Love this & new to me.

It all ADDS.

There's a little piece on Sharpies in "Spirit of '69-A Skinhead Bible" as well as a pic of a group of them. Off the top of my head I'd say they were more of the Skinhead variety, as in Bootboys really, early 70s type that is...not particularly smart anyway.

The kids/young adults in the pic looked quite ordinary British expats to me, as in slightly fashion conscious nevertheless, but I can remember a discussion on Modculture where some more info was given, regional variations and that....there's an older bloke posting there who was an original Mod from Blighty might have some more info...

I'm on the hunt at the mo'

Here's more......

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/visual/stories/sharpies_index.htm


Now!! Meet the band..

http://www.thesharpies.com/sharpiepress.html

Yeah, good find TSC....those pics differ a lot from the one I was referring to earlier and definitely show the Sharpies had their own thing going.

Basically I've always been against the idea of gang culture, male bonding and all that so-called toughness, but the fact remains there's often some interesting sartorial element to be found within those subcultures..... funny how all that silliness and a sense of style can go hand in hand sometimes....

Last edited by The_Shooman (2007-05-10 16:09:14)

Keep the faith!

Last edited by The Style Council (2007-05-11 07:28:27)

I have just found this site that has a page that describes the history and settlement of the Melbourne area by different settlers and their gangs.. Here's an interesting paragraph that talks briefly of Jazzers turning to Mods... Could this be an 'Ivy' connection in Australisia Mr Lean?

Amidst the gangland there came about new breeds of gangs, influenced by music or popular culture. The Jazzers - to become known as the Mods or Stylists - in their duffle coats, desert boots and corduroy pants and bouffant hairstyles, were the music lovers and thinkers. The Sharpies - a 50's equivalent of redneck skinheads, though rat-tails were their trademark - wore not leather, but knitted shirts and baggy pants - called "flags" - who simply liked to beat up whichever minority they came across. The obvious response by the Chinese Triads resulted in many painful ethnic battles of pure violence that reflected sadly upon the mortal population. The Rockers - grease-haired Fairlane driving meatheads from the University dorms - had even less discretion for their choice of target. If they weren't brawling with the Sharpies, the both of them were beating up the Mods, together.


http://members.optusnet.com.au/~shadowraven/vampire_history_eastern.htm

good call on Jook....another band with a similar sound and from the same era is Hammersmith Gorillas...

there were quite a few bands that existed between the decline of mod-powerpop groups and before punk got its momentum going that played a heavy glam-powerpop, and had that terrace-casual look a la Sharpies

http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Got-Me-Hammersmith-Gorillas/dp/B00000IGKM/ref=sr_1_1/102-6736443-3481735?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1179177961&sr=8-1

I'm gonna bust out my copy of Jook's "Different Class" to rock on my drive home

Hammersmith Gorillas doing 'Wild Thing', one of the best London accents ever...

wahld fing, ah fink ah luv yer.

Last edited by SubtleCool (2007-05-15 08:33:16)