Casual reflections, 20 May 2003

Facsimile reproductions of the original Face article from 1983 by Kevin Sampson and copies of influential fanzine "The End" are teamed with stories of sourcing, appropriating and wearing casual clothing in the early days. Illustrated throughout, with 16 pages of colour photographs, I found it compulsive reading, and was particularly pleased to see mention of Patrick cagoules and Benetton rugby shirts (although I recall them being labelled as "tennis shirts"). As a man who spent his first giro on a pair of Diadora Pat Cash's and his first YTS money on a Pringle, the book certainly struck a chord.

The one observation I would make is that it centres in the main on the formation and early days of the casual movement, and whilst acknowledging that there has been a resurgence of casuals in recent times, the dismissive phrase of one contributor of "have Hackett, will throw plastic chairs anywhere in Europe" and the chapter "Close Island" may suggest some of the sympathies of the author.

In short, it is an A - Z of the casual era from Slazenger to Stone Island, and I would recommend this to anyone interested in the fashions and music of the last 25 years.

Borg Elite

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

Well Casual, 8 Jul 2004

The cover of this book paints it as yet another attempt by a provincial yob to cash in on his brief spell of notoriety during the mid 1980's; the media image of a hooligan whose goggled eyes reflect a punch-up on a terrace somewhere in England on a Saturday. But bear with it and you soon find something approaching a sub-cultural manual cum history book for blokes who came of age in the late 1970's - sop complete is the author (and the bulk of his contributors') eye(s).

The format of this book, as opposed to the semi-autobiographical nature of the majority of slim volumes on this depressing subject, is vaguely chronological, staring correctly in the mid 1970's and continuing to pretty much the present day. But its' milestones are far broader than just years - the arrival of Punk in the unique form that hit Merseyside and Manchester, the Liverpool in Europe Years, the Miners' strike, Heysel and Acid House all inform the book with a truly broad perspective that transcends the casual subculture and frames it within the significant events that provide reference points to anybody in their late 30's who experienced the glory days of football and casual.

The broad range of correspondents whose stories are cut up to pepper the narrative with real-life experiences gives a national view rather than the traditional football-centric regional perspective. Fashions, travel and music are described in a way that shows the basic differences between north and south. Merseyside is a key focus, but the book is none the worse for that; the Scousers had the coolest take on casual from the start and I say that as a southerner who proudly wore grey Farahs and slip-ons topped off with a pastel pink waffle sweater to nightclubs in my adopted Huddersfield home.

There is an argument to say that any work that was half literate would seem ground breaking when it was concerned with the experiences of the young male football fan in the 1980's, but Thornton's work has appeal to those who did not directly experience the phenomenon of casual as vividly as those who did; music and fashion references are as sharp as a razor and I for one was touched by the mention of the MA-1 jacket and Levi's 501 'look' as much as by the constant mention of the M&S crew neck sweater. Good times.

I wish we could expect more works from this author because I for one have no wish to spend my money on a ghost written tome concerning the sordid past of an ex-convict from Crewe who delights in recalling minor skirmishes in Halifax on a rainy Saturday in October, when there was so much more to the experience of the match and the travel and the look.

More please!

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?