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Raggare is a subculture found mostly in Sweden and parts of Norway The Police Journal, v. 38 1965, page 58 OA: Råning og ragging på utstilling and Finland, and to a lesser extent in Denmark, Germany, and Austria. Raggare are related to the American greaser and rockabilly subcultures and are known for their love of hot rod cars and 1950s American pop culture. Loosely translated into English, the term is roughly equivalent to the American "greaser", English "rocker", and Australian "Bodgie" and "Widgie" culture; all share a common passion for mid-20th-century American cars, rockabilly-based music and related fashion (blue-collar in origin, consisting of the likes of white T-shirts, loose fitting denim trousers with rolled cuffs, and canvas top sneakers such as Keds or Converse Chucks, or low-topped boots of an industrial nature).
While the raggare movement has its roots in late 1950s youth counterculture, today it is associated mainly with middle-aged men who enjoy meeting and showing off their retro American cars. However, the subculture retains its rural and small-town roots as well as its blue collar and low brow feel. The original phenomenon unleashed moral panic but the contemporary raggare subculture tends to be met with amusement or mild disapproval by mainstream society.
According to an estimate by one Swedish car restorer, there are more restored 1950s American cars in Sweden than in the entire United States Sweden's car kings: 'greasers' cruising in vintage US wheels and although only two 1958 Cadillac convertibles were sold in Sweden there are now 200 of them in Sweden. Between 4000 and 5000 classic US cars were at one point imported to Sweden each year.
The latest generation of raggare, the so-called pilsnerraggare such as the club Mattsvart who was the subject of the 2019 documentary "Raggarjävlar" ("Greaser scum") do not show much interest in restoring vintage cars, instead opting for driving around in trashed old US cars, drinking alcohol and playing loud music, not necessarily the rockabilly and classic rock traditionally preferred by raggare.
When raggare first appeared in the 1950s, they caused a moral panic with concerns about the use of alcohol, violence, high-speed driving, and having sex in the back seat. Raggare gangs were seen as a serious problem. Statistics on Delinquents and Delinquency by Walter Albin Lunden, p. 134 The film Raggare! covered the issue in 1959.
One especially infamous raggare gang was Stockholm-based "Road Devils", formed in the late 1950s by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg (1939-1994), which was very heavily publicized in the press. The name of the gang originated from a 1957 movie Hot Rod Rumble, which featured a gang by the same name.
Later, raggare often got into fights with and punks, Arbetaren: Raggaren lever än England's dreaming: les Sex Pistols et le punk by Jon Savage, Denys Ridrimont, p. 435Aftonbladet: Raggare rövade bort punkare [5]Dala Demokraten: Förföljelserna mot oss hårdnar [6]Vermlands Folkblad: Vi törs inte gå ut på kvällarna [7] something described in the punk rock song "Raggare Is a Bunch of Motherfuckers" by Rude Kids The Guardian: Raggare: the Swedish rock'n'roll cult comes of age (and later re-recorded by Turbonegro). When The Sex Pistols played in Sweden on 28 July 1977, a group of raggare waited outside and cornered some young girls who came out from the show. The girls had through their cheeks, and the raggare ripped them out of their faces. The band was upstairs drinking beer when they heard about it. Sid Vicious wanted to go down and fight, and someone else suggested they should get the limousine and run them over. In the end, the gig promoter called the police.
The Hjo band Reklamation was forced to cancel a gig after threats from raggare. SLA: Unga musiker i Hjo hotade med stryk, 3 mars 1979 Also, Rude Kids was forced to cancel a sold-out gig as the police didn't have the manpower to offer protection against raggare. When Rude Kids played in Stockholm the police had to bring in seven police cars to stop the raggare.Aftonbladet: Raggare stoppar punkband [10] When The Stranglers played in Sweden, their followers were caught making , and the police intervened after a fight broke out.
In 1996, the Swedish post office issued a stamp featuring raggare. Consumption: Critical Concepts in the Social Sciences by Daniel Miller, p. 155
Fashion
The clothes and hairstyle are that of 1950s rockabilly. Blue jeans, cowboy boots, white T-shirts, sometimes with print (also used to store a pack of cigarettes by folding the sleeve), leather Crime and Its Correction: An International Survey of Attitudes and Practices by John Phillips Conrad, p. 126 or denim jacket. The hair is styled using Brylcreem or some other pomade.
Symbols
The display of the battle flag of the Confederate States is popular in the subculture, as followers view it as a symbol of rebellion and American culture. They do not view it as a symbol of slavery or racism. Jalopnik: Your Guide To Europe's Weirdest Car Culture: Raggare
History
Formation of the raggare culture was aided by Sweden staying neutral during World War II and untouched by the war. As a result, Sweden's infrastructure remained intact and export economy boomed, which made it possible for the working-class Swedish youth to buy cars, in contrast to most of Europe, which needed to be rebuilt.
Public image
Because of their mostly rural roots, retro-aesthetics and attitude towards sex, raggare are often depicted as poorly educated and financially unsuccessful. A famous example is the 1990s TV series, "Ronny and Ragge", a pair of stereotypical raggare who cruise around in a beat-up Ford Taunus. There are several periodic gatherings for raggare around Sweden. The Power Big Meet is the most famous, and is also one of the biggest American car meets in the world.
In the media and other popular culture
See also
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