Tribes Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion

This programme contains some strong language.

British rock and pop music is our great gift to the world,

at the heart of the irrepressible creative brilliance of Britain.

But it's never just been about the music,

it's been about the style that goes with it.

To me, they always go together.

The look has to match the music.

The sounds fused with dazzling visions.

The costumes and the music was quite an onslaught.

Our rock and pop idols

have joined forces with the most creative minds in fashion

to astonish us.

You've got this '70s thing of the huge collar.

It's laughable now.

They came up with looks of effortless cool...

It had this gentrified look

with a bit of anarchy.

Red socks, red jumper, Hush Puppies -

mod. Done.

..and eye-catching craziness.

Ended up with me being caught in a bulldozer in a beehive hat.

# I'm on another planet with you... #

There was a review that said that I looked like a demented spider.

Through the love affair between our music and our fashion,

we've expressed ourselves.

I did wear knickers underneath,

I mightn't have worn a bra.

# I'm on another world with you... #

You zip up the suit, you start to change into Suzi Quatro.

# I'm on another planet with you... #

We've shocked each other...

The butterfly isn't a butterfly,

it's actually an ejaculating penis.

# Another girl, another planet... #

It's allowed us to believe in something...

What we were trying to portray was that black and white people

can be in the same band and really get along together.

..and to belong to something.

We looked hard, and it fitted with everything that we want to be.

Music to fall in love to.

Clothes to get in trouble in.

At some time in our lives,

we've all delved into this fabulous dressing-up box.

British music and fashion have come together

to build a thriving industry,

to show us at our most outlandish,

give us a sense of proud identity

and send a thrilling message

of what it means to be British.

A glorious summer day on the streets of Great Britain.

The perfect time to indulge in a little style spotting.

# Oh! You pretty things... #

But look closer and you'll find sartorial traces

of the tribes of our musical past.

# Oh! You pretty things... #

A nod to mod.

A snarl of the punk.

Rockers and rude boys.

The shadow of goth.

But to understand why this golden past still matters,

we have to go back to where this all began -

to the wonder years of our pop and rock story -

the mid-'60s.

These are the years when exhilarating new music

was first entwined with fresh, shocking fashion,

and shops that brought style to hungry young consumers.

But it's a story that starts with a long-forgotten movie.

There he is!

Dateline Diamonds was a cops and robbers caper

that was never going to trouble the Oscar judges.

But, it had two things going for it.

And now... The Small Faces!

AUDIENCE SCREAMS

There was some great music,

and some great clothes.

# I just sit here every day

SCREAMING

# Thinking what she'll have to say

# When she reads this letter... #

The Small Faces were still an up-and-coming band,

and Dateline Diamonds a promotional ploy for their second single -

I've Got Mine.

# ...This hurt deep inside, baby

# But no-one knows it cos I got mine, baby... #

Yeah, I remember this.

It's incredible.

We were all so young then.

The Small Faces' appearance on the big screen

marked them out from many bands doing the rounds

of television pop shows.

The Small Faces were figureheads

of the coolest scene on Britain's streets -

mod.

They showed off the clothes of a sharp, aspirational,

working-class style movement -

three-button mohair jackets...

..tightly cut trousers...

..button-down shirts...

..desert boots

and refined leather shoes.

Kenney Jones was the drummer in Britain's best-dressed band.

That's a grey Caravelle.

I used to have a Caravelle in every different colour I could get hold of.

That's a turquoise green suede jacket that I had made.

Lots of tailors where you can have things made,

which is why I had this jacket made.

So it was red socks, red jumper - boom - Hush Puppies. Mod.

Done.

Signed, sealed and delivered.

ORIGINAL VOICE-OVER: The Small Faces...

a group who've recently risen to the top,

and have to work long hours to stay there.

The Small Faces were managed by a man called Don Arden.

He had the looks of Tony Soprano

and, let's say, a reputation to match.

If I've ever exploited anybody,

it's for their own benefit.

Because they want to be exploited.

I never exploit anybody that doesn't want to be exploited.

With his eye on the bottom line, Arden came up with an idea.

He would pay The Small Faces not in cash,

but in clothes.

It was an offer the band couldn't refuse.

We weren't getting paid any money, so every morning I'd wake up and go,

"Right, I'm driving up to Carnaby Street," and I'd have about

three or four suits and I'd buy as many shoes as I can.

In the back of car and that was it. I didn't need them, just...

You know, it was the only way we could get any money from Don Arden.

When it came to style, the man who the band entrusted to deliver

maximum mod smart was Warren Gold.

Don't nick all his money. He's a hard-working man.

-Thank you very much.

-He'll look after you.

£139.95.

He was a typical, you know, Jewish...sort of rag trader guy...

We knowingly undercut the likes of John Lewis...

..and he's still...buzzing, like he normally does, yeah.

Put that on my bill, Melvin. It's complimentary.

Back in the '60s, Warren ran the boutique Lord John.

Right in the heart of Carnaby Street,

it was a haven for the biggest stars of the day.

Ben Sherman, Bill Wyman... John Lennon used to come in.

There's a cape I made for him. Sadly, he didn't ever pick it up.

He died rather abruptly.

MUSIC: Here Come The Nice by The Small Faces

# Here come the nice looking so good

# He makes me feel like no-one else could... #

This amazing footage captures Kenney

and the band filling their boots in Lord John.

Yeah, The Small Faces used to come in every day.

We loved it.

We did some nice business with them and enjoyed taking their money.

They were quite creative guys -

not only with their music, but also their clothes.

The Small Faces were pioneers of the bond between music and fashion,

and they saw it catch the imagination of a youthful Britain.

It was like a fusion of style and sound that came together.

Whenever we arrived at a gig, everyone was wearing our clothes.

MUSIC: Tin Soldier by The Small Faces

The music was good but the look was everything.

I was pretty obsessed by The Small Faces' wardrobe, if you like.

John Hellier was a fanatical mod who went to extraordinary lengths

to copy the style of his idols, The Small Faces.

You know, I'd buy, sort of, the girlie mags of the day,

things like Fab 208 and Jackie, just for a picture of whatever

Steve and Ronnie were wearing,

then I'd get on the train up west, trying to buy a shirt or a jacket.

This shirt is a particular favourite of mine and it's an Italian shirt.

The edging on the collar, very, very mod.

That sort of pointed look, you know.

That's a fad but it's typical '60s collar.

I mean, to me, that's a thing of beauty, you know.

If I wasn't wearing it, you could hang that on the wall.

John had grown up in the austerity of post-war Romford, where mod

was a wondrous release.

And like all the young mods, obsessed with clothes

and shopping, he was embracing a new male narcissism,

a passionate desire to team the right music with the right clothes.

It was all to do with attention to detail, matching the colour

of your belt with the colour of your shoes and things like that.

Things that most people wouldn't even dream about.

I remember, on several occasions, standing up in an empty

railway carriage just so as not to spoil the crease in my trouser.

Wearing white jeans and colourful tops like this, you know,

you've got to be used to getting a few wolf whistles

from the building sites and things like that.

You know, it just was all part and parcel.

In fact, if you got wolf whistles from the building site,

you knew you looked good.

Cut.

# This is a modern world

# This is the modern world... #

Mod is one of the most iconic of British music looks...

# What kind of a fool do you think I am...? #

..revisited constantly,

shaped and adapted by generations of designers and musicians.

But the marriage of music and fashion

wasn't just for the cool boys.

The girls were finding their own style.

# When we walk down the street... #

It would transform the lifestyles of millions, and show

the inspirational power of the nation's new pop culture princesses.

And now, this year's Royal Variety Performance...

The Royal Variety Performance, 1964.

This was the highlight of the light entertainment year,

when the stars of showbiz did a turn at Her Majesty's behest.

The usual suspects were there - Morecambe and Wise

and Gracie Fields.

But waiting backstage was a 21-year-old girl.

She knew that what she wore that night was every bit as important

as the song she was about to sing.

This was to be the biggest performance of her life.

# You're my world You're every breath I take... #

'Oh, I'm very nervous.'

You can tell by the vibrato in my voice.

# With your hand

# Resting in mine... #

Cilla Black's floor-length dress with its loose fit and long sleeves

seemed inoffensive enough.

But it was, in fact, a daring style statement...

..because it came from a designer known more for high-street fashion

rather than haute couture.

# End of my world... #

'I loved that dress,

'because it epitomises, really, what the '60s were all about.

'It was instant fashion. Throwaway fashion.'

And for those in the know,

Cilla's sassy little number could only have come from one place.

'She's one of London's top fashion designers,

'and an influential arbiter of style.'

Barbara Hulanicki and her assistant, Rosie,

ran the fashion label Biba.

# Hey, how have you been?

# Long time, no see

# Say, you're looking good... #

You know, Biba clothes are so rare now.

I've got a few sort of left over, '30s-inspired. Very, very shiny.

And this here is the leopard skin that kept going and going

-until the end. The shoulder pads.

-Oh, yes.

As designer, it was Barbara who was tasked with creating Cilla's dress.

Cilla came in and, gosh, do you know, I was so nervous?

I never knew that.

I never knew Barbara was nervous at doing the dress at all!

Honour is a private matter within. It's an idea,

and every man has his own version of it.

No wonder she was nervous - her inspiration was medieval menswear.

It was definitely inspired by something that Richard Burton wore.

New little invention.

It's for pronging meat and carrying it to the mouth.

The biopic of the 12th-century saint Thomas Becket

was a smash hit of 1964.

And what fired Barbara's imagination was a dashing Richard Burton

in fetching velvet.

For my barons...

They all wore that sort of shape and that ornament...

-Down the centre.

-Yes. Yeah. Sort of Y-shape.

My Lord, this is a stupendous honour, for which I may not be worthy.

BARBARA GIGGLES

Actually, it looks much better than I remember it.

For Cilla, it sealed her love affair with Biba.

Well, this is a Biba dress.

Can you believe I wore this?

And what size is it?

Oh, size six! Oh! Gosh.

I couldn't even get me leg in there now.

And it's see-through, as well!

What was I thinking of?!

Could I get away with it today? No.

No!

I did wear knickers underneath.

I mightn't have worn a bra.

SHE CHUCKLES

Onstage and off-stage, Biba and Cilla were a perfect match.

And Biba adorned our pop darlings and models.

But by bringing out new designs every week and selling them

at affordable prices, this wasn't high fashion for the few,

but high-street fashion for everyone.

# Step inside, love

# Step inside, love... #

There was nowhere to shop for your own age group,

and there was all this huge market that was coming in to London

who had jobs and they had cash to buy clothes, and they had sort of...

They were only sort of like £9 a week,

and £3 went on the bedsit,

£3 a week went on food, and £3 went on Biba.

What Biba with tapping into was a demographic explosion -

the female side of the post-war baby boom generation.

There were half a million more young women in Britain than there

had been in the '50s...

..and most of them were in work

and spending their wages on the high street.

Biba's signature was cool, cute clothes for skinny girls,

often in rich, autumnal colours and soft fabrics.

And there were miniskirts. Lots of miniskirts.

Jackie Jackson-Smith was one of those bitten by the Biba bug.

She'd grown-up in Cambridge, and in 1966

she made her first pilgrimage down to that mythic place.

We went down by train to this fantastic boutique, which was

dark when you went inside

and just felt like a forbidden nightclub sort of atmosphere there.

Wonderful.

And for a girl like Jackie, what she found at Biba was a revelation.

Until then, we made most of our clothes ourselves.

My first date, I looked like a deckchair,

and that was the way we were.

And then, when we came on this sort of thing, suddenly you were actually

able to have the most fantastic clothes that were affordable

and yet were very in, very with-it.

But of all the clothes she bought at Biba,

one outfit holds a special place in her heart.

This is typical Biba.

Lovely, big, flowing sleeves.

Bare midriff,

fantastic trousers...

..that kind of swirl out.

This is what Jackie chose to be married in.

It was not at all typical.

I'm not sure who else would have got married in something like this.

Certainly it shocked - once again, quite pleasingly, probably, for me -

shocked the grandparents, who...

Particularly my grandmother on my mother's side, I remember, said,

it made me look like "one of those".

I don't know what "one of those" was.

SHE LAUGHS

For Jackie, this outfit was her own personal statement

of the freedoms afforded to her during the '60s.

We were the baby boomers, weren't we?

We were the ones that actually became teenagers

and we didn't have to straightway be little adults.

We could be ourselves, we could dress for ourselves.

We could shock if we wanted to. We had independence.

We have a little bit of money.

You know, I suppose our parents couldn't do that -

they were in the war, but my father was very happy to see us.

You know, he said that's what he fought the war for,

is that we should be able to have our freedom, wear short skirts,

wear long hair, have the clothes like the Biba clothes that we wore.

And he was proud to see us being such with-it, happy teenagers.

He loved it.

# Why don't you stop and look me over?

# Am I the same girl you used to know...? #

This moment stitched together for ever music and fashion,

and the sheer joyful pleasure of going out shopping for something

to wear to that party or that club.

But in 1968, the innocent exuberance of the Biba years was

disturbed by a voice

from the dark side.

I am the god of hellfire and I bring you...

# Fire

# I'll take you to burn... #

That summer, the god of hellfire himself reached number one

in the charts...

..and was beamed into millions of homes across the land.

Who is that?

# You're gonna burn! #

With his burning helmet and ghoulish face paint,

this was about as far away from Cilla Black as you could get.

Our appearance was quite shocking.

I had quite a few people coming and saying,

"My parents locked me in the bedroom after the first verse."

This terrifying vision came from the crazy mind of one, Arthur Brown.

These days, Arthur has swapped the gates of hell for a yurt

somewhere in the Sussex countryside.

Though many years have passed,

he can still recall how his creation took shape.

I was playing in a club in France.

One morning, I came out of my rather seedy hotel and there was a trunk.

There was a crown with candles in it,

so I wore it down at the club and I realised that that was quite a...

Oh, the audience really loved it.

-# I put a spell on you...

-#

But the crown was just the beginning.

He embellished his appearance, taking inspiration

from African tribal masks

and Native American headdresses.

All this imagery came to bear on the god of hellfire.

There was a spirit of that age which was...opening the mind,

opening the consciousness to all kinds of ideas,

all kinds of artistic expression,

and there was a large number of people who were receptive to that.

What Arthur had tapped into was the age of psychedelia.

MUSIC: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun by The Pink Floyd.

In its woozy wake,

psych brought the experimental music of bands like Pink Floyd.

But every bit as important as the sound was a stunning new aesthetic.

Now, you see, these posters at the time were very daring.

It said right away, this was totally different.

This is a lot more open-minded. This is an alternative.

Designed to entice like-minded spirits

to partake of Arthur's music,

these artworks were riddled with hidden imagery

that suggested a loosening of morals.

If you look at it carefully it's absolutely obscene because

the butterfly isn't a butterfly.

It's actually an ejaculating penis.

HE LAUGHS

Nigel Waymouth helped come up with these designs.

It was great fun to do, I have to say.

HE LAUGHS

There we are.

From a shop at the far end of the King's Road, Nigel helped

conjure up the visual aesthetic of the '60s psychedelic scene.

Today the shop deals in tasteful lighting.

But in the late '60s it was the go-to venue

if you were after a tripped out look.

It was the legendary boutique Granny Takes A Trip.

Those who entered found a young Nigel amid beautiful ornaments

and drapery which recalled the decadence of the Victorian Age.

The most iconic item, really, was this jacket.

This is not conventional in the Savile Row sense.

The collar has a slight 17th-century feel about it in a way.

That tight fitting, high collar.

It was based on the idea we had of using furnishing fabric.

So it was fun. It was a lot of fun doing that.

Stellar musicians like George Harrison floated down to

Granny's for floral flamboyance.

And even The Small Faces abandoned mod

and embraced dandyish extravagance.

The clothes very much lent themselves to showbiz and performers.

Because they were ostentatious, they were flamboyant

and they were new and they were a la mode, you know?

But for many who bought into the Granny's look, it wasn't

just about showing off.

For them, these clothes held a deeper significance...

..that only a few could ever understand.

-Well, in this box is a jacket that I wore back in...

-Probably '67.

-It's a Granny Takes A Trip...

-There it is.

..jacket. And there is the Granny's label.

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon and his wife

Jenny dared to wear Granny's clothes.

We really dressed in quite an extraordinary way which

really upset people.

I mean, this jacket kind of expressed what one felt like inside

and walking down Oxford Street wearing this created quite a stir.

Nigel and Jenny saw themselves as different.

Part of a curious generation seeking new ways to understand the world.

And from a far-off land came their key to enlightenment.

In 1965 LSD arrived in London.

The LSD we had then came straight from the Sandoz Laboratory in

Switzerland where Hofmann discovered it and thence to 101 Cromwell Road.

MUSIC: Purple Haze by Dion

At the time LSD had not yet been made illegal.

And with access to such a new

and highly prized drug, their home became a hang-out

for the scenesters from music, fashion and the movies.

Excuse me while I kiss the sky.

# Purple haze

# Running through my brain... #

As an aspiring film maker, Nigel captured their adventures

on his home movie camera.

# I'm acting funny and find... #

This extraordinary footage was filmed as they tripped out,

becoming one with nature.

# Excuse me while I kiss the sky

# Purple haze... #

Here's Jenny speaking to a tree.

It opened a door to another world, really.

There was much more to life than was apparent.

And it was here,

deep in the English countryside that their clothes came into their own.

This fabric echoed back to us

the kind of things that we were seeing on LSD.

The patterns in nature.

So to wear that reflected, in a way, our mental state.

For Nigel and Jenny these clothes represented a time in their lives...

..of youthful ideals, of curiosity.

And for just a moment, the sense of deeper knowledge of themselves

and the world around them.

Suddenly the dream, the bubble burst and we entered the '70s.

The psychedelic set awoke from their collective daydream to find

that all was not well.

Echoing through inner-city Britain were the incendiary

words of Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech.

A provocative prediction of racial strife.

But amidst the tension came one of those moments when music

and fashion embrace...

-NEWSREEL:

-The date, Sunday evening. April 26th, 1970.

..and chase away the clouds of doom.

The place, Wembley, London.

The event, the Reggae Festival.

MUSIC: Israelites by Desmond Dekker

# Get up in the morning

# Slaving for bread, sir

# So that every mouth can be fed

# Poor me, the Israelite, ah. #

The Reggae Festival of 1970 was an extraordinary

spectacle of Jamaican music and culture.

# The Israelites, ah. #

And centre stage was Desmond Dekker.

Oh, my God. It's my Desmond, all right.

HE LAUGHS

Thousands flocked to see Desmond steal the show with his

number-one hit, Israelites.

# The Israelites, he! #

This was a Wembley show. Desmond ripped that place apart.

Of all the people that was there, Desmond was the one that they

came to see and when you start Israelites the place just erupts.

He was the master. He was the king.

I want to hear you.

-# Everybody...!

-#

But what captivated the crowd was not just his striking performance

but his sharp sense of style.

This was a suited and booted Desmond.

Is that a bow tie he's got there?

HE LAUGHS

Desmond had first announced his style on Top Of The Pops in 1967.

That is his style. It's funny.

And what made his look unique was his very short trousers.

With the short-length trousers he was able to do the footwork

just right.

You could swiftly move your foot forward and backwards.

My dad used to show me some of his moves.

He said with that kind of trousers it was very easy to manoeuvre.

Desmond's tight look was known as rude boy.

Direct from the streets of Kingston, it struck a chord with

British Jamaicans.

These were the children of the first wave of Caribbean immigrants.

And the rude boy look was a way for them

to express their Jamaican heritage.

But no-one could have guessed who else had their eye on this

razor-sharp look.

-How do you like it?

-Number 2.

-Cut a parting in as well, please.

-Certainly.

The skinheads were the latest tribe to emerge from the fertile

sartorial breeding ground of working-class British youth.

And this latest group fascinated the chattering classes.

NEWSREEL: In accepting reggae,

the skinheads have rejected their middle class

with its existential, mystical, hippy-style music,

which is unable to cater to the social needs of the skinheads.

Through the medium of the reggae the black youth does this extremely well.

Tony was one of the first skinheads to walk the streets of London.

We thought Jamaicans were naturally cool.

The way they walked, the way they moved, the way they danced

and relaxed. The way they talked. We wanted a little bit of it.

And the way they got it was through clothes.

Tony and his mates were meticulous in their attempts to adapt

the rude boy look.

Not the blue. Nice lining on that one.

And once they found it, they were willing to pay.

All the money we had went on the fashion. And the music.

The shoes were like £8 a pair which was more than a week's

wages as an apprentice plumber in the '60s.

So, yeah.

It did cost a lot of money.

There's one of me in black and white with my early girlfriend.

There's me with a pair of tonic mohair trousers on.

2-3 inches off the shoe.

I've got a checked shirt on.

A tailored jacket.

Hanky in the pocket, and again, you can see the parting in the hair.

The essentials of skinhead style are enduring.

Mohair tonic suits...

..checked button-down shirts,

rolled-up slim cut jeans,

loafers, brogues and Doc Marten boots.

Through their love of a sharp style, white skins

and black rude boys had found common ground.

And it wasn't long before this moment of cultural harmony

was given a soundtrack all of its own.

# We've got three million miles to reach the moon

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... #

Skinhead Moonstomp was a defining track of the era.

You know, it was massive in the clubs.

It had such a good sound to it and it was sort of an anthem, in a way.

You know, it was something people could actually dance together to,

get involved in.

And to see like 300-plus skinheads all doing this stamping dance,

it was very exciting for us.

# Now, remember, I'm your boss skinhead speaking

# My name is Caleb... #

Moonstomp was a home-grown reggae hit written

and produced exclusively for skinheads.

It was a special skinhead dance. One jump and one nudge. Yeah.

It was a nice little dance.

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ye-ah... #

From the headquarters of his international business empire,

Frank Pitter still remembers the glory days.

# Ready? Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... #

As the drummer in the band Symarip,

he helped put the stomp in moonstomping.

Yeah, this is Skinhead Moonstomp.

We're the skinhead boys on the front. And us on the back. You know.

If you can look at the top here, that's me.

I think we were the first band to record something targeting

skinheads, something for them, you know.

And we did a Skinhead Moonstomp, you know,

and we put our thing into the national charts.

This sold about four million copies.

The music, fashion, they go together.

You're doing the music, you haven't got the clothes to go with it.

The fashion style. Yet, you know,

it's half the job done. It's like the full job.

So you've got to have the clothes with the music and then,

you are fully there.

# Skinhead girl was mine, skinhead girl... #

This was a glorious moment in post-war Britain.

Two cultures brought together through music and fashion.

But it wasn't to last.

Right! Skinheads stick together. Listen.

We're all white, OK? So stop fighting and stick together.

Across the '70s, many skinheads

would be corrupted by far-right politics.

Out went the moonstomp and in came the bovver boot.

And these skinheads became like an army, marching on bigotry

and violence.

But at the tail end of the '70s, the rude boy look would make return.

# Last night when I told you... #

This is a check shirt, button down the back, little collar,

and was bought for £5 in C&A, I think. When there was one!

Pauline Black was the lead singer of the Selecter

and at the forefront of the ska revival known as 2-Tone.

Our whole ethos, I guess, was very dynamic, very anger-fuelled.

There was a lot to be angry about.

People were racist on the street and at shows sometimes

and you'd got the National Front marching on the streets

so obviously, if you were a young black woman at that time

or a young black man, there was plenty to be angry about.

For Pauline, here whole style was a frustrated, impassioned plea

for a return to the cultural harmony that had been lost across the '70s.

Obviously, black-and-white check is quite iconic and what

we were trying to portray was that black and white people could be in

the same band and really get along together and make music together.

Certainly, I feel as though it's one of the more meaningful things

in terms of an anti-racist stance.

That was a very, very potent thing

for young people to see at that time.

But not everyone in Britain wanted their music

and style to hang heavy with politics and protest.

Welcome to the 499th Top Of The Pops.

They wanted to belong to something devoted to no-nonsense good times.

Right, getting us out of the way of the studio,

we have Status Quo and Caroline.

In 1973, Status Quo took to our screens

with their first top-five hit.

# If you want to turn me on to anything you really want to

# Turn me on to your love, your love... #

We all looked like criminals.

# Any time is the right time Any time of yours is my time... #

Parfitt's got a denim jacket on.

I'll always remember that look, that all-denim look.

Everybody was in denim.

# You're my sweet Caroline... #

Though such an effortless style statement,

Quo's denim look would have a powerful impact.

# Take my hand, together we can rock'n'roll. #

It would help them amass an army of devoted fans

and help establish denim as a uniform of our everyday lives.

Today, the grand old men of boogie rock can be found

preparing for yet another moneyspinning tour.

Lovely job. Lovely.

Though they've travelled a long road,

the boys can still recall the days before denim.

-Cor, look at that! Fucking hell!

-Yeah!

That was that period where we'd just got our foot in the door and we were

groomed and told to look like this and all wear these frilly shirts.

# Pictures of matchstick men... #

Quo emerged in 1968, frolicking around as a psychedelic pop act.

# All I ever see is them and you... #

I don't think any of us liked it, did we?

But just to have a hit and then when somebody gives you the call,

"You're going on Top Of The Pops..." - "I'm going on Top Of The Pops?"

I mean, it was amazing.

But no sooner had they donned their flowery jackets

and foppish hair, the sun set on psychedelia.

They were one-hit wonders and soon forgotten.

Can I swear on this?

-We thought, "Fuck this!"

-No, you fucking can't, can you?

"Wearing these frilly shirts." And we didn't like it.

We didn't like it at all, so we completely changed our image.

THEY PLAY BOOGIE

The band looked deep within themselves and discovered they

were just normal blokes

who liked cars, motorbikes,

and a beer or two.

And living as they did on the long tail of the rock'n'roll rebellion,

in came long hair and denim,

T-shirts and denim

and denim shirts and more denim.

To get into the jeans, you know,

and get out of those bell-bottoms and wear a denim jacket -

it looked hard and it fitted with everything that we wanted to be.

With their new image, Quo began to gain a small

but dedicated following.

Despite the best efforts of psychedelia,

the '70s was a time when men were still men.

Over 30% of our workforce still worked in manufacturing.

# I didn't want any ties... #

They took one look at Quo and thought, "That's the band for me."

# Well, everybody has to sometimes break the rules... #

The whole thing about Quo was the link with the audience.

It became that the audiences were looking the same as the band,

the band the same as the audience, which was great.

They always treated the audience

as if they were just one of them, you know.

For one young man in '70s Britain, Quo were more than just a band.

They were a salvation.

Alan Walsh grew up on this council estate in Halifax.

I've got some good memories here.

And it shaped...it shaped who I was, really.

# I ain't going to work I ain't going to work no more... #

In some of the Yorkshire textile towns,

unemployment had risen, especially

in Halifax, as high as 180%.

Back in the 1970s, Halifax was a tough place to live.

Built on cotton and beer, its industries were on the wane.

Safe to say, this wasn't a place for sartorial showiness.

Unfortunately for Alan, he loved Marc Bolan.

# Waaaah! Yeah, yeah...! #

I got into quite a few altercations around this area.

# Metal Guru... #

I used to have an Afghan coat

and I used to wear, um,

you know the desert, suede desert boots, Jesus sandals?

That weren't a good idea, either.

But in 1976, the boys in blue came to Alan's rescue.

I got Blue For You, actually

and I used to go to Manchester United all the time on the coach.

I remember passing the album around, going to this football match

and everybody was opening the sleeve and looking at it and...

And it was kind of acceptable.

I felt like...

part of something.

I'll show you a photograph of that time.

I'm wearing a denim jacket there but it's like a suit jacket

and I've got a cheesecloth shirt on with the Quo shirt

and that's how I would go out into town in Halifax.

You felt hard-edged and you felt, yeah,

get your head down, you know, it's Quo.

# Here we go

# Rockin' all over the world... #

Once an outsider in a tough area, Alan had found belonging.

And he did it by finding Quo

and enlisting in the ranks of their denim army.

You had to be wise to this area.

It made you mentally and emotionally tougher

because if you weren't emotionally tough

and you weren't mentally strong around here, you would just get...

..buried underneath all the rubbish.

With their undeniable bloke appeal,

Quo soon found themselves poster boys for a legendary fashion house.

There were 6,000 Levi's outlets in the UK and this poster was

the one that was in all the shops and there we go, look at that.

God, look at them.

You'd hardly call that male model stuff, would you?

Quo's chart-topping popularity was perfect for Levi's

as they fought for denim supremacy against Lee and Wrangler.

But the deal was less obviously lucrative for the boys in the band.

-We got a roll of denim.

-Each.

I think at the end of the day,

we'd have probably preferred a couple of million quid for doing it,

but you know, that's the way it was at the time.

Quo style was resolutely down-to-earth

but it created an other-worldly counter-reaction.

MUSIC: Ladytron by Roxy Music

It was 1972 when something odd

landed on the stage of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test.

# You've got me, girl, on the run around, run around

# Got me all around town

# You've got me, girl, on the run around

# And it's getting me down, getting me down... #

We were reacting against a drab society.

In rock'n'roll, people wore jeans and played the blues.

And so, if we can, let's liven this up.

I remember it vividly.

It was like a band that had fallen from another planet

and just landed on the stage.

It was very scratchy, that green outfit.

It didn't have any lining, it was very strange to wear.

Roxy Music were an alluring synthesis of futuristic music

and sophisticated visual impact.

Bryan Ferry's creation were more than just another band.

They were a blend of '60s pop art and '70s pop music.

MUSIC: All I Want Is You by Roxy Music

Now, this is an outfit that was made for me.

This is a Jim O'Connor and Pamla Motown suit.

They were very much pop art designers.

They were very influenced by the Bay City Rollers, strangely,

because the Bay City Rollers were never ever cool.

This strange little...

I don't know what you would call it, it must be a lady's cocktail

thing made out of feathers, it's what Eno wore.

It's probably going to fall to bits

later this afternoon by the look of it.

Our look was very eclectic.

You know, you'd have a bit of Art Deco here

and a little bit of '50s retro there and, musically, I think

we did the same thing so, yeah, I guess that the look

and the music at that time did have some link.

To create their special collision of sound and vision,

Roxy Music went further than any band before.

They brought a designer into the fold and asked him to create

a look that would add vivacious glamour to their songwriting.

They wanted to make sure that it looked as good as it sounded

so that's when they thought, "We need someone here to help."

I remember the night when the headphones were clamped on my head.

"What do you think?" I thought,

"Well, this is really quite unusual." And he said,

"Do you want to work with me?" And I said, "Well, of course."

MUSIC: Prairie Rose by Roxy Music

Roxy turned to Antony Price,

a rising star of the British fashion scene, who had made his name

designing clothes for cult London label Stirling Cooper.

They knew what they wanted.

You didn't just stand there and shove something on them,

you know, they would have a very strong idea.

Everything they had done to get them

where they were was their own decisions.

I would suggest things, draw things, and we would find a compromise.

# You're tantalising me... #

From this creative collaboration came some stunning pieces

displayed to millions on Top Of The Pops.

# Make me a deal and make it straight... #

This is an ancient piece from about 1972.

It was modelled, basically, on a rocker jacket.

You've got this '70s thing of the huge collar that

looks like a pigeon has landed on you.

It's laughable now but, at the time, it was right.

The thing about these garments is it's who wore it and when.

It was a moment in history and this was in it so, for that reason,

it stands out.

# I never thought I'd see you again... #

I think the word is "layering".

They...they layered their music, they layered their clothes,

the image was total layering.

Steve Harrington is a hairdresser who has a deep affinity with

Roxy Music.

It's the same with hair - if you layer properly, it's perfect.

It's all to do with textures and the way something is put across

and no-one put anything across like that.

MUSIC: Editions Of You by Roxy Music

Steve saw Roxy on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1972

and was instantly compelled to get the look.

# Well, I'm here looking through an old picture frame

# Just waiting for the perfect view... #

When I first started wearing the Roxy look,

I was at the comprehensive school.

I looked a bit Ferry, I looked a bit Andy Mackay.

The Roxy sort of shirt with the Roxy Music badge,

playing the saxophone, and I thought, "I want to be this."

MUSIC: Beauty Queen by Roxy Music

There weren't an awful lot of people dressing the way I dressed

but I wasn't going to let that put me off.

# Ooh, the way you look

# Makes my starry eyes shiver... #

Though Steve's Roxy look was a way of standing out from the crowd,

it would in fact have a much more profound influence on his life.

This is the house I was born in.

It's a picture of my mother standing at the front door.

Next to the picture was actually a public house called

The Coalminer's Arms.

Steve grew up in the very heart of the Derbyshire coal fields

and was destined to follow his father down the mines.

# A fast mover like you

# And your dreams will all come true... #

But when the vision of Roxy Music was beamed into the family home,

Steve realised that his life could be very different.

When I first saw Roxy Music on-screen,

I looked and I thought, "I can do something. I'm not stuck.

"I can sort of climb out of this." It gave me hope.

I'm proud of what influenced me.

Who else had got the panache, the style to do what Roxy Music did?

Find me someone. Find me someone from then, find me someone from now.

You'll struggle.

In just a few years, the intoxicating mix of great tunes

and brilliant style had changed us fundamentally.

We became a nation of music lovers, voracious shoppers and show-offs.

# How does it feel?

# Running around, round, round... #

Britain had found a new cultural self-confidence.

This was the place where the magic of music and fashion happened.

Next time, British fashion designers unite with musicians to create

wild, larger-than-life characters that mesmerise and shock the nation.

MUSIC: How Does It Feel by Slade