Mods and Rockers

Mods and Rockers Research  
It was well known at the time of northern soul that mods and rockers had a strong rivalry. Northern soul was known to be a small clique that started from a mix of both of these, turning into its own scene pretty quickly.

Below is a summary of a BBC article titled 'Mods v Rockers; Two tribes go to war'
Two tribes at war
I have taken some quotes from the article and highlighted aspects of importance, to do with the social impacts the rivalry had on the two scenes and also the impact on society, and to do with the fashion differences and similarities of the two scenes.
My own words on the article are at the end of the post.

Yellow- General/ social problems
Blue- Fashion

•              May 1964, the youth of Britain went mad. If you believed the newspapers, that is, who went with screaming headlines like ‘Battle of Brighton’, and ‘Wild Ones 'Beat Up' Margate’. Editorials fulminated with predictions of national collapse, referring to the youths as 'those vermin' and 'mutated locusts wreaking untold havoc on the land'.
•  In Margate, there were an estimated 400 youths involved, with 64 arrests. While unpleasant and oppressive, this was hardly a teen take-over – the press over exaggerated the seriousness of the problem.
• · Contrasted with the anomie of Clacton, it became split along stylistic and tribal lines: between smart, scooter-riding, of-the-minute Mods, and leather-jacketed, scruffy Rockers − the younger siblings of the early 60s Ton Up Boys. 'Grease' they were called, and, although they had long hair − longer than many Mods − they were seen as throwbacks to Marlon Brando and 1950s Teddy Boys.
• The Mod/Rocker disturbances soon faded as other styles came into youth culture prominence, but they set a pattern of tribal violence that would continue on and off throughout the rest of the 1960s (Skinheads v Hippies), the 1970s (Punks v Teds)
• This idea was explored by Stanley Cohen in his ground-breaking study of the Mod/Rocker riots, Folk Devils and Moral Panics: “a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become a threat to societal values and interests."
•  In May 1976, McLaren told the magazine Street Life, “I think now kids have a hankering to be part of a movement… They want to associate with a movement that's hard and tough and in the open like the clothes we're selling here.” Early punk audiences mixed handmade designs with clothes sourced from the 1940s and 1950s − in a dizzying, living collage.

In my opinion the rivalries between mods and rockers were a part in spurring the creation of northern soul, a few style trends cross over from each and similarities in looks and personalities cross over. Northern soul may have been partly created for those youths who wanted to detach from the constant rivalry to be better than the other, these youths found bonds and peace through music, much like my concept northern soul was a way for them to get away from this reality.