Skinhead Reggae - For The Vinyle Junkie

Skinhead is of purely British origin, it was not until well into it's existence that it was recognized as such by the Jamaican music industry, and then became part of a feed-back loop connecting the British Isle's to Jamaica. What is Skinhead in a Jamaican music context? In truth it could be said that almost all music, known collectively as Reggae, from the late 1960s until about c1972 could be claimed as Skinhead, because Reggae was the Skinheads music of choice, they identified with its content and form and adopted it with pride. As with all styles and movements the story reaches back into its pre-existence. Three defining characteristics of a Skinhead, the mode of dress, the type, or class, of person, and the music, had all existed before the Skinhead had been codified. The most defining characteristic of the Skinhead is, of course, their appearance, and the hair in particular. As is well known many of the very first Skins were at one time Mods who were, for numerous reasons, many to do with fashion, disinclined to dress and behave in the evolving style and attitudes of the Hippie, a predominantly American (West Coast) middle class situation. The haircut and all of the clothes that became standard dress for the (male) Skinhead were worn previously, at one time or another, by Mods. This is not to take anything away from the style of the Skinhead, it just reinforces their commitment to some of the class values inherent in the Mod movement.

Only when Skinhead's had asserted their existence were they able to claim the preceding (Jamaican) music as their own. This was partly because it had shared these same characteristics, and had inadvertently helped to define the Skinhead. The early Jamaican music that the Skin's identified mostly with, were cuts like: Derrick Morgan's Fat Man, and Eric Morris's Humpty Dumpty, both on the Blue Beat label, and: Forward March Derrick Morgan, Miss Jamaica by Jimmy Cliff and Housewife's Choice Derrick & Patsy, all on the Island label, it was these, and others in a similar strident or assertive vein, from the pre Ska period that would have later become part of the lexicon of Skinhead Reggae. Yet it was with Ska and the first mention of 'Rude Boys' that the embryonic Skinhead had matured into a recognizable entity.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Skinhead
• Reggae

[spiritof69vinyl]

what is the first tune?? spirit of '69

boss reggae

[red777photo]

@spiritof69vinyl is "Check Him Out" with LEO GRAHAM at the lead backed by THE BLEECHERS...

[corpsman89]

it is the greatest form of music ever invented, and true skinheads are the greatest people ever. unity! cheers.

[mrsoulie]

crackin tunes,wind that clock back 20 yrs,best days of my life,long live skinhead

[ASIANBOYZPRODUCTION]

@kickouttheyuppies no not really, it's like a genre of music and Jamaican culture. It was just adopted by British whites and black rude boys in UK and like the nazi sign, it became a sign of stupidity.

[kickouttheyuppies]

skinheads didn't start in jamiaca but they are a combo of both british and jamiacan working class fashion and culture.

[tedphilo]

Rocksteady, dancehall and Ska were the music of choice for most "geezers" although all reggae is some of the most fantastic music ever produced, it was the livelier style that was played in the clubs ad pubs when I was drinking me rum and black!!!! Pride in appearance, good music to dance to, this is what it is all about!!

[tigertai7]

No worries mate. Real original Skins love Jamaican people and their music... Man, there is so much misinformation about skins floating around. We have been fighting those stupid bone heads for years. We all have. I am so glad we are on the same page mate. I love this music

[tigertai7]

No worries mate. Real original Skins love Jamaican people and their music...

[cosmo1975]

@tigertai7 Sorry, you're right. I said started, but should have said "rooted" from Jamaican culture. A poorly/hastily written comment on my part. Cheers!

[tigertai7]

Skinheads do NOT come from Jamaica!!!!! Skins evolved out of the hard side of the Mod Culture. Skins listened to Ska, Rocksteady and early Reggae. Rude boys come from Jamaica.

[yotengounaflor]

Can anybody please tell me the name of the first song, please!! thanks