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Welcome to another new section of SHORT FUSED & S.H.A.R.P. Skinhead Voice is where like minded Skinheads and those not so like minded get to express their views. Although no racist or right wing views will be expressed herein there will be plenty of debate and argument about the nature of Skinhead and the widely differing opinions on what it means to be a Skinhead. As with all the other pages of SFAS this one is a work in progress and will be added to as I receive new material. Anyone wishing to have their say or disagree with anything written here should mail me at SHORT FUSED AND S.H.A.R.P. None Skinhead views and opinions are also welcome on this page.

 

by SCOOBY

First of all let me introduce myself, the names Scooby. I'm an Ex - Skinhead from Barnsley. For those of you who don't know Barnsley it's a town in South Yorkshire, England. A small town surrounded by other small towns and villages that was once a thriving coal mining area. These days, since the closure of the pits in the early 90's, a lot of the area has become run down and there is little work. Like in any working class area of Britain there have been Skinheads here since the late 60's/ early 70's. I was one of the first and I belonged to a crew called The Phoenix Crew. We named ourselves after the classic Roland Alphonso track Phoenix city. I was a Skinhead for most of my young life and remember it with fondness and a real sense of pride. I hope one day I can return to these pages and recall some of those fond memories but before I do  I would like to clear up a few myths about those early days of Skinhead.

There are lots of myths about the 'Spirit of '69', even back then Skinheads were as mixed and diverse a bunch as they are today. The only thing there wasn't was Nazi Skinheads. They came much later with the rise of the National front. But Skinheads were far from united. In my area there were lots of different gangs from different towns who spent a lot of time fighting each other. There were Skinheads who followed different football clubs like Leeds United who were notoriously violent, especially towards other Skinheads. In saying that there were times when Skinheads from all over came together in peace. I remember hundreds of Skinheads from opposing gangs all converging on Leeds to see Ska legend Desmond Dekker and other times when rival Skins joined together to fight the common enemy - the Police. But the truth is there has never been a time when all Skinheads were one big happy family.

 

Another myth about the spirit of '69 is the clothes that we wore. It always amuses me when I hear people say traditional Skinheads wore Dr Martens, Ben Sherman shirts and Levi 501's. I don't think any of the Skinheads I knew owned a pair of Doc's until the mid 70's. We wore 'Tuff T's' and other high legged work boots, anything that had a steel toe cap and was tough wearing. The shirts we wore didn't have names on them, they were just any old shirt you could buy from any old shop. We did wear smarter shirts when we went to dances but Ben Sherman's were by no means a regular item of clothing. That's not to say Skinheads didn't wear Ben Sherman's, maybe they did in London. Who knows. Who cares. We were SKINHEADS not clothes pegs. The same goes for the jeans. So long as they weren't flares and they were denim, we'd wear 'em. Okay Skinhead was and still is a 'LOOK' but it's not a label. 

The myth I find most amusing is the whole Skinheads were none political thing. Okay, Skinhead was never a political movement but as a youth I was very political. I was very angry and disillusioned with society. I didn't like the way people like me - Working Class people - were treated. That's why I became a Skinhead. I wanted to be different, I wanted to stand out, I wanted the world to take notice. Back then me and my crew were all just starting work. If you lived in this area at that time you either worked down the pit or you worked in a factory. If you worked in either you were a Union member. The unions were very militant, always fighting for the rights and conditions of working people and we were part of those fights. We were working class and proud to be so and we were proud to fight for our class. Being a Skinhead and being political are by no means mutually exclusive. You have to ask yourself this - When the bosses, governments or the police are attacking the working class, taking away what's rightfully ours or making the lives of ordinary working people a misery, whose side are you on? I know what any Skinhead worth their salt would have said back then. If Skinhead is so exclusively working class (as I believe it is) and so conscious of it's class roots, then surely it follows that Skinheads should be proud of and stand by the traditions of the working class. The greatest and strongest tradition of the working class is that of struggle, of standing up and sticking together and fighting for a better life for our own people. Skinheads should not shy away from or shirk that struggle, they should embrace it. As kids many of us did, we were Skinheads and we were class fighters.

In saying all that Skinhead was what we made it. It was about having a good time, listening to great music and having something we could call our own. It's good to see kids today want to get away from all that racist shit that has crept into the Skinhead cult but don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Don't let them take away that anger and class pride. While ever working class kids have a voice and they use it, they are dangerous and Skinhead should never stop being dangerous.

SCOOBY '99

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