Rude boy
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Rude boy, rudie, rudi or rudy is a subculture that developed in the early 1960s in Jamaica and has close ties to skinhead culture. The term rude boy is thought to originate from an extremely potent rum-based drink called "Rude to your parents", which was served at sound system parties.
The rude boy culture originated in the ghettos of Kingston, where disaffected, unemployed youth started wearing sharp suits and pork-pie hats in an imitation of the upper class. Most rude boys were armed and organised in gangs, and violence was an integral part of rude boy lifestyle.
With growing emigration in the late 1960s, the rude boy culture and its music, ska/rocksteady, spread to England and from there to most other western countries. It has had considerable influence on early skinhead culture.
The name Rudy often appears in ska/rocksteady and punk lyrics as an allusion to the rude boy subculture. Much of Desmond Dekker's most popular songs were about Rude boys; 007 (Shanty Town), Rude Boy Train, Warlock, and others all revolved around this subculture. Other famous Rude boy-related songs were "Rudie Can't Fail" by The Clash and "A Message To You Rudy" by The Specials (originally by Dandy Livingstone).
In some parts of the United Kingdom the phrase rude boy is used to describe Chavs.
Rude Boy (Movie)
Rude Boy is also the name of a 1980 movie about a roadie for the punk band The Clash. The movie was named for the subculture.
- starring: Ray Gange
- screenplay by: David Mingay, Ray Gange and Jack Hazan
- music by: Joe Strummer and Mick Jones
- produced and directed by: Jack Hazan and David Mingayde:Rude boy