1964–1966 · Britain
Youth gangs invade the seaside!
Mods and rockers
Panic meter
The verdict
The press coverage of a few seaside scuffles became the textbook case that gave the term “moral panic” its meaning.
Reality meter
What was said?
Over the Easter weekend of 1964, young mods (on Vespas, in suits) and rockers (on motorbikes, in leather) clashed in Clacton, England. The newspapers wrote of "war" on the beaches, and similar scenes followed in Brighton and Margate. Politicians called for tougher punishments.
The verdict: what happened next?
The damage was limited, and most of those involved were teenagers who wanted to be seen. In his book Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972), the sociologist Stanley Cohen showed how the press exaggerated the events, how the police and the courts responded to the image rather than the reality, and how the exaggerations in turn drew more young people to take part.
Cohen's book is the reason this site is called what it is.
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