Wanted: Your recommendations

Well, we've (almost) got a brand new website, now all that's needed is a serious update of the content.

We've got the album reviews covered, not to mention films and books (although it's always good to hear of new ones - and indeed new bands). But we could do with your help for the club listings, recommended shops, scooter dealers, barbers - you know the kind of thing.

If you can help with anything (nothing is too small), then please fire over an email to:
david@modculture.co.uk
- with the subject of what you're sending about (club, shop etc) and the details in the main body. Check out the current sections for the kind of info we need. If you have any ideas for news stories, fire them to the same address too.

Right now it's UK only, but we are considering expanding the shopping guides to worldwide. If you can help, drop us a line...it might just push us into doing it.

Contact Modculture

An interview with Dean Belcher

As we mentioned earlier, Dean Belcher will be introducing his Mods: Influences and Inspirations photo exhibition in July, which will show off images of a cross-section of mods from the modern era, taken in Dean's studio over a number of months.

So it made sense to collar Dean for an interview for Modculture - which we did - and that interview is now live on the site. Dean talks about is mod past, how he broke into photography and what led him to this project. You'll also get a preview of some of the images.

Check it out via the link below.

Read our interview with Dean Belcher

Dean Belcher photography exhibition

Photographer Dean Belcher has wrapped up his series of portraits of the contemporary mod scene and is exhibiting them next month in London.

Shot over 3 years at his studio in Stoke Newington in north London, the exhibition, entitled Mods: influences and inspirations,  shows a cross section of people from the UK (such as Skinhead Claire, used on the flyer here) in their finest mod-influenced attire. The exhibition is at Filthy MacNasty's in Angel, and opens on Thursday the 3rd of July and runs all summer. There is a launch party on the 3rd featuring DJs Paul Hallam, Dave Edwards and Mickee playing their usual top notch '60s sounds on vinyl. It is free entry and all are invited.

Mods: influences and inspirations
Photos by Dean Belcher
3rd July-31st August
@ Filthy MacNasty's, 68 Amwell St, London EC1

For more on Dean's photography you can visit his website here.

Modculture new design to launch

It's goodbye to purple and blue and hello to red, black and white as Modculture gets its first new design in around eight years.

As you can see from the image above, the new design is very different to the old one - although the site layout will be similar to the old one...at least for now. But we have removed all Flash code from the site - which has caused some problems to some users.

The new header and menu are the work of Swifty, best-known for Straight No Chaser magazine, Talkin' Loud, Blue Note, Mo Wax and various other projects you're probably familiar with - and it should be seen on the site from this weekend.

The downside is the number of pages on Modculture - so bear with us in the short term as the old design will mix with the new one. However, in the long term, it should herald in more new content and a new enthusiasm for the site.

80s mod scene stories wanted for book

Help is needed for the compiling of a photo book of the '80s mod scene.

Photographer Darren Russell is publishing a book of the photos he took of the '80s mod scene. It is to be titled 'Saturday’s Kids: Mod Life in Camera'. Claudia is helping Darren to edit it, and they are looking for people to tell of their stories of "buying clothes, going to clubs/rallies and seeing bands". If you are interested in contributing to the project then write your memroies down (up to 200 words) and email them to Claudia at Tinymod@hotmail.com.

Note this project has nothing at all to do with Modculture, so please do not contact the site,

Mods - Sunday Times 1964

If your eyesight isn't up to it, the caption reads...

They have been called the "anti-hoorays".

"But you can tell us by the way we walk - feet out", said one Mod.

"Rockers are hunched. We hope to stay smart for ever, not shoddy like our parents."

More snippets like this to follow over the coming days and weeks.

More photos and snippets at the Modculture Gallery

ITN footage of Brighton clashes online

May 1964. The Bank Holiday clashes that took place between mods and rockers on Brighton beach have gone down in scene folklore.

Whilst fighting between these subculture groups was numerous (and not just in Brighton, but Margate and other seaside resorts), there isn't much actual footage of the clashes that has survived today (not counting the re-staging done in Quadrophenia of course). Luckily some of the news footage ITN took for its Evening News on the 18th of May 1964 has been put online by Newsfilm Online (NFO). Much of it is missing any audio track, and some of it features rather bland interviews with disapproving locals. However there is plenty to get excited about: the close-up shots of the different groups of mods, some well dressed and some less so, but almost all of them teenagers, is fascinating to watch today.

Enough talk from us, take a look for yourselves here.

Send Modculture your news stories

We're making an effort to bring you news stories everyday - but we do need your help.

We need your news stories. This can be just about anything - club news, clothing (things you've seen online or in stores), music news, events, art/design, films, scootering, new band recommendations, cool websites, things you've seen in the media, new books - in fact, whatever you see that has any interest to a mod audience rather than just related to the mod scene.

So we can get things online quickly, we have set up a new inbox for your stories. Email anything you have to:
modculturenews@gmail.com

Please note:
You can still contact us in the normal way for general Modculture business, but unless you send details to the news email address, you'll not have your club, event, gig etc featured in the news section/frontpage (as this area is being looked after by separate people from the general site).

British psych prints at the V&A

Last year, London's V&A hosted a Sixties Graphics exhibition, which featured artwork and design from the period 1965 - 1972, including the work of designers such as Nigel Waymouth, Michael English and Martin Sharp. And if you head over to the V&A site, you can buy reproduction prints from the some of the more famous moments of British psychedelia.

There's five posters available, mainly from the infamous UFO Club and featuring resident band The Pink Floyd. And pictured here is my favourite print - UFO's Nite Tripper Freakout - which promised The Floyd, Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger amongst others for a bargain 10 shillings,

The re-print posters cost a little more - dependent on the size and quality you choose, prices start at £5, rising to £50.

See the full range of psychedelic posters at the V&A site

Via Retro To Go

Got some news? Let us know!

As you may have noticed, the Modculture news section is update virtually every day with anything from fashion finds to gigs, clubs, events, music releases, upcoming TV and competitions. And it's all down to you.

If you want anything featuring in the news section (and on the site frontpage), you just need to email it across. If it's interesting/relevant, we'll put it up and it'll be read by thousands of people every single day.

Just email your news or anything you think interesting to:
news@modculture.co.uk
- and we'll do our best to spread it around!

Sorry You Missed The Sixties

The John Bloxham Gallery is currently hosting Sorry You Missed The Sixties -  the decade as seen through the lens of  Philip Townsend, featuring a host of icons and celebrities against a backdrop of "swinging London".

Philip Townsend was born in 1940. After training as a photographer, he got his big break when he met Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham - within a few months, he was commissioned to do a session with the band, then spent most of the decade freelancing for the Daily Express, as well as featuring in the Tatler, Honey, Harpers Bazaar, Der Stern, Neue Revue, Tempo, Paris Match and New York Times.

Icons and celebs caught be Townshend included Marlon Brando, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jimmy Page, Elizabeth Taylor, Aristotle Onassis, Marty Wilde, Dudley Moore, Richard Burton, Twiggy, Jacquelin Bisset, Charlotte Rampling and The Beatles.

This exhibition displaying almost 80 photographs from Philip Townsend's Archive, will be exclusively on show until 25th April at the John Bloxham Gallery. Images are also available to buy - visit the gallery website for more details.

Visit the John Bloxham Gallery website

Via Retro To Go

New Grasp single

The second single by Grasp, "Breaking Down The Walls" (studio recording) c/w "I'll Take You There" ("live" at the Isle of Wight Rally 2005) will be released on Biff Bang Pow Records on 1st May 2006 (Cat No:BBPCD015) and distributed in the UK & Europe by F-Minor.

But that's not all - the CD will also include a promotional video shot for "Breaking Down The Walls" that will form part of a BBC Documentary which is due to be screened in April.

The single will be available from HMV, all good Independent Record Shops, and Online from HMV Online and Amazon.co.uk. The last single made number 82 - with a bit of luck, this one might make the top 75.

For more information, visit www.biffbangpow.org.uk.

Mods wanted for photo shoot

Fancy having your photograph taken professionally by a known photographer? Well, here's how.

Dean Belcher, who was on the mod scene in the 80s (and still sees himself as a mod!), is now a widely-recognised photographer, regularly used by many of the glossy magazines and daily newspapers.

Aside from the "day job", he's looking at starting a personal project, photographing the mod scene. He is looking for mods of all ages (and indeed stages) for a long term photographic project. The pictures can either be taken at Dean's London studio or out on location if you're not available in the capital. And if it's successful, Dean would look at taking pictures outside of the UK.

So...it's down to you. Do you want a highly-regarded photographer taking your photo? If you think you might be interested or would like to find out more about the project, Dean would be happy for you to contact him. 

Find out more and get in touch via www.deanbelcherphotography.com or email dean@deanbelcherphotography.com.

It should be a lot of fun and contribute to a genuine record of today's mod scene.

2 Tone photo gallery

Interesting site came my way today - the 2 Tone Archive gallery.

The photos were all taken between February 28th - May 3rd 1980 by Toni Tye for a proposed book on 2 Tone at the rehearsals & the gigs for the 'Dance Craze' film. Rather than traditional gig shots, the images focused on the crowd and the bands backstage.

Most of the images have been hidden away from then until 2005, but are now on display in Coventry after a recent exhibition in Brighton.

However, to save on the bus fare, you can view many of the photos online now. Visit: http://www.tonitye.com

- you can also order large copies of any that take your fancy.

Pow Wow Club photos

The first photos from the successful launch of the Pow Wow Club in Sheffield are now online. You can view around 40+ images in the Modculture galleries by visiting:

http://www.modculture.co.uk/gallery2/clubs/powwow1/

Thanks to everyone who supported the opening night, especially those who managed to take in the daytime event, main club and the "secret" after-club partying that went on into Sunday.

If you want to come to the most talked-about club on the mod scene (and where the stars are - ask Jarvis Cocker), our next event is on Saturday 18th March, where we'll be joined by Paul Molloy and Mikey Collins from Glasgow's Friday Street club. Expect more mayhem!

You can sign up free as a member to get reduced entry and various other special bonuses just for you. Visit:
http://www.modculture.co.uk/sheffield/

If you have any feedback or questions about the Pow Wow Club, we would love to hear from you. Contact us and I'll get back to you straight away.

Jeremy Fletcher photos

I've just completed an interview with Jeremy Fletcher - a 60s photographer who took iconic images of some of the great acts and celebrities of the day including The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, Twiggy, The Avengers - not to mention classic images of the Flamingo.

You can read my interview with Jeremy by visiting:
http://www.modculture.co.uk/culture/culture.php?id=35

I've mixed in a few of his classic images (with permission) to get an idea of the man's work. You can also buy the photos directly. Details at the end of the article.

80s mod gallery returns

It's taking time, but slowly, all the old galleries (and some new ones) are returning to the pages of Modculture. The latest returnee is "80s London" (once less creatively titled "various club pics").

These pictures are from a variety of sources, locations and indeed years - but all (I believe) were taken in the capital in the 80s. The gallery can be found at:

http://www.modculture.co.uk/gallery2/80s/80slondon/

If you have any pictures from the mod scene, past or present, that you would like to appear in our galleries, please get in touch.

Mod 1979

Neale Hobday has written a short piece for the site about his move into the mod scene and his memories from it. Did you know livewire comic Lee Evans used to be a mod?

You can read the article at http://www.modculture.co.uk/culture/culture.php?id=33

An don't forget, you can see some images of that era in the Modculture galleries.

Photos of the 60s mod scene

40 years is a long time to keep something in a drawer...especially a photo.

So here at modculture, we're always excited to see photos of the original 60s mod scene arrive and we're always pleased to share them with our site visitors.

A large number can now be found in our 60s scene gallery. See how the mod scene really looked in the past.

To see all the modculture galleries, which increase weekly, click here.