Mod revival
The mod revival was a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence 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.[3]
The Mod Revival started from the disillusionment with the punk scene when commercialism set in. It was featured in an article in Sounds music paper in 1976 and had a big following in Reading/London during that time. It gained momentum as an underground movement which was highlighted on London Weekend Show 20/05/1979, prior to the impending release of the film “Quadrophenia”.
The late 1970s mod revival was led by the band the Jam, who had adopted a stark mod look and mixed the energy of punk with the sound of early 1960s mod bands. It was heavily influenced by the 1979 film Quadrophenia. The mod revival was a conscious effort to hark back to the earlier generation in terms of style and presentation. In the early 1980s in the UK, a mod revival scene influenced by the original mod subculture of the 1960s developed.
1990s and later[edit]
Bands associated with Britpop in the mid-1990s often championed aspects of mod culture. Blur were fans of Quadrophenia, with the film's star Phil Daniels featuring on the title track of the band's album Parklife and appearing in the song's video, whilst Oasis' Noel Gallagher struck up a high-profile friendship with Paul Weller. Around this time the UK music press championed a number of bands as constituting a new wave of the mod revival under the name "New Mod", including Menswe@r and the Bluetones, both of whom were later identified with Britpop.[14][15][16]
In 2010, the mod-influenced band Missing Andy saw their debut single, "The Way We're Made (Made in England)", reach number 38 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the UK Indie Chart after their status was confirmed as runners-up in Sky1's TV talent competition, Must Be the Music.
A number of 1970s mod revival bands have reunited in recent years to play concerts, including Secret Affair,[17] the Chords and the Purple Hearts.[18][19]