Mods banned from Barbican cafe
Adrian Curtin, co-owner of Cap'n Jaspers on the Barbican, said a group of about eight aging mods, in their 50s and 60s, had driven their trademark scooters on the pavement when the road was closed for the annual jazz parade.
He added: "Because they didn't like the music they tried to rev their engines to drown it out.
"They think they have some sort of right to park there, when it's a pedestrian zone."
Mr Curtin said he was refusing to serve anyone looking like a mod because he thought it was likely they would be members of the group who caused problems.
He said: "I don't know who's who. The chances are they are part of that group – there's not exactly a lot of them.
"They still think they are 18. They are rebels without a clue, and anti-social as always."
Cap'n Jaspers, on the quay at the Barbican, is a popular meeting place for bikers famous for its large burgers and hotdogs, its idiosyncrasies and its mugs of tea.
Frank Moulder, one of Plymouth's original mods who has been a member of the trendy movement since the sixties, said he was surprised when Mr Curtin refused to serve him last weekend.
He said that one of the staff had taken his order but instead of getting a mug of tea, Mr Curtin had given him his money back and told him 'I'm not serving you because you're a scooter boy.'
"I said 'I've never caused you any trouble,' but he still wouldn't serve me," Mr Moulder, aged 62, said.
He added: "There's about 40 or 50 of us and that's where we've always met, and that's where we'll still meet, we just can't buy tea off him [Mr Curtin] any more, but that's his prerogative."
Mr Moulder said that he had been at the Barbican on the day of the jazz parade but arrived after the disagreement with Mr Curtin occurred.
He said: "He's got a reputation as being a bit awkward. One person gave him a bit of lip. Maybe an engine was revved.
"He's got a point about safety, but we're all well behaved. We're getting on a bit now.
"I think he's being unfair to ban us all because of one person's behaviour."
Mr Moulder said that original Lambretta scooters from the 1960s were worth thousands of pounds and did not have very good safety features, so the mods didn't like to let them out of their sight.
He said he often dismounted pushed his Lambretta onto the quay at the Barbican.
