal motor transport is partly based on their low cost of purchase and operation and their convenience in parking and storage. Licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for scooters have been made easier and less expensive than those for cars in many parts of the world.

There’s also a powerful dealer locator that not only lists dealers by zip code or city, but also Google Maps each dealership for the viewer’s pleasure.

Beginners can follow the “Six easy steps to getting on the road with my Vespa” and other advice on owning and maintaining a Vespa.

But the kicker for me, because I’m an admitted Vespa geek and scooter nut, is the Heritage and History page. Here you can view a timeline of the history of these Italian beauties, view old advertising copy and see a little about this bike my all-time favorite Vespa model.

Piaggio has really kicked into high gear its growth plan for the U.S. For more info on its brands read here, here and here.

You killed me scooter, Mr. Postman!

The auction house Bonhams announced that the Lambretta Li 150 Series 3 went for £36,000 at auction. (That’s about $54,000 in U.S. greenbacks.) It had a list price of £20,000 to £25,000 so that’s a pretty nice closing price I’d say. Turns out a guy named Paul Marsh rescued the scoot from somebody’s yard in Portsmouth, in the U.K.

From the BBC:

Earlier, Stephanie Connell, of Bonhams, said: “We have a few items from Quadrophenia come through the auction house but a scooter is very rare.

“It has been fully restored and is in great condition. We are expecting a lot of interest.

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And in other scooter news there’s this … thing. Not even sure what to say about it other than, eh, yeah. Interesting. For every taste there’s a style or something like that. Anyway, be sure to check out the little opening video on the Web site for the company called CustomScooter or some such. It features a rider inexplicably cruising this scooter through an office with the Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” playing in the background.

Uh, yeah.

Berwisata atau touring adalah salah satu hal yang menyenangkan. Namun bagaimana jika perjalanan pulang pergi Yogyakarta-Wonosobo berjalan selama 1 hari hanya karena kendaraan macet terus? Inilah yang sudah sering dialami oleh komunitas scooter Japemethe.

Scooter yang termasuk salah satu kendaraan tua ini sangat digemari oleh komunitas Japemethe. Meskipun mesinnya sering ngadat tapi keunikkan dari jenis kendaraan ini berhasil memunculkan rasa persatuan antar penggemar kendaraan scooter di kawasan Kaliurang.

Awalnya yang menggemari kendaraan ini hanya kalangan orang-orang yang bisa dibilang sudah berumur. Pada akhir tahun 2004, orang-orang tersebut mengadakan touring bersama para pemiliki scooter dari kalangan anak muda, dan baru pada tanggal 5 Mei 2005 mereka memutuskan menggunakan nama Japemethe, yang berarti cahe dhewe (temen sendiri). Selain itu dipakainya nama ini karena juga mengungkap makanan khas yang dimiliki daerah berkumpul mereka, Kaliurang, yaitu Jadah Tempe Merapi Scooter.

Komuitas yang saat ini diiketuai oleh Mas Andi ini pada awalnya hanya membuka peluang bergabung untuk warga Kaliurang saja. Namun saat ini lebih terbuka, siapa saja boleh masuk dan menjadi anggotanya. Bahkan ada anggota yang domisilinya di Maguwoharjo (kurang lebih 20 kilometer dari Kaliurang), terjauh untuk saat ini. Komunitas yang memiliki anggota sebanyak 25 orang ini melakukan rapat rutin tiap bulan pada minggu pertama. Selain rapat rutin, komunitas ini mengaktifkan kumpul-kumpul rutin pada hari Sabtu malam di perlimaan WARA.

Japemethe sendiri tidak pernah absen untuk ikut acara-acara scooter sejak awal terbentuknya komunitas ini. Selain mengikuti acara scooter yang ada, komunitas ini kurang lebih tiga bulan sekali mengadakan touring intern anggota. Touring pertama dengan tujuan ke Keteb, Selo (2004). Dan touring kedua komunitas ini memilih ke Sundak, Wonosari (Juli 2005). Touring terakhir dan yang cukup berkesan adalah perjalanan ke Waduk Wades Lintang, Wonosobo.

Tak hanya itu, komunitas ini juga selalu melakukan kegiatan bersama dengan warga Kaliurang, seperti membersihkan kawasan Kaliurang. Ini mereka lakukan karena sesuai dengan makna dibalik nama mereka yang mendahulukan keakraban, baik sesama anggota, sesama penggemar scooter, maupun sesama manusia.

Punya scooter dan tertarik untuk bergabung? Untuk dapat tercatat sebagai anggota komunitas ini, syaratnya tergolong mudah. Komunitas ini sangat terbuka bagi siapa saja yang ingin bergabung, yang penting gemar akan scooter. Namun untuk mendapatkan bendera ataupun stiker bernomor anggota harus melalui beberapa syarat. Untuk mendapatkan bendera, seseorang harus pernah mengikuti tour sebanyak 2 kali. Sedangkan untuk stiker, baru bisa didapatkan setelah tiga kali ikut touring. Untuk keterangan lebih lanjut dapat menghubungi Angga (085-6257-8277) atau e-mail japemethe_jogjakarta@yahoo.co.id. (dit)