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The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree).^[3][4][5] The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades. The mod revival post-dated a Teddy Boy revival, and mod revivalists sometimes clashed with Teddy Boy revivalists, skinhead revivalists, casuals, punks and rival gang members.^[6]

1970s[link]

The Jam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1982

The late 1970s mod revival combined musical and cultural elements of the 1970s pub rock, punk rock and New Wave music genres with influences from 1960s mod and beat music bands such as The Who, Small Faces and The Kinks. The revival was largely spurred on by the band The Jam, who had adopted a stark mod look and mixed the energy of punk with the sound of 1960s mod bands. Their debut album In the City (1977), mixed R&B standards with originals modelled on The Who's early singles. They confirmed their status as the leading mod revival band with their third album All Mod Cons (1978), on which Paul Weller's song-writing drew heavily on the British-focused narratives of the Kinks.^[7] The revival was also spurred on by small concerts at venues such as the Cambridge and Hop Poles Hotels, and Howard Hall Enfield, the Wellington, Waterloo Road, London, and the Bridge House in Canning Town. In 1979, the film Quadrophenia, which romanticised the original 1960s mod subculture, widened the impact and popularity of the mod revival across the UK. The original mod revival fanzine, Maximum Speed started in 1979 and spawned other home-produced fanzines from then until the mid- to late 1980s.

Pub rock bands like Red Beans and Rice, The Little Roosters, The Inmates, Nine Below Zero and Eddie and the Hot Rods, became major acts in the growing mod revival scene in London.^[8] Other bands grew up to feed the desire for mod music, often combining the music of 60s mod groups with elements of punk music, including The Lambrettas, The Merton Parkas, Squire, and Purple Hearts. These acts managed to develop cult followings and some had pop hits, before the revival petered out in the early 80s.^[9] Other notable mod revival bands include: The Chords, Secret Affair, The Jolt, and The Fixations.^{[citation needed]}

Whereas the original mods looked forward (although maintaining nostalgia for British cultural icons), the mod revival was a conscious effort to harken back to an earlier generation in terms of style. Like their 1960s mod predecessors, revival bands were often self-consciously British (i.e. displaying Union Jack flags and the Royal Air Force roundel). Mod revivalists were usually from working class backgrounds, or aimed to appear so. The mod revival contained a wide range of individuals; from those who were peacockish, colourful, and dandified – wearing suits and styles of the 1960s – to others who took a more minimalist approach; wearing basic casual items such as fitted jeans, Fred Perry tennis shirts and fishtail parkas.

A photograph of two mods on a customised scooter

Some mod revivalists were mostly interested in live performances by contemporary bands, and others focused on DJ events featuring recordings of 1960s music. During this period, the interest in R&B and soul music increased, with a small number of clubs and bars holding events; such as Henri's at the Bedford Head in London's Covent Garden, 6T's (later to move to the Starlight club in West Hampstead, which in turn moved to 100 Club), the Top Alex in Southend, the Hercules in Lambeth North, The Castle in Tooting, Cheeky Pete's in Richmond, the Mildmay Tavern in Dalston, and the Crystal Palace Hotel.

Another British tradition that returned at the same time was the penchant for members of youth subcultures to go to seaside resorts on bank holidays and fight members of other subcultures. This originated in the early 1960s with the mods and rockers fighting each other at places such as Brighton. The phenomenon returned in 1969 through to 1970 with skinheads fighting Teddy boys and bikers. In 1977 it returned yet again, with punks fighting Teddy Boys at Margate, and revival skinheads fighting Teddy boys, bikers and rockers at Southend and Margate. This carried on until 1978. In 1979 and 1980, the resorts became major battlegrounds on bank holidays for young skinheads and mods together against Teddy boys and rockers. By 1981, the unity between skinheads and mods had mainly disappeared, and by the mid-1980s, casuals (well-dressed football hooligans) had joined in the disturbances. Some of the main resorts involved were Margate, Brighton, Southend, Clacton, Hastings and Scarborough.^[10]

1980s[link]

Two highly accessorised "mod-style" Lambretta scooters

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 Paul Hallam and Richard "Shirley" Early. 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 and The Prisoners. 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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[6][13][14] The mod scene in Los Angeles and Orange County was partly influenced by the 2 Tone movement, and was unique in its racial diversity.

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, some indie rock acts, such as The Ordinary Boys, Kaiser Chiefs, The Last Shadow Puppets, Twisted Wheel and Rinaldi Sings, were influenced by the mod revival.

Another main player in the mod revival was Eddie Piller, who went on to develop the acid jazz movement of the late 1980s.^[15]

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• The Mod Revival Article by Chris Hunt, published in the New Musical Express, April 2005
• The ModPopPunk Archives Information about mod revival bands
• Mod-ernworld Information and photos
• 1980s Mod Revival Photos from the 1980s Mod scenes from around the world

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Disambiguation: For the light novel see Kiddy Grade Secret Affair.

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Secret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.

Career[link]

In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums. The debut single "Time For Action" sold over 200,000 copies and reached number 13 in the UK chart, putting the band at the forefront of the mod revival movement. More chart success followed with "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion".

Formed after the demise of the CBS Records signed power pop band New Hearts, singer Ian Page and guitarist Dave Cairns spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. They also drew up plans for a smart-dressing youth movement – the Glory Boys – based around the idea of 1960s gangster chic and influenced by the movie, Performance.

After spending January 1979 demoing songs, Page and Cairns enlisted the services of bassist Dennis Smith from the power pop band Advertising and Young Bucks drummer Seb Shelton. Saxophone player Dave Winthrop would join later in the year.

From their first gig, opening for The Jam at Reading University in February 1979, the band was adopted by a group of East End Mods, who readily embraced Page’s Glory Boy concept. This group of fans began referring to themselves as Glory Boys, often tattooing the name on their arms or inner lips as a badge of allegiance. Secret Affair had become so closely linked to the emerging mod revival that in March 1979 Cairns wrote what would become the youth movement's main anthem, "Time For Action".

Just a few months later, Secret Affair had signed to Arista Records and formed its own label, I-Spy Records and "Time For Action" was in the chart. It was soon followed into the charts by "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion". The first two albums, Glory Boys (December 1979) and Behind Closed Doors (September 1980), with its more complex orchestrated arrangements, proved successful and in its first year Secret Affair regularly appeared on the BBC Television show Top Of The Pops and was a cover star of many UK music magazines, including New Musical Express, Sounds and Smash Hits.

The music videos for several of the band's songs were directed by Steve Barron. The mod movement that had swept Secret Affair into the pop charts had all but evaporated by mid 1980, losing out to the rival 2 Tone fashion movement, and after the release of the band's second album, drummer Shelton quit to join the "Come On Eileen" era Dexys Midnight Runners. Secret Affair regrouped, recruiting ex-Advertising drummer Paul Bultitude and embarking on a lengthy tour of the United States, before returning in late 1981 with its final chart hit, "Do You Know".

One more single followed, "Lost In The Night", before the release of Business As Usual, an album that saw the band return to the rock-soul fusion of its earlier work. Although a spirited album, it was a commercial failure and Secret Affair split-up midway through 1982.

Cairns went on to form a band called Flag, with Archie Brown from The Bureau and signed a recording contract in the US He subsequently teamed up with Scottish singer Alan King in Walk on Fire, writing the majority of the band's material and playing keyboards on tours. Signing to MCA in the U.S., the band released the album Blind Faith in 1990 and toured supporting Foreigner, Nils Lofgren and the Dan Reed Network before Cairns joined Gibson Guitars USA as Special Projects manager. Page released two solo singles before leaving the music industry.

Reunion[link]

In June 2002, Page, Cairns, Smith, Bultitude and Winthrop reformed for three gigs, including a performance at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in Islington to promote the release of Time For Action: The Anthology (Sanctuary), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD.

In 2006, Page and Cairns attempted to mend their sometimes fractious relationship and started work on a fourth Secret Affair album, recording five new songs for Peer Music. The album remains unfinished, but in 2010 Captain Mod Records released Secret Affair, The Singles Collection which featured two of the Peer Music tracks, "Soho Dreams" and "Land Of Hope".

Page and Cairns reformed Secret Affair as a touring band with a new line-up. In 2009 they have played regularly around the UK and further afield, having played their first ever concerts in Dublin, Madrid, Moscow and Tokyo.

In July 2011, Secret Affair re-recorded "Time For Action" for Save The Children. The latter spearheaded their campaign for health workers in poor countries, and over 42,000 people signed the petition in the UK which was taken to David Cameron in September 2011, resulting in funds for the cause endorsed and approved by the United Nations.

On 5 December 2011, Dave Cairns appeared as a guest on BBC Two programme, Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Secret Affair remain on tour 2012 with shows confirmed for Siena, Glasgow and London.

Band members[link]

Original band, 1979–1982

• Vocalist – Ian Page
• Guitarist – Dave Cairns
• Bassist (1979–2003) – Dennis Smith
• Drummer (1979–80) – Seb Shelton
• Drummer (1981–2003) – Paul Bultitude
• Saxophonist (1979–2008) – Dave Winthrop

Additional reunion musicians

• Trombone – (2006–present) Steve Rinaldi
• Bass (2008– 2011) Sean Kelly
• Bass guitar (2012 - present) Ed Pearson.
• Drummer (2008–present) Russ Baxter
• Hammond (2009–2011) Bryn Barkham
• Hammond (2012-present) "Andy Fairclough"

Discography[link]

UK Singles Chart[link]

• "Time For Action" – 1979 – Number 13
• "Let Your Heart Dance" – 1979 – Number 32
• "My World" – 1980 – Number 16
• "Sound Of Confusion" – 1980 – Number 45
• "Do You Know" – 1981 – Number 57^[1]

UK Albums Chart[link]

• Glory Boys – 1979 – Number 41
• Behind Closed Doors – 1980 – Number 48
• Business As Usual – 1982 – Number 84^[1]

See also[link]

• List of bands from England
• List of performances on Top of the Pops
• List of Peel sessions
• Captain Oi! Records
• Rock Goes To College

References[link]

• Sleevenotes to the CD reissues of Glory Boys, Behind Closed Door and Business As Usual, by Chris Hunt

External links[link]

• Secret Affair Official band site
• The Mod Revival The story of the Mod Revival, by Chris Hunt, published in the New Musical Express Mod special edition, April 2005
• Secret Affair biography at Allmusic
• Find Secret Affair & Mod music
• Ian Page Interview 2009
• Secret Affair tracks on YouTube

The Chords are a 1970s British pop music group, commonly associated with the 1970s mod revival, who had several hits in their homeland, before the decline of the trend brought about their break-up. They were one of the more successful groups to emerge during the revival, which was popular in the UK in 1979, thanks in part to The Jam's popularity (and their affection for mod music and style) and the release of The Who's Quadrophenia, a film centred around the mod subculture of the 1960s, and based on their 1973 rock opera. They re-formed with the four original members for a UK tour during 2010.

Career[link]

The Chords, a South East London group, formed in 1978 when singer/guitarist Billy Hassett and his bassist cousin, Martin Mason, advertised for musicians in the NME and found guitarist and songwriter, Chris Pope.^[1] Original drummer Paul Halpin did not stay long, at least behind his drum kit, and eventually became the group's tour manager.^[1] In his place came Brett "Buddy" Ascott, and by March 1979 The Chords were taking the stage.^[1] They gigged continuously over the spring and summer, headlining two mod festivals at London's Marquee Club and recording their first BBC Radio 1 session for DJ John Peel in early July.^[1] They also featured, along with some of their fans, on the cover of Time Out magazine. Amongst their early supporters were Paul Weller, who saw one of their first concerts, and Sham 69's Jimmy Pursey, who signed the group to his JP Productions company.^[1]

The quartet recorded a handful of demos for Pursey, before the relationship soured after he heckled The Undertones at a concert which the Chords had opened. Polydor then signed the band to a recording contract.^[1] For their debut single, the Chords chose one of the songs recorded for Pursey, "Now It's Gone", re-recorded it and had it released in September 1979. It rose to #63 in the UK Singles Chart.^[2]

They followed it up in January 1980 with "Maybe Tomorrow", which, bolstered by rave reviews in the press, shot in to the UK Top 40.^[1][2] A second Peel session was recorded in March, and the next month their third single, "Something's Missing", arrived.^[1] This taster for their debut album, So Far Away, reached #55.^[1][2] The album made #30 in the UK Albums Chart in May,^[2] bolstered by a UK tour.^[1] The album included two cover versions; Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" and The Beatles' "She Said She Said". Allmusic gave So Far Away 4.5 stars, the second highest rating possible.

"The British Way of Life" single arrived in July and reached #55, and "In My Street", released in October, topped out at #50.^[2] The group continued touring, until a show at London's Music Machine in November 1980. Hassett was relieved of his duties and the former Vibrators' singer Kip Herring stepped in.^[1] The old line-up was featured on the cover of their next single, "One More Minute", which arrived in May 1981.^[1] It was a flop, as was August's "Turn Away Again", and the Chords called it a day the following month.^[1]

In 1986 a live album entitled No One's Listening Anymore was issued, which was recorded back in 1980.^[1] A decade later, the double album compilation CD, This Is What They Want was released.^[1]

In August 2010, The Chords went back on the road with their original line-up, promoting the single, "Another Thing Coming", and playing gigs across the UK. They will also tour Australia and Japan in 2012. There is now a DVD "What Became of the People We Used To Be - The History of The Chords" available from May 2012, charting the bands rise to cult status.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "Now It's Gone" (1979) – UK #63
• "Maybe Tomorrow" (1980) – UK #40
• "Something's Missing" (1980) – UK #55
• "The British Way of Life" (1980) – UK #54
• "In My Street" (1980) – UK #50
• "One More Minute" b/w "Who's Killing Who" (1981)
• "Turn Away Again" (1981)
• "Another Thing Coming" (2010)^[2]

Albums[link]

• So Far Away (1980) – UK #30^[2]

See also[link]

• List of Peel sessions

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Story Of the Chords by Chris Hunt, sleevenote to The Mod Singles Collection by The Chords
• The Chords On Cheggers Plays Pop!
• The Mod Revival by Chris Hunt, published in the NME mod special edition, April 2005
• The Chords at Allmusic
• Trouser Press Biography
• Fan site
• Pope, UK band (with Chris Pope and Buddy Ascott)