Mod Revival

Partly inspired by the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia, Mod staged a comeback in the late 1970s. Many '60s Mod bands relied on covers of R&B standards for material. The new Mods, however, wrote most of their own songs. Although still tuned in to the classic Motown sound, Mod's new sound was greatly accelerated, its Punk roots shining through the sharply pressed suits and skinny ties favored by its bands and fans. The Jam led the motorscooter-driven revival (again centered in England), carrying Mod into the charts and across the ocean to America. As in the previous decade, however, it never gained stateside mass appeal. By the time the Jam called it quits in 1982, Mod as a musical genre had passed its commercial prime. Detour Records in England, with U.K. bands such as the Circles and the Killermeters, helps keep Mod breathing today. Meanwhile, Chicago's politically-minded the Strike and San Diego's Odd Numbers prove the sound still exists, if quietly, in the states.