Raggare
Encyclopedia
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
found mostly in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and parts of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Raggare are related to the greaser subculture and are known for their love of hot rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
cars and 1950s American pop culture.
Description of the subculture
Raggare have existed since the 1950s and have not changed much since then. Cars are an important part of the subculture, especially V8-powered cars and other large cars from the U.S.A.. Statistically, the most common raggare car (Swe raggarbil) is the 1960s Pontiac BonnevillePontiac Bonneville
The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...
. They are plentiful, classic, relatively cheap, and have a huge backseat so the Raggare can pile in all of their friends. Raggare have been described as closely related to the hot rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
culture, but while hotrodders in the USA have to do extensive modifications to their cars to stand out, raggare can use stock US cars and still stand out compared to the more sober Swedish cars. Other used cars are the fintail Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz Heckflosse
Mercedes Benz Fintail is a nickname given to certain Mercedes Benz vehicles which show American influences in design including the presence of tailfins. Though never officially designated as such...
and the Opel Kapitän
Opel Kapitän
The Kapitän was the last new Opel model to appear before the outbreak of the Second World War, developed during 1938 and launched in the spring of 1939 at the Geneva motor show. The first Kapitän was available in many different body styles, the most popular one being the 4-door saloon. 2-door...
.
Popular sources of influence are elements from American popular culture of the 1950s, such as the movies Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
with James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, and American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
.
The clothes and hairstyle are that of 1950s rockabilly. Blue jeans, cowboy boots, white t-shirts, sometimes with print (also used to store a pack of cigarettes by folding the sleeve), leather or denim jacket. The hair is styled using Brylcreem
Brylcreem
Brylcreem is a brand of hair styling products for men. The first Brylcreem product was a pomade created in 1928 by County Chemicals at the Chemico Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham, England. The pomade is an emulsion of water and mineral oil stabilised with beeswax.Beecham was the longtime...
or some other pomade
Pomade
Pomade is a greasy or waxy substance that is used to style hair. Pomade makes hair look slick and shiny. Unlike hair spray and hair gel, pomade does not dry and often takes several washes to remove...
.
The confederate flag (possibly inspired by The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
) and peckerwood
Peckerwood
Peckerwood is a slur used through the mid 20th century by southern African Americans and upper class whites used to describe poor rural whites. It is roughly synonymous with "cracker" and "redneck", more prevalent in the southeast, and "White trash", although the last implies a degree of moral...
seem to be popular items in the subculture, but raggare are often oblivious to their meanings and are not necessarily racists, rather they embrace the rebellious message of the flag.
Raggare history
When raggare first appeared, they caused a moral panicMoral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
with concerns about the use of alcohol, violence, high-speed driving, and having sex in the back seat. Raggare gangs were seen as a serious problem. The film Raggare!
Raggare!
Raggare! is a 1959 Swedish drama film directed by Olle Hellbom, about a gang of car driving youngsters who hang out in a café outside Stockholm. The coolest among the youngsters, Roffe, kidnaps his girlfriend when discovering that she hangs out with guys from another gang....
covered the issue in 1959.
Later, raggare often got into fights with hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
s and punks, something described in the punk rock song "Raggare Is a Bunch of Motherfuckers" by Rude Kids
Rude Kids
Rude Kids is a punk rock band from Hagsätra. Their first single "Raggare is a Bunch of Motherfuckers", that they recorded themselves, was released by Polydor. Rude Kids was the first Swedish punk band to release a record trough a major record label. The single sold between 5000 and 6000 copies...
(and later re-recorded by Turbonegro
Turbonegro
Turbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....
). When The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
played in Sweden on July 28, 1977, a group of raggare waited outside and cornered some young girls who came out from the show. The girls had safety pin
Safety pin
A safety pin is a simple fastening device, a variation of the regular pin which includes a simple spring mechanism and a clasp. The clasp serves two purposes: to form a closed loop thereby properly fastening the pin to whatever it is applied to, and to cover the end of the pin to protect the user...
s through their cheeks, and the raggare ripped them right out their faces. The band was upstairs drinking beer when they heard about it. Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
wanted to go down and fight, and someone else suggested they should get the limousine and run them over. In the end, the gig promoter called the police.
The Hjo
Hjo
Hjo is a locality and the seat of Hjo Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden It had 6,075 inhabitants in 2005.Hjo comes from the word Hīun or Hīwun meaning family or household.-History:...
band Reklamation was forced to cancel a gig after threats from raggare. Also Rude Kids was forced to cancel a sold out gig as the police didn't have the manpower to offer protection against raggare. When Rude Kids played in Stockholm the police had to bring in seven police cars to stop the raggare. When The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
played in Sweden they got attacked with molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s and their crew got beaten up. The police had to escort them to the boat home.
Nowadays the hostility between Raggare and other subcultures is mostly over since most people regard raggare as a comical relief to everyday life. The biggest nuisance with this sub culture is alcohol related.
Raggare today
Still considered a menace to society, but more often seen as an amusing group of outsiders, the raggare subculture lives on in Sweden, but in many ways it is still viewed in a negative light. Because of its mostly rural roots, retro-aesthetics, and unusual (for Swedes) pro-American stance, raggare are often (in urban areaUrban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s and in pop-culture) seen as uneducated white trash
White trash
White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
with poor taste and a low-brow attitude towards sex. This is how they are normally depicted on film and television, with the most famous modern example being the cult-characters "Ronny & Ragge", a pair of idiots who cruise around in a beat-up Ford Taunus
Ford Taunus
The Ford Taunus is a family car sold by Ford in Germany and other countries. Models from 1970 onward were similar to the Ford Cortina in the United Kingdom...
. There are several gatherings for raggare around Sweden. The Power Big Meet
Power Big Meet
Power Big Meet is the world's largest classical car show and is held in Västerås, Sweden for American cars . It is held each summer during the first weekend of July and is a major event for raggare from all over Sweden and the world.The Power Big Meet begins on Friday, when the cars drive around...
is the most famous, and is also the biggest car show in the world. Today raggare are different in that the early Raggare were mostly workers and looked up to American culture. Today's Raggare are more about partying and driving American cars.
In 1996 the Swedish post office issued a stamp featuring raggare.
Due to the raggare culture there are more restored 1950s cars in Sweden than in the entire USA and although only two 1958 Cadillac convertibles were sold in Sweden there are now 200 of them in Sweden. Between 4000 and 5000 classic US cars are imported to Sweden each year.
A popular hangout for raggare has always been hotdog bars. A chain by the name of Sibylla
Sibylla (fast food)
Sibylla is a chain of fast food restaurants available throughout Sweden and Finland. They are known for their hamburgers and french fries, as well as hot dogs....
in Sweden has always made good money on the raggare and has a special raggare meal. It generally consists of two hotdogs without buns, mashed potatoes, räksallad (mayonnaise, creme fraishe and sour cream with shrimps) and Pucko
Pucko
Pucko is a classic Swedish drink made from milk, sugar and chocolate. It was created in 1954 by Arla Foods. It is currently manufactured by Cocio in Denmark....
to drink. Plenty of ketchup is of course added.
Raggare often drink heavily in the cars during cruise events, which is fully legit in Sweden (not for the designated driver though). In Sweden raggare and the raggare culture is immortal and something many are proud to count themselves to. In the beginning of the Raggare era, Raggare was in their twenties. Nowadays, the span is roughly 15-60 years of age, and seeing both father and son riding in the same car is quite common.
Blöjraggare ("diaper raggare"), is a pejorative used by Raggare meaning young men (18-22 years of age), mostly living in the countryside, who wish they could afford an American car but find themselves driving around in different models of Volvo, mostly the Volvo 740/940/960 or the 850/S70/V70 (the time when these young men drove the volvo 240 models are long gone) with Raggare accessories like fireflames. Sometimes they drive an American model that unfortunately to their dismay is not accepted by the Raggare as a real raggare car, for example the Chevrolet Nova
Chevrolet Nova
The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a compact automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced in four generations for the 1962 through 1979 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II nameplate was dropped, Nova becoming the...
. However, the urge for being accepted as a "real" Raggare are probably sometimes exaggerated.
Raggare in media and other popular culture
- In 1975, then glam rockGlam rockGlam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
er Magnus UgglaMagnus UgglaPer Allan Magnus Claësson Uggla is a Swedish artist, composer, actor, and occasional radio host known for his satirical lyrics. He is a member of the Swedish nobility and a descendant of several European rulers, among which John III of Sweden and Gustav Vasa...
made the song "Raggarna", which was a tribute to the culture. Ironically, when performing live in late 1970s and early 1980s, raggare threw rocks and tried to thrash the arenas in which Uggla performed, accusing him of being a punk rocker due to his success with the more punk-oriented albums he released in the late 1970s. - Eddie MeduzaEddie MeduzaEddie Meduza was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre. Many of his songs were about alcohol, women, and cars, quite often with obscene lyrics. Sometimes they were also politically oriented, many aimed against the Swedish Social Democrats...
have performed songs like "punkjävlar" ("punk bastards"). - Rude KidsRude KidsRude Kids is a punk rock band from Hagsätra. Their first single "Raggare is a Bunch of Motherfuckers", that they recorded themselves, was released by Polydor. Rude Kids was the first Swedish punk band to release a record trough a major record label. The single sold between 5000 and 6000 copies...
made a song about raggare (later re-recorded by TurbonegroTurbonegroTurbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....
) called "Raggare Is a Bunch of Motherfuckers", as an answer to "punkjävlar" by Eddie Meduza. The large number of punk songs about raggare shows the conflict between the two subcultures. Some examples include "Raggarsvin" by Skäms, "Raggare ge upp" (Raggare piss off) by The Baiters, "Raggare" by P.F Commando, "Benzin" by P-Nissarna, "Raggarjävel" by Adolfs Gossar, "Raggar ragge" by Urban Släke, "Raggarpack" by Belsen Boys, "Raggare e svin" by Sune Studs & Grönlandsrockarna, "Nattens busar" by BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, "Dra Åt Helvete! (Jävla Raggare)" by Arabens Anus, "Amazonraggare" by Nattarbete, "Raggare beware" by Zeb And The Fast Ones, "Blöjraggare" by Katastrof, "Raggarstat" by Ingron Hutlös, "Sune raggarsvin" by Snobbslakt and "Nightcruisers" by Skäms. - The 1959 film Raggare!Raggare!Raggare! is a 1959 Swedish drama film directed by Olle Hellbom, about a gang of car driving youngsters who hang out in a café outside Stockholm. The coolest among the youngsters, Roffe, kidnaps his girlfriend when discovering that she hangs out with guys from another gang....
was about raggare and the moral panic of the time. - The TV series Ronny & Ragge is about two raggare who cruise around in a beat-up Ford TaunusFord TaunusThe Ford Taunus is a family car sold by Ford in Germany and other countries. Models from 1970 onward were similar to the Ford Cortina in the United Kingdom...
. - Onkel KånkelOnkel KånkelOnkel Kånkel ["kånkelbär": dingleberries] is a Swedish rock band prominently known for their provocative lyrics where they make fun of everything from homosexuals and pedophiles to Nazis and disabled people...
made a song about raggare behaviour during cruising called "Åka femtitalsbil" (later covered by Charta 77Charta 77 (band)Charta 77 is a Swedish punk-band formed in 1983 in the Swedish town Köping. The band consists today of Per Granberg , Johnny Smedberg , Mattias Söderlund , Johan Hultman...
). - The early Swedish punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band P.F. Commando has issued a song called "Raggare" on their 1978 Svenne Pop 7" EP, see http://www.kbdrecords.com/2006/10/26/pf-commando-svenne-pop-ep-7/. - Raggargänget (1962) with Ernst-Hugo JäregårdErnst-Hugo JäregårdErnst-Hugo Alfred Järegård, was a Swedish cult actor.-Biography:...
and Sigge FürstSigge FürstSigge Fürst was a Swedish film actor who appeared in over 130 films. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died there of lung cancer in 1984.... - MassproduktionMassproduktionMassproduktion is a Swedish record company from Sundsvall started in the late 1970s when it released records with local punk bands like Massmedia, Vacuum and Förbjudna ljud. Other bands published by Massproduktion include Lars Bygdén, The Confusions, Garmarna, The Thousand Dollar Playboys and Left...
published a compilation album titled "Vägra Raggarna Bensin - Punk Från Provinserna". - On May 1, 1979 about 100 punks formed their own parade down Kungsgatan under the slogan "Vägra raggarna bensin" (Refuse the raggare gasoline).
- Nadja's brothers "Roffe", "Ragge" and Reinhold, Bert
- Tjenare KungenTjenare kungenTjenare Kungen is a Swedish film drama set in the 1980s, and released in 2005.-Cast:* Josefin Neldén - Abra* Cecilia Wallin - Millan* Joel Kinnaman - Dickan* Malin Larsson - Isa...
(2005)
See also
- Greaser (subculture)
- Kustom KultureKustom Kulture"Kustom Kulture" is an American neologism used to describe the artworks, vehicles, hairstyles, and fashions of those who drove and built custom cars and motorcycles in the United States of America from the 1950s through today....
- Mods and RockersMods and RockersThe Mods and Rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures of the early-mid 1960s. Mods and rockers fighting in 1964 sparked a moral panic about British youths, and the two groups were seen as folk devils. The rockers were motorcyclists, wearing clothes such as black leather jackets. The...
- RockersRockersRockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centered around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music....
- Teddy BoyTeddy BoyThe British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
External links
- Cultural Imperialism or Hyper-Americanization - Swedish raggare and Chicano Lowriders - article by Scott Holmquist
- Raggare video guide
- Raggare - The Movie
- Photos from Power Big Meet by Frank Aschberg
- Stadin Raggarit - Finnish Raggare site Over 4000 pictures and many articles (in Finnish), etc.
- Punktjafs: Raggare - music and period articles about punks and raggare