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Caffeine & Dexedrine

London 1968

By Rahman the WriterPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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It may seem wildly improbable now, but the coolly piratical, perma-addled septuagenarian and epitome of rock & roll decadence who’s also known to the Inland Revenue as: "Mr Keith Richards" (don’t say that last bit too loud or he may have a flashback and decamp to the tax haven and sunny enclave of Villefranche-sur-Mer again!), was once a frothy cappuccino away from being a "mod!" Clearly what was once the underground had now gone over ground, and so artists who had formerly led the way in this new cultural melting pot had been reduced to merely followers in the modernist slipstream; hoping to catch a scintilla or more of its noble newness and shine.

The High Numbers 1964, AKA The Who

But let’s define terms. The now widely accepted phrase that would go on to become the one true definition of modernism, which was quickly foreshortened to "mod" (because it seemed so much more elegant in its truncated version) has been attributed to one of the first metropolitan mods (although the dormitory suburbs in London’s surrounding "home counties" were catching on quickly) a proud proselytiser of all things mod: Pete Meadon. When he was pressed for a description of this new phenomenon by the typically slow-to-catch-on UK press, Meadon thought and considered for a moment and then enigmatically offered up the following: “clean living under difficult circumstances.” Meadon would go on to take on the Herculean task of managing The Who, but we can presume that his description of "clean living" was referring to mod’s obsessive love of "preppy" clothes and looking immaculate and "sharp," rather than its adherence to an abstemious lifestyle. Why? Because from a Friday evening to a Sunday morning, the vast majority of this new breed were powered by a synapse jarring combination of caffeine and Dexedrine; or to give this legal but available only via a doctor’s prescription its correct pharmacological name: dextroamphetamine or C9NH13.

'I'm the Face: The Official Pete Meaden Story'

The previously mentioned Who, when they were trading under their original nomenclature of the High Numbers, would barrel through electrifying sets at the Goldhawk Social Club or the Railway Hotel in West London. It was if they were plugging directly into the nation’s national power grid whilst "blocked" on little white pills or "black bombers," seemingly joined at the hip (pun intended) with their equally "wired" and wildly appreciative audience. At this point The Who were called the High Numbers, and so inthralled were they to mod culture were they that band’s principal songwriter, Pete Townshend, realising that every musical movement needs its rallying cry, went to the trouble of composing "I’m the Face," which as its title clearly suggests, was not just alluding to "the scene," they wanted to be the mod band.

On any given Friday evening or on a Saturday afternoon, you would find many of these 60s movers and shakers trying on beautifully cut Italian silk suits (maybe with a ticket pocket) and cycling tops in Carnaby Street boutiques such as: "Lord John," "Granny Takes a Trip" or Chelsea's "World's End." Some have argued that for the first time in history, the boys were now even more vain and style-obsessed about their clothes and hair than the girls! Historically, most clothes shops had been divided along gender lines, but because young men’s clothes were now bordering on the flamboyant, in both cut and colouration, the newer, hipper clothes shops were now catering for both girls and boys, and deemed these shops as being "unisex;" and sold Mondrian-pattern dresses and hoop earrings for the girls and block-heeled brogues for both boys and girls.

After buying a ruinously priced tonic three button suit (usually three buttoned and with a pocket square hankie) or a short black and white checked dress (profligate spending and consumerism were thus born!) there would be a boot around town on the meticulously maintained Vespa or SG scooter to the local Italian café to listen to Stax or Volt singles on a tinny jukebox to link up with ones "connection." The deal was done, it was on!

End of Part One—Let me know if you want to read more!

© 2017 Rahman the Writer contact: [email protected]

60s music
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Rahman the Writer

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