Scally

Encyclopedia : S : SC : SCA : Scally

This article or section may contain [No original researchoriginal research] or [Verifiabilityunverified] claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the [talk page] for details .

Scally is one of many regional terms, including townie and Ned (Scottish) to describe a current cultural youth group in the United Kingdom. For the main article on these, see chavs.

Look up in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Scally is a slang term, originally used in the north-west of England to describe the unemployed working class, who have little or no education, and are stereotypically involved in antisocial behaviour. The stereotypical 'Scally' dresses in Lacoste Tracksuits, wear silly hats with ear warmers and tuck their trouser legs into their socks. These delinquents are often violent and offensive to non-members of their subculture, resulting in attacks often on those perceived to be a goth or similar.

Stereotypes has been immortalised in comedy sketches by Harry Enfield with phrases such as "calm down, calm down!" and "a a a".

The word's ultimate origins, however, lie in Irish language. It is short for Scallywag, which comes from an old Irish word for drudge or farmservant - Sgaileog

It is a word which appears to be in common use within towns that have historic Irish communities, for example Salford, Warrington and Liverpool, where it is sometimes abbreviated to "scall". As one leaves the "Industrial Belt" of the Mersey and Irwell Valleys the word appears to have been replaced by Chav. Chavs are known to dress in Burberry outfits rather than Lacoste.

The Original Liverpool Scallies

It is generally regarded that the first Scallies were supporters of Liverpool FC who stood on the Anfield Road Terrace end of their football stadium. The earliest occurrence of this new fashion trend was evident in the Spring of 1977 where Adidas Samba footwear and Adidas t-shirts became en vogue with the Liverpool youth. By the August 1977 Charity Shield game between Liverpool and Manchester United Liverpool fans were noticeable with their new look- compared to Mancunians and Londoners who still dressed in the typical airwear 1970s look accompanied by wearing the respective colours of their teams. Colours that Scally fans rejected and stigmatised as being worn by fans who were media-led sheep-like followers of fashion (which ironically the new Scally look would become too). By 1978 the 'Liverpool look' (it was rarely called Scally back then)went overground and its 'look' was fed by travelling Anfield Road Enders who returned from Liverpool games in Europe with designer sports goods-much of which was stolen from unsuspecting continental stores. In contemporary times today it is difficult to imagine that in the 1970s sportswear was unheard of as a leisure item and so Liverpool was very much a first for this-nearly a decade before American hip-hop group Run DMC whould champion it. The Trevor Sorbie styled 'Mushroom' haircut also became very much a Liverpool thing and Liverpool's look was so different that their fans became known as the 'soul boys' in London and occasionally their sexuality was questioned by rival fans for dressing as such.'You look like Spandau Ballet' was another taunt. When other fans began dressing in a similar fashion, Liverpool fans would ask them by chanting-'Why do you dress like us ?'

Liverpool's famous punk nightclub 'Eric's' was frequented by these earlier Scallies but eventually these Scallies found their own club at 'Checkmate' in 1978 where they listened to post-punk music by the likes of Kraftwerk and Pere Ubu.

With Liverpool FC's success in winning the 1977 European Cup-the Anfield stadium and in particular the famous Spion Kop end- saw an increase in Liverpool fans attending games-fans that came from outside of Liverpool.Fans that were labelled 'out of towners' who stood out from the Liverpool youth in their accents and dress sense and of course in wearing the team's colours. The Liverpool youth became disillusioned with these 'new fans' who were attracted to the success and fame of the team and of the Spion Kop.The Liverpool youth-up to three thousand of them-vacated the Spion Kop and decided to watch the game from the now place to be-the Anfield Road End. A Scouse safe haven to many.They then could take part in the new Scally look-and the Anfield Road end was adjacent to opposition fans where vocal and sometimes physical confrontation could take place-which was typical anyway of the times. Also this mass defection to the Anfield Road End saw the Liverpool youth leave their fathers behind in the Spion Kop-a breakaway from a Spion Kop father/son tradition of watching the game.

Again it's difficult to imagine today but in the 1970s there were so few if any style magazines in existence and this new Scally look-which was spreading around the UK-was ignored by the media. The author Kevin Sampson-one time manager of the legendary Liverpool band The Farm-once wrote an article for newly formed 'The Face' magazine which was rejected and then later printed as late as 1983 when the UK media finally woke up to this new predominantly working class trend.

For the youth of Liverpool-dressing like a bank manager was as much about rebellion as anything else as the economy of the city by this time had severely plundered.A large minority of this Liverpool youth who travelled to Liverpool games in Europe-saw opportunities for employment in Europe and would never return.

The earliest documentation of this Scally look came in the form of the original football 'n' fashion fanzine called 'The End' written by Mick Potter and Peter Hooton who also were behind aforementioned Liverpool band 'The Farm'. 'The End' would be a style commentary on the times and became famous for its Ins and Outs.

Young Liverpool entreprenuer Robert Wade Smith-then an employee for a Liverpool department store-noticed the endless demand for sports footwear in Liverpool-which at one time outsold London by three to one.Smith decided to open his own store and hired a van to bring back rare sportswear from Europe which were difficult to buy in the UK.Wade Smith today is a multi million company.

Trends continued for sportswear and fashion labels.Tastes were broadened to other designer labels.The important thing was originality-to have a pair of sports footwear that no one else had was the total social acceptance.Even as late as the 1990s sportsgear freely available in Europe was difficult to find in UK markets.

Liverpool FC won their third European Cup in 1981 which was a watershed year for the Scally. 1981 also saw the Toxteth Riots in Liverpool and the economy stagnated and fuelled high levels of unemployment.All these factors along with Liverpool fans becoming bloated on success-saw Anfield attendances for football games drop.It also was the beginning of the end for the Liverpool Scally.With the rest of the UK following the new trends now almost religiously and economic factors making expensive sportswear purchases illogical-Liverpool abandoned the Scally scene and began to 'dress down' with a scruffy look.

Always romanticised the word 'Scally' back in the 1970s meant someone who was a pioneer in fashion trends.Someone who was resourceful beyond his means with limited resources to begin with. Today the world has become to mean an entirely different thing-a person who is more commonly a yob or a chav or a hooligan.

References

Thornton, P - Casuals: The Story of Terrace Fashion Milo Books, London 2003 ISBN 1903854148

Lost lives that saved a sport - The Observer -Sunday April 3, 2005 [View The Article on Guardian Unlimited]

Scally

The Original Liverpool Scallies

References

See also