STONE ISLAND 'ARCHIVO' BOOK

2012 marks the 30th Anniversary of Stone Island. As we await the reproduction of some classic pieces from the last 30 years, we also anticipate 'Archivo' to commemorate the occasion. The heavyweight book will be available in September with the history of the brand captured with some stunning imagery. At present we do not have a price.

Thanks to www.umbrellamagazine.co.uk for the images.

LIRA BLOUSON UP-DATE.

Yet another up-date on the Lira which seems to have been in production for 18 months. After 3 samples and numerous final edits we are now only a couple of weeks away from releasing the 'Reversible' Blouson. The 'Made in Italy' buttons have literally being getting manufactured in Italy as we speak. We have had to wait for the second and final delivery, which should be by the end of this week. Then it will be just a matter of parcelling up the goods for delivery.

BY THE SEA - DREAM WATERS

By The Sea - Dream Waters from FREAKBEAT FILMS on Vimeo.

A musical interlude today because it's congratulations to Freakbeat Films http://vimeo.com/freakbeatfilms/videos whom we are working with on the Eighties Vinyl Records project. They have just completed their first official video for a single release. 

By The Sea hail from the Wirral and have an album produced by ex-Coral Bill Ryder-Jones due in October. In the meantime here's the video for the single Dream Waters which is scheduled for release on the Great Pop Supplement label on September 10.

THE AWAY END

A friend on Facebook has sent us details of this book he has compiled. It features many stories from real supporters  travelling to away games and the tales that unfold. Here is his write up and the book is available from Amazon;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Away-End-Dean-Mansell/dp/1477654267

The universal language of football has provided fans all over the world with memories to cherish for the rest of their lives. Football fans are really one of the same animal, that being a devoted die hard bunch who follow their team through thick and thin, one day hoping for that glorious moment that will live with them forever. 'The Away End' book is a collection of over 50 stories written by the fans themselves. Author Dean Mansell has marshalled these stories from right across the land in the cause of creating this richly entertaining volume. A wide variety of real life tales are told by fans in their own special way. The ‘away day’ trip is the one that normally brings with it an adventure or two. The events surrounding the actual game, such as the journey to the ground or the tipple in the pub beforehand, often outshine the game itself. Football is about much more than watching your heroes on the pitch on a Saturday afternoon. It’s about sharing the misery of defeat on a cold wet Tuesday winters night, and the camaraderie that is born by ‘being there’ for your team with your fellow supporters. This is a proper football book written by the supporter, for the supporter and reminds us all why we love the game of football so much.

INTRODUCING MO

We have previously mentioned about us using local industry which in itself is being quite patriotic and is something needed as Britain hits the worst recession since 1955. The Cottage Industry or Putting-Out System in the textile industry harks back to the invention of the sewing machine in 1846. Putting-Out workers worked from home with flexibility to balance work with household chores. It was also central to business as it meant the work could be put-out instead of outlay on new business premises for sewing. 

Let Jay introduce Mo;

"Mo is a very much an integral part of the business here at Eighties. Many of our garments are hand finished by her in the historical City of Chester (well in her back room just outside of the City anyway). Initial manufacturing is paramount to our quality, but it’s the little details such as the leather badge, signature buttons and discreet pinch tag that give our garments their devil. Mo oversees the placement of all these important fineries as well as constructing many of our prototypes and making final adjustments to samples before signing off for production.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Mo in my 17 years as a clothing buyer for acclaimed designer clothing retailer Tessuti . Of all the tailors that I acquainted in that time, I have never known such a  Craftswomen who is truly a master of this dying art. Her understanding of structure and willingness to make the impossible possible is bewitching.

Mo is just another example of how we like to keep our brands small success local and keep flying the flag for small businesses and cottage industries alike in our community. Artists such as Mo are a dying breed and we are proud and honoured to have her amongst our ranks."

CRAIG CHARLES IN EIGHTIES

Got sent these two pics of 'Friend of Eighties' Craig Charles having a good time in Croatia. The Soundwave Festival was the venue for Craig to display our latest 'Jayne II' 'Girl across the Street' T-Shirt which he helped pick the song title for.  The original Moses Smith vinyl is a rarity in Northern Soul circles and we thought the title quite apt for our image.

We still have one or two sizes available here;

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop1.html

NEW DEUTSHMARK POLO COLOURS

The European draws this week have many looking forward to their first taste of competitive football for this 2012/13 season. That could mean some warm weather and less rain than here which ties in nicely with the last few bits of the Summer Grafters Collection. The Lira Blouson is due a release in the coming Month of August but first up we have two new colours in the DeutschMark Polo.

Mint Green and Placid Blue are two colours that remind us of those early trips abroad where it was possibly to pick up some nicely coloured garments that seemed to be impossible to find at home. The legendary Lacoste was one of the first to be imported as a block coloured Polo.

The Eighties Polo should be in-store by the back end of next week.

CARL COX T-SHIRT AVAILABLE

I'm sure there's a few on here who are gearing up for that fortnight in Ibiza.

We therefore have an exclusive in our Store. The Carl Cox 'Godfather of House' T-Shirt is available now in 3 colours.

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop1.html

Jay tells us here how he got involved in the whole scene and how he was once on the same bill as the legend himself.

"In 1988 a friend of mine told me about this new thing that was kicking off called Acid music. He said he had heard of this club in Liverpool that was playing it on a Thursday night, so we went. Inside it was mind blowing, no Shazza's doing the side step around their handbags and no Ted's waiting to glass you for so much as a side ways glance for spilling their pint. This place was fucking booming! heads just letting themselves go, throwing mad shapes everywhere in the flicker of a strobe light.

The next day we felt so aloof as we knew this was the beginning of something big. While most others were still asking for the last dance in the Ritzy, this was what we would be immersed in, and for three years I was. This time took me from Dumbarton to Bournemouth and everywhere in-between as I tried to carve my name as an underground house DJ. Back then there were no superstar DJ's, just lads who turned up with a flight case of 12 inches and a set of headphones if they were flash. It never went any further than that for me, as once the establishment done their thing, it just wasn't the same in sanitized night clubs as it had been in seedy disused warehouses.

I once played on the same bill as Carl Cox, and although he has gone on to be a big name, he was there in the beginning and has stood the test of time. Even to this day when you watch the big guy play, you can see he still loves the music and what it's doing to him and not just wanting to be a big time Charlie who gets all the cars and girls.

For this reason Carl Cox is my Godfather of house.

Below is a link to a live mix re mastered from cassette from when I was playing back in 1989. I hope it brings back some fantastic memories for you as it does for me. Memories are all we take with us and the one thing they cannot take away from us."

Jay.

http://soundcloud.com/jay-montessori/sets

NORTHERN MONKEYS BOOK - SEPT

New York 1995.

Hilfiger Jackets and Cap.

Bill Routledge contacted us this week to keep us up-dated on his latest 'tome'. The 400+ pages of  'Northern Monkeys' contains over 60 years of teenage culture. I have in fact made a contribution myself after my 'arl fella' regaled me with tales of being in the Merchant Navy in the late 50s and bringing back Rock 'n' Roll records, suits, jeans and white goods from across the pond. They became known as the Cunard Yanks as the ships they sailed on were from the Cunard Line and the styling of their attire was American. They were the protagonists of 50s style in Liverpool.

I also wrote about an un-documented period of Liverpool fashion. The mid 90s saw some of us travel to New York for weekends to pick up Tommy Hilfiger clothing a good three years before a European flagship store opened in London in 1998. A new bit of Americana entered the fashion stakes on Merseyside as Gant, Ralph Lauren, Bass Weejuns etc were also finding their way into the suitcase.

Bills book will be set for pre-order hopefully in mid September and then with possibly a late September release. Here's Bill's write up about the book;

http://northernmonkeys.weebly.com/about-the-book.html

EIGHTIES VINYL RECORDS IN THE PAPERS

A big Thanks to Jade Wright from the Liverpool Echo who got in touch this week with regards to the Music project we have only just recently announced.

Her 'recommends' article features an interview about our plans plus a link to the website.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/music/music-news/2012/07/20/jade-wright-recommends-eighties-vinyl-records-100252-31433606/ 

Already we have had correspondence from one band who would love to get into Track Studios to record plus another who hope to work with us in the near future.

Keep checking on our new Facebook page for up-dates; http://www.facebook.com/EightiesVinylRecords 

AMF ON THE CONTINENT

The Against Modern Football movement has a large appeal across the Continent with the plight of our game being highlighted by protests, banners and T-Shirts. Unless a stand is taken, then no big corporation or the F.A. or U.E.F.A will listen. Just spreading the word whether that be by handing out leaflets, marching, protesting at the ground or even wearing a T-Shirt could have an effect. 

Our own assault takes on an international theme as we use the brilliant graphic posters designed by the student group Atelier Populaire from the 1968 uprising in Paris as our inspiration for the latest AMF design. 

The original poster takes on a Casual theme with a collection of silhouette images taken from the last 10 years of 80s Casuals designs. We have some international stockists who may want their native language for the central tag-line but we will use the French wording for the U.K. as it ties in nicely with the Inspirational Posters.

A Spanish version in shown to highlight the problems in Spain as seen in the accompanying video.

The T-Shirts are due an August release.

We have two more International designs in the pipe-line.

40 YEARS OF THE TREFOIL

adidas celebrates 40 years of the Trefoil this year. The famous and most respected of adidas logos was first introduced for the 1972 Olympic Games in their home country but has since been dropped from contemporary lines, only to be used on the Originals Collection.

The Trefoil was designed by Hans Fisk of Nuremburg whose design agency also produced the adidas catalogues during the 70s.

To celebrate the anniversary a Limited Edition [500] Gold Watch has been produced plus a selection of  Polo T-Shirts as worn by Smith, Lendl and Nastase. The trefoil on the Polos has gold edging and comes in a retro gold embellished blue box.

Available in adidas Originals now.

IN THE STUDIO

http://www.facebook.com/EightiesVinylRecords
We've just got back from the studio and what a great place it was. More on the music in the coming days but Track Studios is on Roscoe Street in Liverpool and is run by Steve Powell who has worked with Shack, The La's and The Coral. He has spent years sourcing the best 50s/60s and 70s equipment from the U.S. and even Russia.
A £2000 70s Russian Lomo Mic sits proudly in the studio while an old B.B.C. Mixing Desk holds pride of place next to 50s and 60s Altec and Ampex pre amps as used by Motown, plus a Langevin, which was a favourite of The Doors and not to be out done a Telefunken which The Beatles were proud to be associated with. 
We'd just like to Thank Steve for the day and hopefully we can get one or two more bands in there over the coming year. He is in the process of setting up a new website so we will put up the details one we have them.

EIGHTIES VINYL RECORDS

Here at 80s Casuals we pride ourselves on using local business and talent, whether that be printing, embroidery, photography or design. Therefore as we embark on ‘Eighties Vinyl Records’ we shall be using the same principal.

The ‘Not for Profit’ label will hopefully be a showcase of local talent, from the Artists themselves through to the Graphic Designer, Film/Video Production, Editors, Recording Studio etc, etc.

To keep within our Eighties Philosophy and Inspiration we shall be producing Limited Edition 7” Coloured Vinyl in quantities not exceeding 250.

There was nothing better than racing to Probe Records to pick up a Limited Edition Vinyl on the first day of release, checking the Cover Artwork, reading the Sleeve Notes and having something of substance to grasp on the journey home.

Our first Single is an exclusive from the much lauded talent that is The Sand Band. ‘Going to the City’ will be accompanied by a Video courtesy of Freakbeat Films, with all Artwork by Dominic Foster. Studio time donated by Steve Powell at Roscoe Studios.

We go into the studio tomorrow to put the first track down ready for Vinyl production. The Sand Band have given us an exclusive with 'Going to the City'. The bands album release 'All through the Night' from 2011 made Mojo Magazines Top 50 albums of the year, above Noel Gallagher, The Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead.

The idea of 'Eighties Vinyl Records' is to act as a showcase and produce possibly 4 or 5 singles each year.

We are looking at an early September release for The Sand Bands 'Going to the City'.
http://facebook.com/pages/the-sand-band/184382882109
https://vimeo.com/freakbeatfilms/videos

2 NEW DESIGNS NOW IN-STORE

We now have two new designs available on-line. The 'Jayne' T-Shirt was one of our favourites of the past year and we think can be worn by anyone aged from 16 up to 50, it just seems to be a classic Ad that translates well onto a T-Shirt. Now the new up-dated version 'The Girl across the Street' incorporates the Moses Smith Motown vinyl of the same name and again the finished design seems to work well especially on the Summer colours of Yellow and Bottle Green.

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop1.html

The second tee has our Banksyesque version of a Motorway sign specially commissioned for our friends in the Midlands.

Both T-Shirts are available now.

Most of our usual Stockists have taken delivery of 'The Girl across the Street' whilst  Distant Echo, Threads, Modern Life and Closer [Japan], will have 'Midlands' in stock now.

AMF - ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK. IN STORES.

The third installment of our Against Modern Football series is at present an exclusive for the Shops.

Attack, Attack, Attack showcases the 2-3-5 attacking formation favoured by most clubs during the 70s. The players silhouettes are produced via the pylon Floodlights which also seem to have disappeared from the Modern game.

The T-Shirt should be in Stores early next week if not already by this weekend. The Shops taking stock include; Bronx, Distant Echo, Ran, 80s CasualClassics, Gregorys, Closer [Japan], Threads and Terraces.  Check the website for addresses; http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/stockists.html

EIGHTIES

You may have noticed a slight change in our name over the last few months. Mainly the dropping of the word 'Casuals'. This is basically due to most people shortening the name to 'Eighties' when speaking of us anyway plus as our label expands we do encompass and take influence from other aspects of the 80s decade that inspire us besides just the Casual culture.

Our leather badge has been overalled for this Winter as well as other finer details now carrying the Eighties new typeface including our buttons.

We are still known and trademarked as 80s Casuals but the Eighties moniker shall be appearing more as we build up to our 10th anniversary.

EIGHTIES MUSIC - THE RED SUNS

You're going to see a lot more music on here in the coming months as we get ourselves involved in a few music projects. More details to follow in the next week.

First up though we have The Red Suns from over on the Wirral [Coral country] who have built up a strong local following and have been known to wear the odd Eighties piece. They have a free download single available this week and hold a launch at the Glassfire in Hoylake on Thursday 19 July. http://www.facebook.com/events/171827166284543/ 

The single 'Racing Cars' is available for download here;

http://www.facebook.com/RedSunsMusic?v=app_178091127385

WIRRAL BOXING CLUB

Here at Eighties it's fair to say we are very enthusiastic about our sports. Now as you probably know, we already put money back into our main passion football at grass roots level through junior and Sunday teams. So when we were recently asked to help out at director Jay Montessori's old boxing gym, after a quick shake of the piggy bank we were more than pleased to help.

Vauxhall Motors boxing section was formed on November 3rd 1981 by a group of work colleagues from the Vauxhall car plant. 

By February 1982 enough funds had been raised to purchase some equipment and the section's very first training session took place in the dressing room of the football/rugby team. 

 This session was overseen by two members,  John Kennedy and Peter Phelan. The dressing room was considered to be inappropriate, so the section acquired the use of the old foreman's canteen. 

In October 1982 they became affiliated to the West Lancashire & Cheshire division of the ABA of England and became known as Vauxhall Motors Amateur Boxing Club. They began with the  motto "WE NEVER TURN ANYONE AWAY" and their idea was to give youngsters the opportunity to learn the art of amateur boxing in a safe environment.

The first boxing show was held at the Vauxhall Motors Sports & Social Club in December 1982.  Since then their athletes have represented England & Great Britain at senior and junior tournaments and won national titles at every level, also nurturing decorated professional such as Paul Lloyd, Nick Mc Donald and Paul Butler Jr.

As a club they have travelled Europe and the U.S.A. They have competed in team matches in Scotland,  Wales, The Republic Of Ireland,  Holland,  Denmark, Germany and Spain.  In 1998 they made their first trip to New York City. This was followed by further trips in 2000 and 2006.  A TV documentary was made about the 2000 visit to New York City called "Squaring Up" and was shown throughout the northwest region.  It was a tremendous advert for the club, Vauxhall Motors, the Wirral and the sport of Amateur Boxing in general. 

In 2000 Vauxhall Motors requested they move from their home of 19 years as they wanted to demolish the building. After much negotiation they were re housed in a empty building in Little Sutton known as the Gas Distribution Depot. This was by far the best move ever for the club as it placed them within the heart of the community.In April 2010 they became the first club in Cheshire and only the 13th out of a total of over 700 boxing clubs in England to achieve Clubmark accreditation. Clubmark was introduced by Sport England in 2002 as a operating standard for all sports clubs.

Vauxhall Motors Sports & Social Club ended it's association with Amateur Boxing in July 2011 and the club known as Vauxhall Motors Amateur Boxing Club was disbanded. The membership and the community still wanted the club to continue so after negotiating a lease with the sports & social club they formed a new boxing club - Wirral ABC.Wirral ABC contacted the Community Police Clubs of Great Britain and were promptly affiliated to them and The Merseyside & Cheshire Association of the ABA of England therefore becoming Wirral Community Police Boxing Club.

To this day Peter Phelan remains the heart beat of the club and for as long as we are in business at Eighties, we will continue to support the club in keeping kids off the street and producing more amateur and professional boxers that we can be proud of.