The music subcultures you'll only remember if you went to school in the 1990s - from Goffik to Raver

• School terms for the 2025/2026 academic year start this week.
• As many are set to attend school for the first time, others are returning - possibly after a summer of musical discovery.
• We go back down memory lane to the 90s, where rock fans were all considered ‘goffiks’ and were the mortal enemies of the ‘trendies’.

As students head back to school this week, no doubt there’s a tinge of nostalgia for many parents - especially those seeing off their children for their first year of Primary school.

It evokes memories of our times in school - good and bad - where fountain pens were used as a means to ruin white school shirts, and more often than not, teachers would prowl the schoolyards to find the corner of the vicinity where the smokers lay. Be it behind the bike sheds or, in my case, around the back of a basketball court in a small market town on the outskirts of Nottingham.

It was there during the mid-90s that I would discover that music tastes, at that stage in my life, would determine what subculture I would belong to and with a penchant for metal shirts and a love for Nirvana and Metallica, I was duly labelled a ‘goffik‘.

That is, even though my interest in the gothic subculture was tenuous at best, I liked The Cure, but I wasn’t part of that subsection at school.

But it would become more of a catch-all phrase in the schoolyard to denote someone, well, different to what was considered the ‘mainstream’ music tastes at the time. Then Slipknot and the wave of nu-metal came along, but by then, I was in college sans uniform and more tooled up with wallet chains and baggy jeans.

So, as a testament to those days in school where what you listened to or what your interests were in somehow defined what you ‘were’ amongst your peers, here’s a look at some of those terms lovingly, or in many cases, insultingly used to describe the music we were all bopping to during the decade.

The musical subcultures you'll only remember if you went to school in the 1990s

Goffiks

We start with the term that I was frequently called during my school years; sometimes referred to as a ‘greebo’ or, in certain situations where the uniform wasn’t on display, a ‘grendie’.

In the social hierarchy of the 90s school corridor, the term goffik was often used as a catch-all put-down for anyone who didn't listen to chart music, Britpop or the wave of dance music that was starting to permeate the radio waves.

The true goths, though, were a distinct subculture defined by their devotion to all things dark and dramatic. Their musical home was in the gothic rock of The Cure and The Sisters of Mercy, the industrial soundscapes of Nine Inch Nails, and the theatricality of Marilyn Manson. Their uniform was an ode to black: long trench coats, heavy eyeliner, band t-shirts, and chunky boots.

However, the term was often applied to others who were musically distinct but dressed in a similar aesthetic, such as the Rockers and Metalheads. These kids wore all black, too—but theirs was a uniform of band t-shirts (Metallica, Iron Maiden, Pantera), denim jackets covered in patches, and worn-out combat boots.

To the untrained eye, they were all just goffiks, a term that would later be succeeded by ‘emo’ as the next catch-all label for anyone who listened to something heavy and wore black.

Trendies

The polar opposite of goffiks and our retort to that name-calling.

Trendies were all about mainstream, chart-topping commercial music. Their style was an ode to brands and athletic wear. Think tracksuits (often from Adidas or Nike), baseball caps (worn backwards, of course), and expensive trainers.

Musically, they were into the pop and R&B hits of the time from artists like Spice Girls, All Saints, and Steps, as well as mainstream dance music.

They were the most visible and loudest tribe in the school corridors, often seen as the more confrontational group, who would regularly regale you with stories how they managed to sneak into ‘the’ nightclub in town underage - despite matters of the contrary.

Grendies

Sitting on the blurred line between the mainstream and the alternative, grendies were the hybrids of the schoolyard.

The name itself was a blend of goffiks and trendies, and their style reflected that. They weren't committed enough to wear all-black every day, but they’d sport a band t-shirt under a denim jacket or wear black jeans and chunky shoes instead of trainers. Musically, they were a curious mix.

They'd sing along to the pop hits on the radio but also had a CD of Garbage or Hole hidden in their locker. They were the ones who could navigate both social worlds, dabbling in the dark side without ever fully leaving the light - and seemed to draw more ire from gatekeeping goffiks than any other subculture in school.

Indie Kids

The ultimate mainstream indie kids. This tribe was defined by the rivalry between Oasis and Blur, but their musical interests extended to Pulp, Suede, and Elastica. Their look was a mix of classic British style and a casual, laddish swagger.

Think Fred Perry polos, Adidas trainers (especially the Gazelle), Harrington jackets, and bowl haircuts for the boys, while girls might have sported Union Jack prints or a simple, chic, indie-girl aesthetic.

They were often found debating Blur vs. Oasis in the school common room, or extolling the virtues of an EP from a band you’ve never heard of yet - and probably never will.

Hip-hop Heads

This tribe was all about the rhythm and the rhyme, living and breathing the golden era of hip-hop. Their musical tastes were a deep dive into the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, The Fugees, and the West Coast rivalry between Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. They knew the lyrics, the samples, and the history behind every track.

Their style was a direct import from New York and L.A.: baggy jeans, oversized hoodies, baseball caps worn low, and fresh-out-the-box trainers or Timberland boots. They were the ones found with a boombox in the playground, teaching each other dance moves or sketching graffiti designs in their notebooks, bringing a slice of American street culture to the British schoolyard.

“avers

These were the kids who lived for Friday night and the weekend. They'd spend all week talking about the illegal parties and warehouse raves they were going to. Their uniform was all about being comfy enough to dance all night: think baggy tracksuits, brightly coloured tops, and those essential bucket hats. Their music was a world away from the charts—a fast, relentless mash-up of drum and bass and hardcore rave.

They had their own language, full of slang like ‘E'd up’ and ‘rewind’, and seemed to exist in a completely different universe from the rest of us, one built on pirate radio stations and pure, frenetic energy. They were considered parallel to indie kids as their music lined up partly with mainstream artists, and partly with more underground acts, especially during the era of cassette tape trading.

Skater

While skateboarding itself was the core identity, the music scene was a huge part of it. Skaters listened to a mix of punk rock (The Offspring, Green Day), alternative metal (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction), and a bit of hip-hop.

Their style was a functional reflection of their hobby: baggy jeans, oversized hoodies, and iconic skate shoes from brands like Vans and Etnies. They congregated in car parks and outside school gates, always with a deck in hand - whether they could actually skate or not remained to be seen.

Were you called a ‘goffik’ a ‘trendy” - or were there other names in your school that referred to different musical subcultures? Let the writer of this article know by dropping them an email with your schoolyard musical experiences.