BOOKS
Gavin Watson’s books have become cult classics, selling out their initial print runs and commanding high prices on the collectors market.
In 2023, the third edition of Skins is published by ACC Art Books.
Skins
First Edition published by ST Publishing, 1994
Second Edition published by Music Press, 2015
Third Edition published by ACC Art Books, 2023
Perhaps one of the most reviled yet misunderstood of all the youth subcultures, the skinhead look and lifestyle has now rightly returned to the very forefront of contemporary youth culture.
While celebrities and sportsmen shave their heads for the red carpet, the underbelly of British youth culture has rediscovered the look via acclaimed films such as 2007's award-winning This Is England. The look is now more fashionable than it has ever been.
“What makes Gavin’s photo’s so special is that when you look at them, there’s clearly trust from the subject towards the photographer so it feels like you’re in the photo rather than just observing”
- Shane Meadows
The single most important photographic record of this unique subculture, the scores of black and white shots offer a fascinating glimpse into a community that was multi-cultural, tightly knit and above all, fiercely proud of their of their look. These are classic photographs of historical value.
The Observer Review:
This book has become a cult itself.
Skins & Punks
Published by Vice Books, 2008
What started off as a small collection of photographs 14-year-old Gavin Watson took of his family and friends in Wycombe, middle England, has grown into one of the most important and influential photographic books of the last 20 years. Skins & Punks is a singular retrospective complete with commentaries and oral histories. The stories behind the images are shocking, hilarious, brutal and heartbreaking and truly get behind the truth of growing up in the working classes in the 1980s.
Featuring a Foreword by Shane Meadows, director of the 2006 drama film This is England, and Gavin Watson in conversation with Andy Capper, director at Vice Media.
Raving ‘89
Published by DJhistory.com, 2009
Acid House exploded in London and Manchester in 1988; then in 1989 the whole of the UK went raving. Raving ‘89 takes you through a year of suburban raves as seen through the eyes of former skinheads Neville and Gavin Watson, with 200 images that capture the essence of this explosive year: grimy warehouses, lasers, phones the size of bricks, general mayhem and more than a few crimes against fashion.
Oh! What Fun We Had
Published by Damiani, 2019
Not just an ambitious restoration of a fascinating unseen archive, but a book that takes on the gargantuan task of shifting the collective memory around key moments in British youth culture history, with a mesmerizing force of honesty and humanity.
Appropriating the Madness lyrics as an anthem of its times, this intimate selection of photography disrupts the notion of skinheads and council estate residents as problematic figures in an almost endearing manner while still preserving the subversive character of the cult of youth. At an undisputed time of little optimism, Oh! What Fun We Had! is a very important fly-on-the-wall testimonial and reminder that no matter how difficult life is; so it shall also be Fun... At least when captured from the right angle.