Books Features

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Note that I independently write and research everything in this article. But it may contain affiliate links.

If you didn’t secure one via the Kickstarter project, you can now buy the Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney online.

Yes, it is another book on mod and yes, they seem to come out almost monthly these days. But this isn’t just a book on mod. Welsh Mod: Our Story is a labour of love with a very specific focus. Not just another rehash of London in the 1960s.

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

 

Specifically, this is a high-quality photographic book telling the Welsh side of the mod subculture story by documenting its roots and revival in Wales from the 1960s up to the present day.

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

 

The book includes interviews with those who were part of ‘the scene’ (if you want to call it that) in the 1960s such as Welsh-born fashion designer Jeff Banks, Amen Corner’s Andy Fairweather-Low and mod & psych band The Eyes of Blue. It then moves into the revival period with Bryn Gregory from Beggar and The Co-Stars and award-winning Welsh writer and film director Jonathan Owen.

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

 

But this is not just a book about name-dropping famous faces. The life-blood of this book is made up of ‘first person’ stories from club night promoters, record collectors, vintage clothes traders and scooter enthusiasts across Wales. The people who make a scene what it is.

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

 

The book also explores why the South Wales valleys, in particular, seemed to spawn a massive mod revival in the late 70s and 80s. How ‘valley’ life, with its small clusters of towns and villages, many with their own Italian cafes favoured by the mods, was the perfect playground for young mods who wanted to make something of themselves.

All these stories in people’s own words are told against a backdrop of stunning photography by Bafta Cymru-winning Welsh cameraman and photographer Haydn Denman. You can see some of his photography right here as a ‘taster’.

Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney
Out now: Welsh Mod: Our Story book by Claire Mahoney

 

There has never been a book of this type that pays tribute to the mod scene in Wales. This will be a first and quite possibly the final word too, offering a uniquely Welsh take on the mod subculture and will appeal anyone interested in photography, fashion, subcultures and of course, Wales. But above, with an interest in mod.

The book costs £25 and is available from the Welsh Mod site right now and presumably available to your door before Christmas.

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