Southend exhibition celebrates punks, mods and rockers

A 1960s Teddy Boy proudly displays his tattooed chest

Punks, mods and rockers are on show at an exhibition in a seaside town which its curator says has "always attracted an alternative crowd".

Subcultures, at the Beecroft Art Gallery in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, showcases the memories, fashion and music of local people.

Teddy Boy drape suits, mods' retro scooters, photographs and original band posters form part of the exhibition.

Curator Iona Farrell said the displays also show long-gone shops and venues.

Two punks caught on camera at the Victoria Shopping Centre in the early 1980s

Album covers relating to various subcultures from the 1960s to the 1980s

The exhibition looks at the venues that played a key role in the town's story such as the Focus Youth Centre, where many punk gigs were held, and The Studio Club, which was popular with 1960s mods.

Local bands such as The Paramounts - who later became Procol Harum - and the Cops and Robbers, who once supported The Who, were regulars at these venues.

Ms Farrell said Southend Art College was "a hotbed for creative talent".

"Young mods would bunk off lessons to hang out in coffee bars such as The Shrubbery on the Royal Terrace," she said.

"Art students would swap clothing with each other and head to the Army and Navy store along the London Road to get their mod gear, buying Levi jeans and moccasins."

Nasty, in Clifftown Road, was the go-to shop for Southend punks in the 1970s and 1980s

Ms Farrell said a shop called Nasty sold punk clothing "at a time when you couldn't source it anywhere else in town".

"Punks could purchase T-shirts emblazoned with slogans as well as mohair jumpers," she said.

"These striped jumpers were knitted by women in Thundersley who were probably unaware they would eventually grace the backs of nihilistic punks."

Teddy Boys heading for the seafront, via Southend High Street, on a Bank Holiday in 1977

Councillor Lesley Salter, Conservative cabinet member for healthy communities and wellbeing, said: "Some of our borough's most successful music, art and theatrical achievements have come from the subcultures on display in this exhibition.

"It shows us how inclusive Southend has been, and still is.

"It is a reminder for us to celebrate our differences and value the cultural work that continues to permeate from our subcultures."

Subcultures runs until 5 October 2019.

A scooter on display as part of the Subcultures exhibition