Clockwork Orange Charlton

ThirtyTwo

My name is Jake & I am a 19 year old from Dublin. During lockdown I have spent most of my time doing research for a project on the connection between Football Fans and Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'.

I recently came across a post on this forum where some people are talking about Charlton fans dressing in A Clockwork Orange gear for a number of matches. Some of the matches mentioned are an away match at Playmouth in 1973 (what seems to be the first time the clothes were worn), a match against Rochdale also in 1973, & the photo below was then in 1979.

I would love to hear more stories about this and how it came about. Some of the main questions I'm wondering are:

How did this start?

Where did you get the clothes?

How much did A Clockwork Orange influence you?

Did the fighting in the film influence the fights?

How often were they worn / when did people stop wearing them?

Did any other teams wear them?

How common was it for teams to dress up like this?

t was also mentioned that Cardiff also wore the Clockwork Orange style outfits & potentially had a fight with Charlton fans over this at the valley. Does anybody have any more info on this?

I'm all ears for any info anybody has on this, not just the questions I asked. Any information at all would be really great to hear. I think this is a really interesting part of football history that has been lost with time.

Thanks for reading & I look forward to hearing your stories.  

Covered End

Here we go.

soapy_jones

It was West Ham...

ThirtyTwo

soapy_jones said:

It was West Ham...

What was?

Henry Irving

Many of the outdoor scenes of the film were filmed in Thamesmead, the concrete new town four miles down the river Thames from Charlton.

Many locals worked as extras on the film and local fashions such as the white boiler suits influenced the costume designers, not the other way round. They don't appear in the Burgess book.

When the film came out most locals dropped the look straight away, not wanting to be associated with such a controversial depiction of working class life.

Covered End

A few old faces there.
RIP Selwyn.

Henry Irving

In additional Nadsat, the youth slang used in the film, is based in part on South East London jargon which is heavily influenced by the large Russian population that moved to the area post  the 1917 revolution.

ThirtyTwo

Thanks

AndyG

The worse memory I have if things kicking off would have been around 1974 and 2 coaches of Sunderland fans pulled away from the valley and I dont think either of the coaches had any windows that hadn't been put through. All I remember was watching them thinking bloodly hell I wouldn't fancy going all that way home without windows. Mad times

charltonbob

Looks like Kenny M at the front

Isawsummersplay

Definitely Kenny Martin.

blackpool72

Isawsummersplay said:

Definitely Kenny Martin.

Is that Bill's brother?

Isawsummersplay

Yes

ThirtyTwo

Anybody have a contact for Kenny Martin or would be able to give him my email? Would be great to hear from someone front & centre in the photo I have.

charltonbob

blackpool72 said:

Isawsummersplay said:

Definitely Kenny Martin.

Is that Bill's brother?

Yes

Addickted

You are naughty @Henry Irving

Covered End

Naughty but nice.

Dave Rudd

Henry Irving said:

In additional Nadsat, the youth slang used in the film, is based in part on South East London jargon which is heavily influenced by the large Russian population that moved to the area post  the 1917 revolution.

This sounds like Bolsheviks.

Fumbluff

That film is shite-awful

Exiled_Addick

That bit where they clamp his eyes open is based on someone trying to get all the way through a @Grapevine49 post. 

Anna_Kissed

Charlton's Droog attired following is mentioned in Garry Bushell's book
Hoolies: True Stories of Britain's Biggest Street Battles  which was published in 2010

TEL

charltonbob said:

Looks like Kenny M at the front

It is....

Baldybonce

If i remember rightly the clockwork orange stuff was only worn for 3/4 games. It was at a time when the Police were much more in evidence at games and they stuck out like sore thumbs when things livend up.

redbuttle

They also turned up a game at Peterborough dressed in the clockwork orange gear. That photo was taken on the way to the game...

redbuttle

Covered End said:

A few old faces there.
RIP Selwyn.

Also Clive Scales is there (RIP) and Mr Pitman...

blackpool72

Wolves away in the cup where we lost 3 0
A few in attendance that day.

bobmunro

blackpool72 said:

Wolves away in the cup where we lost 3 0
A few in attendance that day.

I can remember that.

Isawsummersplay

Will always remember the Wolves game. Probably 7-8000 Charlton there that day. The next time we played at Molineux there was only a few hundred of us and the Wolves boys were out for a bit of revenge, so it was fairly lively.

RaplhMilne

Jake

As stated it wasn’t a thing that took off large scale in the Firms, it was a fairly stand out look and the Law were on your case straight away.  I seem to remember those boys who took it up carried umbrellas as, obviously sword sticks an walking sticks were never going to get past the law. I do remember the eye make up being replicated by those who took it seriously. I agree I think Plymouth was our biggest Clockwork outing when at least 20 were dressed. 

I also remember going to stay with an Aunt in NewcastleIn early seventi . She lived on the Longbenton Estate which was quite notorious. I went to a couple of Newcastle games, and Longbenton had a crew called Longbenton Clockwork. Some references to them can be found on the net, and Iv not watched it but also could be something in a documentary on Newcastle gangs made in 1971 “All Dressed Up Going Nowhere”  it’s on YouTube. 

ThirtyTwo

RaplhMilne said:

Jake

As stated it wasn’t a thing that took off large scale in the Firms, it was a fairly stand out look and the Law were on your case straight away.  I seem to remember those boys who took it up carried umbrellas as, obviously sword sticks an walking sticks were never going to get past the law. I do remember the eye make up being replicated by those who took it seriously. I agree I think Plymouth was our biggest Clockwork outing when at least 20 were dressed. 

I also remember going to stay with an Aunt in NewcastleIn early seventi . She lived on the Longbenton Estate which was quite notorious. I went to a couple of Newcastle games, and Longbenton had a crew called Longbenton Clockwork. Some references to them can be found on the net, and Iv not watched it but also could be something in a documentary on Newcastle gangs made in 1971 “All Dressed Up Going Nowhere”  it’s on YouTube. 

Thanks for this.

The umbrellas were an interesting idea. Was wondering if they went as far as the eye makeup as well.

Thanks for the Longbenton Clockwork suggestion, had not come across this at all. Another wormhole to go down.

Appreciate the help

OLDRED

I was there at Plymouth, I was dressed up, it was planned the week before for a laugh, that was it, nothing more. 
We all thought the film was crap, but I still enjoy Beethoven !!