Trojan skinhead
Encyclopedia
Trojan skinheads are individuals who identify with the original British
skinhead
subculture
of the late 1960s, when ska
, rocksteady
, reggae
and soul music
were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label
Trojan Records
, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaica
n rude boy
and British working class
mod roots.
Because of their appreciation of music played by black people
, they tend to be non-racist
, unlike the white power skinheads. Trojan skinheads usually dress in a typical 1960s skinhead style, which includes items such as: button-down Ben Sherman
shirts, Fred Perry
polo shirts, braces
, fitted suits
, cardigan sweaters
, sleeveless sweater
s, Harrington jacket
s and Crombie-style overcoats. Hair is generally between a 2 and 4 grade clip-guard (short, but not bald), in contrast to the shorter-haired punk
-influenced Oi!
skins of the 1980s.
subculture
's heyday in 1969. The phrase was popularized by a group of Scottish
skinheads called Glasgow
Spy Kids. Its use in the title of a skinhead history book, Spirit of 69: A Skinhead Bible, led skinheads to adopt it around the world. The book was published in the early 1990s by the author George Marshall, a skinhead from Glasgow. In Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible, Marshall documents the origins and development of the skinhead subculture, describing elements such as music, dress, and politics in an attempt to refute many popular perceptions about skinheads; the most common being that they are all racists.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
subculture
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 :...
of the late 1960s, when ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Trojan Records
Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n rude boy
Rude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy are common terms used in Jamaica. In the 1960s it was also used for juvenile delinquents and criminals in Jamaica, and has since been used in other contexts...
and British working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
mod roots.
Because of their appreciation of music played by black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
, they tend to be non-racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, unlike the white power skinheads. Trojan skinheads usually dress in a typical 1960s skinhead style, which includes items such as: button-down Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman is a British based clothing company, designing shirts, suits, shoes, accessories and other items that are, in common with many British brands, now made overseas, largely in the Far East. Their designs sometimes feature the Royal Air Force roundel which is often called the mod target...
shirts, Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
polo shirts, braces
Suspenders
Suspenders or braces are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up trousers. Straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attachment ends and most straps are of woven cloth forming an X or Y shape at the back. Braces are typically attached to trousers with buttons...
, fitted suits
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
, cardigan sweaters
Cardigan (sweater)
A cardigan is a type of machine- or hand-knitted sweater that ties, buttons or zips down the front; by contrast, a pullover does not open in front but must be "pulled over" the head to be worn. The cardigan was named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British military commander,...
, sleeveless sweater
Sleeveless sweater
A sweater vest is an item of knitwear that is similar to a sweater, but without sleeves. It is a popular misconception that a sleeveless sweater and a tank top are the same. This error arose from the differences in American and British clothing terminology...
s, Harrington jacket
Harrington jacket
A Harrington jacket is a lightweight waist-length jacket, made of cotton, polyester, wool or suede — usually with traditionally Fraser tartan or check-patterned lining....
s and Crombie-style overcoats. Hair is generally between a 2 and 4 grade clip-guard (short, but not bald), in contrast to the shorter-haired punk
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
-influenced Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
skins of the 1980s.
Spirit of '69
The phrase Spirit of '69 is used by traditional skinheads to commemorate what they identify as the skinheadSkinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
subculture
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 :...
's heyday in 1969. The phrase was popularized by a group of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
skinheads called Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Spy Kids. Its use in the title of a skinhead history book, Spirit of 69: A Skinhead Bible, led skinheads to adopt it around the world. The book was published in the early 1990s by the author George Marshall, a skinhead from Glasgow. In Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible, Marshall documents the origins and development of the skinhead subculture, describing elements such as music, dress, and politics in an attempt to refute many popular perceptions about skinheads; the most common being that they are all racists.
Related musicians
- Laurel AitkenLaurel AitkenLorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska".-Career:...
- Desmond DekkerDesmond DekkerDesmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
- Judge DreadJudge DreadAlexander Minto Hughes , better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and has the most banned songs of all time.-Career:...
- The EthiopiansThe EthiopiansThe Ethiopians were a ska, rocksteady, and reggae vocal group, founded by Leonard Dillon , Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris.-History:...
- Tommy McCookTommy McCookTommy McCook was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One Studios in the 1970s.-Biography:McCook was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Jamaica in...
- Derrick MorganDerrick MorganDerrick Morgan is a musical artist popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.-Biography:In 1957 Morgan entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, a talent...
- The PioneersThe Pioneers (band)The Pioneers are a Jamaican reggae vocal trio, whose main period of success was in the 1960s. The trio has had different line-ups, and still occasionally performs.-Founding and early years: 1962-1967:...
- SymaripSymaripSymarip were a ska and reggae band from the United Kingdom, originating in the late 1960s, when Frank Pitter and Michael Thomas founded the band as The Bees. The band's name was originally spelled Simaryp, which is an approximate reversal of the word 'pyramids'...
- The UpsettersThe UpsettersThe Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd....
External links
- World of Skinhead
- Trojan Records
- Roots Of The Skinhead (video)
- Articles on skinheads and reggae
- Ska Party - article about traditional skinheads
- Spy Kids