Mods and Rockers

Although the term refers to any motorcycle enthusiast, sometimes the word "biker" is used to mean an outlaw biker, or bikie, who is a member of a 1%er or outlaw motorcycle gang. Numerous members are involved in criminal activity (firearms, recreational drug usage and/or sales, etc.). Outlaw bikers often ride heavy cruiser-type motorcycles. (Motorcycles in excess of 700cc displacement are considered "heavy," and "cruisers" are large, heavy bikes designed for relaxed travel that allow the rider to sit upright or lean back. A chopper is a motorcycle that has been stripped down—or "chopped"—to the bare essentials: engine, fra ...

Including:

• Biker - Motorcycle gang
• Biker - Outlaw Motorcycle Club

Read more here: » Biker: Encyclopedia - Biker

A motorcycle gang (also known as a biker gang) is a controversial term to describe a motorcycle club whose members (outlaw bikers and one percenters) are motorcycle riders, usually of Harley-Davidson or Triumph motorcycles. The term is primarily used by law enforcement officials. Major motorcycle "gangs" include: the Bandidos the Hells Angels the Outlaws the Pagans MC Other notable motorcycle gangs include: the Gypsy Jokers (US, Australia) the St ...

See also:

Biker, Biker - Motorcycle gang, Biker - Outlaw Motorcycle Club

Read more here: » Biker: Encyclopedia II - Biker - Motorcycle gang

Image:Rockerspete.jpg In the early 70s, as the British Rocker and hard core motorcycle scene fractured and evolved under new influences coming in from California, both Hippy and Hells Angels. The remaining Rockers became known as Greasers, not to be confused with the American usage of "greaser", and the scene had all but died out in form but not spirit. However, in the early '80s though, The Rocker Reunion Club was started by Len Paterson and a handful of original Chelsea Bridge Boys who held nostalgic Rocker Reunion Pissups [ ...

See also:

Rockers, Rockers - Music and Fashion, Rockers - Cultural Background, Rockers - Cafe Racers, Rockers - Rocker Reunion, Rockers - Rocker Jackets, Rockers - Modern Day, Rockers - Sub-cultural references

Read more here: » Rockers: Encyclopedia II - Rockers - Rocker Reunion

When Raggare first appeared, they caused a moral panic with concerns about the use of alcohol, violence, high speed driving and having sex in the back seat. These concerns usually had little merit and most raggare were actually quite peaceful. In 1959 the movie Raggare![1] covered the issue. Later on, Raggare often got into fights with hippies and in the 1970s also with punks, something described in the punk song "Raggare Is A Bunch Of Motherfuckers" by Rude Kids (and later re-recorded by Turbonegro). When Sex Pistols played in ...

See also:

Raggare, Raggare - Raggare History, Raggare - Raggare In Present Day

Read more here: » Raggare: Encyclopedia II - Raggare - Raggare History

London in the Elizabethan Era has often been portrayed in films, including Fire Over England (1937), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and Elizabeth (1998). Much of Shakespeare in Love (1998), a comedy involving Shakespeare in a fictionalised romance, was set around the original Globe Theatre, as was Laurence Olivier's 1944 Henry V. The Tudor period has also been shown in other films, including the 1966 film of Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons, and various ver ...

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London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Pre-Victorian London

The term was coined by Stanley Cohen in 1972 to describe media coverage of Mods and Rockers in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. A factor in moral panic is the deviancy amplification spiral, the phenomenon defined by media critics as an increasing cycle of reporting on a category of antisocial behavior or other undesirable events. While the term moral panic is relatively recent, many social scientists point to the Middletown studies, first conducted in 1925, as containing the first in-depth study of this phenomenon. In these stu ...

See also:

Moral panic, Moral panic - Origins, Moral panic - Examples

Read more here: » Moral panic: Encyclopedia II - Moral panic - Origins

Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the Greaser sub-culture was and is largely an American youth phenomenon, but had similar looking counterparts in other countries where Rockabilly music was followed. The 1950's and 1960s British equivilant to the Greaser would be the Rocker. Rockers evolved from the Ton-Up Boys and Teddy Boys ("Teds") of the previous decade. The term Greaser only came into use later when Hells Angels or hippy bikers started being the norm in the 1970s. In Australia and New Zealand, the term Bodgie was used for the same phenomenon. In Estonia - Lõngus ...

See also:

Greasers, Greasers - Different countries different names, Greasers - Revival, Greasers - External link

Read more here: » Greasers: Encyclopedia II - Greasers - Different countries different names

No longer considered a menace to society, the raggar-culture very much lives on in Sweden but in many ways it is still viewed in a negative light. Because of its mostly rural roots, Retro-aesthetics, and unusual (for Swedes) pro-American stance, Raggare are often (in urban areas and in pop-culture) seen as uneducated white trash with poor taste and a low-brow attitude towards sex. This is how they are normally depicted on film and television with the most famous modern example being the cult-characters "Ronny & Ragge", a pair of complete idio ...

See also:

Raggare, Raggare - Raggare History, Raggare - Raggare In Present Day

Read more here: » Raggare: Encyclopedia II - Raggare - Raggare In Present Day

Rockers are generally associated with 1950s and early 1960s-era Rock and Roll by artists like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry and the early Elvis Presley but a Rocker was a motorcyclist first and foremost not a mere fashion or youth music trend. Theirs was a style born out of necessity and practicality and they will generally be seen riding their motorcycles wearing a classic open face style of helmet and aviator goggles, especially the "pudding-basin" short style ...

See also:

Rockers, Rockers - Music and Fashion, Rockers - Cultural Background, Rockers - Cafe Racers, Rockers - Rocker Reunion, Rockers - Rocker Jackets, Rockers - Modern Day, Rockers - Sub-cultural references

Read more here: » Rockers: Encyclopedia II - Rockers - Music and Fashion

The Rocker of the 21st century has evolved from its humble working-class British beginnings more than 40 years ago and so has the fashion ; Full length motorcycle boots such as the classic Lewis Leather styles are still used, but Winkle Pickers, sharp pointed shoes are no longer so common. Engineer boots and Doc Martens being the norm. Brothel Creepers, thick crepe soled shoes, have worked themselves back into fashion, as originally worn by the " Teds " or Teddy Boys. Rockers continue to wear motorcycle jackets with leather trousers and the ubiquitous whit ...

See also:

Rockers, Rockers - Music and Fashion, Rockers - Cultural Background, Rockers - Cafe Racers, Rockers - Rocker Reunion, Rockers - Rocker Jackets, Rockers - Modern Day, Rockers - Sub-cultural references

Read more here: » Rockers: Encyclopedia II - Rockers - Modern Day

Image:Rockersannie.jpg Image:Rockerbikes.jpg Rockers are a sub-culture, even within motorcycling, that persists to this day and should not be confused with the similar looking Greasers, as in the American usage of the term, Psychobillys or Punks such as The Clash, The Ramones, etc., who have taken style elements from the Rockers. The British use of the terms Greasers/Rockers are fairly interchangeable. Strictly speaking, British Greasers being a short-lived development in the early 1970s somewhere between the original Rockers and the l ...

See also:

Rockers, Rockers - Music and Fashion, Rockers - Cultural Background, Rockers - Cafe Racers, Rockers - Rocker Reunion, Rockers - Rocker Jackets, Rockers - Modern Day, Rockers - Sub-cultural references

Read more here: » Rockers: Encyclopedia II - Rockers - Sub-cultural references

London has been a popular location for childrens' (and especially Disney) films over the last 40 years. The animated features Peter Pan (1953), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Basil, the Great Mouse Detective (known in North America as The Great Mouse Detective) (1986) were all set in the city, as were Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) ...

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London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Kids London

The Rocker Movement came about through a number of unique influences; the end of Post-WWII rationing in the UK and a general rise in prosperity for working class youth, the availability of credit and finance for young people, the influence of American popular music & cinema, the building of race track-like new arterial ring roads about British cities and the transport cafes which became their natural haunts. All of these coinciding at the same time as British motor engineering, and motorcycle industry, was still at the centre of world. Indeed, 1959 was the year th ...

See also:

Rockers, Rockers - Music and Fashion, Rockers - Cultural Background, Rockers - Cafe Racers, Rockers - Rocker Reunion, Rockers - Rocker Jackets, Rockers - Modern Day, Rockers - Sub-cultural references

Read more here: » Rockers: Encyclopedia II - Rockers - Cultural Background

London's subway system the Underground or 'Tube', has featured in several films. The plot of the 1998 film Sliding Doors hinges on whether Gwynneth Paltrow's character catches a particular Tube train or not. Bulldog Jack (1934), Manhunt (1941) and The Good Die Young (1954) all include chase sequences across undergound tracks. A number of horror films have also used the subterranean network of tunnels as an atmospheric location, most notably the John Landis hit An American Werewolf in London (1981), which co ...

See also:

London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - London Underground

The Ealing comedies of the 1940s and 1950s made particularly good use of locations in the city. Hue and Cry (1947) and Passport to Pimlico (1949) were memorably set in the ruins and bombsites of post-war London. In the 1950s The Lavender Hill Mob made extensive use of London locations, as did the dramas The Blue Lamp and Pool of London, while The Ladykillers used King's Cross Station and its surroundi ...

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London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Ealing Comedies

Edwardian London has been depicted in several films, notably the Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets in 1949, the Merchant Ivory E.M. Forster adaptation Howards End (1992) and the biopic Young Winston (1972). Wartime London has featured in many films, with The Man Who Loved Redheads and Zeppelin (1971) among those set during the First World War. The 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp covered 40 years in the city, including the Edwardian era, the First World War and the Second Wor ...

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London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - 20th Century

One of the most popular images of the city is the Victorian era of Charles Dickens, Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes. There have been almost 200 films based on the novels of Charles Dickens alone, beginning with the silent short film Death of Nancy Sykes in 1897. The most memorable of these are probably the musical Oliver! and the two David Lean films of Oliver Twist (1948) and Great Expectations (1946). Other film adaptations include David Copperfield in 1935 and 1969, Nicholas Nickleby in 1947 a ...

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London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Victorian London

The city has often been used as the backdrop for romances like Indiscreet (1958) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman and A Touch of Class (1973), and has become popular for romantic comedies in recent years. This is at least partly due to the television and film writer Richard Curtis, who has written some of the most successful British films of recent years — The Tall Guy (1989), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999) and Love Actually (2003), all set or partly set in the city. The ...

See also:

London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Romantic London

Alfred Hitchcock probably started the fashion for using London landmarks for spy films, starting with Blackmail in 1929, which was set entirely in the city and finished on the dome of the British Museum. Many of his other thrillers followed a similar pattern, including The Man Who Knew Too Much (both the 1934 and 1956 versions), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Stage Fright (1950) and Frenzy (1972). London has since featured in many other thrillers, including ...

See also:

London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Thrillers

Historic periods in the city's underworld have been portrayed in a small number of films. Examples include Where's Jack? (17th century), The First Great Train Robbery (Victorian era), Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (World War II) and The Krays (the 1960s), while 10 Rillington Place (1971) recreated 1940s London, filming in the actual street where John Christie carried out his infamous murders. Other films have evoked London's underworld in the modern era, including Robbery (1967), Villain ...

See also:

London in film, London in film - Historical London, London in film - Pre-Victorian London, London in film - Victorian London, London in film - 20th Century, London in film - Ealing Comedies, London in film - Swinging London, London in film - Romantic London, London in film - Thrillers, London in film - London Underground, London in film - Science fiction, London in film - Criminals, London in film - The other side of London, London in film - Kids London, London in film - Musical London

Read more here: » London in film: Encyclopedia II - London in film - Criminals