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 NOEL DO YOU REMEMBER GARRY NORRIS FROM BOX HILL DAYS?
G’day Muzza,
I don’t mate, I was in the very early sharps days 1966 till very early 70s, then went away and wandered for quite a while. Fun times mate.
Take care.
YEAH JP , HAD AN OK CRISSY MATE , CATCH UP IN JULY !!!! SHOULD BE GOOD . O’HOOLIGAN
Great site
and Hi to all those rockers who used to travel out to Box Hill Station Saturday nights for general mayhem
A Blacky boy through the 50s/60s
WELCOME ABOARD TONY T.
I always thought that Sharps evolved from Bodgies and Widgies rather than from Mods, probably because I didn’t know anything about mods. My dad was (or should I say IS) a Bodgie and some of his old stories sound very similar to ours.
When I was a teenager I read the old books “Naked Prodigal” and “A Bunch of Ratbags” about a Bodgie living in Goodway (Footscray). While I was surfing the net I found this article from 1966 about a play that was based on one of the novels and in it the article mentions Bodgies wearing Sharp clothes! Although if I kept looking I could probably find an article saying the same thing about mods.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AUoQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XpMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3786,2600664
Thanks chris & Noel it will be good 2 c u, till then be good. hey muzza where me dvd bro. hi julie the answer 2 ur Q is the birth place of sharpies is in the back streets of melbourne. full stop sister. all have a good one and try 2 be good. (fuck that shit) hahaha.
Thanks Johnpaul!
Bobby Sandford, I have almost finished a book about my own girly sharpie days in the 70s.
I would love to do a book with a collection of sharpie stories for you guys and could start gathering them now and at the next exhibition as other old sharps surface.
I have looked into self publishing and depending on how many copies (multiples of 100) we may be able to get them printed for about $10 a book with an upfront fee of approx $500 for set up.
Most of the larger publishing houses are planning 2012 books now, so if we found an interested mainstream publisher, it could take up to three years to hit the shelves.
SPOT ON !!! THE SHARPIES DEFINATELY CAME FROM THE BACK STREETS OF MELB, THE POLO SHIRTS (CRESTKNIT HAWTHORN) WERE A BIT OF A THROWBACK TO THE MODS, I THINK THE BAGGY PANTS (FLAGS) WERE A BIT OF A REBELLION AGAINST THE MODS AND ROCKERS. I’D KILL TO KNOW WHO CAME UP WITH THE NAME AND IDEA. THE REST OF THE GEAR CAME FROM LOCAL TAILORS AND SHOE MAKERS (LOVE THOSE ITALIANS) APART FROM WHAT SAM BIONDO SAYS VENUS SHOES WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RANGE AND ACROPOLIS AND ESPECIALLY COSMANOS IN SMITH STREET WERE THE ANTS’ PANTS IN THE LATE SIXTIES…
HUSH, BUSTER BROWN, TEXAS WHAT THE FUCK !!! IT’S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE REMEMBERED THE ROOTS OF IT ALL !!!!!!
WE USED TO GO TO 10TH AVENUE AND THE MUTUAL BOWL AND THE SOUTHERN CROSS BOWL ETC. ETC. WE USED TO SEE BANDS LIKE THE WILD CHERRIES, JEFF ST. JOHN, MAX MERRITT ETC ETC.
WE DIDN’T HAVE TAILS DOWN THE BACK OF OUR HAIR, WE HAD SHORT NEAT ARMY STYLE HAIRCUTS. WE DIDN’T HAVE STRIPED CARDIGANS WE HAD PLAIN ITALIAN MADE JUMPERS OR CARDIGANS MAINLY GREY, MAROON OR LATER LIGHT YELLOW. WE WORE TRENCH COATS OR WOOLEN BOCKER COATS, WE WENT TO DANCES LIKE CATCHER, THUMPIN’ TUM, THAT’S LIFE ETC ETC.
THERE WERE STILL ORIGINAL MODS AND SURFIES AROUND, OUR ARCH ENEMIES WHO WE USED TO CLASH WITH, SOMETIMES IN MY LOCAL AREA LIKE THE SCENE, IN CANTERBURY. WE HAD GIRLS CALLED BRUSH WHO USED TO DRESS IN PLAIN TWIN SETS, NO STAGGERS, NO BLUEBIRD EARRINGS, NO TIGHT CARDIGANS !!! IT WAS ALL TOTALLY MELBOURNE. IT’S A SHAME THAT THE REAL STORY HAS NEVER COME OUT. I’M SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THE 1970s SHARPS, BLACKBURN SOUTH ETC ETC. LET’S ALL GET A WEBSITE AND MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES, GIVE ME A BREAK, IT’S LIKE EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THE SECOND WORLD WAR BUT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT VIETNAM !!!
SO TO ALL YOU ORIGINAL BOYS I TIP MY HAT, ONE DAY THE TRUTH MIGHT COME OUT, I’M SURE THERE’S A LOT OF YOU OLD BLOKES WHO COULD ADD TO THIS, BUT WE KNOW THE REAL STORY AND WE’LL PROBABLY DIE WITH IT UNFORTUNATELY.
THANK YOU JULIE FOR AT LEAST INCLUDING THE SIXTIES IN YOUR FACEBOOK, BUT AS FOR THE REST OF YOU OPEN YOUR FUCKEN EYES !!!!!!
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MILESAGO: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964-1975
MILESAGO is a work in progress. Our mission is to compile a comprehensive web-based resource about Australasian (i.e. Australian and New Zealand) popular music, popular culture and social history in the twelve-year period from 1 January 1964 to 31 December 1975.
We want to celebrate and to explore this period of history in our region, by increasing the available information, raising awareness and encouraging research and discussion about this period. We aim to achieve this by original research and writing, and by compiling, editing and publishing all the available information from both internet and non-Internet sources in a form that can be accessed via the World Wide Web. We hope that MILESAGO will (in the words of the old ABC charter) “inform, educate and entertain”, and that it will stimulate and encourage further discussion, research and publication in this field, as well as linking to the ever-growing network of information about Australian culture on the World Wide Web…
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Thumpin’ Tub
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Wild About You : Tales from the Australian Rock Underground 1963-70
Iain McIntyre (editor)
Community Radio Federation
2004
INTRODUCTION
By Ian McFarlane
When the subject of 1960s Aussie garage-punk/R&B/psych music comes up in conversation, most aficionados of the genre will grin knowingly, nod enthusiastically and immediately rattle off a list of their personal fave raves. A list that inevitably includes: the Missing Links (Wild About You, You’re Driving Me Insane), the Purple Hearts (Early in the Morning, Of Hopes & Dreams & Tombstones), Toni McCann (No, My Baby), the Throb (Black, Fortune Teller), the Wild Cherries (That’s Life, Krome Plated Yabby), the Black Diamonds (I Want Need Love You, See the Way), the Elois (By My Side), the Atlantics (Come On, It’s a Hard Life), the Moods (Rum Drunk), the Pink Finks (Louie Louie), the Morloch (Time Machine), the Running Jumping Standing Still (Diddy Wah Diddy, My Girl), the Lost Souls (This Life of Mine) and a hundred others besides. Not a bad gallery of legendary names and awesome recordings, hey?
It just shows how ingrained into the musical consciousness these classic slices of garage-mania have become. Mostly that’s down to the enormous influence that Raven’s milestone Ugly Things LP collection – originally issued at the dawning of the 1980s just as the 1960s revival was just kicking off – has exerted in the minds of those willing to absorb the quality of the sounds on offer. It was Australia’s own equivalent of Lenny Kaye’s pioneering Nuggets collection in the US, all of which proved unequivocally that the Australian bands of the era were the equal of anything the Americans had to offer at the time. There was also Glenn A. Baker’s So You Want to be a Rock & Roll Star pair of double LPs (from 1975 and 1977 respectively) that generally put the music into some kind of perspective in the first place – and lest we forget, Glenn A. was one of the masterminds behind Ugly Things as well.
Certainly upon release at the time, Ugly Things and So You Want to be a Rock & Roll Star were the starting place for me; the first time I heard most of the material. Of course, the Easybeats, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Normie Rowe & the Playboys, the Twilights, the Master’s Apprentices, the Loved Ones, etc were already established as the reigning kings of Australia’s 1960s legacy, but once you started to dig deeper there was a whole other world to explore- an Aladdin’s Cave of buried treasures and hidden delights waiting for rediscovery. For me the music kindled a passion as well as the beginnings of an understanding of a time, place and sound I had been too young to experience first hand. Naturally, there are those who did indeed experience the bands first hand, having grown up in the 1960s. Still, the fact remains that most of these bands really didn’t sell a hell of a lot of records in their day – in comparison with the big guns already mentioned – hence it’s the super rarity factor of many of these original records that adds to the genuine appeal and magic aura the music exudes.
Time has been very good to these recordings, most of them sound as fresh and vibrant as the day they were laid down in the studio. Interest in the world of Aussie garage-punk/R&B/psych recordings has been kept alive over the years with the legitimate reissue of such celebrated albums as the Missing Links’ debut platter and Steve & the Board’s …and the Giggle Eyed Goo plus the release of the It’s a Kave-In! collection on the Kavern-7 label. More recently with the arrival of the digital age Raven has weighed in with the Sixties Downunder CD series and the Canetoad label has brought us everything from the Atlantics to the Punkville compilation. Ascension has reissued a raft of Master’s Apprentices albums and Half a Cow did the definitive history of the Missing Links entitled Driving You Insane. Even UK label Ace got in on the act with the release of a tremendous 4-part CD series of tracks from the Festival Records vault – the … From Down Under series of Board Boogie, Of Hopes & Dreams & Tombstones, Peculiar Hole in the Sky and Hot Generation! And of course Rhino included a generous 13 Australasian tracks on the essential 4-CD Nuggets II box set. On a smaller scale, the Top Shelf label put out a great little 4-track vinyl EP of Creatures material…
Better yet…
The album which accompanied the book is available for free download HERE:
Bloodied noses! Car crashes! Police harassment! Jealous boyfriends! These were just a few of the hazards that faced the beat groups who roamed Australia during the mid-sixties. Despite these obstacles (perhaps because of them) a number of homegrown acts came to epitomise the down and dirty sound of the Antipodean underground.
Released in 2004 by Melbourne Community Radio Station 3CR, the book (by Iain McIntyre and Ian D Marks) and accompanying tribute CD (featuring 19 of Melbourne’s toppest contemporary groups doing covers of the most classic retro-stompwise slopp) quickly sold out.
The Ledatape Organisation is overstoked beyond all comprehension to re-present the tunes from the disc. Freeeeeeee!
Go C OH, short neat hair cut, flags and trusty crestknit maroon or light blue done up including the top button and trench coat with the belt looped around the back. Classic look September 1966, mainly Mods to fight with… Stupid I know but oh so frikkin true as we know OH
The first No el
HI EVERY ONE, POWER 2 THE P.CHRISO GIVE ME A CALL WHEN U CAN MATE,I WILL LET U KNOW WHOT I KNOW ABOUT THIS MATTER.”WISH I COULD SPELL” HAVE A GOOD ONE.
SATURDAY MORNING, GOING DOWN TO MAURICE THE TAILOR IN STATION ST. CAMBERWELL TO PICK UP MY NEW PAIR OF FLAGS, CHECKED PATTERN, BROWN WITH BLACK, TRAM HOME, PERFECT FIT, FUCKEN RAPT !!!! DANCE THAT NIGHT, GOT TO LOOK RIGHT, DECIDE ON DARK BLUE CRESTKNIT AND FAVORITE PAIR OF COSMANOS CHISELS POLISHED WITH NUGGET AND OLD T SHIRT, HAIR RIGHT, SHIRT BUTTONED UP, THIN LEATHER BELT, SMOKES, ALL READY. MEET WITH THE REST OF THE BOYS AT LOCAL MILK BAR, EVERYONE LOOKING GREAT, WE FELT LIKE KINGS !!!! I DONT THINK I’VE EVER HAD THAT FEELING AGAIN I MUST ADMIT, WE WERE REALLY PART OF SOMETHING AND WE KNEW IT !
A FEW GIRLS ROCK UP, WE’RE READY TO GO. ST BENEDICTS BURWOOD DANCE, MASTERS APPRENTICES PLAYING THAT NIGHT. IT ONLY LASTS ABOUT THREE SONGS BEFORE A BRAWL STARTS, THE BAND SHITTING THEMSELVES !! ENDS IN MAYHEM, THE DANCE IS OVER, BOYS RETIRE TO WATTLE PARK WITH A FEW TARTS AND A FLAGON OF CIDER… WHAT A LIFE. DOESN’T GET MUCH BETTER !!!! I WANDER HOME AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH MY FAVORITE GIRL AND SNEAK HER INTO MY BUNGALOW…
I MISS THOSE SIMPLE DAYS AS I’M SURE YOU BLOKES DO WHEN ALL YOU HAD TO WORRY ABOUT WAS RUNNING OUT OF GROG OR GETTING YOUR NEW CARDIGAN RIPPED !!!! GLORY DAYS NEVER TO BE REPEATED. OH.
hey really enjoyed watching videos and reading over the history.what bill sharp doin these day?what ever happened to sol?is he still in blackburn?was he greek?my friends would like to buy some sharps merchandise.we live in the states.
Great Story OH and such fond memories you have brought back. Ditto at Box Hill Town Hall Dance, as the brawl erupted Normie Rowe continued, and got right through his songs… Mate, you summed it up, I also miss those simple days and as I have said previously, I would not have changed one thing!
Take care Folks
where did we come from? whot made this happen? and whot is our oregons? i remember growing up in the hood very well at the time. fist of fury sirlot, same as power 2 the people; vietnam. Mr M.L.King. i have a dream. how many old school boys got a black panther tattoo on them, i have 2 and a tiger on my back.sum of us went 2c saturday night fever and sum went 2c the godfather.being a sharpie was my way 2 say 2 the world 2 behave.thanks 2 smg spelling hahaha
JP, love to know the answers, how did it happen, I cannot remember what inspired me. Off came the pegged black pants and the studded belt and the red shirt with the collar up in late 1966, threw the bottle of Brylcream in the old galvanised rubbish bin and off to Batchelors in Bourke St for the flags and crestknits, fontanta gave me a shorter than short hair cut and a whole new scene began for me.
Somehow leather sandals were also in the equation as part of the set up?
C OH, trivia… please remember, as no one else does and I am sure I wasn’t drinking Green GInger Wine at the time, a Hamburger Joint opened in Canterbury Rd Canterbury going towards the city on the right hand side in that group of shops where the road has bends, almost opposite Myrtle St. Very late 60s or early 70s conveyor belt machine to cook them. Left greasys in Box Hill for dead.
Noel whot im trying 2 say, i will talk 2 u in july. but if u wont 2 talk 2 me my number is on this site and u r welcome 2 give me a call or send me ur number and i will call u. and c if we can put a light on this, chris whot do u say?
WELL DONE NOEL…THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST REAL LATE NIGHT HAMBURGER JOINTS IN THE AREA MATE…WE WOULD BE PISSING ON AT SOMEONE OR OTHER’S HOUSE AND ABOUT TWO OR SO IN THE MORNING WE WOULD GET HUNGRY AS YOU DO…THAT SHOP WAS A LIFE SAVER,YEAH MATE CONVEYOR BELT AND ALL !!! WE WOULD HEAD TO THE SHOP,OUR MOUTHS WATERING,BETTER THAN GREASEYS !!! WE’D HAVE A BIG NOSH IN THE PARK THEN WANDER OFF HOME,KICKING IN A FEW LETTER BOXES ON THE WAY OF COURSE !!! JP…I’LL CATCH EVERYONE AT THE EXPO MATE…IT’S EASIER FOR ME. I ALSO REMEMBER THE LEATHER SANDALS NOEL…WELL DONE.
what sort of thing are you after jozef ?
Hey Chris,
Thanks mate, I am so glad some one else remembers this as every other bloke just looks at me like… no way it was never there, or we don’t remember it.
Ha ha ha, letter boxes and phone boxes for us, how stupid I was!
JP, love to catch up and say g’day in July mate.
Take care all.
has anybody heard of the street runners?
cardigans,footy guernseys etc.i saw the sharpie store and the cardigans look nice.a little steep but i think its worth it.i tried to send an email and it would not go through.it said the person is not set up.i dunno.remember we are here in the u.s. so we are wondering if the sizes are the same.is it a reliable site?you know what i mean?also we cannot get the video of g.o.d. by lobby.it has a block from the a.b.c. stating they need permission from our govt.you got me mate.cheers!
I think they are the things you see hanging from power lines Rob!
we’ll try to get you a copy of GUITAR OVER DRIVE hang loose
hey yosef, get onto the SKINS N SHARPS website mate,the shop is opening soon,also i’ve got SHARPS UNITED t shirts for sale plus stickers,do you want some books as well? plus i can get you GOD…there’s a lot more happening in the next six months.
Skins ‘N’ Sharps!
nah it was an old gang don’t know much though! just heard
Rob, the street runners were a Thomastown gang mainly from the Edgars Road side of town. Formed late 70s when the Thomastown sharps were on their way out.
Mick
yeah! was there many of them?
notorious or nah?
rob ur Q R out of order. this is not a information site. keep ur Q 4 the skins n sharps exhibition in july bro. any way thanks 4 the info on preston teck have a good one
john paul! your hidious so shut it!
i dont need 2 shut up, but u do. so shut the fuck up, smart ass
who the fuck are you to tell me to shut the fuck up? NOONE! so bug off mate
Oi! That’s enough of that.
yer i recon, it sounds like u need 2 go fishing with a few sharps and have a good time swimen and fishing its good 4 ua rob? i just dont think street runners or notorious would like 2 be reading this. so rob i just recon keep it 2 skins & sharps? whot u recon? and 2 ur Q, WHO THE FUCK R U, no one hahahaaarr. shshshshsharp.
good jp stick it up him
Hi guy’s. I ran with the Flinders St Mob & at 52 I still have many memories Good, Funny & Sad of those year’s. The fab four at the Station, Karen-Sue-Pauline RIP-and Myself a wild bunch of girls, almost as good as the guy’s. Often wonder what happened to you lot. Are there any out there with the Tatt up the Lower Part of Leg with all the Name’s. I’m almost tempted to attend the July get together. Funny Ha, Upstanding Citizen as l Iam. Sharp’s Will Never Die.
upstanding citizen? arent we all. hahaha, good on you Wendy & dont let the upstanding citizen thing stop u from being at the get together in July have a good one.
Well said Johnpaul mate, I second that, make sure you come Wendy
Cheers
Outstanding citizen Noel
IT DIDN’T TAKE YOU BLOKES LONG TO JUMP ONLINE AS SOON AS A BIT OF SKIRT GETS ON… HA HA HA! SOMETHINGS DON’T CHANGE…
hi chris hows it going? yer mate just letting the girls know there welcome 2 come as Noel would put it. hahaharr
That makes me laugh!
Cheers Boys… and Girls!
Hi fellas and fallettes lol, anybody got much to say about Sharps from the western suburbs?
Just heard that ‘TopFellas’ is due for a reprint soon!
I grew up in the Canterbury Maling rd area and most of my uncles and their mates were sharps. One uncle called Peter loomed large in my memory of this period. As i remember his mates were mick webb, his brother spider, greg mc cutch (thats a guess). i know they used to frequent camberwell junction. They all lived in or close to Chatham railway station. I lived in Bryson st between the years 1969 and 1975 and the parties my old man used to hold were really wild and frightening at times (i was 10 yrs old). Another guy i can remember was Neil Ritchie who was in a league of his own. Even as a 10 yr old i loved the fashion as i would get hand me downs and felt i belonged. Does anybody remember these guys?
I COME FROM THE SAME AREA DARREN AND YES THERE WERE SOME PRETTY WILD PARTIES MATE…WE WERE RUNNING WILD AROUND THE SAME YEARS AS YOU HAVE SAID…I REMEMBER GOING TO PARTIES IN CHATHAM AT PETER AND BRIAN KELLYS…I ALSO LOVED THE FASHION DARREN…WE WERE INDIVIDUALS NOT LIKE NOW MATE…WE ALSO USED TO GO TO THE JUNCTION SO I MUST HAVE CROSSED PATHS WITH THE LADS !!!!!! CHRIS.
i lived in blacky south years ago i was a young lad my brothers used to come home all bloodied up the usual saturday night thing i suspect. blackeyes cuts stitches there was a big family in blacky south few of them were sharps i think they was all called shifty or some thing like that.
Wow. Blackburn South was never given such attention.
I grew up in this era and can tell you these boys were kittens. The local shop-keepers and cops knew these boys were just posers. To see “Ozzi” (the owner of the BP mechanics shop on the corner of Main St) telling these boys to fuck off was hilarious.
There were many hard-cases in the area at the time, one bloke committed suicide by driving his car into the Mitcham Police Station (I think “Brittie” was his name?).
Fascists never change. Cowards, one and all.
SHIT I THOUGHT THEY WERE THE TOUGHEST GANG IN MELBOURNE !!!!!!!!