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31-457: SHARP professes no political ideology or affiliation beyond the common opposition to racism. The group stresses the importance of the black Jamaican influence in the original late-1960s skinhead movement, much akin to Trojan skinheads . The original skinhead subculture started in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and had heavy British mod and Jamaican rude boy influences, including

62-586: A cultural influence like SHARP, much as its own appearance had been symptomatic of an American internal revolution in US skinheads' attitudes to race and their own subculture. An outgrowth of SHARP, Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH), formed in the United States in 1993 against anti-gay sentiment in the nonracist skinhead community. The original logo was an American flag surrounded by the SHARP lettering. The second SHARP logo

93-606: A few SHARP members. On his return to the United Kingdom , he designed a new SHARP logo based on the Trojan Reggae labels design and started promoting SHARP ideals to British skinheads. SHARP then spread throughout Europe and in other continents. In the UK and other European countries, the SHARP attitude was more based on the individual than on organized groups. In the 2000s, SHARP is thought to have become more of an individual designation than an official organization. Skinheads, especially in

124-420: A love for ska and soul music . Although some skinheads (including black skinheads) had engaged in " Paki bashing " (random violence against Pakistanis and other South Asian immigrants ), skinheads were not associated with an organized racist political movement in the 1960s. However, in the late 1970s, a skinhead revival in the UK included a sizable white nationalist faction, involving organizations such as

155-505: A response by suburban adolescents to the bigotry of the growing White Power Movement in 1982. Traditional skinheads (Trads) formed as a way to show that the skinhead subculture was not based on racism and political extremism. NYC Oi! band The Press and Jason O'Toole (vocalist of the hardcore punk group Life's Blood ) were among SHARP's early supporters. In 1989, Roddy Moreno of the Welsh Oi! band The Oppressed visited New York City and met

186-582: Is a British expression meaning hey . In addition to Cockney Rejects, other bands to be explicitly labeled Oi! in the early days of the genre included Angelic Upstarts , the 4-Skins , the Business , Anti-Establishment , Blitz , the Blood and Combat 84 . The prevalent ideology of the original Oi! movement was a rough brand of working-class rebellion. Lyrical topics included unemployment, workers' rights, harassment by police and other authorities, and oppression by

217-435: Is based on the logo of Trojan Records , which originally mainly released black Jamaican ska , rocksteady , and reggae artists. Some variants of this design also incorporate the checkerboard motif of 2 Tone Records , known for its multiracial roster of ska- and reggae-influenced bands. The way in which SHARPs dress is to project an image that looks hard and smart, in an evolving continuity with style ideals established in

248-618: Is generally between a 2 and 4 grade clip-guard (short, but not bald), in contrast to the shorter-haired punk -influenced Oi! skins of the 1980s. The phrase Spirit of '69 is used by traditional skinheads to commemorate what they identify as the skinhead subculture 's heyday in 1969. The phrase was popularized by a group of Scottish skinheads called the Glasgow Spy Kids, a play on the Glaswegian pronunciation of spike heads. A skinhead history book entitled Spirit of 69: A Skinhead Bible

279-538: The National Front , British Movement , Rock Against Communism and in the late eighties Blood and Honour . Because of this, the mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as neo-fascist . This new white power skinhead movement then spread to other countries, including the United States . Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice was founded in 1987 by Marcus, a skinhead from New York City. It emerged as

310-820: The Sex Pistols , the Ramones , the Clash , and the Jam with influences from 1960s British rock bands such as the Small Faces and the Who , football chants , pub rock bands such as Dr. Feelgood , Eddie and the Hot Rods and The 101ers , and glam rock bands such as T.Rex , Slade and Sweet . Although Oi! has come to be considered mainly a skinhead-oriented genre, the first few Oi! bands were composed mostly of punk rockers and people who fitted neither

341-498: The United States and ASEAN countries like Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia align themselves with groups and organizations to this day. Most of these would designate themselves as crews . Many strive for an individualist presentation with collectivist goals. As well they are generally imposed into community service, protesting, activism both violent and peaceful. SHARPs often take part of local mutual aid or activist groups such as Black Lives Matter or Anti-Racist Action , in which

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372-506: The Nazi connotations. He also denied knowing the identity of the skinhead on the album's cover until it was exposed by the Daily Mail two months after the release. Bushell, a socialist at the time, noted the irony of being branded a far-right activist by a newspaper that "had once supported Oswald Mosley 's Blackshirts , Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia , and appeasement with Hitler right up to

403-558: The Oi! genre, argued that the white power music scene was "totally distinct from us. We had no overlap other than a mutual dislike". The mainstream media increased its claims that Oi! was linked to far-right racist politics after an Oi! concert at the Hambrough Tavern in Southall on 4 July 1981 ended with five hours of rioting, 120 people being injured and the tavern being burnt down. Before

434-487: The concert, some audience members had written NF slogans around the area and bullied Asian residents of the neighbourhood. In response, local Asian youths threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at the tavern, mistakenly believing that the concert—featuring the Business, the 4-Skins and the Last Resort—was a neo-Nazi event. Although some of the concert-goers were National Front or British Movement supporters, none of

465-423: The early eighties SHARPs promulgated an anti-racist identity through small amateur fanzine publications like Hard As Nails . During the pre-Internet era, these publication established a network of likeminded individuals with similar musical and stylistic attitudes, who considered anti-racism an indispensable part of a living skinhead scene. Another strand of the same Trad revival sought to affirm explicit links with

496-404: The early punk rock scene were, in the words of The Business guitarist Steve Kent, "trendy university people using long words, trying to be artistic... and losing touch." Oi! became a recognised genre in the latter part of the 1970s, emerging after the perceived commercialisation of punk rock , and before the soon-to-dominate hardcore punk sound. It fused the sounds of early punk bands such as

527-414: The foundation of Mod subculture and its apolitical, black-positive standards of fashion. The scooter scene, with its runs and Northern Soul dances, had never gone entirely away; and in the post-punk rediscovery of the past, under the influence of The Jam and Quadrophenia , it seemed a fresh and self-renewing direction for skinhead itself to go in. By 1989, this Trad scene was ripe for the injection of

558-662: The government. Oi! songs also covered less-political topics such as street violence, football, sex, and alcohol. Some Oi! bands―such as Sam McCrory and Johnny Adair 's Offensive Weapon ―and fans were involved in white nationalist organisations such as the National Front (NF) and the British Movement (BM), leading some critics to dismiss the Oi! subgenre as racist . Other Oi! bands, such as Angelic Upstarts , The Business , The Burial and The Oppressed were associated with left wing politics and anti-racism , and others were non-political. Rock Against Communism (RAC)

589-513: The latter was even in part founded by skinheads, the most well known of which being Mic Crenshaw . The United States SHARPs scene has been entirely agitated by the racist overture and have resorted to all forms of anti-racism and anti-fascism to redeem their style and culture. Violence has been rampant within either of the Skinhead factions for decades now. Between fighting in Clubs and Venues as well as

620-465: The middle-to-late 1960s. This style and demeanour originated from the UK , growing out of the pre-existing mod movement, taking cues and influences from Jamaican ska and rude boy culture. They remain true to the style's original purpose of enjoying life, clothes, attitude and music. Trojan skinhead Trojan skinheads (also known as traditional skinheads or trads ) are individuals who identify with

651-408: The movement's philosophy tends to be either non- racist and apolitical , or left-wing or anti-racist , unlike the white power skinheads . Trojan skinheads usually dress in a typical 1960s skinhead style, including items such as button-down Ben Sherman shirts, Fred Perry polo shirts , braces , fitted suits , cardigans , tank tops , Harrington jackets and Crombie -style overcoats. Hair

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682-483: The original British skinhead subculture of the middle 1960s, when ska , rocksteady , reggae , and soul music were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod -influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label Trojan Records , these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaican rude boy and British working class roots. Because of their appreciation of music played by black people , such as skinhead reggae (also referred to as boss reggae),

713-585: The outbreak of World War Two." After the Oi! movement lost momentum in the United Kingdom, Oi! scenes formed in continental Europe, North America, and Asia. Soon, especially in the United States, the Oi! phenomenon mirrored the hardcore punk scene of the late 1970s, with American Oi!-originating bands such as the Radicals, U.S. Chaos , Iron Cross , Agnostic Front , and Anti Heros. Later American punk bands such as Rancid and Dropkick Murphys have credited Oi! as

744-522: The performers were white power music bands, and the audience of approximately 500 people included skinheads, black skinheads, punk rockers, rockabillies , and non-affiliated youths. In the aftermath of that riot, many Oi! bands condemned racism and fascism . These denials, however, were met with cynicism from some quarters because of the Strength Thru Oi! compilation album, released in May 1981. Not only

775-472: The skinhead nor punk label. First-generation Oi! bands such as Sham 69 and Cock Sparrer were around for years before the word Oi! was used retroactively to describe their style of music. In 1980, writing in Sounds magazine, rock journalist Garry Bushell labelled the movement Oi! , taking the name from the garbled " Oi !" that Stinky Turner of Cockney Rejects used to introduce the band's songs. The word

806-470: The skinhead subculture. By providing, for the first time, a musical focus for skinhead identity that was "white"—that is, that had nothing to do with the West Indian immigrant presence and little obvious connection with black musical roots—Oi! provided a musical focus for new visions of skinhead identity [and] a point of entry for a new brand of right-wing rock music. Garry Bushell, the journalist who promoted

837-556: The streets, from mosh pit shuffles to murder. The American scene has been alive and vibrant since the 80's. Some of the most well known Anti-Racist Skinhead crews include The Baldies Syndicate and American S.H.A.R.P (Colloquially known as A.M.S). Additional groups maintain active membership globally. Many people may confuse SHARP members with racists, since their appearance is superficially similar: shaved heads, denim, lace up boots, button-down shirts and suspenders (called braces ). One glib differentiation that might be imagined to separate

868-401: The two would be music interests. SHARPs may listen to culturally influenced music such as: soul, reggae, and ska; but also punk , hardcore and Oi! . Racist skinheads would disagree with some or all of these musical choices; but may listen to punk, hardcore, Oi!, as well as Nazi punk and National Socialist black metal . In a deliberate attempt to reject the growing racist subculture, since

899-407: Was a partial development from white power / white supremacist movements, which had musical and aesthetic similarities to Oi! Although due to Cold War fears the genre had appeal to some punk rock bands distinct from original Oi! in that they opposed all totalitarianism , but was not connected to the Oi! scene. Timothy S. Brown writes: [Oi!] played an important symbolic role in the politicization of

930-459: Was its title a play on a Nazi slogan " Strength Through Joy ", but the cover featured Nicky Crane , a skinhead BM activist who was serving a four-year sentence for racist violence (Crane later disavowed his alignment with the far right after revealing he was gay). Bushell, who compiled the album, stated its title was a pun on the Skids ' album Strength Through Joy , and that he had been unaware of

961-412: Was written by George Marshall, a skinhead from Glasgow, in the early 1990s. Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks , skinheads , and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was partly a response to the perception that many participants in

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