Zipping up the Zips Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scooters

Mods always rode scooters. Vespa or Lambretta were the two most popular makes and many were customised with mirrors, fringed saddles or custom paint jobs. Where rockers wore black leather jackets mods wore big parkas. On a night out separating a rocker from his black leather jacket was almost impossible.

A mod however would remove his parka to reveal a sharply tailored suit, often of Italian design. Although the roots of the mod culture can be difficult to define they were essentially working class, fashion conscious teenagers who preferred R & B or Soul to Rock and Roll.

Answer: Ace Cafe

The Ace Café first opened in 1938 to take advantage of the traffic on the then new North Circular Road. After suffering bomb damage during WW2 it was rebuilt, and re-opened in 1949. By the 1960s it had become the gathering place for motorcyclists. It was open 24 hours a day, it was on a long straight stretch of road, ideal for speed hungry bikers, and it often had live music. Rockers gathered there in large numbers.

It closed in 1969, but a rocker reunion movement started in the 1980s and the success of this led to the re-opening of the Ace in 1997. Rockers from all over the world now gather there to compare bikes, swap stories, and it is the centre from which many organised bike runs start during the summer months.

Answer: 59 Club

The 59 Club started life as a Church of England youth club in Hackney. In 1962 it added a motorcycling arm, and with good parking and premises that included a juke box and coffee bar. Bill Shergold, a motorbiking vicar, soon attracted hundreds of young rockers.

It moved to Paddington, and at one time had over 20,000 members. In contrast to the bad image often associated with rockers, members of the 59 club were viewed somewhat differently. Firstly the club was church run, which made a considerable difference, and the members became involved in charity work.

Many of the original members kept up their membership for the rest of their lives, and the club is still going in the 21st century. Bill Shergold remained president of the club until his death in 2009.

Answer: Brighton

There had been hostility between the two groups for some time, and 1964 saw it come to a head. March 1964 saw Easter Bank Holiday clashes at Clacton, but the Whitsun Bank Holiday at Brighton saw the major clash between the two groups. The weekend was fine and sunny and both mods and rockers decided to head for the beach. Brighton is a fairly easy run from London, and thousands of scooter and bike riders descended on the town. Before long the beach had become the scene of running fights, which spread through to Hastings and back to Brighton.

Not surprisingly this led to outrage in the press. Interestingly, despite the outwardly clean cut image, it was the mod sub-culture that took most of the blame with papers branding them knife wielding thugs.

The August Bank Holiday that year saw further sporadic outbreaks of violence at seaside resorts but after that the physical rivalry died out.

Answer: The Who

Rockers tended to prefer 1950s Rock and Roll music. Mods on the other hand liked Dave Brubeck, R&B and Soul. Whilst groups like The Rolling Stones and The Kinks originally had a mod following there were specific mod bands. These included the Small Faces and The Who.

These bands aimed their music at the mod culture and market. Whilst The Beatles originally dressed as mods they never really gained a following amongst them. Their music was too Rock and Roll influenced, and recordings such as "Roll Over Beethoven" a Chuck Berry original, did not appeal to mod tastes.

The Rolling Stones, thanks to their rebellious image, ended up as a rocker favourite band.

Answer: The Leather Boys

"The Leather Boys" starred Rita Tushingham, Dudley Sutton and Colin Campbell. It comes under the heading of "kitchen sink realism" but was considered daring for the time because it touched on the subject of homosexuality. It is based on a 1961 novel by Eliot George.

In the novel the relationship between the two main male characters is quite explicit, but in the film this was changed so that only one of the men was homosexual. In keeping with the views of the times, in the film the hero, Reggie (Colin Campbell), leaves Pete (Dudley Sutton) when he realises he is gay.

In the book the hero's wife is pregnant by another man, but in the film her infidelity is more obliquely referred to.

Answer: Amphetamines

The mod scene was associated with amphetamines. These were not normally taken to achieve a stupor or drug induced high, more to provide the energy for all night dancing at clubs. By 1964 it was illegal to possess or import these drugs, but this did not stop their use. Over the years the use of drugs to fuel all night dancing spread to Northern Soul clubs and on to modern day raves and night clubs. The drug of choice now though seems to be Ecstasy.

This was one of the reasons for hostility between mods and rockers. Rockers rarely if ever took drugs, preferring beer and cigarettes, and regarded drug taking as a filthy habit.

Answer: Quadrophenia

"Quadrophenia", released in 1979, is loosely based on the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. It is not a musical, but the soundtrack featured some of their songs and there are various references to them during the film. The central theme is the rivalry between mods and rockers and the violent clashes this caused, culminating in the infamous riots in Brighton.

It also shows how disillusioned with their life many young people of the time were. The hero of the film, Jimmy, played by Phil Daniels, is fed up with his parents, his job, his mundane life. Only his membership of a group of mods makes his life seem worthwhile. Even that though deserts him when a mod he meets who seems the epitome of the lifestyle turns out to work as a humble bellboy in a hotel.

Answer: Abstract print mini dress

Fashion in the 1960s was very different from anything that had gone before. Abstract print mini dresses, popularised by Mary Quant, and imitated by every High Street clothing store, with coloured tights and either kitten heel shoes or knee high white boots were a typical mod girl outfit. Hair was normally worn in a short bob with a middle parting, or long with middle parting, and a straight fringe at eyebrow level. Cathy McGowan, who presented the TV music show "Ready, Steady, Go" from 1964 onwards, was often referred to as "Queen of the Mods". She epitomised the fashion of the times.

Leather and jeans were strictly for the rocker girls, who wore pretty much the same outfits as their male counterparts.

Answer: Hippie

By around 1966/67 the mods and rockers culture and rivalry had all but disappeared. People still rode scooter and motorbikes and still met up in groups to go for a Sunday ride to the seaside, but it was for pleasure and nothing else. The hippie movement that started in America spread to Britain. All over the country teenagers embraced the culture of peace and love. Mini skirts gave way to long floaty dresses and flowers in the hair. Music festivals began with Woodstock and rapidly spread across the Atlantic and everyone decided to make love not war.