Ok, lets do this again without the swazi's. Bad juju. If there is one thing I have learnt in life is never discuss politics and religion with friends.
We don't normally post scans from old magazines but man, this was too good to ignore. Our friend Steve Rebuck mailed me a copy of Bikers 74, a UK publication by the English Libary from, you guessed it, 1974. He added the immortal line "I figured you guys would enjoy this" and he wasn't wrong. It comes as A4 size but folds out to A3, most of the photos are by Phil Mather. The English Libary are also responsible for trashy biker books like Chopper, The Leather Boys and the classic, Angels From Hell. Here is the first paragraph from the first page
"The motorbike-to the tens of thousands who ride one to and from work it's just a cheap form of transport; to the additional thousands who wheel gleaming machines out of garages at weekends it is a means of recreation; but, to the kind of biker you'll meet in this magazine, the motorbike means a lot more. It symbolises a whole freewheeling life-style which is a unique amalgam of speed, danger and excitment culminating when you're out there on the road tied to nothing but your bike-'like a castaway on a rushing island of machinery'. When you're going too fast into that hairpin or likely to come off at the next corner, there's no one to help you and you stand or fall by your own decisions. For the biker this is the ultimate high. For once he experiences the thrill of being in complete control of his own fate"
Right on brother.
Ted from the eyebrows up, greaser from the eyebrows down (2nd pic down).
ReplyDeleteThe English chopper scene ruled. In a weird way.
Anybody that has ever met somebody who's still got one of those concentration camp tattoos on their wrist knows how much swazis really
ReplyDeletesuck.
A busload of us punks went to see Splodgenessabounds at Manchester Poly in 1980 and about six bikers like the ones seen above came in and wreaked havoc on several hundred. I got hit in the knee with a beer bottle, a few got whacks to the head, eventually they ran off and we took that as a sign to give chase, one of my mates managed to grab one of their chain belts.
ReplyDeleteGood fucking times.
You have got to believe the Beeza still sits rusting in a shed somewhere just waiting for me...
ReplyDeleteWow, never meant to start a discussion or something, I personally won't judge anyone just for putting a swazi on his bike or something.
ReplyDeleteAll in all it's a symbol simply abused by the nazis, I just found it interesting, how differently this topic is treated /looked at in the UK/US and e.g. Germany, regarding WWII etc.
Here it's a total taboo, they even judge you or wearing wehrmacht-like helmets.