Torbay Mod Squad 1979 Paignton and Torquay Mods, 1979 Mods Torbay based in The Mermaid Paignton,Paignton and Torbay Scooter Club

BANCOURT REUNION A few pictures but we need more

NEW PICTURES GALLERY 11 A few pictures from Ash

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I'm having abit of a think now as to where to take the site next. Now the reunion has come and gone, there is a natural low point. So any ideas gratefully received. It does look like there is a demand for another next year.

So what's next for 2010.

Well there is Ian's Mod Nites at the The Prem Cru , hoping this will be a regular monthly event.

The film club has gone down well and will continue on a monthly basis, I'm hoping to combine this with the scooter riders amongst you, ( in warmer times ) so it becomes a focal point once a month for a coffee/drink chat and a cool film.

I believe there is to be another Northern Nite by Steph and Rob.

We are looking into a soul/disco nite for the old timers, to run monthly / bi monthly. ( non Northern )
This will be an open nite for all, and will cater for a wider audience.

And last but not least, The League of Gentlemen Scooter Club, Join up to the Facebook group and lets get a couple of ride outs, if you're interested email me your mobile number and I will add you to the text list so you can stay up to date for what's going on.

It was 30 years ago this year that Quadrophenia was released onto the British youth, I remember the group of lads going to the cinema in Paignton ( which is gone now under yet another building blight next to Paignton bus station ) and feeling the excitement it generated with the youth of that time. There were a couple of scooters buzzing around in mid 79, but towards November and later the scooter scene really kicked off, and the hub was the Mermaid, Paignton seafront. My first sighting of a scooter was at the Youngs Seafood factory near Roselands. We went to a works night there and I remember Peter Howorth ( spelling ? ) and some friends with a Lambie outside. Well that was it, I knew I had to get one. This would have been around November 79, at 17 we were the young ones.

So, off we went to the charity shops, which were still really cheap and full of unsorted clothes from the sixties, the one i remember best was opposite Crofts Motors in Winner Street, ( it was only ten or fifteen years since the mid 60s so the clothes were still around )

Kitted out with cheap suits that probably stank of old people we arrived at the Mermaid, this was like the Wigan Casino to us, it was rammed, Mods from all over knew about the Mermaid and the music was great.
Around the time Green Onions was released, along with The High Numbers, Im the Face.

The challenge was on though, could we get in? At 17, we were under age and remember that gutted feeling I saw on peoples faces as they were turned away,it still lurks in my mind. But we were young and selfish, it was tough and I was in. The sense of belonging to something bigger has never really been replaced in all these years, ( actually it was the same feelings as I found in the skate boarding days on Paignton sea front, many of the skaters went into the Mod scene later on, but that's another story and perhaps another web site ) the sight and sound of the Mods and being a Mod is embedded as clearly now as it was then.

It wasn't long before a trip to the Midlands saw me in my tonic grey and gold suit, very quickly followed by a trip to Bristol to buy my parka, which I believe was £18.
That was it, apart from the ultimate Mod symbol, the scooter, my scooter, its beginnings were humble, a black Vespa 90, which cost £25.00 if memory serves me correctly, I bought it from some lad who lived in Great Western Close, where the old train storage lines were, just down from where the old train turntables on the sea side of Clennon Valley. It had a goat skin seat cover, my own idea, I painted the front wheel like a target, painted the speedo silver, cos it didn't work, and was seen in all weathers hurtling around the roads of Torbay.
There were times though that I realised having a 90cc Vespa had its drawbacks, one memorable time was driving back from Newton Abbot being 'chased' by a biker, who in the end got off outside the, now, Motor Home Garage on the Newton Road, waving a knife at us, and trying to stab me as I drove past. Fun days indeed.
It's hard to believe now, but you couldn't drive around towns like Newton Abbot or Brixham without getting a lot of grief.

So Christmas 1979 was coming. I had it all, tonic suits, loafers with white socks ( of course ), skinny ties and my dads Fred Perry.

I was someone. I was a Mod.

Anyone interested in a Burlesque Nite in Exeter ?
Visit the organisers site in the link below.

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TIME FOR ACTION ! Get in Contact - It's doesn't hurt and it won't cost you a penny.

If there are still people around who remember the Mermaid days, it would be great if you could scan your photos even if it's a few and send them to me at tq1@mac.com even better if you could write a few words about what you remember from those lovely times, if you remember the later days of the South Coast Numbers and Breach of the Peace or even The Mealers, The Dealers and The Reelers send them as well, it would be great to hear from you.
Some names to spark a few memories.

Please forgive spelling mistakes it's been a long time.

Made contact with the following

Torbay Mods 1979

Claiming the past

Friends who have made contact - Click here

Friends still to find - Click here