AMF III - ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK.

Here we have our latest 'Against Modern Football' design which is in the latter stages of creation.

One of our earliest Football memories as a kid was watching midweek Internationals or

European games on Sportsnight. The Continental Stadiums would have fantastic floodlit pylons

which would create criss-crossed shadows of the players as they ran across the pitch.

Our latest T-Shirt emphasises the players silhouettes in the old style 2-3-5 attacking formation lit by the floodlights in each corner of the ground. The formation known as the 'pyramid' was the first standard formation which spread all over the world and was the first long term successful team formation. Positions included left and right wing, inside left and inside right with the positions playing an integral part in the introduction of numbered shirts.

The T-Shirt is due for a late June release.

SOUND OF THE SUMMER - TEA STREET BAND

The sun is shining and we're all thinking of a few days away in the coming months. The Euros are less than two weeks away and the Festival season is only around the corner, while over in Ibiza the clubs are gearing up for the Brit invasion.

Today we acquaint you with our sound of the Summer. The Tea Street Band have been gaining a strong following around the country in the past year and their sound would not feel out of place in Space or Pacha.

The band recently recorded for Red Bull and a free download is available here; 

http://www.redbull.co.uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Article/Free-Download--The-Tea-Street-Band-021243214757482?p=1242762411050  

EIGHTIES SHORTS

At last Summer has arrived and we now look for some Shorts with a fine cut and style. Not too long and not too short. Look no further then than the latest Eighties 'Euro' Shorts which are now available on-line. http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop11.html 

They are available in Latte and Navy. Stores have already taken delivery.

Should you be strapped for cash in these austere times then we have a few bits on Ebay as we clear out the warehouse. The cargo style 'Khyber' and last years 'Rambler' are both heavily reduced with free shipping. There are only those few that are available on the Ebay site so once they are gone, we have no more.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/80scas/m.html?item=261032896437&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562

30 YEARS AGO TODAY - ROTTERDAM '82

By 1982 we were looking for any reason at all to buy that Transalpino ticket and travel across the Channel in search of the latest Designer Sportswear. The European Cup Final of 1982 was to be held in the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. For the sixth year running a British team had reached the Final. Aston Villa would take on Bayern Munich. This was a good enough reason for us to take in the game via a quick trip to Germany to pick up adidas Trainers plus Fila Shorts, Polos and an adidas Lendl Jumper. The Tennis look of that Summer was in it's infancy.

The outward train journey through Belgium involved an eventful night as we followed Gent fans from our train into their town for a night of celebration as they had just won the Belgian Cup in Brussels. The pub which we ended up in was a lively place, more so once someone turned up with the Cup and proceeded to fill it with Champagne.

On the day of the game we arrived in Amsterdam before jumping a train for the short journey to Rotterdam. Tickets were being checked prior to entering the Stadium. We had none. The ticket was being ripped by the inspectors and one half was thrown to the floor and the other half given back to the supporter. We retrieved some stubs from the floor and got a few Villa fans to pass us the other half through the railings. As we approached the inspectors we made it look like we were ripping our own ticket and then passed the stub to the inspectors. It worked a treat.

Aston Villa won the game 1-0 and we headed back to Amsterdam for a few late drinks.

A quality trip with some nice clothing acquired and a European Cup Final involving three local lads including Kenny Swain whose dad lived in the same road as us. We would see him in the local pub a few weeks later proudly showing off his sons winners medal.

The photos show an articulated bus or 'bendy bus' as we called it which was unique to us group of scousers as was the tram. They were all a part of the thrill of going to Europe and seeing new cultures. We had only ever been used to going to North Wales on family holidays before Rome in '77.

This tale also appears in my book 'The Liverpool Boys are in Town' ''The Birth of Terrace Culture'' which I hope to get re-published as an E-Book later this year.

35 YEARS AGO TODAY - ROME '77

May 25 1977 and what could be described as an occurrence that determined all related events that followed. It was Liverpool's 1st European cup Final in Rome and I had sold my Raleigh Chopper Bike to fund the trip. Two and a half days on a Football Special was no mean feat, traveling through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy because there was a rail strike in France. Running out of Food and Water after a day meant jumping off the train at the any opportunity possible as it pulled up at a station or the border.

The train arrived early Wednesday morning into Rome Termini and we set off on a sight seeing walking tour, taking in the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum and the Vatican. The warm weather meant the locals were finely attired in Polo T-Shirts, Shorts and Superga style pumps, shooting around on stylish Vespa's and Lambretta's. This trip would be the last time you would see the teenage Liverpool Supporters in flared jeans, baseball pumps and wide collared shirts. Even club colours would be discarded the following season as a band of fashionable teenage supporters congregated on the Anfield Road Terraces.

The Culture that would become known as 'Casuals' was in its infancy as drainpipe style jeans, adidas and Peter Storm Cagoules plus adidas trainers replaced the outlandish finery of the 70s.

The triumphant 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach whetted the appetite of many, myself included. Rome was a world away from Britain which seemed to be a dull monotone grey colour, whereas Italy had  the sun, pastel coloured clothes and sportswear, outdoor Cafe's and strong lager. Inspiration was abound wherever you looked. The Terraces would never be the same again. 

The seed had been sewn and from May 25 onwards Europe beckoned and the lure of Continental Sports Shops would be too big for many. 

SPRAY MAGAZINE - CASUALS ARTICLE

A couple of months ago the guys over at Spray Magazine in Paris published a Casuals related article written by Rod Glacial. Rod has now given us the full article to publish and although it is in French, the content is worth looking at for the pictures alone. 

We hope to get a translation in in the near future but for the time being here is the full 10 page piece.

STOKE - THE CASUAL JUNCTION

Every now and then one of our Stockists request their own special Limited Edition T-Shirt from one of our designs. We like to work closely with the Stores and do our utmost to keep all customers happy, therefore when Terraces of Stoke request their own take on the North Junction T-Shirt, we duly oblige.

The design should be available from this weekend from Terraces on Marsh Street South, Stoke-on-Trent.

Colours include Black, White and a limited run of Yellow. 

UMBRELLA MAGAZINE

We, like everyone else, love a freebie. Therefore one website we keep an eye on is the Umbrella one. http://www.umbrellamagazine.co.uk/ 

Umbrella is the free on-line magazine that we have followed from its inception. The latest Issue is Number 6 and contents range from Russian Film Posters, Man v Food, The 80s New York Subway, Advertising in Mad Men era America, as well as the latest tidbits of Fashion.

Check the link to view the latest issue.

THE JOHN PEEL WORLD CUP

The John Peel World Cup was initiated by Peter Hooton of The Farm with Phil Hayes of Liverpool music venue The Picket as a way of remembering John's love of Football and Music. Proceeds from the event go to the British Heart Foundation. 80s Casuals supported the event by sponsoring a piece of advertising hoarding and competing in the competition for the 4th year running. Teams taking part in the 12 team tournament included Umbro and Liverpool 1 from the world of fashion plus the bands Ghostpoet and The Tea Street Band along with music and football mags such as Bido Lito and Spiel Magazine. http://spielmagazine.com/. 

So on Saturday 19 May the eyes of the sporting world were on Liverpool for the only Cup worth winning this year. With a auspicious backdrop of famous architect Cesar Pelli's One Park West, plus a Nando's and a Sound City stage, the games began. 

Eighties starting line up had a combined age of 170 [ages of 51, 49, 40 and 30] but we think we are fit for our age, plus two 21 year old super subs.

Our first game was against the physical, rapscallions known as The Tea Street Band http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=tea+street+band. On a 4 a-side pitch our Roy Hodgson tactics involved playing 4 at the back and soaking up the pressure before introducing the two youngsters for the last 5 minutes of the 10 minute games to hit them on the break with pace.

It worked a treat with a 2-1 win against a very good side.

 Liverpool Sound City were up next and these kids looked old enough to be our grandkids. They had won their first game 5-1. We started the game as we did the first as we watched the youngsters knock it about like Barca but without too much threat to our goal. The first 3 minutes were taking their toll now as us older guys chased shadows and so we introduced our secret weapons a touch earlier, but not before a few Ice Hockey style challenges into the hoardings just to let the youngsters know they were in a game. This seemed to knock the kids off their stride and dummies were thrown out of prams as we eventually ran out 4-0 winners.

The final group stage game was against Liverpool 1. Our passage through to the Quarter Finals was already secured so we conserved our energy and played out a scoreless draw. 

The Quarters paired us with Manchester indie outfit Kill Van Kulls http://soundcloud.com/thekillvankulls who seemed to be conserving their own energy for the evenings gig, having only just qualified for being the highest scorers of the teams finishing 3rd in the group stage. Needless to say these guys play music better than they do football and another 4-0 win earns us the rights to a Semi-Final berth with local magazine authors Bido Lito http://www.bidolito.co.uk/. 

Things are going that well by this stage that the odds are shortening on me getting the Liverpool managerial vacancy. 

Having been knocked out in the Semi's for the last two years, we are going to give everything to reach this Final. Well everything for 3 or 4 minutes until young Jack and Jordan take over. The final whistle sounds and we've done it. 3-0 sets us up in the Final against The Tea Street Band who after their early defeat to us have gone through the remainder of the Tournament without conceding a goal.

There's a 10 minute break before the Final so we boost our energy levels with some Haribo, Mars Bars, Lucozade and Red Bull. Us older guys have a 5 minute afternoon power nap and then take a puff on our inhalers and we're ready to go.

The Final we are told is 6 minutes each way. Bloody 'ell 12 minutes. Its a cagey affair to start with and I'm thinking these guys are as tired as us. We sneak a goal but they equalise just before half time. There's no orange segments or rest [damn!] at the break so its change ends and off we go again. By now yours truly is urging the team on from the sidelines as we take a 2-1 lead but the sprightly 51 year old on our team, Gary, wants to come off with 3 minutes to go. Myself and Carl toss a coin and I lose and have to go on. I swop places with Gary and take up a position close to our own goal with Paul the goalie and let young Jack and co do the running. As the seconds count down we manage to sneak a third and then the best Final whistle you have ever heard is sounded. 3-1.

80s Casuals - 2012 John Peel World Cup Winners.

A great day for a great cause in memory of the great John Peel.

SALFORD LADS CLUB - THE SMITHS

The Smiths whose lyrics seem to empower Joey Barton to philosophize during his tweets are a band that are still obviously resonant in todays culture. Their name was apparently chosen because it was the most ordinary name they could think of, plus 'it was time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces'.

Our 'Salford Lads Club' T-Shirt commemorates the 30th anniversary of the groups formation and depicts the Salford Lads Club which was rated third in the U.K.s most iconic buildings, mainly due to it's use on the cover of The Smiths 'The Queen is Dead' album.

The T-Shirt will be available on-line next week as well as from Distant Echo and Ran.

NORTHERN JUNCTION - AVAILABLE SOON

Our second new design of the month is about to be distributed to Stores before the weekend.

'Northern Junction' is a re-make and re-design of one of the first ever 80s Casuals T-Shirts from 2003.

It is up-dated with a Banksy graffiti style character. A new style Midlands design is due at the beginning of June.

Stockists for 'Northern Junction' include Hip, Square Menswear, Originals, 80s CasualClassics, Distant Echo, Bronx, Ran, Modern Life, Closer in Japan plus The CasualFactory in Greece. 

CLOSER - JAPAN STOCKIST

After supplying the Far East a couple of years back we continue to make in-roads into Japan with the opening of a new store in Osaka. Closer purposely takes its inspiration from the Casual Culture of the U.K. and for the last three months has been building up a steady amount of 80s Casuals clothing to showcase in the store.

The Shop itself stands out for its sleek, simple pared down aesthetic.

An on-line store is in the production stages and should be ready soon.

http://closer.cc/

Address: 313,Chusei Bldg

 1-8-22 Higashi Shinsaibashi Chuo-ku,

Osaka Japan.

AGAINST MODERN FOOTBALL II

If you've ever been sceptical about the meaning of 'Against Modern Football' then look no further than last week's story of the Malaysian businessmen involved with Cardiff City wanting to change their shirt colour from blue to red and replace the bluebird with a dragon. Although large investment is a necessity nowadays we think that maybe more consultation with the fans would be a good idea.

In the past week we have also had a F.A. Cup Final on a league fixtures Saturday. K.O. at 5.15 p.m. purely for T.V. audience figures with a total disregard for the fans traveling to and from the game.

This coming week we see the European Cup Final or Champions League Final as it is now known being played on a Saturday.

It appears that the proud traditions of our game are being taken away for the sake of commercialism.

Our second 'Against Modern Football' T-Shirt harks back to the good old days of Black Football Boots and proper leather Footballs. It's a time that we never want to forget.

The vintage stamp design reminds us of those special edition stamps that would appear during a World Cup or Olympic year.

The T-Shirt will be with Stores by the end of the week.

'EURO' SHORTS AVAILABLE SOON

This week sees the release of the Eighties 'Euro' Shorts. These 100% Cotton Shorts are available in Navy and Latte. The rear has two buttoned pockets with the 80s embroidered badge above one. To the front we have two side pockets plus a coin pocket with the metal 80s badge in the corner. The length rests just above the knee. 

The 'Euro' Shorts form the perfect accompaniment to the rest of the clothing within the Grafters Collection. 

Stockist as well as ourselves include Terraces, Distant Echo and Henry Brummel.

RRP £55/£60

80s CASUALS + LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY

Our recent competition included two 3 day wristbands for Liverpool Sound City. This is the 5th year of the Festival and 80s Casuals have been involved in the last four. From organising the closing party to participating in the John Peel 5 a-side World Cup.

The Festival itself has grown year on year with this years including the K+S Football Film Festival plus an Expo at the Liverpool Echo Arena as well as the usual plethora of up and coming bands and the odd established one.

Tickets usual go on sale in November for the princely sum of £20 which admits you to any of the gigs over the 3 day period before steadily rising to £45 in the last month before the Festival.

We shall be out and about from next Thursday 17 May, popping into the Football Screenings at Static before catching up with a few bands, then on the Saturday we shall be participating in the Umbro sponsored John Peel 5 a-side World Cup at Chevasse Park, Liverpool 1. Teams taking part include the likes of Umbro, Liverpool 1, Ghostpoet, Tea Street Band, Bido Lito, Spiel Magazine and D/R/U/G/S.

Funds raised from the event go to the British Heart Foundation.

We'll let you know how things transpire a week on Sunday.

Freakbeat Films should be doing a bit of filming and Photography. The video above is from the launch  last week in Hoxton London were four Liverpool bands were showcased. They included Luke Fenlon, Red Suns, Tea Street Band and The Hummingbirds.

NEW 'DRACHMA' SHIRT

The Escudo Jacket and Krone Cagoule are the ideal garments for this unpredictable Summer we are having at present, but should the sun come out or we head off to warmer climes, then Shorts and Short Sleeve Shirts will be a part of our luggage.

First up we have the 'Drachma' Short Sleeve Shirt. The 100% Cotton Button Down has a double Breast Pocket with a touch of Chambray which continues on the inner Cuff and Collar. The 80s metal badge appears on the Breast Pocket as well as the signature red button the back of the Collar. The brown leather Loop is another distinctive touch.

RRP is £55 with deliveries commencing next week. Stockists include;

Terraces, Hip, Red Square, Henry Brummel, DNA, Bromley Designerwear, Distant Echo plus our Greece and Poland Stores.

The 'Euro' Shorts will be advertised next week.

ESCUDO COMPETITION WINNER.

The winner was drawn yesterday for our joint competition with Liverpool Sound City.

The Winner was Neil McKee from Coventry.

The prize was 2 x 3 day wristbands which gets you into all gigs, plus the K&S Film Festival, as well as a Navy Escudo Jacket.

The Kicking and Screening Film Festival is being held at Static Gallery on Roscoe Lane in Liverpool from Thurs-Sat, 17-19 May. It is a football only Festival and films being shown include Argentina Futbol Club about the rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate, Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of New York Cosmos plus The Last Proletarians of Football which is the tale of how the amateurs of IFK Goteborg lead by Sven-Goran Eriksson in the 80s beat the leading lights of European football including Hamburg and Barcelona.