Quadrophenia is a film that examines one subculture, the Mods, but establishes contrasts with rival Rockers; it employs a cast from and is reflected through the prism of a later subculture, punk; it is also a catalyst for subsequent generations to revisit and revive Mod styles and customs. Thus it is of general appeal to fans of the visual culture, music and life-styles of not just the sixties and seventies, but of every Mod-inflected decade thereafter. Alongside and above this ‘long tail reception’ (Mathijs and Mendik 2008: 8), the film works as a study of alienated youth tout court, applicable to any time or subcultural affiliation.
Quadrophenia’s enduring legacy, its continued appeal to successive incarnations of ‘m-m-my generation’, is evidenced by a further revival of the Mod spirit, led by Brighton’s own Ordinary Boys who, complete with Fred Perry shirts and Harrington jackets, interviewed their Mod mentor Paul Weller for the New Musical Express in the summer of 2004. Near the conclusion of their discussion, the lead singer Sam Preston brought the conversation round to Quadrophenia. Preston avowed that, like many before him, ‘the first time I became really aware of Mod and the look and the identity of it was through that film. It was the first time I heard the Who and stuff.’ He asked Weller how he rated Quadrophenia: ‘Weller: “(Laughs) I think it’s appalling. But I know a lot of people who really loved that film…”’ (NME, 22 May 2004).
I did, Paul. And even after breaking it apart on the wheel of academic analysis, I still do.