I love these photos from the Caxton Mod Club 1967. Quite rare to see inside a 1960s club too. Cameras were rarely taken out back then.
There is so much to potentially talk about, but the one thing I don’t have is detail. There is so little background and context available for these.
The mod photos were sent to me some years back and to my shame, I didn’t ask enough questions at the time. I should have interviewed the photographer and the owner of these snaps, but instead, I asked a couple of basic questions, confirmed permission to use them on the site and that’s about it. I have lost the contact details of the owner too. Which is equally annoying for me. If I could turn back time it would be so much different.
What I do know is that the photos were taken back in 1967, which is interesting in itself. Mod-ern folklore dictates that the mod scene was pretty much over by the time of the beach fights in 1964 and by ’67, psychedelia was working its way into popular culture, with the more ‘street’ skinhead soon to follow.
But in reality, mod thrived much later. Think about northern soul. That was an offshoot of the mod scene in the north of England. Kids were still dancing to soul music in clubs like the Twisted Wheel, with the scene eventually mutating into the northern scene of the 1970s and indeed, today.
In the Victoria district of London, a similar thing was happening too. Kids were still dancing to soul and looking every bit like the kids of 1964. I have seen a couple of later photos that suggest it didn’t last. Time caught up with the club, which stayed a youth hangout, but perhaps less of a mod haunt.
So enjoy the Caxton Mod Club photos, which are a short-lived snapshot of the era and the area. If you have any similar photos, please do get in touch. And this time I will ask the right questions.
Update: There is a blog here with plenty of background detail about the club and what it was about in the mid-to-late 1960s. An invaluable resource and background to the photos you see here.
Fantastic set of historically important photos.
How I wish someone had taken a camera to the Wheel in Manchester back in the 60s but I’ve never heard of any photos. To have shots of the regular crowds and even performers such as Stevie Wonder or Junior Walker on stage. Too many others to mention. Ah well at least it’s great to have been there and have the memories