Hi and welcome to the latest newsletter where we dive into some of the Squire lyrics!
Last week, in the first instalment of our Squire lyrics deep-dive, we introduced the series by sharing the handwritten lyrics to "It’s a Mod Mod World," along with a glimpse into the initial inspiration behind the song - my sisters reminiscences of the 1960s mod culture jumbled with various images of ride outs, scooters, and the energy of the era. This week, I’m diving deeper into the song itself, reading between the lines so to speak, to connect its lyrics and themes to Mod subculture.
This is the first part of a thematic trilogy of songs exploring connections to the mod subcultures, identity, and rebellion. This week focuses on how "It's a Mod Mod World" seeks to mirror the joy and complexity of Mod life.
When I wrote "It's a Mod Mod World," I hoped to capture the vibrant essence of Mod culture—its energy, style, contradictions, and unrelenting dedication to living life in the moment. It’s a song that celebrates the Mod ethos, but it also gently critiques the consumerism and performative nature that often underpinned it.
While the inspiration for the song came from the 1960s, it was written in 1978, yet the similarities to what would emerge as the 1979 Mod Revival scene were uncanny.
The opening refrain, "Immediate reactions, fashion trends that catch on, it’s a mod mod world," sets the tone, capturing the fast paced teenage lifestyle and desire for the newest music, the sharpest clothes, the latest dance. The line highlights the cultural dynamism of the Mod movement: a constant reinvention of trends, a refusal to stand still. But beneath this celebration of the new was a paradox: to stay ahead of the curve often meant adhering to strict codes of style and behaviour. The subculture that defined itself as rebellious became a curated world of sharp suits, scooters, and neatly combed hair.
Much of the song’s imagery ties Mod life to specific places, making geography inseparable from identity. The lyric "Down to Brighton on my scooter with you, up to Box Hill on a Sunday afternoon" evokes the quintessential Mod experience of seaside Bank Holidays and weekend rides. Brighton’s beaches became iconic in Mod lore, not just for their scenic charm but for the infamous clashes with Rockers in the 1960s.
This picture from 19th April 1965 Bank Holiday in Brighton captures the essence of 1960s Mod folklore. The 1979 film Quadrophenia bought this drama back to life, giving the Mod Revival a sense of history repeating, with similar scenes playing out, substituting rockers for alternative subcultures such as punks and skins. As Stanley Cohen documented in Folk Devils and Moral Panics, these confrontations helped cement Mod identity through media representation and social reaction.
Box Hill, by contrast, perhaps reflects a more laid-back side of Mod life. A Sunday ride wasn’t just a journey; it was a statement. Mods didn’t just travel—they paraded, each scooter a canvas of individuality and style. This fusion of movement and spectacle mirrors what made Mod culture so captivating: it was always in motion, always on display.
While the lyrics mention Box Hill, what isn't explicitly referenced is the importance of the Box Hill Wimpy Bar - a key meeting spot for mods in the area!
Wimpy Bars symbolised aspirational modern living. As a symbol of American culture, they provided an affordable way for Mods to engage with the "jet age" lifestyle, blending American influence with British identity. Francis Friths 1965 picture above captures the Wimpy in the unlikely location at Box Hill, in the depth of the Surrey Hills. It provided a local connection to the aspirational urban lifestyle of London. The American diner concept, chrome, formica, fast service, was still novel in UK that was used to the ‘greasy spoon cafes’ of the older generation (for Rockers!). Dick Hebdige notes in Subculture: The Meaning of Style, Mods used such spaces to distinguish themselves from older generations while blending global influences into their identity.
Then there’s the line, "Down in Carnaby Street." Carnaby Street was the epicentre of Mod fashion in the 1960s, where boutique shops sold the cutting-edge looks that defined the movement.
To be a Mod was to see and be seen in places like Carnaby Street, where the streets themselves became stages for self-expression. This lyric anchors the song in the cultural geography that made Mod more than just a style; it was a way of life rooted in iconic places. Indeed, the importance of Carnaby Street as a location was revived in 1979 onwards as a Mod Mecca, and here we were in 1979, posing in Carnaby Street, a location that had become a tired 'rag trade' tourist destination, but chosen for its historic, if increasingly clichéd, Mod associations.
One of the most revealing parts of the song is the bridge:
"I’ve got a job as a junior hairdresser, I’m not the best, it’s not the most, but I stay ‘cos I want money for clothes."
The line came almost by accident. My sister described her first job after leaving school at 16. When asked why she didn't pursue hairdressing as a career, she blurted out, “I just wanted money for clothes!” That comment summed up first hand the whole 1960s emerging generation of teenagers with disposable income. They not only influenced the consumer revolution of the era but embodied its spirit. By rejecting the austerity of their parents’ post-war lives, Mods embraced style, music, and consumption as defining aspects of their identity, shaping both youth culture and the broader economy.
Dave Laing in One Chord Wonders identifies this tension between working-class reality and aspirational identity in youth subcultures.
Here lies the great contradiction of the Mod movement. While Mods rejected many societal norms, they were deeply embedded in the consumer culture of the time. Fashion wasn’t just a hobby; it was an identity. This lyric reflects the mundane reality behind the glamorous image. Many young Mods took on tedious jobs—as hairdressers, shop assistants, or clerks—purely to fund their obsession with looking sharp. Their rebellion against mainstream culture often required them to engage with it, working within its systems to finance their individuality.
This paradox highlights the tension in the song. There’s something both admirable and ironic about the commitment to style above all else. It’s a reminder that subcultures, no matter how rebellious, are often tethered to the very systems they critique. Mod was no exception, thriving on a mix of creativity and consumerism.
The second verse line—"It’s Ready, Steady, Go on my SX-200"—is a nod to the cultural staples that defined Mod life. Ready, Steady, Go! wasn’t just a weekly TV show, it was a dynamic mood board of Mod iconography, from scooters to pop visuals, that brought Mod music and style to a national audience.
The above episode introduces The Beach Boys, Motown, the latest fashion, a dance competition etc. All very ‘whats in, whats out, whats now’ - Immediate Reactions!. The intro sequence of scooters at the traffic lights overlayed with the title ‘Ready, Steady, Go, and statements like ‘The Weekend Starts Here’, perfectly captured the immediacy and energy of the Mod lifestyle. The imagery provides a ‘cookbook‘ of mod visuals that is still used today!
The Lambretta SX-200 scooter, like the music, was a status symbol, transformed into works of art with mirrors, chrome, and custom paint jobs. The scooter represented freedom, style, and mobility—an extension of the Mod identity. This lyric celebrates the exuberance of Mod culture, where every detail mattered.
While "It’s a Mod Mod World" is a celebration of Mod life, it’s also self-aware. The repetition of "immediate reactions, fashion trends that catch on" hints at the fleeting nature of trends. Mod culture was built on innovation and reinvention, but its reliance on fashion and consumerism made it inherently ephemeral. Styles that were cutting-edge one moment became cliché the next.
The line "It’s a mod mod world—today" underscores this temporality. By adding "today," the lyric acknowledges that Mod, like all subcultures, exists in cycles. It’s constantly being revived, updated, and reimagined by new generations. The 1979 Mod Revival embraced the spirit of the 1960s, while adding influences of post punk energy. Today, Mod culture still lives on world wide, mixing past and present concepts with geographical affordances, proving its enduring appeal and ability to reconfigure notions of style and culture. It is a way of life. Something we looked at in this video:
"It’s a Mod Mod World" is more than just a nostalgic look at Mod culture; it can also be read as a reflection on its vibrancy, contradictions, and lasting influence. The song celebrates the energy of Mod life while acknowledging its paradoxes. It’s about the joy of living in the moment, even if that moment is fleeting.
Next week, we’ll delve into the second of the ‘thematic three’ which celebrates mod culture, exploring how exclusive spaces and camaraderie defined the Mod experience—and what that means for identity and rebellion. Can you guess what song it is?
For now, I hope this glimpse between the lines of "It’s a Mod Mod World" captures the spirit of the song and the culture it celebrates.
All the best from Squire