The working class
style tribes of the 1980s have been nicely recreated in Shane Meadows' This is
England films/TV series. But some of the best contemporary images of that world
that I have come across are by Chris Porsz, many of them collected in his
excellent book 'New England: the culture and people of an English
New Town during the 1970s and 80s'
Many of the more
cliched images of 80s sub-cultures are based on a tiny minority of people in
bands or scene setters in big city clubs - a long way from how people on the
dole or with low pay tried to make a mark with their hair, clothes and music in
towns where sometimes the few exisiting clubs wouldn't even let them in.
Portz's pictures
were taken in Peterborough, but they could have been taken almost anywhere in
England in the early '80s, with punks, pychobillies, rockabillies and skinheads
hanging out in town centres with bottles of cider for refreshment. Certainly
they remind me of Luton at that time.
Looking at these pictures now it's interesting to note
how even amongst the hardcore, piercings were quite muted - in the early 80s
those with nose rings were really transgressing the boundaries of the socially
acceptable. Likewise tattoos weren't common beyond the upper arm.
(you can buy Chris Porsz's book at his
website and in bookshops including Tate Modern in London. His site
also includes some sweet reunions where the subjects
of his 1980s photos have been reunited with the images of their younger
selves)
All photos © Chris Porsz
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