The Soul Stylists - Six decades of modernism - from mods to casuals Paulo Hewitt, Introduction by Paul Weller

This volume is a celebration of the Mods. With the use of personal testimonies of both the famous and the unknown, it seeks to establish the link between the two key elements of Modernism today - American rhythm and blues and British working-class fashion. It follows the transition of musical styles from London in the late 1950s, with the black American servicemen and their love of bebop, through the sharply dressed Mods of the early 1960s, to the dawning of the skinhead and suedehead movements which provided the musical and stylistic inspirations for 1980s bands such as Madness, The Beat and The Specials.

It also explores: Britain's Northern soul scene which saw thousands of youngsters in the North of England dedicate their lives to buying the most obscure American soul records; the soulboy and the casual