SKINHEAD NATION
The truth about the skinhead
cult Part One Skinhead Nation - The
Big Apple Bites Back A day in the life of the
skinheads of New York
Part
Two Skinhead
Nation - Among The Mugs The Media And Skinheads
- ignorance really is the mother of prejudice when it comes to journalists and
our cult
Part Three Skinhead Nation
- Bring Back The Skins The origins and history of
the skinhead cult from the late Sixties to early
Seventies
Part Four Skinhead
Nation - No Mean City The story of the Spy Kids
skinhead crew from Glasgow in the UK
Part Five Skinhead Nation - Here Comes Johnny
Reggae Skinhead fashion and style from the original
skinhead clothing to today's skinhead cult
Part Six Skinhead Nation - Violence In Our
Minds The story of the Tilbury Trojan Skins, a
skinhead gang from Essex, England
Part Seven Skinhead Nation - Ghost
Town The skinhead cult and the extreme
right
Part Eight Skinhead Nation -
Neither Red Or Racist The story of the
non-racist skinhead scene in Oslo, Norway
Part Nine Skinhead Nation - One Law For
Them The truth about Oi! music,
the Southall riot and more
Part
Ten Skinhead Nation - Tougher
Than Tough skinhead violence and
aggro
Part Eleven Skinhead Nation
- No One Likes Us The story of the anti-racist and
non-poltical skinheads of Berlin, Germany
Part Twelve Skinhead Nation - Us And
Them The divided nation that is the skinhead cult
today
The book version of
Skinhead Nation is not currently available, but you can buy other skinhead and
youth cult books online and by post from www.stpublishing.com in the
UK.
|
This site is an archived history webiste that shows the rise of the right wing social groups. It in no way insight violence or racism in any way and it to be used as a historical reminder of times gone by
As a lot
of people reading this will already know, the first book published by S.T.
Publishing was Spirit Of 69 - A Skinhead Bible back in
1991. Originally, a mainstream publisher in London, UK, was going to release
it, but after a few months of pissing me about, I decided to do it myself. At
the time, I knew sweet Fanny Adams about the publishing game, but its
amazing what you can achieve when a lorry turns up at your front door with a
mountain of books and you know every last penny you have (and then some) is
riding on the fact that you can shift them.
I wrote Spirit Of
69 - A Skinhead Bible not because I think Im some sort of
expert on skinheads, but because I passionately believed that the history of
the cult, warts and all, had to be written from the inside. Before Spirit Of
69, there had only ever been one skinhead book that sought to act as
a guide to the skinhead cult - Nick Knights Skinhead
(Omnibus Press). First published in 1982, it was largely meant as a vehicle for
photographer Nick Knights skinhead portraits, but was padded out with a
few pages on skinhead origins, music, dress, behaviour and the like. What
really makes it worth having though is the section on fashion by Jim Ferguson,
something that to this day is held in very high regard by skinheads all over
the world, and particularly by those who choose to dress in the original
skinhead style. Otherwise, the book was and is very much an outsiders
view of the cult, something that is underlined by the patronising mix of
sociology theory and tabloid-based drivel.
The idea behind Spirit Of
69 was to offer a view of the cult from within, and one so detailed
that it would stand proud amidst the reams and reams of complete nonsense that
have been written about skinheads over the years. The end result was a book
that covered the history of the cult and its music from the late Sixties to the
present day, and one that celebrated the skinhead way of life without dodging
any issues or pulling any punches. It isnt perfect, but is now
acknowledged as the most accurate guide to the cult currently available, and
certainly comes far closer to the truth than countless newspaper headlines have
ever done.
Skinhead Nation is in many ways both a
companion to Spirit Of 69 and an opportunity to concentrate more
on the individuals that make up the cult, rather than the events and music that
have shaped its history. The hope is that this website will show skinheads as
the individuals they are, and celebrate the skinhead cult as it was in various
parts of the world in the mid 1990s. Like Spirit Of 69,
Skinhead Nation is far from a complete guide to the skinhead
way of life and its not perfect, but again Ive done my best, and if
just one person reads this and walks away with a better understanding of the
skinhead cult then it has been worth doing.
Like any other group within
society, the skinhead cult is made up of individuals. All of them share certain
things in common or else they wouldnt have become skinheads, but it is
equally true that each and every skinhead brings different experiences and
beliefs with them when they join the cult. No two skinheads are the same, and
although outsiders would like you to believe otherwise - especially
sociologists who dream up theories based on all skinheads being alike - there
isnt one type of skinhead, or two types of skinhead, or even 20 types of
skinhead. Life isnt black and white, and only the truly ignorant fail to
see the countless shades of grey inbetween.
The media and its cohorts
take great delight in focusing on the sensational aspects of the cult and by
doing so present a totally false and distorted impression of skinheads. If
nothing else, this website will hopefully show that not all skinheads are the
racists the media makes them out to be, and that not all skinheads are even
remotely interested in being used as political footballs. Of course, there are
skins who are racist, but they too are totally misrepresented in the media to
the point where buzz words like Nazi have lost any true meaning.
This Skinhead Nation website is not interested in
defending any political position because politics has nothing directly to do
with the cult. In fact, if there is anyone reading this whose sole reason for
being a skinhead is to pursue one political crusade or another, then the
chances are you havent understood the first thing about the cult and have
no right to use its name. It is equally the case though that every skinhead has
the right to hold whatever political beliefs he or she chooses to - just as
everyone else is entitled to in a free society. And nobody should be allowed to
take that right (or any other right for that matter) away from us just because
of the length of our hair.
No doubt the Skinhead Nation
website will raise many more questions than it provides answers, but such are
the contradictions that come together within the skinhead nation. Whats
more, the day they know all the answers and actually start to understand what
skinhead is all about is the day to hang up your boots en masse.
Skinhead Nation is based partly on the research and interviews I did
while working on the World Of Skinhead TV documentary that was
first shown on Channel 4 in October, 1995, and also on the six years I spent as
editor and publisher of Skinhead Times, a 12 to 16 page
tabloid-style newspaper for skinheads which had a circulation of around 5,000
when the final issue rolled off the presses in February, 1995. The book version
of this website was published in 1996 and is currently out of print. Hence
skinheadnation.com.
It was impossible to tell the stories in
Skinhead Nation without repeating some of what was said in
Spirit Of 69, but as much as possible Ive tried to cover new
ground and write about bands, events and people who for one reason or another
didnt get the coverage they deserved first time around.
I now
find myself among the ranks of ex-skinheads, having hung up my boots in 1995.
Ive still got a shaved head and still listen to the same music, and my
heart will always be with the skinhead cult which has given me so much. I have
always tried to give something back in the hope that the cult will go marching
on for many years to come and skinheadnation.com continues in that tradition.
Skinhead Nation is dedicated to anyone who has ever
had the bottle to shave their head, lace up a pair of highly polished boots and
walk down the street with their heart pounding with pride. |
In the United States Of
America, a nation is an alliance of street gangs. This website is dedicated to
the SKINHEAD NATION, a true family of brothers and sisters that spans the
globe.
Access to the Skinhead Nation site is entirely free. If
you have enjoyed this website, please support our work by donating US$2 or
whatever you like via the button above.
If you have a website that links to Skinhead Nation let us know
and we'll return the favour on our links
page |