Derek Ridgers

Some of my earliest memories of hearing great pop music come from going to the cinema or fairgrounds.

In those days there was always plenty of reasons to evangelise about the music or musicians one had heard.  And it was an excellent excuse for young people to get together and listen to one another’s records.  

If the opposite sex was involved, the ‘getting together’ would often be the most important part (in my case, a definite triumph of hope over experience).

By the late ‘60s and throughout the ‘70s hearing pop music became easier, although the scarcity of some records was still a significant element.  It was still a factor right up to, I suppose, the dawn of the MTV era in 1981.

Do you see any similarities between what was happening on the streets and in the clubs in the ‘70’s/80’s with street style and subculture today?
Yes, plenty.  Many teenagers go through a period where they have a compulsion to express themselves and get themselves noticed. Often it will take the form of clothes or other means of self-presentation. The only difference between the ‘70s/'80s and now is that it no longer needs to take place in clubs or on the street. Kids these days never have to leave their own bedrooms to show off. It can all be done via selfies and social media.

Which British subculture do you feel will have the greatest legacy and why?
It entirely depends what one means by greatest legacy but I suppose, by process of elimination, it would have to be the Mods of the mid ‘60s. Prior to the mods, arguably all British sub-cultures were a watered down versions of what was already happening in the US. The Mods were really the first truly British youth sub-cult.  Even though their look was entirely based on music and clothes coming from abroad, the mods put it all together in a uniquely new, British form.

One might say that the skinheads were a more significant and enduring subculture but whether they will have the "greatest legacy" is open to question.  So I will go with the mods.

Could you tell us a little bit about how you found the people in your photographs? 
Initially I’d just go to music clubs or see people in the street that looked so good and I felt a compulsion to record people that were virtually standing next to me.  If anything, they found me.

Did anyone surprise you?
Yes.  I’ll go further and say that I was completely shocked when I first met and chatted to the small group skinheads I met in the Soho in 1979. To begin with, I’d thought they were some sort of art school inspired revivalists of a style that had died in the late ‘60s. I was completely surprised when I found out they weren’t and shocked to my core when I discovered their social and political views.

What have you learnt about people through photographing so many different characters throughout the years?
I’m not sure, I think I’m still learning.  

I’ve certainly learnt (and this is particularly true with the skinheads) not to be judgmental and to allow my photographs to speak for themselves. I’ve learnt along the way that photography is a lot more powerful if the photographer doesn’t insert himself too far into the process.