H.Johnson
One Too Many
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Gene Vincent...
... a broad definition of 'Teddy Boy'!
... a broad definition of 'Teddy Boy'!
teddyboy53 said:Hi Guys,
Just picked up on your post on Teddy Boys, and thought I'd come and say hi, so 'HI' I'm a Teddy Boy, I live in England, in a town called York and I'm also a member of www.federation-of-teddyboys.co.uk <http://www.federation-of-teddyboys.co.uk>, pop in and say hi sometime. The Teddy Boy scene at the moment is a worldwide thing, and definitely shows no sign of dying down, even though in the fifties it was, described as a passing fad that would only last a few months. Basically, nowadays you have two main types of Teddy Boy you have the 1950s style Ted, of which I am even though I was not a part of the fifties and you have the 1970s style, more colorful and came about in a huge revival of the Ted scene, then also unfortunately you get the idiots that tag along, we call them 'Jive Bunnies' ask any Ted about them and he'll tell you a few tales I bet. Personally I became a Ted in 1980, following on from the 70's revival I had a few colourful Drape jackets and crepe soled shoes to match, now I'm more into the 50s Ted style, a much smarter look I think. We have regular Rockin events all around Britain, and in our 'club' we have members in USA, Brazil, Russia, Australia, Japan and I recon every part of Europe, so yes its well alive and we are very proud to call ourselves Teddy Boys. I recognise and know well a few faces in the photos on this thread, and unfortunately one guy in the photos only died two days ago, one great thing about the English Teddy Boy scene, you can travel anywhare in the UK to a rock n roll gig and you know and recognise people, its just like one big family. Any questions please feel free to ask, I'm on teddyboy53@googlemail.com <mailto:teddyboy53@googlemail.com> if you want and I'm gonna enjoy looking through this Forum of yours, looks very interesting.
Rockin Regards
Jim the English Ted
tempestbella42 said:hi Jim,
welcome to the forum...
although weve proberbly met in real life!
i was a teddy girl in the late 1970s/80s.....my dad was in the 1950s and again in the 70s/80s after him and mum divorced!!
He lived in Leeds and we used to go to The Whip, ( he was known as Geordie) i hung round in the pool cafe ...... but thats off topic here!! :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:
i used to weatr a drape jcket with pencil skirt and strangly enough the other day decided thats my fav eva outfit.....decided to get one again...be black or charchoal gret, with waistcoat and calf length pencil skirt! moon pockets not the "showaddywaddy" ones! will find some photos out!
heres a good site with the look for girls now...http://homepage.ntlworld.com/micheal.cookson/nifty50s/teds_corner.html
ive been offline for a couple of weeks will check myspace to see who your on about Jim!!
H.Johnson said:... a broad definition of 'Teddy Boy'!
mike said:Not really. Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Haley were some of the first American Rock n Roll artists to actually play in the UK. Gene Vincent settled there for the remaining years of his life in part because America basically turned its back on him and he continued to have die hard fans (read: teds) in the UK and Europe through to the day he died! These original performers became legendary (if they weren't already.) They weren't "teds" themselves, but absolutely the basis for the movement. ...In my humble opinion
mike said:Not really. Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Haley were some of the first American Rock n Roll artists to actually play in the UK. Gene Vincent settled there for the remaining years of his life in part because America basically turned its back on him and he continued to have die hard fans (read: teds) in the UK and Europe through to the day he died! These original performers became legendary (if they weren't already.) They weren't "teds" themselves, but absolutely the basis for the movement. ...In my humble opinion
teddyboy53 said:Hi sorry if this an old post dragged up, but hats on Teddyboys, flat caps are your best bet, made popular by Gene Vincent, never saw any other type of hat on a Ted, apart from maybe a top hat on Screaming Lord Sutch, now he was a nice guy
flat-top said:I've got two Ted drape coats from a company called Clout. Anyone know anything about them?
mike said:Tempest and TeddyBoy, great to meet you and thanks for posting! Can I ask, who was the older ted that past away the other day? I doubt I know him but I have been on some various websites for years including Hawk's Rockhouse & Myspace talking to different folks. Sorry to hear about your loss, whoever he is.
teddyboy53 said:Hi, thanks for asking, in the photos posted on this thread you can see two oldish twins, Howard and Roy, it was Howard who lost his battle with cancer just the other day, althought spread worldwide, with the help of forums and such, were just one big rockin family, you get to know every one in the rockin scene.
Jim
H.Johnson said:As often happens, history is constructed later by people who weren't there, rather than being experienced at first hand by people who were...
dhermann1 said:I read the first and last pages of this thread, and sort of skimmed the rest, so forgive me if I missed this. But my understanding of the source of the term "teddy" is that it's the line from Buddy Holly's song, "I'm Ready Ready Teddy to Rock and Roll". This song came out I assume around 1957?
Does the term Teddy Boy predate this song? If the song is indeed the source of the name, what were these guys called before that?
Getting an identifying "label" is a two edged sword. It gives a movement a name and sense of identity to coalesce around, but it tends to limit its free form unselfconscious evolution and development. I would bet that the "movement" started right after the war, at least elements of it. Maybe even during.
And what, if any, relation does it bear to skiffle?
That makes so much more sense than the Buddy Holly explanation. And as far as skiffle is concerned, I assume they were unrelated at best, antagonistic at worst?Edward said:my understanding is that the 'Ted' label derives from 'Edwardian'. The very first Teds were upper class/ upper middle class military men who had suits made in a mock Edwardian style. This was quickly copied by working class guys, who developed into the Ted movement we know of today.
Edward said:my understanding is that the 'Ted' label derives from 'Edwardian'. The very first Teds were upper class/ upper middle class military men who had suits made in a mock Edwardian style. This was quickly copied by working class guys, who developed into the Ted movement we know of today.
:eusa_clap i agree And put mach better than i ever could....H.Johnson said:Correct. The dress code was adopted by young men who frequented the 'male scene' in and around Chelsea - some of them possibly guards officers (ahem!). I think it didn't have a name at first, but I believe that a newspaper article (sorry, can't remember which 'paper) first described the mode of dress as, 'The New Edwardian style' - hence 'Teddy Boys'.
'Skiffle' came as an offshoot of 'Trad Jazz' or 'Dixieland' which was the really popular music among young people in the UK before Rock'n'Roll. Interest in jazz and 'Barrelhouse' music from the Southern USA exposed young Britishers to the music of Huddie Leadbetter and assorted 'jug bands'. This was easier to play than jazz and allowed the use of cheap (e.g. washboards) and home made (e.g. teachest bases) instruments. Lonnie Donegan had, of course, played in some serious jazz bands before he recorded any 'Skiffle'.
Just my opinion, of course,