Shades of the ’60s are everywhere in our motorcycle industry. From Scooters making a huge come back in big cities to Old British Iron being renovated or used as the basis of new customs, from Scooter Clubs to Cafe Racers meetings, it looks like the Mods and Rockers subcultures may be back. Not only in their birthplace of England but all over Europe and somewhat in the US. In the mid-sixties you had to be a Mod or a Rocker to be anything. For those who were one or the other (it means that like me you are baby boomer…) and for those who are now inheriting or imitating their lifestyle, below is a short history of these important 2-wheeler movements.
The Mods. Post WWorld War II England saw the end of rationing, military service had been abolished, economy was booming, people had money to spend on clothes and bikes. The Mods were essentially from London and the South East and were complete followers of the latest fashion. They were discovering new sounds, rhythm and blues, new jazz, rich exotic sounds like Ska brought over with the Caribbean immigrants (while mainstream England was listening to the Beatles). They were ultra hip subterranean night club dwellers. Mods held down well paid office jobs (whereas Rockers tended to be more rural and manual workers), were arrogant, strutting kids and loving to create confrontation in nightclubs. The green shapeless army surplus Parka coat became the uniform. It was adopted to protect their expensive weekend suits from the damp London climate and to keep warm when riding their scooters, predominantly Italian brands like Vespa and Lambretta. Because police was harassing them for insufficient lighting and size of mirrors, in derision they decided to install numerous headlights, crash bars, white wall tires and high backrest seats, each Mod competing to have the chicest ride and 
the hottest chick riding behind. Amphetamine was the Mods drug of choice, pot not fitting their ideology (Pot was slowing you down, amphetamine kept you hyperactive for days without need to sleep between office hours and nightclubbing). Their influence on the London music scene was such that the Mod subculture resulted in the creation of new bands like the Small Faces, the Yardbirds and the High Numbers, known later as The Who, the band who defined the Mods with the song “My Generation”. Mods hated Rockers that they saw as out of touch and grubby. Rockers saw Mods as arrogant and young effeminate snobs. Scuffles occurred wherever they happened upon each other. To protect themselves some Mods went to sew fish hooks into the backs of their lapels to shred the fingers of Rockers assailants.
The Rockers. The Rockers movement started sooner in Liverpool during the late fifties. Illegal import of rare rock and roll vinyl albums coming from the sea trade with the US created a scene of teen agers in black leather jackets be bopping in night clubs. They rode motorcycles, listened to Elvis ad Gene Vincent. and were rebellious. To the uninitiated, a Rocker looked like trouble, Typical rocker outfit was black leather, a white scarf tightly wound around mouth and neck when riding, a pair of Levi’s jeans or black leather pants and sometimes wool white socks folded over the top of their boots (a look borrowed from the World War I aviation pilots). They are credited for influencing rock stars of the mid sixties in wearing leather. It is also believed that it is at this time that the gay community adopted leather to copy the image of the manly Rockers. New ring roads were built around cities and for Rockers they became tracks to race their machines. Trucker cafés on these roads were meeting places, the most famous of them being the London Ace Cafe still in existence (although in a different location). Rockers main love affair was speeding on their bikes, something that 
they thought was very glamourous and a way to defy a very puritan and rigid English society. Rockers were a very tight group extremely supportive of each other. The rivalry with the Mods came to a culminant point in May 1964 during the Bank Holiday weekend. Traditionally, Londoners head for the seaside resorts of Margate, Broadstairs and Brighton. A large number of Rockers and Mods had the same holiday plan. Inevitably fights between the 2 groups started all along England south coast resorts, the most serious acts of violence happening in Brighton. Many protagonists on both sides were arrested and heavily fined. These serious riots were later immortalized in the cult film “Quadrophenia” (in it, a very young and next to be famous musician and singer called Sting, playing a Mod character)
The Rocker movement vanished in the 70’s. Then in the early eighties a few remaining Rockers organized meetings that would progressively become again very popular. The reunions include many too young to have been around in the early days. The lifestyle is still very appealing with groups all over Europe, in Japan and to a marginal degree in the US. At the end of the 60’s the 
Mod scene also disappeared. During these last years, as a consequence of the high price of gas, many have rediscovered the Scooter as primary mode of transportation. White collar Baby boomers just remembered the Mods and their children are looking for reference codes. For the 1st time in 4 decades it is not uncommon to see in Europe and America Scooter Clubs organizing meetings where members wear the traditional green Mod Parka and ride Italian Vespa decked out with multiple oversized headlights. At the same the Cafe Racer culture is alive again and attracting a new generation of bikers with the number of participating Rockers growing more at each London Ace Cafe reunion. Could it be that we are seeing the beginning of a revival of both subcultures? Not sure, yet. But at least one thing is certain. The respective lifestyles are now based on nostalgia more than on rebellion and consequently both movements could grow again without any risk of confrontation. The potential benefit? More motorcycling and more customizing.
Cyril. Great story. And I didn’t know.
I grew up in the UK in the 80s, OK, I came of age in the 80s bike wise. It was the same back then, half my school friends walking around with ex -army greatcoats with Union Jacks or The Who logos on the back pretending to be mods while the wannabe rockers were into black leather and 60’s glam (slightly odd 60’s glam even I will admit, but hey, we were kids in the age of the Dynasty shoulder pads and giant hair) .Our view of dream like America back then was the Monkees TV show and Happy Days repeats.
I lived about 5 miles form the Ace Café mentioned above, but I never even knew what it was when I went past. You live amongst history and have no idea at the time.
I should add one point, according to my mom who actually lived them, the Brighton mod/rocker fights so immortalised nowadays were quite a short and less exciting phenomenon. One of those things where pop culture history is a lot more interesting than the actual reality.
I was around for the big Mods n Rockers revival fueled by the release of Quadrophenia in England in the late 70’s. Scooters were my first introduction to bikes and the vast majority of my old mates are still in to them and have been religiously attending scooter rallies since then. We just flew to the UK to attend our club’s (Glevum Stax SC) 30th Anniversary bash and had the BEST time. Scooterboys sure know how to party!
Rockers, we never disapeared we just had a long lay in, I was there in the 1960’s it was a exciting time, we hung around cafes like the Ace cafe, Busy bee cafe we were in clubs like the 59 club we modified our motorbikes to get more speed, we raced from cafe to cafe to see who would get there first or reach that elusive ton or 100mph the bikes got the nickname of cafe racers because thats what we did raced from cafe to cafe, we listened to Rock n roll and yes we clashed with the Mods at a number of seaside resorts hay we were young but it sure was fun.
Its good to see more folks are getting them old brit bikes out and having fun as we did way back then.
Real good Blog Cyril, keep it up.
shirts.
Brighton is still host to two of my favourite day rallies both of which feature plenty of classic British Bikes and tricked out vespas and Lambrettas – Brightona http://www.brightona.brighton-rock.net/
and The Ace Cafe Reunion http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/Reunion.aspx
But we are all friends these days and there hasn’t been any south coast trouble since the days of punks in the late 70’s.
Not from the UK, but Boston MA, USA. Me and 4 friends did our best to copy the Rocker thing that we read about in UK magazines (one + of living there, lots of Int’l publications readily available). To of us had Triumphs, one had a BSA and a Norton, one had a BSA and the last guy rode a HD Sportster (we still loved him!). Our primary haunt was Route 128, which circled Boston. We’d run from one truck stop or Howard Johnson’s (roadside restaurant) to the next, then back again. One plus, there weren’t a lot of scooter riders around, except near some of the university and college areas.
Good times!
“the moon is bright above, oh, what a night for luv, and as I ‘old you near, and wisper in your ear…Igot 750 cc outside my door, I ain’t no bus stop cowboy that’s for sure, try and stop me,catch me if you can…. I’ll be a Rocker, yes I’m a Rocker till die…. too fast to live, too young to die…” words of a song by Chas ‘n’ Dave, makes me smile every time I think about it… I’m in Canada now, still riding a cafe-racer, still got the ’sideburns’ A Rocker ain’t just a weekend cowboy like them bleedin’ tarts mods… Stirrin’ it up as always….
IF THIS HAPPEN I WILL JUST SAY IT’S ABOUT TIME
I LOVE THAT
NO MORE CHROME AND COVER FOR NOTHING JUST ABOUT MOTORCYCLE AND FUN
AND ALSO GOOD MUSIC
Great summary. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
2 subcultures that Americans don’t know very well. Very interesting. Thanks Cyril.
Love the story and old pics. Rock n’ Roll, baby. Going to listen to some Gene Vincent.
Old is New…………
-nicker-
-BTW-
Rockers were the first contemporary Custom bike builders.
Gear head working class kids who created two wheel hot rods of iconic proportions.
And their creations were immortalized as:
- Norvins
- Tritons
- TriBSAs
And in California
- Grumphs
No production customs in those days. If ya had to have one, ya had to build it.
Every real Rocker was a gear head.
I
People are still building these “standards” today.
And gear heads “must” create…………. it’s in their DNA ……………..
-nicker-
Cyril
everything old is new
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrOek4z32Vg
GREAT RE CAP CYRIL, THE NEW NAMES OF THE TIMES OF NOW ARE “CRUISERS” ,”CROTCHERS”, & “NERDERS” (No matter how you cut it, you look like a nerd riding a scoot).
Before my time but cool reading about it.
We had the same scene in Australia, a virtual copy of the UK. A mate of mine decided to pull up on his Triumph out the front of an Adelaide nightclub full of mods (and with plently milling about outside) to give them the finger, which he did. Then promptly stalled his bike. Before he could kick it over to restart it, he was swamped with angry mods. He has worn a complete set of false teeth since that day!
Old pics are always my favourite…they say it all.the time and era just looks so cool…
My youth is coming back to my mind, with tears in my eyes……
The most frustrating is that my sisters daughter (30 years old) is still wearing my old leather jacket.
That stuff is over here a cool item again.
No mather what I try, she dont want to give it back……(lol)
Figure I have to buy a new “old” jacket for myself, if I want to hit the road again in a 70ties look .
Young at 53 , cooooooool.
Peace Gustian
PS my “wheels” in those times was a Rickman with a 750 Four with four in one Marschall. (Pushed to 90 HP)
Nice piece but a very few minor inaccuracies – all forgiven except one being that the Ace Cafe is now at a different location – it is in exactly the same spot, and is the same building albeit with a few slight (mostly cosmetic) modifications over the years. Before it reopened it was a tyre shop, and a taxi cab office I think.
I live down the street where Jimmy lived in Quadrophenia… but I’m a rocker and it’s manor now!
I meant to say it’s MY manor now!
I look back at my life, there has been a lot of good things, but there are some that I feel ashamed about.
In England late 70’s, two mods were riding on the road between Didcot and Wallingford , they were cruising along side by side about 45mph on their scooters when a dick in a leather jacket rode between them at 70 miles an hour on a Vincent with 2″ pipes it made them jump so much they fell into the ditch on each side of the road.
It was me , I thought it was funny when I did it, but years later I realized that even tho I thought they looked stupid riding along with their feet out the side on scooters covered in lights they were still bikers, they didnt do anything to me but I screwed up their day and after all these years I still feel a little guilty .
I must be getting mellow.