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London’s subcultures

London has long been a home to thriving, ever-evolving subcultures. Each one an outlet for creative expression and rebellion, these youth-led tribes shaped – and were shaped by – the city's music, art and fashion.

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    London scenes & subcultures by Dick Scott-Stewart

    Photographing youth and belonging on the capital’s cultural margins

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    Teddy boys: Britain’s first youth subculture

    Sporting long jackets and quiffs, the Teds were born in London

  • Fashion & Style
    Fashion & Style

    Bikers unite: Rockers & rebels at the Ace Cafe, 1963

    A gathering of leather-jacket-wearing adrenaline junkies

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    Sex Pistols: London’s resident punk rebels

    The punk pioneers who defined a generation

  • Fashion & Style
    Fashion & Style

    Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McLaren: King’s Road royalty

    Their boutique at 430 King’s Road brought creativity – and controversy – to 1970s fashion

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    Blitz: A revolutionary 1980s club night

    How one small group of revellers shaped the style and sound of a decade

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    Meet the mods, a sharply dressed London subculture

    Photographs from a stylish, scooter-riding 1960s scene

  • Games & Sports
    Games & Sports

    Greyhound racing in London

    Chasing the history of London’s dwindling dog tracks

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    London’s grime stars

    The artists who built a scene and took it worldwide

  • Music & Subculture
    Music & Subculture

    Dub in London: Shops, sound systems & legends

    In the 1970s and 1980s, London became the centre of Jamaica’s bassier, spacier sound

Tags

Teddy boy Dub Grime Mods Punk Music & Subculture
  • London Museum

    London Museum

    Smithfield
    London EC1A 9PS

    Opening 2026
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    London Museum Docklands

    No. 1 Warehouse
    West India Quay
    London E14 4AL
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    Free entry

  • London Museum Stores

    London Museum Stores

    46 Eagle Wharf Road
    London N1 7ED

    Currently closed to the public

  • London Museum Spaces

    London Museum Spaces

    150 London Wall
    London EC2Y 5HN

    Open for venue hire only

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