The suedehead subculture was an early-1970s offshoot of skinhead subculture in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Although sharing similarities to 1960s skinheads, suedeheads grew their hair longer and dressed more formally. Although often

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

like skinheads, some had

white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...

jobs. A female suedehead was a ''sort''. Suedeheads wore

brogues The brogue (derived from the Gaeilge (Irish), and the Gaelic ( Scottish) for "shoe") is a style of low-heeled shoe or boot traditionally characterised by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations (or "broguing") and s ...

, loafers or basketweave

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

instead of heavy boots. Suedeheads wore suits (especially in check patterns such as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and dogtooth) and other dressy outfits as everyday wear instead of just at dancehalls. Crombie-style overcoats and

sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictiona ...

coats became common. Most London Suedeheads wore a silk handkerchief in the chest pocket of their Crombie, which also had a circular tie-pin through the Crombie and the handkerchief. Shirts often had large button-down collars, usually either pointed or rounded, called Butterfly collars. The top shirts were Ben Shermans with a back pleat and top loop. Early on the most common style was a large windowpane check worn under a tank top (known as a sweater vest in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

). At the height of the era, shirts changed to muted pastel shades, with the colour being governed by the day of the week.

Sta-Prest Sta-Prest (a stylized rendering of "stay pressed") is a brand of wrinkle-resistant trousers produced by Levi Strauss & Co., beginning in 1964. Sta-Prest jeans are marketed as being wearable straight out of the dryer, with no need for ironing. ...

trousers became worn more than jeans, which had been common with skinheads. Although the most popular form of trousers were the 2Tone Tonic, which changed colour as they moved. The most common base colours were Blue and Green, whilst the most favoured secondary colours were Red, Yellow and Gold. Another characteristic was coloured socks—such as solid red or blue—instead of plain black or white. Suedeheads shared the skinheads' interest in

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, R&B,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

,Morrissey Gets It Off His Chest
/ref> but some suedeheads also listened to British glam rock bands such as Sweet, Slade and Mott the Hoople. In the late 70s, most Suedeheads closely followed groups such as The Beat and other artists on the 2Tone

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. Suedeheads were portrayed in the east end London-based film '' Bronco Bullfrog'' and the Richard Allen novel ''Suedehead''.Suedehead
/ref> In the late 1970s, a suedehead revival developed following the 1977 skinhead revival. This originated with a small number of individuals such as

Hoxton Tom McCourt 'Hoxton' Tom McCourt (born 1961) is the former bassist and bandleader of punk rock/Oi! band, The 4-Skins. He was one of the most influential members of the skinhead revival of 1977 to 1978, the mod revival of 1978 to 1979 and the Oi! movement f ...

, who also became involved with the

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 deca ...

of the late 1970s.

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

released a single called " Suedehead" in 1988, although the lyrics appear to have nothing to do with suedehead subculture. In the early to mid-1970s many Suedeheads also owned Lambretta scooters and there was a type of mini-mod revival. It was a crossover movement based on style, music, clothes and was most common amongst working-class teenagers living in the larger inner-city conurbations.

Footnotes

External links

filmnoirbuff.com

Skins, Suedes and Style from the Streets 1967–1973
{{Skinhead Skinhead Social class subcultures History of subcultures Working-class culture in the United Kingdom Social class in Ireland Socioeconomic stereotypes