Trojan skinheads (also known as traditional skinheads or trads) are individuals who identify with the original British skinhead subculture of the middle 1960s, when ska, rocksteady, reggae, and soul music were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label Trojan Records, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaican rude boy and British working class roots.
Because of their appreciation of music played by black people, they tend to be non-racist.
Trojan skinheads usually dress in a typical 1960s skinhead style, which includes items such as button-down Ben Sherman shirts, Fred Perry polo shirts, braces,
… Read more fitted suits, cardigans, tank tops, Harrington jackets and Crombie-style overcoats. Hair is generally between a 2 and 4 grade clip-guard (short, but not bald), in contrast to the shorter-haired punk-influenced Oi! skins of the 1980s.
The majority of skinheads are not racists. The original skinhead subculture started in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s and had heavy British mod and Jamaican rude boy influences, including love for ska and soul music. Skinheads were not associated with an organized racist political movement until the late 1970s, when a skinhead revival in the UK included a sizable neo-nazi faction. Because of this, the mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as neo-fascist, which is not true.
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power skinheads, neo-fascists, and other political racists, particularly if they identify
… Read more themselves as skinheads. SHARPs aim to reclaim the multicultural identity of the original skinheads, hijacked in their views by white power skinheads, who they sometimes deride as "boneheads". Many people may confuse SHARP members with racists since their appearance is superficially similar. Beyond the common opposition to racism, SHARP professes no political ideology or affiliation, stressing the importance of the black Jamaican influence in the original late-1960s skinhead movement. The second SHARP logo is based on the logo of Trojan Records, which originally mainly released black Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae artists. Local SHARP groups have spread around the world in many countries.
Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH) is a left-wing anti-racist, anti-fascist skinhead group, formed in the United States in 1993. The RASH values direct action and self-defense against neo-Nazis. The movement has its origins in the multi-ethnic roots of the skinhead cultural identity. It has multiple chapters on all continents.
RASH and SHARP define themselves heavily on fashion, music, and violent opposition to white supremacist organizations. Their style of dress typically incorporates Dr. Martens boots, jeans, suspenders, bomber and Harrington jackets, short hair, and clothing produced by Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and Lonsdale. Musically, they are typically associated with punk, hardcore, oi, ska, reggae, and two-tone music genres.
Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. Oi! became a recognized genre in the latter part of the 1970s, emerging after the perceived commercialization of punk rock. It fused the sounds of early punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Clash, and the Jam with influences from 1960s British rock bands. Oi! has come to be considered mainly a skinhead-oriented genre and played an important symbolic role in the politicization of the skinhead subculture.
First-generation Oi! bands such as Sham
… Read more 69 and Cock Sparrer were around for years before the word Oi! was used retroactively to describe their style of music. The word "Oi!" is a British expression meaning hey or hey there! In addition to Cockney Rejects, other bands to be explicitly labeled Oi! in the early days of the genre included Angelic Upstarts, the 4-Skins, the Business, Anti-Establishment, Blitz, the Blood, and Cock Sparrers. The prevalent ideology of the original Oi! movement was a rough brand of working-class rebellion. Lyrical topics included unemployment, workers' rights, harassment by police and other authorities, and oppression by the government. Oi! songs also covered less-political topics such as street violence, soccer, sex, and alcohol. Some Oi! bands, such as Angelic Upstarts, The Business, the Burial, and the Oppressed were associated with left-wing politics and anti-racism, and others were non-political.