The Influential Factor (Paperback)

We were also promised a full history of the Mod scene and its offshoots..what we got was a lot on the 1979 revival and not much on anything else. Also, one of the biggest offshoots of the Mod scene was the Casual movement, yet no mention at all.

There were a lot of good contributors..Brian Betteridge, Anthony Meynell etc but there wasn't anything holding the quotes together. At times it read like a book of quotes.

I can't really see the point of this book. Terry Rawlings in Mod - A Very British Phenomenon done it so much better, with superior content, presentation and layout for a lotcheaper. Don't waste your money on this.

"Mod" was a 60's thing, which died in that decade, and London was its centre. There is not enough in-depth material about it in this book. No mention is made of places like the Last Chance Saloon on Oxford Street or suburban gathering places such as Klooks Kleek, Tottenham Royal, Leyton Baths, Ilford Palais and, slightly further out, Basildon Locarno where the Dave Clark Five ( never considered a "mod" band by mods )were resident intially.

Being "mod" was very much, although not exclusively, a working class thing and it was spontaneous, coming from the streets. Although there was an overall "look", those who took it seriously wanted to have a certain individuality about their appearance. One thing they did not do was to walk around in army surplus parkas.

But that image came after the media seized upon the "Mods 'n' Rockers" idea. Anything "underground", hip or not generally known about becomes anathema to those involved with it once the national press and TV get hold of it ( and get it wrong, of course ). This is precisely what happened in this case. Suddenly anyone, anywhere with a pair of Levis, desert boots and a parka had the "mod look" and there were "mods" everywhere. This plus the gradual change in music and fashion generally helped to kill it.

I have to say that I don't understand the "mod" scene of today as described in this book. If mod means modernist or modern how can people wearing their interpretation of 1960's styles be modern? Aren't they more retro or revivalist?

There are far more informative books around than this one. If you really want to know about the real mod scene look elsewhere and save your money.

However "mod" was a 60's thing which died in that decade. There is not enough in-depth material about it in this book. No mention is made of places like The Last Chance Saloon, The 100 Club and others in London such as Klooks Kleek which attracted a mod audience. Mod was a London thing and there were plenty of other place mods gathered like Tottenham Royal and Ilford Palais, not forgetting Leyton Baths and slightly further out, Basildon Locarno. Once it had spread out to the provinces it was on its way out. Anything "underground", hip or not generally known about becomes anathema to those involved with it once the national press get hold of it ( and get it wrong ). This is precisely what happened once the papers and TV started reporting on "mods and rockers".

I don't fully understand the "mod" scene today. If mod means modernist or modern, how can people wearing their interpretation of 1960's styles be modern? Aren't they more retro or revivalist?

Mod died as the music and fashions generally changed and the flower power thing was prominent for a while. But after that the "modern" look that I and my friends aspired to came from shops such as The Village Gate, The Squire Shop, Quincy, Take 6 and Stanley Adams, amongst others. That look lasted, with subtle changes, from the late 60's to around the mid 70's then things changed again. Modern styles were different and so were the shops.

And so it goes on. I still love and collect soul, Motown and Hammond organ type music but whilst I find the current fascination with "mod" interesting I have to say that I consider it finished in the 60's.

There are far more informative books around than this one. If you really want to know about the real mod scene save your money