By HWS 30th December 2023
Holywell Street has been eager to catch up with Jim Cameron (JC) on all things Celtic, suede-head, skinhead, and the Glasgow gangs. All this with the political angle for our subcultures section. Connecting music, Celtic and threads, as it says on the tin. I have conversed with Jim for a while; he’s one cool chap, but it’s good to sit with him and get things on paper. We met in McChuills Bar in Glasgow’s Merchant City as we usually do.
Good to see you, Jim, how are things?
I’m doing good mate, taking each day as it comes.
Starting with terrace styles, what did you notice growing up was it the skinhead suede head scene you were into?
We were Skinheads, also known as Boot Boys. I often converse with some older folks on a web page called Mod to Bootboy: 1958 – 1974. They were original West Ham and Chelsea skins. We agree that Skinheads first appeared in London around 1967, although there weren’t many at the time. They started going to football matches in 1968, and by 1969, they were widespread in London. 1969 was the year it really came alive. The style was multicultural, they dressed very smartly, and the music was Ska and Reggae. I still discuss this with the older lads, and two of them, big Gerry and Robert Kelly, come in here often. They still wear the mod look. We all agree that the Skinhead look hit Glasgow around 1970, but it wasn’t as big as it was in London. Those who embraced the look were older than us, probably around 17 or 18 years old. I met a couple of these guys many years later in the ’80s. They described the look as sharp, with tonic suits, but also Harrington’s were worn with shirts and braces. As they were around 18 years of age, they started getting banned from pubs and dancehalls, and the police targeted them. Personally, I got into the scene around 1971. Robert Kelly describes a small group of smart Skins in 1970 from the Springburn area who were well ahead with style. They seemed to have friends in London and were able to keep updated with what was happening.
I have always thought a Skinhead was basically an off-cut Mod?
Yes. Although there were some arguments about it, one newspaper at the time described it as ‘hard mod,’ but the guys I knew and still do, never call it that. However, there is a picture from the 1967 FA Cup Final of around 30 lads, who I believe to be Tottenham guys. I ended up chatting with one of them years later. These guys had older brothers who were Mods, and they were growing out of that scene. So in this picture from the cup final, you can see them wearing braces and white shirts, mixed with Harringtons and desert boots. These North London chaps can claim to be the originals. They caused a bit of a reaction as there was a mystique to is as they certainly weren’t Mods, and some of them had the crewcut hairstyle. As I mentioned earlier, they grew in 1968, and by 1969, it was a massive subculture in London.
Did you Grow up in Royston or was it Springburn? We are all aware of the Shamrock Gang back then?
I grew up in the area between Possil and Springburn, which was essentially Keppochill Road. There were fields there that we called “the cuddies,” and they began building high-rise flats there around ’63. This area is now known as Sighthill. On the other side of Sighthill was the Garngad, where I eventually attended school. We moved into the high-rise flats on May 10th, 1967. I was still very young, but I remember the gang fights between ’68 and ’69. The older guys referred to themselves as “The Shamrock,” and they would come up from the Garngad. They weren’t trying to take over, but they were the gang in the area. When I eventually attended St. Roch’s school, I ended up running with The Shamrock. My mother was from the Garngad, and my father was from Blackhill, but I have always had a connection to the Garngad.
From the 2-Tone movement onwards the Skinhead took a change in politics for many. Moving then to more a punk connection with Oi etc? Strange also within in the two-tone scene as what it stood for. How did this happen?
This happened around 1979 with the Skinhead revival. The National Front was getting big in London, and they latched onto the violence and tried to hijack it. This lot were actually the polar opposite of what Skinheads were originally about. I liked the Specials and Madness, I liked Ska. I used to argue with a lot of them. Also, I felt a lot that their dress sense was one-dimensional; we never wore bleached-up jeans and bomber jackets, massive DMs, and shaved heads. I used to give up when I spoke to guys on building sites for years, trying to explain yer youth culture and what an original skinhead was but they couldn’t shift their opinion of us being nazi’s. I would say the right wing ruined it. Funnily enough, the Mod revival of ’79 was also off the mark. The cool Mods from the ’60s didn’t wear parkas with big patches; they were suited and booted, and Nick from here will also tell you that.
Did you not contribute a book back then?
I am in a book called ‘SCORCHA’ with the DJ Paul ‘Smiley’ Anderson. He contacted me to do a section on the Skinhead style. It is more London-orientated, but it is well worth a look if you are into music, styles, and subcultures.
We have chatted about those original Skinheads and how smart they were, I spoke with Terry Farley a while back and he mirrors what you say about their style.
I should say as much as football casuals and the rave scene, skinhead was a massive subculture. It was just as expensive and hard to afford the Ben Sherman shirts, Levi Sta-Press and Crombie jackets. As I said earlier the original Skins were very smart probably the smartest subculture of all. We wore Ivy league and the Suedehead look wore Tassled Weejuns, Brougues with the Crombies. We still wore doc martins to the football though.
So, tell us about the terrace culture in the ‘70s.
I would describe our group at Celtic as Boot Boys, and we were handy. In England, Manchester United had huge numbers and were considered the top mob. Rangers also had a large following, but they had a reputation for wrecking places, such as in Barcelona and at Aston Villa. I always felt they were liberty takers. Between 1971 and 1976, I truly believe that Celtic was the top mob in Scotland. The groups that gave us the toughest fights were Hibs and surprisingly, the two Dundee teams. Not much is spoken about the gangs in Dundee, but they are quite capable. I never rated Hearts, as I always felt they were also liberty takers and wouldn’t hesitate in sticking you in ti the coppers. One time after a match there we fought them all the way down Gorgie Road to Haymarket, then we we left on the train back home the Hearts lot were attacking Celtic fans who were on their own not Skinheads but young guys who didn’t want trouble. I got the nick three times at Tynecastle, once at Easter Road and only once at Ibrox on Paisley Road West.
The scene back then wasn’t as organised as the casuals were, but there was a famous match in 1975 where we were to play Hearts at Tynecastle midweek. On the Saturday before, we were playing against Stirling Albion. During the match, we decided to plan for the next game. This involved the lads from the Shamrock and other Glasgow mobs teaming up. One of the guys suggested that we don’t wear scarves, not even round the wrists which was strange for that time. so we were going anti-suss. We also agreed to go over to the Hearts end in groups of ten separately and pay in at which was the old shed at the time. We got off at Haymarket and walked up in our small groups. Some of our younger lads were very apprehensive. By this year, we were still wearing certain Skinhead gear, but some had longer hair with a lot of Bowie haircut influences. When we paid to get into the Hearts end, we headed to the pie stall and gathered. By this time, the Hearts skinheads were all in and their full support was in song. One of the Shamrock lads carried a whistle, believe it or not. There must have been around 150 of us all in, and we made sure everyone was ready for this. So the teams came out onto the pitch, and one of our lot gave it “Hail Hail the Celts are here!” It ended up in chaos. The Hearts fans tried to attack, but we stood our ground. There was a big gap that appeared in the middle of the terracing, then we chased the Hearts fans onto the pitch. We chased them across the park. By this time, the game had just started, but the referee stopped it. I always remember Kenny Dalglish and Dixie Deans shouting at us “mon ae fuck boys!” We then jumped back into the Hearts end and waited for their fans to come back in. There was a big gap in front of us, and they didn’t want to come into their own end. They eventually started throwing bottles up at us. We then jumped out and charged at them again. After about 10 minutes, the game got restarted but, on the terracing, it was going back and forth. However, we stood our ground. We then did a massive charge on them, causing them to spill onto the pitch once again. As a result, the referee stopped the match and started taking the players off. I remember running past Danny McGrain, and he asked me “what’s happening?” I replied, “we’re in the Hearts end Danny!” His face was just in disbelief. After 10 minutes, the referee brought the players back out, and by this time, the police had it sussed. They wrapped us up and marched us around to the Celtic end of the ground. We had to stick together, and we were taking dogs’ abuse and spitting from the Hearts fans as we walked past them. but the Celtic end was cheering us, we were like peacocks. The police just wanted us out of the way and into the Celtic end. However, some of our lads kept jumping back and fighting the Hearts fans. That was a great night, and it was all organised.
The funny thing was, many years later, while working at Grangemouth, I met a guy who was a Hearts fan. He dressed like a lad, with a hint of the casual look, even though he was around my age. As we got talking and became more familiar, I mentioned the match in 1975. He stopped me and said, “Jim, I know what you’re going to say. You done us and terrorised us.” He said that nobody had done that before or since, not even Hibs at Tynecastle.
Can you recall your first Celtic match?
Apart from a match at Firhill where my Dad took me to I can’t recall too much about it I was five years old it was 1963. My first real game was the 1967 Scottish Cup Final, we beat Aberdeen 2-0. It was an amazing day, and the weather was beautiful. Willie Wallace scored two goals, and there were around 126,000 people at the game. Aberdeen had about 40,000 supporters.
It was a great atmosphere, and what stands out in my mind is the flags, banners, and chants like “Celtic OK.” I remember climbing up to the top of the terrace and looking over to the other side, where I could see more and more banners waving. This was just before the European Cup Final, and I remember going back home on the bus. I was only nine years old at the time, but I could hear my dad and his pals talking about how they believed we could win the European Cup.
My dad attended every game leading up to the European Cup Final. However, I discovered 20 years ago the reason he didn’t go to Lisbon was because we were moving to a new house and needed funds to buy new furniture and carpets. He had promised my mum that he would prioritise these expenses. He still regrets not going to Lisbon and I still tease him about it
I remember the Lisbon Final. It was a school holiday that day for some reason, and we were playing football in the Sighthill Graveyard. There were often gang fights there as well as football, it was out place to hang out. Any outsiders from the area thought this was a bit freaky and odd but it was the place we hung out and didn’t think anything of it. We played two aside in the cemetery one team Celtic the other Inter Milan. I think Celtic won 26-1 which was a good omen.
At around 4 o’clock, I remember the Caley factory coming out, where approximately 3,000 men worked. I recall the factory horn going off and the men rushing out in their boiler suits. However, that day was different as some of them were carrying McEwan’s Export and half bottles of whisky, and a lot were singing Celtic songs. We all headed back to our houses. We had a brand new high-rise flat in Sighthill. My mum agreed to let me have some mates over to watch the match in our new posh house which had an inside toilet, two bedrooms, a massive living room, and a brand-new TV. My mum’s pals and my aunties were in and enjoying a sherry or two whilst my Dad was still in the pub with his mates.
My wee pal Wullie Paterson, who was in the house, didn’t have a telly at the time. The game kicked off, and we were all singing the Celtic song, “We’ll be running roond Lisbon wi the Cup!” The game is kind of a blur, to be honest; much of my memories came later, watching again and again. At half-time, we were losing 1-0, and my ma told us all to pray to the rosary in front of the Virgin Mary statue. Into the second half, we were winning 2-1 and onto being Champions of Europe. The place had erupted, and me and my young mates with our Celtic tammies ran down to the bottom of the block where loads had gathered and were singing and waving flags and scarves; there were women doing Irish jigs. Lots of carry-outs had been bought, and I always remember the women in their polka-dot dresses and the men with the Celtic rosettes. We could hear the Glen Daly song and the Dubliners being played from the houses. I saw my Dad and his pals appear from the pub, and I ran towards him, and he threw me in the air. I could see the tears in his eyes, which was the first time I had seen him cry. We went back to the house and partied all night. I recall when I finally went to bed, I looked up at my wall, which was covered in Celtic pictures; I fell asleep smiling at the knowledge that my team, Celtic, were the Champions of Europe.
I suppose it’s that time, can you give us your five favourite bands?
As you may believe this could be tricky and change five minutes later but when pushed I will say:
The Clash
The Pogues
Bob Marley & Wailers
Talking Heads
Rolling Stones
That’s a good mix, what about the Skinhead music?
I am a big music fan and I enjoy a wide variety. One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to was Bob Marley at the Apollo in 1980. Although Ska was very popular in London, it wasn’t as big up here where we didn’t have a large West Indian community. But Symarip brought out an album Skinhead Moonstomp and I loved that and the Trojan label brought out some classics and the album covers well cool. There was a club on Buchanan Street round about where JD Sports is now called the Picasso Club and on a Tuesday night from about 8 till 10, it was the first of it’s kind and it was mainly under 18’s that went, this club played a bit of Ska but at the same time a lot of the Skinheads were actually into Slade believe it or not. Slade were massive in the ’70s and a lot of the terrace chants came from their music.
The shop Dee’s down the road, I admire the fact it is still there and never changed, did you visit there for threads?
Yes, it’s always been there, and I visited it a lot and still do. There was also another shop up in Charing Cross, which was a wee private shop, believe it or not. It wasn’t a shop for Skinheads. You had to look around for it, and this shop sold Ben Sherman’s as they were also popular with older guys who worked in offices. These were the ones that you famously had to get three fingers in between the collars. I still wear it all [laughs]. My wife will tell you it takes me longer to get ready for a night out than it does her; I can’t drop it; it is bedded into you. There’s Nick in here, the same, always stylish. I dabbled in the rave scene in the late ‘80s when I was down in Brighton and stopped dressing sharp and was into baggy stuff, but I wore Lacoste and loafers also. Unfortunately, I noticed that Lacoste was taken over by the Ned culture in later years, particularly in areas like Possil and Springburn.
Also, can you give us your five best stylish staples?
Ok, this could differ again in an hour, but lately, I really like the label “REISS.” For the last four years, I have been going through a phase of this just now. I have three daughters and every Father’s Day, birthday, and Christmas, they have bought me something from this label; it is quite casual, and I like it a lot.
“John Smedley” knitwear is another top one.
Aye, I was chatting with Jimmy Whelan last week. He likes that one; it’s quite a classic and hard to get these days. I owned one in the ‘90s.
You can still get it online. I like the Italian-style ones with the longer collar. Big Paul Murray, a pal of mine, and Jimmy believe they aren’t the same these days.
Fred Perry as always. I think I own about 26.
Ted Baker
Levi is the other staple that is always in my top five.
For us Celtic and good bands seem to be intertwined would you agree?
Oh, definitely, we seem to have many, and the other lot has next to none [laughter]. Even the manager of Oasis said we are cooler. I think it also has that working-class left-leaning thing that a lot of the Indie bans have. There’s Shaun’s brother as well – The Vaselines, another good band. I could go on and on. We are certainly the more creative; the Irish immigrant thing has a lot to do with it as well; they brought their songs, stories, and poetry. That’s where you find the creative.
A question I’ve always want to ask: do you think there could have been a mixed overlap with the Celtic teams of the 60s and 70s that would perhaps make a better team than the Lions?
Yes, I do, and I have had debates about this with Nicky in here as well. He doesn’t think so. Definitely, for me, there’s Danny McGrain, who would walk into that team and Kenny Dalglish, but you would need to argue who you dropped, and there is also George Connolly. I have what I would call a famous five and Bobby Murdoch is probably my favourite ever Celtic player If I was to stick my neck out, but it is hard. So, it would go Murdoch, Jinky, Dalglish, McGrain, Connolly, and that’s the five out of the two eras. For me, Danny McGrain was a better right-back than Jim Craig, so he would be dropped but you would need to be ruthless. John Clark was very underrated but a great player but I think Connolly would be a better sweeper in there as he was a better player.
How do you feel about the present Celtic team and our manager?
I think Brendan Rodgers is the man for the job, and I don’t care what anyone says. They talked about the assistant guy at Man City and the Spanish chap, but we have the right man. He knows us, and I’ve spoken with some good football coaches. I believe Brendan Rodgers is one of the cleverest coaches in the business. I think we are getting to see bits again. And I will say this, and it may sound stupid; I know we were humiliated in Europe, but as stupid as it may sound, some of the performances in Europe show we are getting there. We should have beat Lazio. Our possession fitba was great, and the first 50 minutes at Celtic Park against Athletico were fantastic. So, we have this transfer window and summer, and he will start getting his own team together. We had some bad luck. Domestically, I am confident we can go on and destroy any myths of the world’s most successful club nonsense.
Thanks for meeting us Jim
My pleasure.
Holywell Street 