Britain produced many of the first temblors of the youthquake. There were the eleganty dressed but often vicious Teddy boys of the late 1950s. There were the gentler Mods and the tough leather-jacketed, working-class rockers in the '60s. Now British youth, having helped give rise to Hell's Angels and hippies an ocean away, have spawned yet another phenomenon: the skinheads.
Also Suedeheads. Their hair is shaved to within an eighth of an inch from the scalp, and they are dress in oversized workpants, thin red suspenders and hobnailed, steel-toed boots costing about$10 and known as "cherry reds." The skinheads are lineal descendants of the rockers—with an added touch of mindless savagery. When their hair grows a frifle longer, they refer to themselves as suedeheads. Skins or suedes, they specialize in terrorizing such menacing types as hippies and homosexuals, Pakistani immigrants and little old ladies. "Hairies," those with long hair or hippie-style clothing, are their particular enemies, but they are quite happy to break up a synagogue, a Chinese café or an Indian restaurant. The skinheads live for "agro" (causing "aggravation") and "bovver" (street fighting). While they favor the boot as a primary weapon, they also use their heads to "nut" or butt a victim, and whatever other weapons come to hand: bricks, rocks, bottles, knives and razors. "Scar stuff," one skinhead explains. "We don't use weapons that will kill."
Maybe not, But in the year since the skinheads first appeared, many hundreds of serious injuies have beens blamed on skinhead romps. Jack Weeds, a train engineer jumped by a skinhead pack. described the experience: "I got boots in the back, in the guts, on the head, everywhere. I tried covering my head with my hands, then they kicked my hands. These kids were actually skipping around with excitement." In November, a gang 20 strong invaded a suburban party in Surrey, tore down a garden wall, wrecked furniture and sent eight guests to the hospital. Soccer games bring skinheads flocking, usually with weapons ranging from meathooks and carving forks to chisels and pipes. On a train returning from a match at Coventry, 300 skinheads nearly demolished the carriages; 60 were arrested. Nearly 100 were jailed after mob violence from Brighton to Blackpool during last month's three-day Whitsun weekend.
Big Guys. "You've got to be in a crew or there's nothing for you to do," a skinhead explains. "If you're out, you're a loner, and in bovver no one will help you." Admits one: "I don't say any of us are nice guys. We want to be 'tasty'—y'know, big guys." Most if not all the skinheads are working-class boys from 15 to 18, stuck in low-paying manual-labor jobs and reflecting the crudest prejudices of their blue-collar parents. Few have read a book or been in a church. "All I did in school," recalls one, "is kick the teacher."