Mods and Rockers
Throughout the 1960s the Mods and Rockers were two competing youth subcultures that could typically be distinguished by their unique styles of clothing alongside their choice of two-wheeled transport; with Mods riding scooters and Rockers favouring the motorbike. By the mid 1960s clashes between the two were reported across the UK. Of these, ‘the Battle of Brighton Beach’, is the most well-known. On May 18th, 1964, fighting between the two groups raged for two days and spanned from Brighton all the way to Hastings. The borough police forces of Sussex had their hands full.
In a letter to the Argus published on April 9th, 2020, a founding member of the museum and retired officer and the late David Rowland, described strategies the Brighton police put into practice to mitigate the violence. One tactic involved sending officers to Black Rock every 20 minutes to disturb the Mods sleeping there by asking for their details. The aim of this was to tire the youths out and limit their capacity for fighting the following day.
Rowland recalled that ‘On one day over that weekend 75 youths were arrested, overwhelming the two jailers at the cell block’. The arrested youths were held in these cells. The aftermath of the Battle of Brighton Beach highlighted the lack of provision for managing large-scale civil unrest in the 1960s in Brighton and indeed the rest of the country.
Brighton continues to be at the heart of Mods and Rockers culture. Numerous shops have popped up referencing the subculture, including the Modfather and Quadrophenia Alley. Brighton is also the setting for the infamous 1948 film Brighton Rock and the 1979 film Quadrophenia.
In 2004 The New Untouchables started the annual Brighton Mod Weekender that is held over the August bank holiday. Thousands of people flood to Brighton to see people in 60’s fashions and to celebrate the music and style of the time. Below are some photos of the 2022 celebration.
Photos courtesy of Anil Mistry.
Mistry is a professional photographer based in Shoreham By sea. He has been capturing life on the streets of Brighton since 2015 through a combination of street, documentary and portrait photography.
His photography work can be found at https://www.anilmistryphoto.com/
He is on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/anilmistryphoto/
(c) 2022 Anil Mistry All Rights Reserved
Quadrophenia Alley.
This is the alleyway that was featured in the film and is a popular spot for graffiti.
Quadrophenia Alley Shop.
This shop has taken advantage of its position next to Quadrophenia Alley.
Modfather Shop in Brighton.