The mod movement originated in England in the mid-'60s as a result of the newfound freedom in dress inspired by young fashion designers such as Mary Quant and her partner Alexander Plunkett Greene. Mod, short for modern, is an all-encompassing way of life, dictating a specific style of music, dress, and transportation. Many regional scenes had a "top mod" who would set the trend for the appropriate hair length or lapel width. The top mod bands of the first wave were the Who, the Small Faces, and the Creation; art-school graduates in Carnaby Street finery who began life as cover bands doing amphetamine-fueled versions of Motown classics. The Beatles, too, were originally quite mod with their matching suits. Hardcore mod, though, was strictly a British tradition; the Who and the Small Faces found commercial success in the U.S. only after adding other elements to their sound. Quadrophenia, the Who's concept album and (later) accompanying film, tells the tale of one mod's rise and fall within the scene. When psychedelia reared its paisley head in the late '60s, many mod bands traded in speed for LSD and went into freakbeat or psyche regions, but quite a few mods stayed the course. The whole scene was revived in the post-punk '70s by bands like the Jam and the Lambrettas. Now in the post-assimilation new millennium, mod echoes are felt everywhere, from contemporary fashion to the Euro-centric guitar pop of the Futureheads.

Notable Artists: The Who, the Jam, Les Fleur de Lys, the Smoke, the Secret Affair