Vice magazine continues their forays into the cult with this brief interview with notable skinhead photo maven, Gavin Watson. Known primarily for his book Skins Gavin lived the life he documented, and in this bit discusses the often overshadowed role, especially given the rise of the National Front and their co-opting of the shaven head and heavy boot look, of black skinheads in the late 70s. Check it..

How you doing?
Gavin Watson: I’m doing great.

You know that photo of black kid pointing to the NF and swastika graffiti? Were there many black skinheads in your crew?
Yes. That guy’s name is Sergeant. He was mates with my younger brother. There was also Felix, Barry and Albert. We knew each other from school.

Did black skins get grief from the white racist skins?
Where I lived it was never anything more than snide remarks. The trouble they got mainly came from other black blokes.
How so?
Well, Felix’s dad beat him badly for being a skinhead. He had welts on his back where his father had whipped him. One day Felix ran away to our house, and my mum wouldn’t let him go home. He’d been hiding out at our house for two days when the police knocked on the door. I remember it was a glorious sunny day. The coppers walked into the front room where Felix, me, my brother and my mum were watching TV. One of them said, and I quote, “So, who’s run away then?” To which my mum quickly replied, “Why don’t you take a wild guess there, officer.”

Are you still in contact with any of those guys?
Not really. Barry was a skinhead the longest out of all of us. He is now a performer and lives in Brighton. Felix died when he was 21 of yellow jaundice.

That’s sad.
Yeah, but these photos look back at the time when we were growing up together.

DOMINIC TUNON
as it originally appeared, with more photos.