Mod Night Out

 With the promise of free entry and 3 rooms of the ‘finest underground 60’s funk, and soul,’ I persuaded a host of colleagues to join me at the The New Untouchables monthly club night at the 229 Club. The Mod scene is close to our hearts and though our heritage lies in the mod of the 60’s, our prospects lie in the mod of the future. So we set off, last Saturday night, in search of ‘Future Mod’ and an insight into the evolution of the scene.

The club was an eclectic mix of young, old, Mod, Rockerbilly and general retro, all brought together by a love of the music and an opportunity to dance properly. Dancing was a serious affair and the crowd were busting some great moves. The most popular one can be best described as ‘ice skating’ consisting of a sliding, gliding manoevre.  People came from far and wide to dance properly and enjoyed the opportunity to do it with lots of space and without the fear of having a drink spilt on them: in other words as the security man told us ‘no drinks on the dance floor.’ Feeling like tourists and unable to slide or Lindy hop properly, we duly obeyed the rules.

The Northern Soul room had been hijacked by the Rockerbillies and was really good fun. I wasn’t surprised to see a bequiffed Henry Holland jiving in the corner. Unfortunately, as with any night in the West end, there are always some misfits: scary mod, stary mod and groping mod were all out in force. Manners boys!  

At first glance it would appear that mod culture hasn’t evolved; most of the crowd looked as though they had stayed true to their purist roots. However on closer inspection, I learnt that these modern-day Mods are applying contemporary elements to the old school styles. Future Mod will get his jacket made to specifications with details and fabrics that weren’t available in the 60’s. It’s still very much a case of buttoned up and collars down, but there was a lot more freestyling going on underneath in the seams, linings and collars. It’s all about details, the attitude… and of course the side burns!