Now, this is an interesting idea – Mod Ghosts: Revisiting The Places And The Faces is a book about the past and the present of mod.
The book by Andy Morling has been mentioned on social media for a whole now, but I have just managed to get some firm details and a mock-up of the cover when it lands.
It isn’t, as you might think, some kind of horror story. The book is actually about the mod revival of 1979 and beyond.
The book charts how mod entered then shaped and coloured the lives of a generation of British youth both then and as the years passed.
But according to the man behind it, this is:
‘Not a mod book. it is a book about mod. It is also a book about urban life, social evolution, identity, belonging and the never-ending task of growing up.’
By juxtaposing original photographs and first-hand accounts from the period with shots of the same location in the present day, the book attaches a series of commemorative plaques to the ordinary places where ordinary moments, lived by ordinary young men and women combined to make an extraordinary subcultural phenomenon.
The intention is to demonstrate how the urban landscape has altered over four decades and the impact mod has had on its participants in the present day.
If you want a copy of the 256-page full colour book, you can pre-order one of the first 500 right now ahead of the October print date. Each one is described as a ‘beautifully bound hardback collectors volume’ and each will be individually signed by the author and sent to you ahead of the official print date if you pre-order.
The price is £25 plus postage and you can find out more and order at the Mod Ghosts website.
Update: It is now available to order at Amazon as well.
