Rude boy

Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture.^[1] In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms rude boy and rude girl, among other variations like rudeboy and rudebwoy, being used to describe fans of two-tone and ska. This revival of the subculture and term was partially the result of Jamaican immigration to the UK and the so-called "Windrush" generation. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK and especially Jamaica, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to gangsta, yardie, or badman.^[2]

Jamaica

The term rude boy, and the rude boy subculture, arose from the poorer sections of Kingston, Jamaica, and was associated with violent discontented youths.^[3] Along with ska and rocksteady music, many rude boys favored sharp suits, thin ties, and pork pie or Trilby hats, showing an influence of the fashions of US jazz musicians and soul music artists. It is also believed that the rude boy style was influenced by Sean Connery's sharp, tight suits worn when he portrayed James Bond, testified to by several ska songs that referenced James Bond. Well-known cowboy and gangster/outlaw films from that period were also influential factors in shaping the rude boy image, as scholars like Rob Wilson, Christopher Leigh Connory, and Deborah A. Thomas have shown.^[4]^[5] In that time period, unemployed Jamaican youths sometimes found temporary employment from sound system operators to disrupt competitors' dances (leading to the term dancehall crasher).^[6] The violence that sometimes occurred at dances and its association with the rude boy lifestyle gave rise to a slew of releases by artists who addressed the rude boys directly with lyrics that either promoted or rejected rude boy violence, for example the 1967 song "Rudy a Message to You" by Dandy Livingstone.

Starting in the 1970s, Jamaican reggae music replaced the ska and rocksteady music associated with the rude boys. In the 1980s, dancehall became the main Jamaican popular music genre, drawing some parallels with the earlier rude boys in its culture and lyrical content.^[7]^[8]^[9]

United Kingdom

In the 1960s, the Jamaican diaspora introduced rude boy music and fashion to the United Kingdom, which influenced the mod and skinhead subcultures.^[10]^[11] In the late 1970s, the term rude boy and rude boy fashions came back into use after the 2 tone band the Specials (notably with a cover of "A Message to You Rudy") and their record label 2 Tone Records instigated a brief but influential ska revival.^[12] In this same spirit, the Clash contributed "Rudie Can't Fail" on their 1979 album London Calling, and The Ruts their 1980 single "Staring at the Rude Boys". In more recent times in multicultural Britain, the term rudeboy has become associated with street or urban culture, and is a common greeting.^{[citation needed]} The term rudeboy has become associated with music genres such as ragga, jungle, drum and bass, UK garage, and grime – although is still used by many ska and ska punk bands, old and new – predominantly in the UK and USA.

References

^ "The Rude boy in Jamaican music" – The Gleaner – 1 January 2012 Retrieved 28 January 2013
^ Neville Staple (2009) Original Rude Boy, Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-480-8
^ "The Rude Boy in Jamaican music". jamaica-gleaner.com. January 2012.
^ Rob Wilson; Christopher Leigh Connery (2007). The Worlding Project: Doing Cultural Studies in the Era of Globalization. North Atlantic Books. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-55643-680-2.
^ Thomas, Deborah A. Modern blackness: nationalism, globalization, and the politics of culture in Jamaica
^ Jackson, Andrew Grant (2015). 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-250-05962-8.
^ Klive Walker (2005). Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground. Insomniac Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-897414-60-6.
^ Russell A. Potter (1995). Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. SUNY Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7914-2625-8.
^ Michael Veal (2007). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8195-6572-3.
^ Old Skool Jim. Trojan Skinhead Reggae Box Set liner notes. London: Trojan Records. TJETD169.
^ Marshall, George (1991). Spirit of '69 – A Skinhead Bible. Dunoon, Scotland: S.T. Publishing. ISBN 1-898927-10-3.
^ Panter, Horace. Ska'd for Life. Sidgwick & Jackson, 2007.

[1] "The Rude boy in Jamaican music" – The Gleaner – 1 January 2012 Retrieved 28 January 2013

[2] Neville Staple (2009) Original Rude Boy, Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-480-8

[3] "The Rude Boy in Jamaican music". jamaica-gleaner.com. January 2012.

[4] Rob Wilson; Christopher Leigh Connery (2007). The Worlding Project: Doing Cultural Studies in the Era of Globalization. North Atlantic Books. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-55643-680-2.

[5] Thomas, Deborah A. Modern blackness: nationalism, globalization, and the politics of culture in Jamaica

[6] Jackson, Andrew Grant (2015). 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-250-05962-8.

[7] Klive Walker (2005). Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground. Insomniac Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-897414-60-6.

[8] Russell A. Potter (1995). Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. SUNY Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7914-2625-8.

[9] Michael Veal (2007). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8195-6572-3.

[10] Old Skool Jim. Trojan Skinhead Reggae Box Set liner notes. London: Trojan Records. TJETD169.

[11] Marshall, George (1991). Spirit of '69 – A Skinhead Bible. Dunoon, Scotland: S.T. Publishing. ISBN 1-898927-10-3.

[12] Panter, Horace. Ska'd for Life. Sidgwick & Jackson, 2007.

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v t e Mods
General	Blow-Up Casuals Crew cut Lambretta Pete Meaden Mods and rockers Mod haircut Pop art Quadrophenia (film) Rude boy Scooter Scooterboy Sharpies Skinhead Soulboy Suedehead Swinging London Twisted Wheel Club Youth subculture Vespa
Clothing	Ben Sherman Beatle boots Carnaby Street Chelsea boot Crombie coat Fishtail parka Fred Perry Harrington Loafers Miniskirt Nehru jacket Mohair Winklepickers
Drugs	Amphetamine "Purple hearts"

v t e Skinhead
Vintage subcultures	Mod Rude boy Sharpies Scooterboy Soulboy Suedehead
Modern subcultures and groups	Football hooliganism Gay skinhead Hardcore skinhead Friends Stand United Hardline Oi! Straight edge Peckerwood Aryan Brotherhood Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Aryan Circle European Kindred Nazi Lowriders Public Enemy No. 1 List of peckerwood gangs Redskin Red Action Red and Anarchist Skinheads Trojan skinhead Anti-Racist Action Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice White power skinhead American Front Aryan Guard Blood & Honour British Movement Combat 18 Creativity Hammerskins Heritage Front Keystone State Skinheads Vinlanders Social Club National Front National Socialist Movement Volksfront White Aryan Resistance
Music	2 Tone Blue Beat Caribbean music in the UK Hardcore punk Mod revival Motown National Socialist black metal Northern soul Oi! Punk rock Reggae Rock Against Communism Rocksteady Ska Soul Stax Records Studio One Trojan Records
Clothing and accessories	Alpha Industries Ben Sherman Brogues Brutus Crombie Donkey jacket Dr. Martens Flat cap Flight jacket Fred Perry Grinders Harrington Levi Strauss Loafers Lonsdale MA-1 Sweater vest Solovair Steel-toe boots Suit Tredair Trilby
Other topics	Skinhead books Skinhead films Hooligan firms Peckerwood gangs

v t e Counterculture of the 1960s (timeline)
Arts	Black Arts Movement Psychedelic art Psychedelic music Youthquake
Cultural events	San Francisco Renaissance Beatlemania British Invasion Mods and rockers Swinging Sixties Hippie movement Human Be-In Summer of Love Bed-Ins for Peace Woodstock
Social and political movements	American Indian Movement Anti-nuclear movement Back-to-the-land movement Black Power movement Civil rights movement Dialoguero Free school movement Free Speech Movement Gay liberation Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War protests Second-wave feminism Women's liberation movement Sexual revolution United States
Media	Underground press newspapers
Subcultures	Discordianism Freak scene Hippie Mod Rocker Rude boy UK underground Yippies

Jamaica

United Kingdom

See also

References