Memories & Photo's of Birmingham Mods Del Evans & Gill Taylor

Writing this takes me back to an exciting time in my life, back to July 1960 when I had just finished 3 years at Moseley Art School in Birmingham. I studied Dress Design , Pattern Cutting & Dressmaking also History of Costume as well as other Art subjects.

I didn’t want to wear what everyone else was wearing I wanted to get my own look. I cut my hair into a bob and tinted it with Color-Glo Black Tulip, I designed & made a collection of dresses, coats and bags mainly in black, navy & grey. I’d meet my friends from Art School at the Stage Door Coffee Bar just off High St. in Birmingham city centre and also The Old Stone Cross in Dale End where Spencer Davis played and Steve Winwood sang long before they were famous. It was there that I met my husband to be Del Evans, we were interested in the same things – clothes & music.

In early 1962 we were looking thru’ a French magazine and there was an advert for Gitanes cigarettes the model had his hair cut in a french crop and he had a very stylish look, we really liked it and started recreating it.

Del started designing his own suits and having them made to measure at Hepworths in New Street Birmingham. He had a navy 2 piece with chalk stripe, high lapel, 4 button with double vent and ticket pocket, a black and white tweed 4 button with flap pockets including ticket pocket and double vents,a black Irish tweed jacket with Ghillie collar and flap pockets also a Ghillie collar suit in navy pin stripe.

We bought shirts and I removed the collars so that Del could wear stiff white collars fastened on by back and front studs. Our favourite shirts were charcoal grey or black and white gingham. Del also had a black and white gingham giraffe tab collar shirt which he is wearing in one of our photos with a pale grey lambswool sweater, Ghillie collar suit and topped by a black leather coat which he designed and I made for him. When wearing his suits he would always have a silk pocket handkerchief and a knitted tie in navy or black. Del has always loved button down collar shirts and still wears them now.

It was fashionable at one point for Mod lads to have walking sticks as shown in one of our photo’s and when we went to the West End Ballroom in Birmingham on a Sunday night they would dance with them.

There was a boutique in Brighton called 13 and a half where I bought a genuine french onion sellers black and white striped top which I still have.

I designed and made many clothes for myself usually on a Sunday morning to wear at the West End Ballroom on a Sunday night amongst my favourites were a navy wool skirt and jacket with scallops and a navy and cream flowered collar,a navy crepe dress with white flounces on the collar and cuffs, a black linen skirt and jacket with large flower design, a pair of french round sunglasses, a black nylon trench mac, a denim hipster skirt with belt and a blue patterned top with flounced neck and cuffs.A brown leather jacket and skirt worn with a black polo neck jumper and a black leather waistcoat with a scoop neck. These are just a few of the many clothes we had, they are shown in our photos.

Sometimes on a Saturday morning we would catch the train to London to go to John Stephens and the Mod Male. We heard that Anello and David the theatrical shoe makers were selling cuban heel chelsea boots and we went to get a pair.When we got there we were amazed to see the queue of Mods waiting to get into the shop to buy them .We waited in the queue for ages but the shop shut before our turn. When we got back to Birmingham I got their phone number and arranged for 2 pairs to be sent by post. Del is wearing them in one of our photos.

The KD coffee house was a popular place to meet up especially on a Saturday morning before going to the West End on a Saturday afternoon.The West End was a great place to go to on a Sunday night there was a DJ and around 9 there would be a group on. The Whiskey ago go and The Golden Eagle in Hill Street were really good places to go.

We still wear Mod style and Del likes to wear smart suits with button down shirts in deep colours or black and white gingham. I still design and make my own clothes and work as a designer dressmaker.

By Gill Taylor now Gill Evans

The Whiskey a Go-Go, Birmingham .

The 60's in Brum were the best for live bands, specially at The Whiskey a Go Go above Chetwyns on the corner of John Bright Street and Hill Street. The whiskey was unique in the fact that not only did the local bands King Bees, Modernaires, Jugs O'Henry, Moody Blues, Denny Laine, Spencer Davis play there, but also people from the states. "Motown" & "R&B" greats like Sonny Boy Williamson sang there, and all night on Fridays till 8am Saturday mornings and again on Saturday nights till Sunday morning. The owners Chris & Steve Healey were two great guys who were there to welcome us all every night the Whiskey was open. They both wore lowed striped jackets as I remember.

I have been told that Steve still has a book that records all the bands and singers of that time that they booked up, such as The Faces, Long John Baldry, and Gary Farr and The Knockouts. I remember Georgie Fame playing virtually all night. They couldn't get him off the small stage until he collapsed with exhaustion, or lack of stimulation's. Great Brummie characters also frequented The Whiskey; Sean MaHoney, Billy Sutton, Billy & Dodger Thompson, Colin Mythan, Noel Barnes, Chris and Gary Burgess, Jock Ellis, Duffy, Bugsy, Chris Wolsey, Kenny Frazer, Rob Marsh, Popeye, Dicky Martin, Bobby Summers, Henry O'Neil, Eddy The Jew, Jonnie Hutton, Dorian Walford, Black H and Spencer, who were both Brummie DJ's with Caribbean and soul backgrounds.

The place buzzed for three years until it changed hands and became the Marquee in 1967. And the chicks that went there were out of this world. One group were called "The Magnificent Seven". Other male groups of people were nick named "The Martini Set", "The T-set" and the "Coca Cola Boy's". It was cult and leading edge for urban 60's live band music, dance styles and fashions. They used to pack in nearly 250 townies and mods onto both floors, live bands on the 1st floor and DJ's on the top floor. Many dudes where "knocked back" at the door if you weren't part of the crowd, as they could not get everybody in the gaff.

After we crashed out in the mornings at the KD (Kardoma) coffee bar in New Street, we went on to the West End Saturday afternoon dance. We then had the energy to go to the "All Nighters" at the Town Hall. Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood were classic, along with the other Brumbeat bands. The Whiskey attracted people from all over the midlands, including Coventry and London scene, to dance and hear live music of the era that was very ahead of pop culture in England at that time! If the Town Hall gigs weren't on we used to go to "The Twisted Wheel" in Manchester that also played Motown & Blues".

Other live band venues we frequented where the "Lafayette" and "The Connaught Suite" in Wolverhampton.

Bobby Summers

source : internet

Sid Price's Birmingham memories

I first knew I wanted to be a Mod at the end of 1963 early 64 at the age of 17. I was working in the centre of Birmingham at the time and opposite my place of work there was a hairdresser where I used to get my haircut. It was unisex hair salon where Mods from all over Birmingham used to come and get their hair cut. I used to go and chat to them, it was then I knew I wanted to become a Mod.

I found I had a lot in common in their taste of music, fashion and the way they looked at life. Later, when I went to work at Cadburys I met 3 lads who were also Mods and got to go about with them and that is where I met my girlfriend who eventually became my wife in 1969.

I have always thought Mod and never wavered from it, it has always been with me, once a Mod always a Mod that is my belief. I am 61 now and still think the same as I did when I was 18, much more mature now but still with my beliefs. I know people that are still into the Rock & Roll scene, who are older than me and still ride motorbikes.

I still dress fashionably with suits and smart casual wear, Smedley tops, Levi 501’s, tailored shirts and trousers and listen to the music I listened to in the 60’s, and still go to Mod rallies. I don’t think there are many who think Mod as I do at my age.

The music I listened to back in the sixties was Soul, Rhythm and Blues and British Beat. My favourite soul was STAX and Tamla Motown. Artists like Ottis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T and the MG’s, Eddie Floyd, The Four Tops and The Temptations etc. Also British Soul: Geno Washington, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds. Also British bands: Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, The Small Faces, The Who and The Yardbirds. My Favourite band from Birmingham was The Spencer Davis Group, who were an R&B and blues band.

The clubs I used to go to were mainly in the centre of Birmingham, clubs like The Le Metro which was situated under some railway arches and was like a cellar similar to the cavern in Liverpool. The Rainbow Suite where the smartest Mods used to go, and where some of the best music was played.

I saw John Lee Hooker and my favourite band Spencer Davis at a club called the Whisky a Go-Go. We used to meet every Thursday evening at our works (Cadburys) club, where DJ’s and our own local R&B band called The Cock- a- Hoops, who had an Hammond organ which I love the sound of, played.

We never got to any of the clubs in London as it was too expensive to travel, but a lot of the London Mods used to come up to the clubs in Birmingham.

I also saw The Small Faces at our local theatre called the Odeon.

Mods came to this venue from all over the country, at the same theatre I saw a STAX show featuring Booker T, Sam and Dave, Jimmy Ruffin, Arthur Conley, Wilson Pickett and The Bar-Kay’s.

I also saw at the Rainbow Suite, a band called “Listen” whose lead singer was Robert Plant who was a Mod at the time and later fronted Led Zeppelin.

I used to and still do wear Smart Mohair Italian Style suits, three covered buttons, 8 inch side or centre vents, button down collared fitted shirts mainly Ben Sherman. I also had a three buttoned burgundy and grey boating blazer, Fred Perry polo shirts and John Smedley three buttoned polo Knitwear.

Later around 1965 I wore hipsters, my favourite pair of hipsters were a Rupert Bear check in a camel colour that I wore with a polo neck or turtle neck sweater and desert boots. Also had a grey short Military coat, grey with a mandarin collar, centre vent and patch pockets. I wore this with a black polo neck sweater. Shoes I wore were mainly loafers, desert boots and bowling shoes. In the early sixties we used to wear striped or plain shirts with detachable collars which were fastened with a stud, it was very tricky as you had to fasten one at the front of the collar and one at the back, wore with slim knitted ties.

The Sixties Mod scene was brilliant we all liked the same sort of things, Fashion, Music, Scooters whether it be a Lambretta or Vespa, my preference was a Lambretta as they looked more streamlined. Mods also went Ten Pin Bowling, we had a local bowling alley where we used to go once a week, hence the bowling shoes being fashionable.

There was always something to talk about, always something new happening which is what the Mod scene was all about, and always somewhere to go whether it was clubs or a weekend trip to the seaside, which was a Mod thing to do. Also riding your scooter through the streets dressed really smart gave you a buzz!! Sometimes we had encounters with Rockers but it never ever come to much. The clubs were superb we all loved dancing with always a new dance to learn virtually every week. It was a really cool scene.

Drugs raised their ugly heads sometimes - they weren’t hard drugs though. Uppers and Downers were taken by some to get through all-nighters, and also Bluey’s which were a bit stronger. Not all Mods took drugs and neither myself nor my girlfriend now wife ever touched them.

This is how the scene was every one had there own taste and individuality and it changed all the time. All the Mods I knew were dedicated to the scene and what it meant.

Thanks to Sid for the article and photos ... also thanks to Claudio.