1980s
In the early 1980s in the UK, a mod revival scene influenced by the original 1960s mod subculture developed at the Shepherds Bush nightclub Sneakers, which was run by Tony Class with Paul Hallam and Richard "Shirley" Early taking the Deejaying duties. The club featured rare R&B and soul music, and attendees wore sharp tailor-made clothing. Also in Shepherds Bush through the early-to-late 1980s was Club MOD, at The Bush Hotel, where Tony Class DJed soul music and songs by mod revival bands. The mod revival also had some crossover with the 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s; associated with bands such The Specials, The Beat, The Selecter, and Madness. Often these bands wore mod-like clothes, and their roots in black music paralleled that of the original mods.
In the mid 1980s, there was a brief mod revival centred around bands such as The Moment, The Prisoners, Makin' Time and the Gents. Fanzines following on from Maximum Speed – such as Mission Impossible, Patriotic, Roadrunner, Extraordinary Sensations and Chris Hunt's Shadows & Reflections – helped generate further interest in this stage of the mod revival. Weller broke up The Jam in 1982 and formed The Style Council, who abandoned most of the elements of punk to adopt music much more based in R&B and early soul. Also in the mid-1980s, the northern soul scene underwent a change of pace, with slower R&B-style records becoming popular at all-nighters at clubs such as Top Of The World in Stafford and 100 Club in London. Around this time, some mod revivalists became interested in psychedelic rock, freakbeat and rare British and American garage rock. This interest was partly sparked by companies re-issuing recordings by bands such as The Action and The Creation.
Many revival mods in the UK joined the scooterist and scooter rally scene, which led to the development of the scooterboy subculture of the 1980s. Several mods enjoyed a mixture of the two styles, although some scooterboys renounced any previous involvement with the mod subculture.
The UK mod revival was followed by a mod revival in North America in the early 1980s, particularly in Southern California, led by bands such as The Untouchables. The mod scene in Los Angeles and Orange County was partly influenced by the UK 2-Tone ska revival movement, and was unique in its racial diversity.
Another main player in the UK mod revival was Eddie Piller, who went on to develop the acid jazz movement of the late 1980s.
In the 1990s, Britpop bands such as Oasis, Blur and Ocean Colour Scene were influenced by the mod revival; both in music and fashion. In the 2000s (decade), some indie rock acts, such as The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, Little Man Tate, The Last Shadow Puppets, Twisted Wheel and Rinaldi Sings, were influenced by the mod revival. The main mod revival band of any profile in 2012 are East London's Missing Andy, who appeared on Sky1's "Must be the Music" television show in 2011, eventually finishing second.
A Number of original mod revival bands reunited in recent years to play live, including Secret Affair, the Chords, the Purple Hearts, the Gents and others.
Read more about this topic: Mod Revival