Compiled and designed by Richard Barnes
Assisted by Johnny Moke and Jan McVeigh
Reprinted Feb 1980, April 1980, July 1981
Printed in England by Wrightsons Ltd. Ruislip Middlesex
7½x10¼"
128 pgs, illustrated
Was going to buy this book a couple of times, but never got around to it - would like to read it sometime, to see if it compares with my recollections of being a Mod 1965 to 1967, that was when it had all fizzled out..........
The picture on the front cover was staged outside Peckham Labour Exchange (pre-Job Centre), circa 1964......Peckham was a big Mod hang out back in the day, you just had to get your Italian shoes from "Raoul", in Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15, which was the name Ravel shoes started out with. I was born in Peckham.
Only "Wally's" rode scooters with all those lights on, too heavy, and detrimental to your performance.....it was all about speed, and you needed a Vespa GS 160, Vespa SS 180, or the fabulous Lambretta GT 200 / SX 200 if you wanted to get places fast.
One of our crew, "Malcolm" rode in 1966 a brand new Lambretta SX 200, resprayed from white to Bright Orange, with the air-cooled engine bored out to 225cc, and he had stripped it down and rebuilt the engine using castor based oil "Castrol R40", same as used on racing motor cycles. He was quick, and safe, wore a french beret on his head, same as me.
If anyone knows that "smell" of Castrol R40 engine oil, you'll never forget it......
I saw the hardback, it was in Oakmead Boys library - probably early 1980, thing is it then disappeared, somebody had taken it home to read & not returned it thereafter.
I ordered a couple of paperback copies for customers of mine about five or six years ago, can't recall the retail price now, but it had been reprinted by Plexus.Unfortunately the quality of the photos was nowhere near as good (a tad murky!) Don't recall seeing a hardback though, that's interesting..
Got mine in 1980 (the most influential book of my teenage years) Recall someone having the 1979 edition at school, which had a different back cover (not seen it since) I see by the illustration above that it had already gone up a quid in a year too!