Skinheads

About this book

In Skinheads John King takes us inside skinhead culture today and explains how it never really went away. Skinheads is the story of a way of life told through three generations of a family: Terry English original ska-loving skinhead and boss of a mini-cab firm; Nutty Ray street-punk skin and active football hooligan; and Lol son of Terry nephew of Ray a fifteen-year-old kid just starting out. Terry is sick and not sure hes going to make his fiftieth birthday but is kept going by his music his lovely mod-girl assistant Angie and his discovery of the abandoned Union Jack Club which he decides to clean up and re-open. Ray meanwhile is out driving mini-cabs and struggling to control his anger; his only release days out with Chelseas finest. But when he takes the law into his own hands in an explosion of righteous violence his future starts to darken. John Kings seventh novel draws on nearly forty years of evolving British culture. The skinheads didnt die off: the look went mainstream and their music was accepted and reinvented while the boys themselves keep misbehaving in the traditional ways. Challenging societys fears and prejudices Skinheads shows us a group of truly humane characters driven by passion and honour and the culture they love. This is their story.