SUB : BIO’S : Edition 5 :
@_gavin_watson
When I was 17, I bought my first pair of 8 up Doc Martens in cherry red. Black laces replaced with the yellow ones that they came with as a spare.
These boots, and watching ‘This Is England’ for the first time is what lead me to loving the original Skinhead movement - a genuinely misunderstood subculture. At its core, it was Jamaican music, working class pride, and buzz cuts.
I might’ve learnt about it from afar, but Gavin Watson lived it.
I was lucky to spend an hour on the phone with the cult British photographer and learn about how he turned his own life into one of the most important visual records of youth culture ever captured.
Across the next week, I’ll be releasing 7 cuts from our phone call. The full interview will be available on my website soon.
In this first part, Gavin talks about the impact of This Is England, and that his book ‘Skins’ was a key reference for director Shane Meadows when he brought this film to life.