I think that you hit the nail on the head there Jim with the reference to attitude. I started high school in 1977 and learned so much from the older boys about how exciting music and clothes could be. It just hadn't occurred to me before. As a younger child I watched Top of the Pops and it was a world that meant nothing to me. I soon traded my obsession with American comics for Punk. Until this point we didn't even have a record player at home so at the same time that I bought my first singles I also bought an old Dansette player. More importantly for this thread I also went out and bought my own clothes for the first time - well, things that I could afford that were part of the school kid Punk world. It was the classic contradiction of wanting to be part of a gang or group yet making it clear to the 'outside' world that we did not want to fit in. My tastes in the early 80's drifted into vintage Americana and rockabilly via my love of The Clash and it probably was only when I started in Art College that I began to get my head round the cool 'squareness' (to outside eyes) of what I was to learn was the Ivy Look. I began to shed the more vulgar peacock trappings of the Rockabilly scene and go under the radar - second hand BB shirts, v neck sweaters, windcheaters, Levi’s, weejuns. All casual stuff really - my suit, shirt and tie days were just around the corner though. Looking back it was probably photos of Monty Clift in an early 50's movie mag that made it click for me as much as anything else -  his grey flannels, white OCBD, tweed sack jacket and great, great hair. Where am I going with all this? Not sure, other than to say it all leads back to Punk for me - completely bypassing the Mod scene which I know influenced many of the guys on the board here. Punk taught me that to be different was enjoyable - to be on the 'outside' and seemingly aloof? Different route, different journeys but a common destination.

Staceyboy

^ What the man said.

It's all on a personal level. The "Revolt into style" that George Melly used to talk about.


http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/07_01/mellywifeDM_468x402.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/news/gallery/2007/jul/05/obituaries.jazz/GD3918098@April-1960--Jazz-sing-2142.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/11_01/025MELLY1_468x741.jpg


George was a Punk too, IMO.

^Love that pic Alex! Precious few photos of me from the old days. If only i could show you my black/white/pink long spiked barnet I sported for a while! And agree with Jim re: George Melly. Certainly a Punk in my view as so were many of those Soho chracters - clothing, art, music, attitude, drugs and sexuality all in the mix. Direct links there to McLaren, the Sex Pistols and the very early London Punk scene IMO.

Staceyboy

Trust Stacyboy to come up with a superb post like that. Nice one chum. Although I am a touch older I took an almost identical route to arrive here. Alex is a 'soulmate' too. These guys have the 'suss'.

^Thank you all for your appreciative comments about my post. They mean a lot to me because what I wrote meant a lot to me. Glad you liked it.

(a humbled) Staceyboy