Oi! Histroy Page 1
DEFINITION OF Oi!
Oi! - (Oy) - expletive. 1. Cockeny slang for "hello". 2. The best damn music on the planet.
CHAPTER 1:ONE INTERPRETATION OF THE BEGINING OF Oi!
Oi! music began in the late seventies after the advent of punk rock. When the first wave of punk hit, bands like Sham 69 and Cock Sparrer sang about life on the street while the Sex Pistols tried to start "Anarchy in the UK". Thus, reality punk or street punk began with Sham and Sparrer, as well as bands such as Slaughter and the Dogs and Menace.
When the Eighties hit and punk rock got a new lease of life, Oi! became a full fledged part of that movement thanks to the efforts of Garry Bushell, writer for Sounds, the British music paper. Bushell believed in punk rock as protest music and gathered all the street punk bands under the banner of Oi!. Bands such as the Business, the 4skins, Combat 84, InfaRiot, and the Last Resort burst onto the punk scene with their brand of reality. The beginning of "King of the Jungle" by the Last Resort says it all..."No Mess, No Fuss, Just Pure Impact!".Oi! music died down in the mid Eighties and in America, hardcore was what skinheads listened to. It must be said, however, that Oi! music is not just skinhead music. It's everyone's music. It's the music of the street and anyone who has walked down a city street and been looked down upon by some elitist bastard can relate to Oi!; anyone who has worked all day long as a wage slave can relate to Oi!; everyone who has ever felt different can relate to Oi!. Your every day Joe thinks Oi! music is racist in nature, but nothing could be further from the truth. Oi! music transcends race, color, and creed. Oi! music is about having a laugh and having a say, plain and simple.
So the next time you hear someone shout "Oi! Oi! Oi!" as you're walking down a city street, chances you're not hearing a Jew whose car has broken down (that would be "Oy! Oy! Oy vey!"). It's probably a skinhead, a punk, or just someone who loves the best working class music around...Oi!
CHAPTER 2: ANOTHER INTERPRETATION OF THE ORIGIN OF OI!
Oi! started pretty much in the latter part of '77 as a reaction to the more arty turn punk
had been taking at the time. It was an attempt to bring punk back to the subject matter
that affected working-class street kids' day-to-day life, and musically it was based on
early punk bands such as the Clash and the Ramones mixed with early british rock like the
Stones and the Who. The bands were often comprised of punks and skinheads, and the music
was always a favorite of skins'. At the time the term Oi! didn't exist as a musical
description, and this particular style of punk was called "Street-punk" or "reality-punk".
The original oi bands included Cock Sparrer, the Cockney Rejects, Angelic Upstarts,
Slaughter and the Dogs, Skrewdriver, the Lurkers and the most well-known was probably Sham
69.
Unfortunately, during this time many (but not all!) skinheads had been recruited by
right-wing, racist organizations such as the National Front, and the music began to be
associated with racism in the minds of many people, which is an unfortunate myth that
continues to the present day, with many mainstream histories of rock dismissing all oi as
being racist music. None of the original streetpunk bands were racist or espoused
right-wing politics with the exception of Skrewdriver, although they didn't make their
views public until the early 80's. (Their early material is considered to be classic oi by
most).
CHAPTER 3: THE ORIGIN OF "SKINHEADS"
Skinhead origins begin in Britain in the mid to late 1960's. Out of a youth cult known as the "Mods," the rougher kids began cutting their hair close, both to aid their fashion and prevent their hair from hindering them in street fights. These working class kids adopted the name "Skinheads" to separate themselves from the more dainty and less violent Mods. Huge groups of these explosive youths would meet every Saturday at the football grounds to support their local teams. The die hard support for a group's team often lead to skirmishes between opposing supporters, leading to Britain's legendary "football violence." When night swept the island, the skinheads would dress in the finest clothes they could afford, and hit the dance halls. It was here they danced to a new sound that was carried to Britain by Jamaican immigrants. This music went by many names including: the ska, jamacian blues, blue beat, rocksteady, and reggae. At these gatherings the skinheads would dance, drink, and laugh with each other and the Jamaican immigrants whom brought the music to Britian.
During the 1970's, there were many changes in the "typical" skinhead. For some fashion went from looking smooth in the best clothes you could afford with a blue-collar job, to looking like you were at home, even when you were out. For others the disco craze of the seventies hit hard, resulting in feathered hair, frilly pants, and those ugly2 seventies shoes. By the late 70's the National Front, Britain's National Socialist party, had invaded the skinhead movement. Kids were recruited as street soldiers for NF. Since skinheads were already a violent breed, the NF decided that if their young recruits adopted the skinhead appearance, the might benefit from the reputation. It was at this point that racism permeated the skinhead cult without the consent of its members.
Also by the mid 70's punk had put the rebellion back in rock-and-roll, opening a new avenue for street kids to express their frustrations. The shifting mindset brought kids into the skinhead movement as yet another form of expression. By the late 70's punk had been invaded by the colleges, and record labels, letting down kids who truly believed in its rebellion. From the streets came a new kind of punk rock, a type which was meant to be true to the working class and the kids on the street. This new music was called "Oi!" by Gary Bushell, and the name stuck. Oi! revived the breath of the working class kids. Because of Oi! music's working class roots, the media scorned its messages unlike they had done with the first wave of punk. With the change in music came a new kinds of skinheads, and the gaps between the different types widened. Aside from the National Front's skinheads, the movement had been simply a working class struggle, rather than a right-left political struggle. With skinheads forming their own bands, political lines began to be drawn on the basis of right-left and even non-political politics. Politically right groups were often associated with the National Front and had distinct racial messages. Leftist groups looked at the working class struggle through labor politics. Non-political groups often shunned both sides simply because they chose to be political. The Oi! movement consumed most of the 1980's and is still alive today.
Skinheads have spread to every part of the globe. Each country supports an independent history of skinhead goals, values, and appearances. The definition of "skinhead" varies from country to country, which doesn't say too much since it also varies from city to city. Starting in the late 80's, through present day, there has been a large resurgence back to the "traditional" values and appearance of the 1960's skinhead. This has occurred in Britain, America, as well as most of Europe. This has lead to even more tension, this time between "traditional," and "non-traditional" skins.
Chapter 4: Skinhead Style, "Clockwork" Skinheads???
The Skinhead style didn't change a bit until "A Clockwork Orange" opened. Although Stanley Kubric's movie was a far stretch from the Anthony Burgess novel, it captivated youth everywhere. Especially Skinheads. The trademark Bowler and cane that Alex wore became normal wear for the more violent Skins, and lovingly labelled "Clockwork Gear."
With the coming of Oi!, Skinhead style went more from high class to street combat clothes. Crombies were replaced with flight jackets, which were more sturdy in a fight, and the boots went from 8 eyes to 10 eyes. The traditional jean jacket still remained, as it was always good for a fight. Nationalists group came about at this point, taking young Skinheads, who were looking for a fight anyhow, and gave them a cause. In England, National Socialism might have seemed like a good idea, but it never worked in practice. Nationalist Skins began wearing 14 eyes and even 20 eyes in their boots. The term "Bonehead," which is used by traditional Skinheads to refer to Nazis, originally meant the bald Punk Rockers who claimed to be Skinheads after they shaved their heads and wore 20 eye Docs. Boots that high don't look stylish, and therefore were pretty much a Skinhead taboo. Anyone who wore them was generally considered to be fake, or just plain stupid, and was usually the victim of a beating.
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