British Rocker Jackets c.1956-1969

[Monitor]

Rocketeer, great photo and I really enjoy reading all this.

Just discovered LL had put up scans of some nice photos of their vtg jackets.

 

[rocketeer]

Rocketeer, great photo and I really enjoy reading all this.

Just discovered LL had put up scans of some nice photos of their vtg jackets.

Derek looks a little like Christopher Walken in that pose.

The jackets look great and much more evocative of the time than all those modern ACE CAFE TON UP BOYS studded to the max jackets we see these days.

 

[navetsea]

awesome photos. I wish I can read japanese...

I'm also aware for us asian with no excess leg length, rolling up jeans to expose boots is usually leading into proportion disaster...

 

[Edward]

Great photos. That one with almost the entire front covered in enamel pins.... jinkies, at the price of those, you could have bought another jacket.... at today's Lewis prices!!

 

[Monitor]

LL is a bit overly pricey nowadays, me thinks. Okay, they're really ace jackets but I don't know... I don't think many of the folk who made the brand famous could afford a 800 quid jacket back in the days.

Cool photos of the original Rockers (and motorcycles): https://www.facebook.com/RockersTonUpBoysCafeRacerSpiritOf59
People weren't all that crazy about the tight fitting leather jackets back in the days, it would appear.

 

[Edward]

Anybody who's ever been on the back of a bike at 50MPH even on a hot August day would know the value of room for layering.... A neat fit so that you get the benefit of the hide's protection in a spill is one thing, but this skintight-fetish is strictly a product of the powerranger school of modern bikewear, imo! Course, what you also have to remember is that Rockers back in the day were kids under the age of 25.... In recent years, research has suggested that the human brain's capability to comprehend risk hasn't been fully developed until the mid twenties, hence kids do stupid stuff without thinking..... including trying to do the ton on a public road.... (notably, though, they weren't breaking the law to start with. Outside of built-up areas, where the first permanent speed limit of 30MPH applied from 1956, there was no speed limit at all until 1965, and even then it was a temporary experiment until made permanent in 1967).

Course, as well as people just being less risk averse back then, there just wasn't the same level of safety equipment. It was really only in the late 50s that motorcycle-specific clothing started to appear in significant quantity in the UK, and the average bike in those days wasn't capable of thed sort of speeds that could get you into real trouble. There were a couple of bikes that were celebrated among the rockers as being capable of doing the ton..... Nowadays, it's probably hard to find a bike that can't come close to it, at least.... Hells, even the early twenty-first century equivalent of a mod's hairdryer is probably more capable than a lot of rocker bikes back in the day. (Nowhere near as cool, mind...).

Anyhow, I'm wandering.... Lewis are pricey these days, no doubt. The standard new price is £750, which puts them a little ahead of the Aero bike jackets at around £650 start price. The young bikers of today will all be wearing the likes of Vanson and such, or, if they favour an older style, Schott knock-offs and leather brands of all sorts. If contemporary if your thing, it's actually very easy to find decent bike leathers for in and around £100-200. Lewis are a very niche luxury product, no doubt. Which is in no way to knock them, but certainly true that they're far out of the reach of the sort of kids that rode to the Ace back when. Not dissimilar to the market in premium A2 repros, really.

 

[Monitor]

Never really given it much thought, but excellent point about the origins of the skintight-fetish, Edward. Mostly all contemporary MC gear is skintight and modeled so to fit only on a motorcycle so this could be it - tho I don't get the need to apply this to vintage pieces, too.
Actually I find it amusing in a way, today when there's definitely an ongoing resurgence of a classically styled MC jackets and the whole classic biker look in general, both British and to a much larger extent, American, people have taken exactly these guys, Rockers and the US equivalent (greasers?) to emulate and copy... And yet, you can't find a single photo of any of these blokes from the good old days that wore jackets (clothes in general) nearly as fitted and neat as what is considered to be somewhat of a standard today (even here, on TFL) for said biker look.
Not to mention these kids were probably scraping bottom of the barrel to make ends meet, and could barely afford an LL or Schott even back then, when it was reasonably priced...
Makes me wonder, what exactly is this leather dragon we're chasing here, with all these super expensive jackets, denim and boots. Man, you coulda buy a motorcycle back in the days for the kind of money people are dropping on jackets today. But I digress.

There are so many quality no-names floating around, made from a really nice, quality, thick leather, even, made just as well as what we'd expect from Schott, etc. Though if only they would invest a little more time and effort into design...

lol @ mod's hairdryer. But you're right, I still haven't gotten used to having these things sneaking up on me, when I'm convinced how totally I am rocketeering thru town on my old CR. I can imagine they can easily outrun engines Rockers rode.

Is that Irvin back there? Are those Ace patches and pins it's decorated with, or War stuffs? lol

 

[Sloan1874]

Looks more like a B-3 to me.

 

[Mickey Bowtie]

There is a simple reason contemporary riding gear tends to be tight: modern day protection. The additional protection by modern armour is useless unless it is fixated at the right spot (elbow, shoulder et al.). Then it can soften the impact and reduce the severity of injuries sustained in a crash.
Also race suits - and thus many suits that imitate the look for styling purpose (vulgo Power Ranger costume) - are purposely tight to reduce wind drag and the resulting risk of introducing shimmy at high speed.

 

[Edward]

In the late forties and into the fifties, there was a lot of military surplus stuff sold off that folks bought up for motorcycling. Somewhere I have a pair of RAF goggles and gauntlets my grandfather wore on his bike in the late forties. There were a lot of jackets sold to this market that purported to be Irvins... many were at least made in the same factories as the real thing, others were vaguely similar sheepskin jackets. Quality varied as much as accuracy.

 

[rocketeer]

LL is a bit overly pricey nowadays, me thinks. Okay, they're really ace jackets but I don't know... I don't think many of the folk who made the brand famous could afford a 800 quid jacket back in the days.

Cool photos of the original Rockers (and motorcycles): https://www.facebook.com/RockersTonUpBoysCafeRacerSpiritOf59
People weren't all that crazy about the tight fitting leather jackets back in the days, it would appear.

Now this is a personal opinion and humble it may be but those latest Lewis leathers jackets I would think are more aimed at the fashion conscious rather than those that want one for motorcycling. Also you can buy a very good original for about half the price of a new one, but then some folks dont like second hand clothes. And would you stick 50 badges into a brand new £700+ jacket?

Wow, an MV Agusta 2 stroke! Love that tooter

Anybody who's ever been on the back of a bike at 50MPH even on a hot August day would know the value of room for layering.... A neat fit so that you get the benefit of the hide's protection in a spill is one thing, but this skintight-fetish is strictly a product of the powerranger school of modern bikewear, imo! Course, what you also have to remember is that Rockers back in the day were kids under the age of 25.... In recent years, research has suggested that the human brain's capability to comprehend risk hasn't been fully developed until the mid twenties, hence kids do stupid stuff without thinking..... including trying to do the ton on a public road.... (notably, though, they weren't breaking the law to start with. Outside of built-up areas, where the first permanent speed limit of 30MPH applied from 1956, there was no speed limit at all until 1965, and even then it was a temporary experiment until made permanent in 1967).

Course, as well as people just being less risk averse back then, there just wasn't the same level of safety equipment. It was really only in the late 50s that motorcycle-specific clothing started to appear in significant quantity in the UK, and the average bike in those days wasn't capable of thed sort of speeds that could get you into real trouble. There were a couple of bikes that were celebrated among the rockers as being capable of doing the ton..... Nowadays, it's probably hard to find a bike that can't come close to it, at least.... Hells, even the early twenty-first century equivalent of a mod's hairdryer is probably more capable than a lot of rocker bikes back in the day. (Nowhere near as cool, mind...).

Anyhow, I'm wandering.... Lewis are pricey these days, no doubt. The standard new price is £750, which puts them a little ahead of the Aero bike jackets at around £650 start price. The young bikers of today will all be wearing the likes of Vanson and such, or, if they favour an older style, Schott knock-offs and leather brands of all sorts. If contemporary if your thing, it's actually very easy to find decent bike leathers for in and around £100-200. Lewis are a very niche luxury product, no doubt. Which is in no way to knock them, but certainly true that they're far out of the reach of the sort of kids that rode to the Ace back when. Not dissimilar to the market in premium A2 repros, really.

Edward, you say many youngsters that mainly do stupid things, a modern bike magazine did a poll on bikers age and this came out at around 40+years. There are just as many stupid old uns, we call them Sunday Morning Rossi's. They want to show off their track skill but on country roads and it sometimes does not work out. A workmate of mine was decapitated and his female partner killed when he hit a tractor rounding a bend. I think he was doing a Ton+.
When we were apprentices in the 1970s we had a Police talk where the officers showed horror photo's of dead teenagers. He also told us a trick in the 60s was for Rockers to spot a car with the old style trafficators that stuck out turning right, the game was to roar past and hit this snapping it off the said car. Not every rocker that snapped one off lived to laugh about it down the cafe.
Yes those little buzz boxes are a pest. I may have one of the fastest bikes on the road but you cant compete with a 125 in heavy traffic haha.
And to those that mock the Power Ranger look with modern bikes, Imagine wearing all the genuine 1960s gear, your Lewis Bronx with a tiger painted on the back and all studded up, and you are riding a Humber motorcycle in the Banbury Run. Some gear looks right with certain bikes but it really is the riders choice.

 

[Sloan1874]

They do say that the Born Again Bikers are the biggest threat nowadays - people who owned bikes in their youth and then later on, into late 40s onwards, decide to buy one again, but think their reflexes are exactly the same as 20 years ago, making them lethal.

 

[rocketeer]

They do say that the Born Again Bikers are the biggest threat nowadays - people who owned bikes in their youth and then later on, into late 40s onwards, decide to buy one again, but think their reflexes are exactly the same as 20 years ago, making them lethal.

Then of course there are the old time newbies so to speak.
The new 17 year old rider has to gain quite a bit of experience these days before he could by a race rep sports bike or such, reaching 21 years of age before they can buy anything really powerful. Yet an older man or woman, having never ridden before can get what is known as direct access. That means as soon as he passes his test he can buy a Hayabusa or BMW S100RR, motorcycles capable of nearly 200 mph and 0-60 times of 3.5 seconds. These type of riders can be more dangerous on the roads than those coming back to biking.
Getting into older bikes means you need a certain amount of mechanical knowledge to keep them running, though us with the super sports type usually have to resort to both professional tuning with computer softwear etc and being able to to the simple things ourselves.
Myself? I have ridden since 17 years old. Around 1988 I got out of bikes for a few years but came back to what I knew best, an old BSA A65 but after another 12 years of vibration induced mechanical trouble and bits falling off I bought a Japanese super tourer and have probably covered more miles on that than in all my other years put together though I would not swap my British biking years for anything.
GoGo Power Rangers :thumb:

 

[Stearmen]

Of course, over here, a 16 year old can buy what ever he can afford, no restrictions! Most seem to stay with 750cc or smaller. I am not sure what a 1999 Hayabusa sells for, but I imagine some kids can afford them, put in a new chip, 200+ mph. I personally think every rider should learn on the dirt, it just makes you better. I like to tell the new old Harley riders, on there first ever motorcycle, I have more illegal miles then you have legal miles!

 

[navetsea]

nowadays lots of motorcycle riders don't even start with bicycle... lots of them here wobble in low speed or after traffic light which is very dangerous for car drivers since they like to fit themselves in between cars, and then start off wobbly. I haven't born until 1978, and only ride 16 years later in mid 90's so I missed these old bikes.

Although living/ growing up in 3rd world developing country here I guess we were 20yrs behind during that time, so I still grew up with old technology, even my current bike 1997 Suzuki RG150cc - R is single cylinder twinstroke with carburator and no electric starter which was my second bike I bought as new after a semi automatic moped first bike back in highschool. I believe the technology applied on my bike was from the 80's since it already has CDI but it still can run without battery I think I can live with single motorcycle for life...

 

[Edward]

Now this is a personal opinion and humble it may be but those latest Lewis leathers jackets I would think are more aimed at the fashion conscious rather than those that want one for motorcycling. Also you can buy a very good original for about half the price of a new one, but then some folks dont like second hand clothes. And would you stick 50 badges into a brand new £700+ jacket?

Bingo. Not me; that's one of the major reasons I'd consider the Mascot. There are plenty of folks who do do it with Lewises, but yeah, I could never justify that sort of spend on something I was going to pin to within an inch of its life; patches I'd feel the same abou,t though to a lesser extent.

Edward, you say many youngsters that mainly do stupid things, a modern bike magazine did a poll on bikers age and this came out at around 40+years. There are just as many stupid old uns, we call them Sunday Morning Rossi's. They want to show off their track skill but on country roads and it sometimes does not work out. A workmate of mine was decapitated and his female partner killed when he hit a tractor rounding a bend. I think he was doing a Ton+.

Ouch. Yeah. There was a very good reaso nthey changed the law in 65!


[

When we were apprentices in the 1970s we had a Police talk where the officers showed horror photo's of dead teenagers. He also told us a trick in the 60s was for Rockers to spot a car with the old style trafficators that stuck out turning right, the game was to roar past and hit this snapping it off the said car. Not every rocker that snapped one off lived to laugh about it down the cafe.

Mn. The modern equivalent, I suppose, would be inexperienced cyclists encouraged onto busy London roads, and who actually believe Brosi that a strip of magic, blue paint will keep them safe from buses and lorries. It's always that - overtaking a lorry or a bus on the inside....

And to those that mock the Power Ranger look with modern bikes, Imagine wearing all the genuine 1960s gear, your Lewis Bronx with a tiger painted on the back and all studded up, and you are riding a Humber motorcycle in the Banbury Run. Some gear looks right with certain bikes but it really is the riders choice.

Yeah, some looks just don't mix.

They do say that the Born Again Bikers are the biggest threat nowadays - people who owned bikes in their youth and then later on, into late 40s onwards, decide to buy one again, but think their reflexes are exactly the same as 20 years ago, making them lethal.

I wonder how much it's the reflexes, and how much it's them just never thinking that road conditi0ns aren't the same as twenty years ago. I'm firmly of the opinion that the biggest danger of motorcycling is the broad lack of awareness of motorcyclists by many car drivers. When was the last time we had a "think bike" campaign?

I wish they would do more to make bikes safer, I'd love to cycle - both engine and pedal - in London, but, eh....

 

[Mickey Bowtie]

I'm firmly of the opinion that the biggest danger of motorcycling is the broad lack of awareness of motorcyclists by many car drivers. When was the last time we had a "think bike" campaign?

^ This, oh a thousand times this. Just last sunday a friend of mine - who is a very defensive and experienced rider - was almost hit by two cars blatantly refusing to recognize him on the road, one after the other, just 500 m apart. All the while going well under the speed limit, wearing dayglow health and safty vest within city limits. Of course, going slow and anticipating the cars movements allowed him to narrowly avoid both accidents. Riding behind him I could see how close he came to being maimed.

We called it quits and put the bikes away ASAP. Some days they just are out to kill you.

 

[Monitor]

Lewis Leathers Dominator that Sid Vicious wore in the early days of the Sex Pistols.



The description next to this image stated that Sid acquired this jacket from a woman who was living in his apartment before the Pistols were formed, and that the studs were all added by Sid. Unlikely, in my opinion, as this jacket is decorated in a very typical British Rocker / Biker fashion. Sure, Pvnks were perhaps an outgrowth of the Rockers, a group that was mainly centered on British motorcycles (to some extent, at least) and you can see badges on this jacket that normally only British bikers of the 50's would decorate their jackets with; there's Triumph badge, Norton, BSA, even Totenkopf badges, etc., but even so, motorcycles weren't exactly something we easily associate Sid with.

In any case, regardless of the history behind it, this is a fantastic example of an early Rockers / Ton Up jacket.

 

[Edward]

There's a high probability Sid added the more modern 'button' style badges, but yes, I'd agree there's a high likelihood that it was an old Rocker jacket that he laid hands on.

Here's the jacket in 1988, being sold in a Sotheby's catalogue. Interestingly, that rectangular arrangement of studs in the top left breast (on the right of the photo) here are holding on a Luftwaffe Eagle patch, rather than there being a death's head pin in the middle.... That's if you look at Sid himself, In the picture of the jacket being modelled by a Sotheby's employee (on the right, below), though, you can just make out that it's as it is in Monitor's shot - likely the jacket was disgarded / acquired by somebody else at some point, and changed a bit in form:

Another shot of Sid wearing the jacket (here, it looks more like a 3D Luftwaffe eagle pin than a patch.... may have changed several times):

....and, yes, here it is on the manboy himself, with the death's head in place:

This was the jacket that Sid wore for most of the time in his brief tenure with the Pistols. He was pictured wearing it at Heathrow, headed off to the US. The Schott Perfecto, for which he is much better-known posthumously, came along only when they hit the US. As I recall, the story was that Malcolm bought the boys one each as a reward for behaving themselves on a radio show interview... Sid of course took to the Perfecto liike a second skin, in imitation of his hero and idol Dee Dee Ramone. The Perfecto was the jacket he wore onstage for the few remaining Pistols gigs, in The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle, and, infamously, in his police mugshot when he was arrested for the murder of Nancy Spungen. Truly, though, this Lewis was the real Sid Vicious Sex Pistols jacket. I wish it could talk; I'd love to know its full, pre-Sid story. Either way, it's a fine example of a Rocker-style jacket - probably even actually one.

Postscript.... Looking again at those photos, I'm starting to wodner if some of these badges weren't added post Sid, by someone seeking to take it full circle back to being a true Rocker jacket again....

 

[Stearmen]

Good eye Edward! I to, don't see any of the motorcycle badges while he was wearing it. I would like to know who owned it after Sid?