Nazis or Troubled Youth? Documenting Skinheads, Punks, & Ravers // Gavin Watson

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]There are many subcultures that get bad reputations. Sometimes it's deserved, and at other times it's completely off-base. Still, there's other instances where a group starts as something positive and completely transforms into something that you would no longer want to be associated with.

[00:00:16]Having access unlike any other photographer as a result of being a skinhead himself from the time that the gang formed, his views on skinheads vary from what is usually associated with the group, being that they all have extreme alt-right politics that have caused many to label them Nazis. How was his experience different? How did he eventually disconnect from the group?

[00:00:36]And what can studying a life like his teach us about the importance of documenting subcultures? This is The Subcultures, Gavin Watson's Skinheads, Punks, and Ravers.

[00:00:51]Gavin Watson grew up in low-income housing just northwest of London in the late 1970s.

[00:00:56]He was drawn to skinhead culture, and his style was informed by the ska bands Madness and The Specials.

[00:01:02]Describing this era of his life, he stated, "Back then, I was heavy-handed, angry, and rough around the edges.

[00:01:10]And there was a definite suppression of anger in the lyrics of the bands we were listening me, too."

[00:01:17]From a young age, Watson was interested in art, but had a trouble translating what was in his head to paper. So, at the age of 14, he purchased a camera as a different way of exploring his artistic inclinations. What enabled him to take these photos from a financial standpoint was having his friends shoplift film from drugstores.

[00:01:34]Reflecting on his decision to take up photography, he said, "Getting my first set of prints developed was a life-changing moment. I remember the voice in my head, 'I'm going to be a photographer.' That was it. I never wavered."

[00:01:47]A year after getting a hold of his first camera, Watson started documenting skinheads. This wasn't difficult given that they were the people that make up his everyday life, including his classmates, girlfriends, and relatives.

[00:01:58]On this lifestyle, Watson stated, "London was scary back then. We had to keep our heads down. There were gangs roaming. You couldn't go anywhere without getting your head kicked in.

[00:02:08]But, I was never intimidated. I was 6-ft tall, and I remember using my camera as a weapon when some bloke tried to get funny with me. He got it over the head."

[00:02:16]In an article by Simon Garfield of The Guardian, he defines the history of the skinhead movement and how Gavin Watson's photography encapsulated it. In his words, "These days, the word skinhead can conjure images only of hatred and racism. But, that is our problem. How it came to be a problem is instructive and tells us something about the power of imagery and the nature of our prejudices.

[00:02:39]Those feelings towards skinheads exist because of what the gang eventually turned into, anti-Pakistani feelings at the time that were fueled by unemployment and deprivation. And there was a fatal link with the Oi! movement, a fiercely working-class, predominantly East End collection of bands, including the Cockney Rejects, Angel Upstarts, Skrewdriver, The Last Resort, and The 4-Skins.

[00:03:03]All of which were either outright racist or at least had far-right politics. The same kind of growing nationalistic mindset and victim mentality that poised the group to become involved in racial clashes. And the placement of images of themselves wearing swastikas on album covers is again starting to show its face today through a new youth movement of skinheads who have attached themselves to these causes, given the changes that are taking place in England at the moment and all that comes along with those changes.

[00:03:32]The 2006 film This Is England, that puts a lens on skinheads, gets its title from the East London skin named Mickey.

[00:03:39]And a quote from him that has become associated with the group.

[00:03:42]In his words, "Don't get me wrong. I got a lot of colored friends, and they're decent people, but they've got their own culture. The Pakistanis have a culture.

[00:03:50]It's thousands of years old. But where's our culture? Where's the British culture? Through his experiences as a skinhead, Gavin has made it clear that he wasn't alt-right or a Nazi. And those are the associations that most people make with skinheads, but it doesn't apply to the entire group. And wasn't what they originally set out to represent. From his perspective, the skinhead movement, when it started, came out of the philosophy of black and white kids uniting and dancing to '60s ska music from Jamaica. That's where my photographs come in. Because when I do exhibitions, people usually come in tight-lipped expecting to see fat, balding 30-year-olds with bulldogs. But if you're at a gig dancing to ska music, that's a skinhead.

[00:04:31]Simple as that. Within all of Watson's images of skins, one that stands out to him is of his friend Skinny Jim, taken in 1980.

[00:04:39]This is from a trip on the tube into London with a small gang of these misfits. That picture is perfect. I'm not blowing my own trumpet, but I stared at myself and it's up there with anything any of the big boys have done.

[00:04:51]I've seen so many variations of my skinhead photos over the last 30 years, but everything is so contrived. And they all use models.

[00:04:59]I was in a tiny little gang on a tiny little council estate in a tiny little town that no one had ever heard of at the time, taking pictures I thought no one would ever see just because I enjoyed doing it. So there's an honesty to it. And that's where the power lies.

[00:05:15]There's no narrative attached. What blows my mind is that I was only 15 years old when I took that photo on a moving tube train. It's the level of confidence. Something very strange was going on that I came out as such a confident photographer when I was so insecure at the same time. These days, Watson keeps the images from this era of his life in a black case that he calls the box of death because so many of the images within it are friends who have died from drugs and other ways the skinhead life impacted them. The photos he created show another side of this movement with all the range of emotion that you would see in any group of young people, not just the violence that is usually aligned with it. About this time in his life, Watson stated, "I truly believed it was a way of life, and that being a skinhead was not just about the clothes and style, but something that went so deep, a connection. It's like being in love.

[00:06:05]You just can't explain it." In relation to his feelings about the perception of this subculture, and whether it was or wasn't all about far-right Nazis, Watson expressed, "Well, I'm sorry, but I was just looking upon myself as a shy, sensitive human being, who, if I had a chance, would have lived a more stress-free life, not having to be tough, fight, or feel scared most of the time. Damaged goods, that's how I look at it." But, it's clear that he's happy to have moved on from this part of his life and changed for the better.

[00:06:35]After later being approached by Vice magazine to create new work, given that he hadn't published anything in a long time, he said, "The last 8 years I've been in the pub. Thankfully, I'm out of it now." Recently, he's moved towards documenting skinheads elsewhere in the world, specifically Muslim skinheads from Malaysia, drawn to them by his curiosity about how a group he was part of as a young man has grown into something global that is associated with different cultures in different ways. In Watson's words on this, "What began as a style soon became a myth, and the myth soon became more convincing than the truth." To reiterate, just to make it abundantly clear, because I think most people that watch this channel are pretty level-headed and understand most things and aren't lost in the sauce, but I'm sure I'll get some comment who thinks that I'm defending skinheads and that I think the group in its totality is something worthwhile. I do not. I just simply think it's interesting to look at how a group can go from being a bunch of people obsessed with ska coming together and turn into something totally different and disgusting.

[00:07:43]Should also be noted that Gavin's group specifically had white and black kids within it. So, the idea of them having this racist agenda at that time just doesn't even make any sense. Just want to make this note because I know this can be a sensitive subject, but I think it's ridiculous to remain ignorant to how a thing started, no matter whether it's good or bad, the best thing that has ever been created or something that's completely evil.

[00:08:07]So, that rant aside, let's move on.

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[00:08:57]You can get 10% off a monthly or annual plan to Frames by using the code tank10 at checkout. After his experience and documentation of skinheads and punks, Gavin Watson moved on to documenting another growing movement through the rave scene beginning in the late 1980s.

[00:09:12]This work came together in a book called Raving '89. On moving into this new scene, Watson stated, "The whole skinhead thing was getting a bit strained. There were no options for most of us, unless you wanted to get married and have a kid. We still felt young enough at the time that we didn't want to disappear into a mature life.

[00:09:30]Rave came along at just the right time.

[00:09:33]All our friends went to raves, and those Those didn't fell by the wayside."

[00:09:37]Watson felt that everyone from every class of society in London wanted to be at these raves.

[00:09:43]What the rave scene did was wash the gang mentality away. The football tribes, the goths, skins, soul boys, etc. Because of this and the amount of work that he felt went into putting raves together so that so many people could experience them made the rave scene worth documenting.

[00:10:00]In regard to how he was moving away from being a skinhead and the feelings that came along with it, Watson said, "As a person, I'm very enthusiastic. But I'm always a bit outside of things. It was a fantastic release.

[00:10:12]It didn't take much to go there. But, it's not like I suddenly decided that I was going to put on a smiley face t-shirt and a bandana and become a raver.

[00:10:21]It just sort of happened and other stuff fell off me. We still had our skinhead mates, but everything changed, really.

[00:10:28]It didn't take much to make the transition." He also understood that this was not the case for everyone.

[00:10:33]Friends of his who had gotten married in their late teens had many long-term negative experiences as a result of the rave scene. They lost their houses, marriages, and their lives fell apart.

[00:10:44]People didn't know when the party was over. The drugs took their toll.

[00:10:48]More recently, Gavin has worked on a collaboration that's inspired by his life and work and moving from being a skinhead to a raver and photographing all of it. On this project, he stated, "I'm in my 50s and a grandfather.

[00:11:00]So, I'm out of it all now.

[00:11:02]But, it seems to me rave was the last big change of any pop cultural significance where something goes mainstream and everyone, not just youngsters, are aware of it. I want the play to be more universal and symbolic. I don't want it to be 100% about me.

[00:11:18]I don't want to watch my mistakes on stage.

[00:11:21]Gavin Watson's work shows us the importance of subcultures and how they have the ability to shape who we are and inform and change our world views.

[00:11:29]The documentations of these movements in any kind of equally great detail is extremely rare.

[00:11:34]Because often times it's hard to see the forest through the trees and realize the moment that you're in. And why it might be important to photograph, document, and create art around the times and places that you're involved in. Both skinheads and ravers are controversial groups and come with a lot to unpack.

[00:11:51]Different photographers documenting these groups could have completely different takes and present a different and more stereotypical look at them.

[00:11:58]Instead of asking us how to look into the layers of depth that may or may not exist in these groups. The main lesson that I take away from studying Gavin Watson is that there's almost always more to people than appears to be on the surface. And to understand one another, it takes time and willingness to do so.

[00:12:15]Which is purely the opposite of where many skinheads stand on their own observations on society and its impact on them. But maybe there are some good eggs within this group.

[00:12:26]And those people can potentially be steered in a better direction.

[00:12:30]Thanks for watching. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe. And until next time, keep developing.