Trojan skinhead

Trojan skinheads (also known as traditional skinheads or trads) are individuals who identify with the original British skinhead subculture of the late 1960s, when ska, rocksteady, reggae, and soul music were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label Trojan Records, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaican rude boy and British working class mod roots.^[1][2]

Because of their appreciation of music played by black people, they tend to be non-racist, unlike the white power skinheads.^[3][4] Trojan skinheads usually dress in a typical 1960s skinhead style, which includes items such as: button-down Ben Sherman shirts, Fred Perry polo shirts, braces, fitted suits, cardigans, tank tops, Harrington jackets and Crombie-style overcoats.^[5] Hair is generally between a 2 and 4 grade clip-guard (short, but not bald), in contrast to the shorter-haired punk-influenced Oi! skins of the 1980s.

Spirit of '69

The phrase Spirit of '69 is used by traditional skinheads to commemorate what they identify as the skinhead subculture's heyday in 1969. The phrase was popularized by a group of Scottish skinheads called the Glasgow Spy Kids.^[3] A skinhead history book entitled Spirit of 69: A Skinhead Bible was written by George Marshall, a skinhead from Glasgow, in the early 1990s.^[4] Marshall documents the origins and development of the skinhead subculture, describing elements such as music, dress, and politics in an attempt to refute many popular perceptions about skinheads; the most common being that they are all racists.

The phrase "Spirit of '69" was not merely "popularized" or "coined" by, but ORIGINATED FROM the Glasgow Spy Kids in the mid 80's. And in particular, Ewan Kelly, who designed the tattoo which bore the phrase.

Many of the original core members were previously mods who progressed to skinhead in much the same way as happened only 16/17 years earlier, and chose to maintain the original skinhead ethos in direct defiance of the right-wing supporting "boneheads" prevalent at that time.

The author of "Spirit of '69", George Marshall would, I've no doubt, confirm that he arrived on the Glasgow scene a couple of years after the Spy Kids were formed and began attending the 60's soul/ska/reggae dances which were regularly organised and well-attended by the Glasgow skinhead/mod/scooterist fraternity, and that he "borrowed" the phrase from the Spy Kids' tattoo for the title of his hitherto unwritten bible.

Related musicians

• Laurel Aitken
• Desmond Dekker
• Judge Dread
• The Ethiopians
• Tommy McCook
• Derrick Morgan
• The Pioneers
• Symarip
• The Upsetters

Footnotes

External links

• Trojan Records
• Roots Of The Skinhead (video)
• Articles on skinheads and reggae
• Ska Party - article about traditional skinheads
• Spy Kids
• Electronic copy of Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible