CULTURE: Reading Steady Go!

Running:From: 09 Apr 2011 To: 09 Oct 2011

Venue:John Madejski Art Gallery, Reading Museum & Town Hall, Reading, RG1 1QH

Reading Steady Go! exhibition logo

This exhibition explores the explosion of youth culture in the 1960s and its legacy in today’s music and fashion.

In the early 1960s Reading emerged from the rationing and austerity of the post war years. A generation of ‘Baby Boomers’ enjoyed increased spending power, more freedom and leisure time.

The term ‘teenager’ was used for the first time and alongside the new buildings that rose up in Reading, various youth cultures emerged. Young people began to define their identify through allegiance to different styles such as Teddy Boy, Rockabilly, Beatnik and Mod.

The early Mod pioneers were known as 'Modernists', because of their liking for Modern Jazz. They approved of all things new and revelled in the coffee bars and supermarkets that came to Reading in the late 1950s.

The town’s Mods soaked up the influences and latest trends from London. They listened to black American R & B artists, wore smooth cropped hairstyles, tailored jackets and neat Italian rounded-collar shirts.

Our exhibition intends to be an insight into the real Mod world. It goes beyond the popular myths to show their passion for music, fashion and being young.