A Skins ‘n’ Sharps Exhibition will be held from Sunday 4th of July 2010 @ The Kustom Lane Gallery, 8 Luton Lane, Hawthorn.
Googled “Blackburn South Sharps” and found this grouse site!
Larry Jenkins, aka ESOTERIC, is the photographer responsible for the now infamous “Sharpie” photos recently [sic] exhibited at ACMI / Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia.
Larry was the leader of the notorious street gang the “BLACKBURN SOUTH SHARPS” from 1972-1977 when the Sharpie sub-culture was at its peak and the working class suburbs of Melbourne were a tough and violent place to grow up. These photographs represent a period from 1975-1976 in Australian sub-cultural history and are one of the few photographic records of that time. Larry began taking photos at the age of 16 using a pocket camera, when he started working as an apprentice motor mechanic and spent his weekly wage developing his shots…
See also :
::: Sharpies – A Unique Australian Subculture
“The recent fascination with Sharpies leaves you wondering – when did a spotted past in suburban Australia become an object of fascination rather than derision?”
::: The Sharpies – Cult Gangs of the Sixties and Seventies
In the 60’s and 70’s the streets of Melbourne were full of gangs but it was the Sharpies, enemies of the Hippies and Mods that held the power on the street. For a mean bunch of kids they were extremely fashion conscious with their crest-knit black shirts and personally designed cardigans. But as Saturday night fever exploded the Sharpies started to conform until the gang slowly faded away.
::: Blackburn South Sharps on Wikipedia :
The Blackburn South Sharps were the most prominent of the 1972-1977 Melbourne ‘sharpie’ gangs. The Sharpies were unique [?] to Melbourne and are an important element of Melbourne’s history in that their clothes were not a copy of US or UK fashion and they listened to Melbourne rock bands. Sharpies were an early precursor to the Australian phenomenon of bogans.
[On ‘bogans’, see also Michelle Griffin, ‘Bogansville: meet the new in-crowd’, The Age, July 16, 2002. NB. The lexicographers at the ANU claim that the earliest trace they can find for the term is 1985, but I can recall its use in 1983.]
Hi Andy. I love your article, however I don’t know whether you can say that Blackburn sharps were the most prominent. I was a member of the Thomastown sharps in the mid to late 70s, and we had one hell of a reputation. We would often hang out at Flinders Street station with the Melbourne sharps which were also up there. We would all be clothed in our individualised connie cardigans from Thornbury, hand made Acropolis shoes from Collingwood and mostly staggers jeans. Oh I almost forgot our Thomastown Sharps T shirt. It was all about image, a sense of belonging and camaraderie and getting into fights with other gangs. We were not racist unlike skinheads as there were members in our gang from many nationalities. I hope someone finds this as interesting I find the sharpie culture to be. Mick.
G’day Mick,
You should definitely try and track down a copy of ‘Top Fellas’ by Tadhg Taylor. You might be able to get one by writing the author c/o the publisher:
Surefire Productions
PO Box 665
Northcote
VIC, 3070
It’s a great little 172 page book, published in 2004, containing a potted history of sharpies in Melbourne. And guess what? Two Thomastown Sharps grace the front and back cover!
Tadhg divides the era into four periods: 1964–1970; 1970–1972; 1972–1976 and 1976–1980.
The book also contains interviews with sharpies, Lobby Loyde (RIP), Greg Macainsh, Angry Anderson, Chane Chane, John Bow and lots of great photographs.
I think one of the reasons the Blacky Sth sharps may be more prominent is ‘cos Larry actually documented the gang, whereas I doubt anyone did the same for Thomastown or any of the other gangs. I was just a little kid during the ’70s (b.1971), but his photos are great ‘cos they also happen to document where I grew up, and I can remember seeing the big bad sharps in my childhood…
(Btw, racist skinheads are usually called ‘boneheads’ by anti- or non-racist skins; this is because real skinheads respect the culture’s origins, whereas racist skinheads (boneheads) have got none.)
Hi Andy, yes I have heard all about the book top fellas and I know the two Thomastown sharps on the front, however when I tried to get a copy after contacting the author he told me that they were sold out and that the publishing rights were with an American publisher and that there may be more published in the future. If you have or know anyone with a spare copy I would love to buy it? You are right about Larry and his photos they are great, we do have photos also as you have seen in top fellas and we should follow in Larry’s footsteps and get it out in the public domain more. I also still have my Connie cardigan and Acropolis shoes unfortunately my T shirt went missing. I would also love to see or get my hands on a copy of Greg Macainsh’s short film, if you or anyone else out there knows how that might be possible please let me know. Cheers.
Hi andy [why are you so sexy]?
HI ANDY, JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT ‘TOP FELLAS’ WILL MOST LIKELY BE GETTING RELEASED SOME TIME THIS YEAR, BY POPULAR DEMAND !!!! MY NAME IS CHRIS AND I RUN A MOVEMENT CALLED ‘SHARPS UNITED’ WHICH KEEPS IN CONTACT WITH A LOT OF EX-SHARPS AND WE ARE ALWAYS MEETING UP WITH NEW PEOPLE FROM THE ERA… I SELL ‘SHARPS UNITED’ T SHIRTS WHICH ARE IN THE TRADITIONAL STYLE LIKE THE THOMASTOWN ONES… WE ARE NOT TRYING TO COMPETE WITH THE ‘BLACKBURN SHARPS’ THING WE JUST WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THERE WERE A LOT MORE GANGS AROUND APART FROM THEM !!!! HENCE OUR WEBSITE ‘SKINS ‘N’ SHARPS’. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN SELLING A CONTE CARDIGAN OR A PAIR OF CHISEL SHOES I WILL PAY UP TO $300 FOR EITHER. I ALSO HAVE ‘SHARPS UNITED’ STICKERS FOR SALE !! WE WILL BE HOPEFULLY HAVING ANOTHER SHARPIES EXHIBITION THIS YEAR AS WELL… CHEERS MATE… CHRIS O’HOOLIGAN.
G’day Andy, I have to agree with the top poster, I was born and bred in Richmond, and most of us were Richmond sharps / Melbourne sharps! We wore Yellow T shirts with the black iron-on Richmond Sharps, or Blue T shirts with Melbourne Sharps, Venus or Acropolis Shoes, Staggers’ Jeans, and of course Connie cardigans from Conti in Brunswick! Being so close to the city meant it was our main hangout, places like Alfie’s pool room off Bourke street, Mutual Bowls, Centrepoint Arcade, I even remember having blues with the bouncers at the old Hard Rock cafe near the Fitzroy Gardens! Anyway great article and good to see a few of us are still around!
hi people ive just read ur forum on the sharpies.
& i live in thomastown & ive also met the leaders of thommo sharps. if use know any videos on the sharps please tell me. & where could i get the novel “top fellas”.
thanks!
hey rob,
check out the skins ‘n’ sharps site:
http://www.skinsnsharps.com/
it’s gonna be re-publishing tadhg’s book, which i think is pretty much sold out.
there’s also a novel by michelle moo called glory this, and james cockington devotes a chapter to sharpies in long way to the top: stories of australian rock & roll.
sharpies appear in films like richard lowenstein’s dogs in space and vincent giarrusso’s mallboy. also, greg macainsh (ex-skyhooks) made a documentary film about the sharpies in 1974 called sharpies. it’s very short — only 4 mins — and 16mm, so it’s really only shown at film festivals.
hope that’s useful to you. also: i suggest checking out your local library, and if they don’t have anything, check the state library. that mos def has a copy of top fellas as well as glory this and long way to the top. your local video library should have a copy of dogs in space and mallboy.
cheers,
andy.
thanks a lot andy!
yes it did help me
i appreciate it!
cheers.
yeh ive checked the site out already:)
ok ill check them novels and clips out.
thanks man!
are they gonna be making a movie by any chance on the sharpies.
sorry to bother u but, u reckon u could give me the link to the short clip of the sharpies by greg macainsh? thanks that would help:)
laters peace!
G’day!
I am a brazilian who lived in Australia for one year (more than a decade ago) and allways found odd some aussies hairstiles I saw on footy players (who remembered mullets to me) and now I understand where it may come from.
The sharpie culture is quite interesting and what calls the attention is that it didn’t deviate to “political” hatred attitudes and organizations as in some european and american skinhead cultures.
My question is: was there any relation of sharpies to footy (aussie rules football)?
Thank you, mates!
hi gee… sharpies had no link to football mate but a lot of boxers were sharps or ex sharps !!! the only relationship we had with football was going to victoria park to see collingwood play richmond and punching on with the collingwood boys… of course !!! as i mentioned in the blog above i am interested in buying conti cardigans or chisel shoes… $300 for either… also TOP FELLAS will most likely be re-released this year and for information on the MCAINSH short movie and the SKINS AND SHARPS website contact me on [email protected] stickers and old style SHARPS UNITED t shirts also available STAY SHARP !!! o’hooligan
BLACKBURN SOUTH SHARPS,,,,,,,NOTORIOUS??????? BELIEVE THAT AND YOU WOULD BELIEVE ANY THING,,,,,,,THE ONLY THING MISSING FROM THEIR PHOTOS IS THEIR HAND BAGS!!!!!!! (EX JORDY BOY NO.1) AND MATE OF O’HOOLIGAN…
o;hooligan were you a sharpie?
what sort of a sharpie?
e.g. thomastown sharps, blackburn sth sharps, melbourne sharps etc.
thanks. love listening to the sharpie stories.
tell me if you know where i could find more information about them.
cheers later.
HI ROB,,,YES I WAS A SHARPIE FROM ABOUT 1970 TIL 74,,,WE ALL USED TO CONGREGATE AT CAMBERWELL JUNCTION WHICH WAS A SORT OF MELTING POT OF GANGS FROM LOCAL SUBURBS… BURWOOD,HAWTHORN,KEW,MALVERN EVEN SOME OF THE RICHMOND BOYS USED TO COME TO THE JUNCTION TO HANG OUT! SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WE WERE QUIET A LARGE MOB AND NOT MANY PEOPLE WOULD COME AND TAKE US ON! ON A GOOD WEEKEND THERE WOULD BE ANYTHING FROM 60 TO 100 OF US. PUT IT THIS WAY ROB I CAN’T REMEMBER THE “NOTORIOUS” BLACKBURN SOUTH BOYS EVER PAYING US A “VISIT”,,, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN GOING HOME VIA BOX HILL HOSPITAL! ANY WAY ROB CONTACT ME ON [email protected] AND I WILL SEND YOU A SHARPS UNITED T SHIRT…STICKERS,,,etc. WE ARE STILL WAITING ON CONFIRMATION OF THE RE RELEASE OF TOP FELLAS,,,HAVE YOU GOT A COPY OF THE PROGRAM FROM THE SKINS AND SHARPS EXPO MATE? I WILL ALSO SEND YOU SOME OLD SHARP PHOTOS,,,,,,,,,,,,SPREAD THE WORD,,,,,,,, SHARPIES LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
CHEERS,,,,,,O’HOOLIGAN.
what happend to this site?
sorry rob — no idea.
ok.
so
were the thomastown sharps real heavy?
ciao
hey where can i get a copy of
top fellas?
laters
ive looked everywhere i cant find a copy of TOP FELLAS someone help please?
thanks
yeah someone help because i know a few of the “oakleigh sharps” would like to get a hold of the top fellas book. we were top fellas! I never heard of the notorious blackburn south sharps and i lived around the corner from them and they certainly weren’t notorious!
gee gary i thought you would have been terrified of the Blackburn South Sharps,,,,,,i heard they were that tough that they would fight old ladies one out!!!!!! and i think one of them actually kicked a cat one day,,,,,,,,,,now thats tough!!!!!!
hey thommo, i think our reputation still holds true today…me and my mates don’t have to fantasise, oakleigh was one hell of a place to grow up. survival of the fittest.
Surefire Productions
PO Box 665
Northcote
VIC, 3070
[email protected]
andy what do i do with the address?
thommo & gary do youse know anything about the thomastown sharps?
thanks hit back!
surefire published the book ‘top fellas’. if you write them, maybe they can let you know where to grab a copy…
Hey, Tadhg Taylor, author of Top Fellas, emailed me to say that it is out of print. There is a copy of it in the State Library. There was only one run. I was told that my mates and I were pictured in it. Never did I think that the Oakleigh Sharps would have their 15 minutes of fame.
Rob, I did know a Thomastown Sharp. He was nicknamed Elley. I can’t remember his proper name. I went to tradeschool with him at Melbourne School of Printing and Graphic Arts between 1967-1969. Is this of any use to you?
Some memories of a late 60’s Oakleigh Sharpie: crew cuts, maroon jumpers, Banlons, Lee jeans, tailor made pin striped baggies with cuffs, cable knit cardigans, hand made Cuban heeled chisel toed toes from Acropolis of Venus shoes, trench coats, Stetson hats, line dancing, tatts, plenty of “dash” and lots of aggro! Does that bring back memories or what!
haha yeah:)
GARY,,,,, LATE SIXTIES MATE,,,,, FANTASTIC, I THOUGHT NO ONE REMEMBERED THAT ERA!!!!! THE ORIGINAL SHARPIES….. FLAG PANTS, TRENCH COATS, THE SHOES….. ETC, ETC, THEY WERE SHARPIES!!!!! FUCK THE REST,,,,, KEEP IN TOUCH GARY. WE’VE GOT ANOTHER EXHIBITION COMING UP THIS YEAR MATE… YOUR INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED! CHEERS, CHRISO.
Hi Rob, you sound very keen on info about the Thomastown Sharps. I was a member from 77 to 82. Recently there has been some interest generated by someone wanting to write a book about the Thomastown Sharps and many old members have come out of the woodwork to be interviewed, photographed and stories recorded which will make up the book. I don’t know when it will be completed and published, but I will let you all know as soon as I hear myself. There was quite a number of us in the Thomastown Sharps coming from many nationalities, apart from the Anglo Saxon there were Italians, Macedonians, Greeks, Lebanese, Croats and Serbs etc. I guess that is why Sharps were not racist given that Australia is a melting pot of nationalities, unlike the Skins in Europe.
We used to hang out at pinball parlours and milk bar corners weeknights and on weekends we used to either hang around Flinders Street Station with the Melbourne Sharps, West Side Sharps and any other Sharps that joined in, it was only a short stroll to Shakey Bills Tattoo Parlour, and we all know why he got his name Shakey, cause he was always pissed and his hand would shake when he was tattooing someone, but we always went back. We would also cruise suburbs where other non Sharpie gangs hung out and get into fights, also concerts was another place to venture for a fight.
Guys it’s a bit disappointing to hear some of you putting down other Sharpie gangs of the past, what was once upon a time is not now, we are old (well older) men now and water has passed under the bridge so to speak so we should all unite and share a good yarn and reminisce about the past and feel good that we were part of the last Australian subculture and came out of the other side alive.
I spoke to the author over a year ago and was told that it was sold out. I had since searched every bookshop online and always got nowhere so we have to wait patiently for the second edition. A friend did lend me his to read and it was hard to put down, I also bought Glory This by Michelle Moo recently but am having a lot of trouble getting into it so far, but who knows it may get better as I read on. I still have my original Conte and Acropolis shoes, ha I tried my Conte on about 5 years ago for the first time since 82, and someone has either put it in the washing machine on hot setting and shrunk it to the shit house or I was a little skinny prick in 77 when I bought it, I think the latter is true. So there you have it more Sharpie nostalgia and as Ali G would say “keep it real” till next time.
— Mick
wow thanks mick
i actually enjoyed reading ur post.
wow i live in thomastown now im 17 years old
& the stories i hear are absolutely amazing i can sit there and listen all day..
whenever im on the streets of thomastown with a group of boys i feel real heavy cos i always think of the sharps..
mick i heard that the thomastown sharps always used to kik bak at the fish n chip shop on edgars rd?
haha i wish i was born back then, these days are all broady & reservoir boys taking over. argh.
wish the old sharpies came back 🙁
anyway write back to me mick thanks.
HEY YOU BLOKES,,, OLD SHARPIES NEVER DIE… WE’RE STILL HERE,,, I HANG OUT WITH ABOUT THIRTY EX SHARPS ALL IN OUR FIFTIES… SO WE SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND PAY THE RESERVOIR AND BROADY BOYS A VISIT,,,EH ROB!!! YOU BLOKES SHOULD JOIN ‘SHARPS UNITED’. ANYWAY WE CAN ALL MEET UP AT THE BIG SHARPIE EXHIBITION WHICH IS COMING AT THE END OF THE YEAR…… THERE IS ALSO A DOCUMENTARY BEING MADE FOR TV ABOUT MELBOURNE’S SHARPIE CULTURE,,,!!! FILMING STARTS NEXT MONTH!!! ‘TOP FELLAS’ SHOULD BE RE.RELEASED BY THE END OF THE YEAR ! GOOD NEWS !!! I’VE GOT COPIES OF MC CAINSH’S SHORT FILM OF THE SHARPS AT THE LOBBY LLOYDE CONCERT AND COPIES OF THE FILM ‘GIRL IN THE MIRROR’ FEATURING CAROL JERREMS AND THE HEIDELBERG SHARPS /// BOTH ARE $ 20 EACH AND IF ANY ONE WANTS ‘SHARPS UNITED’ T SHIRTS THEYRE $15 EACH PLUS POSTAGE AND A FREE ‘BLACKBURN SOUTH SHARPS SUCK’ STICKER AND ‘SHARPS UNITED’ STICKER WITH EACH T SHIRT… ‘SHARPS UNITED’ HAD OUR FIRST ANNUAL ‘SHARPIE DAY’ AT FLINDERS ST. STATION ON THE LAST SUNDAY IN FEB. THIS YEAR,,, EVERYONE CAME IN THEIR OLD SHARP GEAR AND WE WERE ALL PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE STATION AND OUTSIDE Y AND J’S… IT WAS A GREAT DAY AND ITS GOING TO BE A YEARLY EVENT !!! NEXT WERE HOPING FOR A BIGGER TURNOUT AS WORD GETS AROUND !!! TADHG TAYLORS NEW MOVIE ‘UP FOR GRABS’ WILL BE OUT ON DVD SOON… ANYWAY BOYS… GOTTA GO,,,,,, CHEERS FROM OHOOLIGAN EMAIL [email protected]
hey ohooligan what color are the t shirts ?
also,have you got any of the photos that you took on the SHARPIE DAY and when is the sharpie exhibition.shorty
hahaha yeh mayb thommo 😛
haha
love to meet you guys & tell me the stories 🙂
& i cant wait for the novel & the dvd 🙂
whats the dvd called?
thanks thommo!
mick just wondering?
did you know a guy named mad lou, in the thomastown sharps?
write back asap
🙂
THE T SHIRTS ARE WHITE WITH BLACK WRITING,,,,,AND THE PHOTOS AND THE EXPO DATES WILL BE POSTED ON THE ”’SKINS N SHARPS”’ WEBSITE…..CHEERS SHORTY.
HEY ROB,,,,,WHEN I FIND OUT THE NAME I WILL LET YOU KNOW MATE.
stuff the THOMASTOWN SHARPS i’m sick of hearing about them !!!!!! what about the JORDY BOYS ,,, now they’re worth talking about !!!!!!
haha
shorty, love to see you say that to them back in the days
in their faces, u wouldnt of had the balls 😉
Thomastown Sharps were infamous for their Chinese burns and nipple cripples yeah?
for their what?
GET A LIFE ROB,THE THOMASTOWN BOYS KEPT AWAY FROM PRESTON BECAUSE THEY WERE SCARED OF US, LIKE MOST SUBURBS WERE ! PRESTON RULED !
you can all get nicked, we’ll fight the lot of you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAHAHAHA thommmmmmmmmmmmmmo thommmmmmmmmmo!
fuck preston
HEY SOME **** FROM PRESTON ,,,,,,,,, WHO IS THIS ROB BLOKE ??? HE NEEDS HIS HEAD KICKED IN MATE , I,LL BRING SOME OF THE CHELSEA BOYS UP AND WE’LL SHUT HIS MOUTH FOR GOOD. JIMMY.
No violence!
use could try me 😉
hahaha
WE’LL TAKE HIM FISHING ,,,,,, THREE GO OUT , ONLY TWO COME BACK , HA HA HA HA !