There's a new breed of mods in the UK: it's just a pity their music is no good (The Guardian)

Mods rule! Whether it's Sir Wiggo modelling his spring/summer collection for Fred Perry, Miles Kane headlining the NME tour, or Martin Freemanstill on our screens fighting off the evil dragon Smaug (obviously a metaphor for some dirty greaser), representatives of Britain's most enduring subculture have never been so prominent.

With the O2's British Music Experience now using the mods' RAF roundel, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the movement – which started with late-50s Londoners adopting the Italian suits they saw on Blue Note jazz sleeves, and adopting the scooter as a neat way of nipping through Soho after hours – was in danger of being blunted by the mainstream. Yet visit clubs from Glasgow's Friday Street to Brighton's Mod For It, or look at YouTube footage of recent scooter runs and you'll see a new generation of cappuccino kids. March even saw 16 clubs join forces to raise £50,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust, promoting a new breed of mod bands called things like the Swagger and the Brassic. There's only one problem: they're rubbish.