Visit to Aero Leathers

[Edward]

I wondered that too.
Don't know what the Damned play like now, neither RnR or P#nk, you can't be 'Rebel Teens' when you look like you are 50 something.

They still play all the old stuff - very credibly, too. They're much more skilled now, inevitably (playing together for forty plus years will do that to you), but they still have it.

Funny thing remembering the Teds V P#nk days, I always caught the last train from Southend to Basildon on a Saturday night and got home just in time to watch So it Goes and all the bands. I was reminiscing about those days when I bought a book about the Pistols in a used book shop to which the owner was quite stunned when I fondly remembered:-
Me "Looking back though, some P#unk bands just sounded crap even though they could really play"
(store owner looking all misty eyed and smiling)
The me again "And funnily enough, I still think they are crap now".
Him "So why buy the book?"
Me "Nostalgia mate"
Days from a time lost in time.

Heh. Very true.

How popular was P#nk Rock? Well there has never been a successful revival like the Mods or Teds had. The Ted look was partly smart drape suits with leather jackets for everyday and the Mods still had something similar with their mohair suits. But the P#unks? One of my school mates used to go out in his dads old striped pajama's and a bike jacket in the 70s with Vaseline spiking his hair up. I don't think the P#nk look transfers to an older generation very well.
Oh and Edward, thanks for the info on Nellie the Elephant Got to look that up on YouTube now.
J

Enjoy! In terms of punk's popularity, it was never mainstream. It was enormously musically influential, but not in that direct way like the Beatles or such, where it goes mainstream then gets revived by a nostalgia market. It's more like the rockers than the mods: it's never needed revivived because it has always carried on in its own little pockets, keepin' it real, rather than being a fashion movement.

While I no longer listen to bands like GBH or Chron Gen, other bands of that era hold up well IMO. Some bands like the Buzzcocks might seem more New Wave than punk now, but back then we didn't distinguish between the two very much. I still love listening to them, the Jam, the Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Richard He'll and a few more.

One of the great things about punk rock was and remains just how varied it was, from the Clash's later dub / reggae stuff, to Blondie, to the Ramones, to the Pistols.... much less boxed in than, say, the metal scene of the eighties. Also a much morep rogressive space for women as performers than any other comparable movement.

Regarding punk fashion, I liked that there weren't strong rules about what was ok, at least in the first few years. Look at the Clash's performance on "Friday's" TV show. Joe's got a tough punk look going, and Mick is wearing a purple zoot suit!

In that respect it only starting going wrong when the pressgot hold of it and tried to do the "how to be a punk" uniform nonsense....or, more to the point, when some folks started buying into that.

I don't know about comparisons with the UK and US Punk fashions were but yes, here anything went. Granddads stripy pyjamas with Doc Martens(for the fight with the Teds later), bin liners, ripped tights or stockings for the girls, bondage trousers and just about anything to shock so you didn't have to be a Nazi to wear a Swastika.

The US movement was much less overtly political than the UK scene, though that changed markedly into the eighties, particularly on the West Coast with the likes of the Dead Kennedys. Fashion wise, it was much the same, albeit that the UK scene had a somewhat more theatrical look that blended in later to goth and New Romantic in a way that didn't quite happen in the US, as I understand it.

The use of the swastika and other Nazi symbology was much misunderstood by idiots who thought that punk rock was pro-Nazi (notably, Johnny Rotten always wore his Nazi bits inverted, as a deliberate sign of disrespect for those, as much as they also made a fashion statement aimed at the restrictiveness of British society at the time).

Teds would get wound up about John Lydon wearing a drape with safety pins, but to be honest he looked a lot better than some of them and leather bike jackets were pretty well covered across the board, though no one favoured Lewis despite what folks say these days.

Not many of them could bladdy afford Lewis! Though a few wore old, second hand ones, like Sid; Steve Jones probably half-inched his. The Clash boys, like the Damned, got into Lewis after they hit the big time and could afford it. Of course, back then the British motorcylce industry was still alive, and there were a heck of a lot of leather producers at all levels (Mascot were an affordable alternative to Lewis, for one- worn by the Damned, and even Ferghal Sharkey of the Undertones, though he still remains more commonly associated with the N3B.)

You still see old Teds and Rockers, a few fat Mods on scooters but not many Punks spitting and pogoing the night away. Personally I just don't think it is a good look on an older person, a 57 year old man in a swastika T shirt with DESTROY on it looks a bit......... Well you can't be a rebellious teenager forever can you.

I don't know.... most old punks follow in the wake of the likes of Dave Vanian and go 30s, or goth, but in my honest opinion there's no better a rebellion sometimes than sticking up two fingers to the unhealthy fetishisation of the cult of youth that has come to dominate everything in recent years. It's one of the reasons the Pistols had to come back. Mind you, John Lydon himself wears a lot of tweed these days....

 

[nick123]

Nothing better than when punk and leather jackets intertwine. There's a whole thesis paper up for grabs on the philosophy linking the two together; wabi-sabi and the fleeting fifty second song celebrating life's toil and impermanence! And anti-aircraft artillery!

 

[rocketeer]

I don't know.... most old punks follow in the wake of the likes of Dave Vanian and go 30s, or goth, but in my honest opinion there's no better a rebellion sometimes than sticking up two fingers to the unhealthy fetishisation of the cult of youth that has come to dominate everything in recent years. It's one of the reasons the Pistols had to come back. Mind you, John Lydon himself wears a lot of tweed these days....

Looking at the original photo of Dave in the Aero shop, I would never have guessed he was once the heart and sole of original 1970s Punk. John in Tweed yes, and advertising Country Life Butter. He still gives that anarchic 'stare' when interviewed on TV. I think the only time I ever saw him in relax mode was on that 'I'm a Celebrity' jungle program, even then he walked out.

 

[handymike]

So, by Teddy Boys, do you mean Rock-a-billy/ Stray Cats? Sorry, I haven't heard the term before. I don't think that trend made it over here to the US. We were dealing with Preppies

 

[Sloan1874]

It's one of the reasons the Pistols had to come back. Mind you, John Lydon himself wears a lot of tweed these days....

That's because he has to sell all that butter...

 

[GGinMP]

So, by Teddy Boys, do you mean Rock-a-billy/ Stray Cats? Sorry, I haven't heard the term before. I don't think that trend made it over here to the US. We were dealing with Preppies
View attachment 61100

Interested to hear if our British members find this an accurate history of the Teds:

http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm

 

[rocketeer]

Before the Teds, you dressed like your dad, then after WWII a little more money was available so the 1950s youth wanted things to spend t on, mainly clothes and the Ted was born. I was a Ted in the 1970s, a revival thing that had been going on since the late 1960s.
In the 1950s America was so much different to England, or shall we say the British Isles. Britains youth had jobs and money n there pockets but not like the US. While American youth build hot rods and drove around in dads old cast off, the British teenager generally caught the bus or if lucky, had a motorbike, intact private motoring was usually down to a motorcycle and sidecar for the family man as second hand cars were rare and cars in general highly priced.
Teds in the 1950s, despite the romantic views younger people seem to view the 50s, Teddy Boys could be razor carrying thugs, often racist but they also fought each other if you wandered into each others area's at the wrong time. It was ok to mix at work but certain groups drank at certain pubs so go into that area where you were not known at your peril.
They(Teds) did pre date the Rock n Roll music they are usually associated with, RnR arriving from the States in the mid 1950s, the Teds took it up as their music of the time.

Interested to hear if our British members find this an accurate history of the Teds:

http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm

This site is written by a group who try to claim back the original Teddy Boy look rather than the 1970s fashion of bright colours and stuff like that. A lot of it is correct, though a some is written by those who were young at the time and could have only copied it from books and other websites. During the 50s Teddy Boys were a particular British thing, just as Hot Rodders were usually associated with the USA and wherever American servicemen were stationed. Many 'looks' were based on the US styles, bike gangs, for example obviously loosely had the Wild One look of Brando etc. Though over here the bike cult of the 1950s and 60s grew into the Ton Up boys and the Rockers. probably called Rockers due to their likings of the older RnR music stars who were now to old for the rebel teens of the USA such as Gene Vincent, Bill Haley.
I am no expert on this, but only see it from a 1970s view. I started my engineering apprenticship in a world surrounded by grown up Teds and Rockers who were now(1975-on) family men who happily reminisced about their mis spent youth to myself and others who could really just be younger versions of themselves.
Phew! That was a marathon, seeya J.

 

[Edward]

Looking at the original photo of Dave in the Aero shop, I would never have guessed he was once the heart and sole of original 1970s Punk. John in Tweed yes, and advertising Country Life Butter. He still gives that anarchic 'stare' when interviewed on TV. I think the only time I ever saw him in relax mode was on that 'I'm a Celebrity' jungle program, even then he walked out.

He's a fascinating character. Apparently a real drling when he let his guard down, but really knows how to play in character for the camera. I'd love to see him act. Such a shame to hear his eyesight is going.

So, by Teddy Boys, do you mean Rock-a-billy/ Stray Cats? Sorry, I haven't heard the term before. I don't think that trend made it over here to the US. We were dealing with Preppies
View attachment 61100

Very different beast; the article linked to above catches it well.

That's because he has to sell all that butter...

Hey, well it bought him out of a restrictive contract so he could have creative control and PIL back on the road. Maybe not quite cash from chaos, but a sound strategic move! ;-)

Interested to hear if our British members find this an accurate history of the Teds:

http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm

Afaik - at a greater distance from it than Rocketeer- this is spot on. @Twotypes might have a view too; I believe he's written on this.

 

[Edward]

Nothing better than when punk and leather jackets intertwine. There's a whole thesis paper up for grabs on the philosophy linking the two together; wabi-sabi and the fleeting fifty second song celebrating life's toil and impermanence! And anti-aircraft artillery!

Punk rock, along with, I suppose, heavy metal is a vookend of sorts, oposite the Rockers. The rockers as a distinct subculture linked leather motorcycle jackets with the music; punk rock and metal wrested them free of the motorcycle culture (which was beginning to die out as a mainstream thing by 1970, as cars became cheaper, the British motorcycle industry began to decline, and bikes became more a lifestyle than everyman transport), associating them, for many, with the music alone. When I got my first Perfecto style in 1990, we called em "biker jackets", but it was all about Joey Ramone and Alice Cooper, not Johnny Strabler or Triumph.

At least, that's a north of Ireland perspective that seems to me to have run true for the rest of the UK and the ROI too.

 

[rocketeer]

Yes the site has some good accurate stuff on it and a fair bit of self indulgence. I knew some of the guys featured on there, maybe not as best mates but certainly at the pubs and clubs we all went to.
There are three sort of phases of the RnR/Teddy boy period if you include the revivals. The 1940s-50s, when it was a youth cult all over the whole country. not all young men were Teddy Boys but many of the working class lads were. The sworn enemies were other Teds and anyone they did not like.
By the late 60s and into the 1970s the Teds took on a more colourful appearance and supporting the now ageing RnR stars of the 1950s. They were up against other youth cultures such as Punks who were probably similar to the original Teds of the 50s. Teds fought Teds, mainly because of spilt beer, chatting up others girlfriends but by the late 1970s had drifted towards the Ted v Rockabilly thing and Ted in 'billy' clubs and vice versa could cause friction.
One thing about the Teds of the 70s, we all loved our old 50s cars. Rusting yanks and old 6 seater Fords and Vauxhalls were great for taking your mates around and some back or front seat action with a lady if you were lucky. No one wanted these old cars at the time, only Teds and banger racers, you could say we started the, 'ahem' Classic car movement in the UK at least. None were really Classic but just nice old cars.
In the 80s Teds were still about but the younger set drifting into the US inspired Rockabilly movement. Wearing original American clothing was almost a must for both girls and boys. In the early 80s I was wearing an A2 to RnR/Rockabilly gigs but did not really fit in due to the smarter dressed 'Hep Cats' as they called themselves.
For the next few years RnR drifted along, Teds almost gone now except a few of the older guys still seen about today. A few younger people took up the cause but for every new ted on the scene, probably 10 Rockerbilly types would appear. A few true Ted clubs appeared run by folks featured on the ( http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm )Teddy Boy site but due to internal squabbling about originality and types of bands the club reps wanted to feature, they died off leaving today, mainly what are known as Jive Bunny clubs where us few older types still attend to listen to our favourite music.

Jive Bunny:
A modern day Rock n Roll fan who is a bit fair weather, often follows trends such as US inspired Line Dancing then moves along to the next big thing which at that time was RnR, now including WWII stuff. Tends to be more into dancing and wearing modern versions of 1950s inspired clothing, though not into the historical significance of the music though may take an interest in the more well known artists and vehicles of the period with a little vintage clothing thrown in for good measure.

Photo of me in 1979
Car is a 1960 Zephyr, jacket is a 'Drape', the design taken from a picture of Elvis, cost £70 in 1978(3 full weeks engineering apprentice wages)

Another marathon post. Must have a jukebox moment and cup of tea well deserved.

 

[Stringmaster]

Yes the site has some good accurate stuff on it and a fair bit of self indulgence. I knew some of the guys featured on there, maybe not as best mates but certainly at the pubs and clubs we all went to.
There are three sort of phases of the RnR/Teddy boy period if you include the revivals. The 1940s-50s, when it was a youth cult all over the whole country. not all young men were Teddy Boys but many of the working class lads were. The sworn enemies were other Teds and anyone they did not like.
By the late 60s and into the 1970s the Teds took on a more colourful appearance and supporting the now ageing RnR stars of the 1950s. They were up against other youth cultures such as Punks who were probably similar to the original Teds of the 50s. Teds fought Teds, mainly because of spilt beer, chatting up others girlfriends but by the late 1970s had drifted towards the Ted v Rockabilly thing and Ted in 'billy' clubs and vice versa could cause friction.
One thing about the Teds of the 70s, we all loved our old 50s cars. Rusting yanks and old 6 seater Fords and Vauxhalls were great for taking your mates around and some back or front seat action with a lady if you were lucky. No one wanted these old cars at the time, only Teds and banger racers, you could say we started the, 'ahem' Classic car movement in the UK at least. None were really Classic but just nice old cars.
In the 80s Teds were still about but the younger set drifting into the US inspired Rockabilly movement. Wearing original American clothing was almost a must for both girls and boys. In the early 80s I was wearing an A2 to RnR/Rockabilly gigs but did not really fit in due to the smarter dressed 'Hep Cats' as they called themselves.
For the next few years RnR drifted along, Teds almost gone now except a few of the older guys still seen about today. A few younger people took up the cause but for every new ted on the scene, probably 10 Rockerbilly types would appear. A few true Ted clubs appeared run by folks featured on the ( http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm )Teddy Boy site but due to internal squabbling about originality and types of bands the club reps wanted to feature, they died off leaving today, mainly what are known as Jive Bunny clubs where us few older types still attend to listen to our favourite music.

Jive Bunny:
A modern day Rock n Roll fan who is a bit fair weather, often follows trends such as US inspired Line Dancing then moves along to the next big thing which at that time was RnR, now including WWII stuff. Tends to be more into dancing and wearing modern versions of 1950s inspired clothing, though not into the historical significance of the music though may take an interest in the more well known artists and vehicles of the period with a little vintage clothing thrown in for good measure.

Photo of me in 1979
Car is a 1960 Zephyr, jacket is a 'Drape', the design taken from a picture of Elvis, cost £70 in 1978(3 full weeks engineering apprentice wages)

Another marathon post. Must have a jukebox moment and cup of tea well deserved.

Awesome account-and love the pic!

 

[Sloan1874]

Wonderful stuff, John. I've always thought it was interesting the way the old rock n roll stars of the 50s found their careers resuscitated by the kids of the late-60s, though it seemed more out of a misplaced nostalgia for a more innocent time.

 

[rocketeer]

Wonderful stuff, John. I've always thought it was interesting the way the old rock n roll stars of the 50s found their careers resuscitated by the kids of the late-60s, though it seemed more out of a misplaced nostalgia for a more innocent time.

We had a lot of revival themed weekends from the late 1970s and these continue today. Lots of well know musicians still played not only Rock n Roll but as time went buy journeyed into other genres of music such as Johnny Kids band The Pirates even headed towards the Punk scene. Bill Haley came over in March of 1979 and I saw him at Southgate's Royalty Ballroom, one of the last great London dance halls. But a few years after his death, his original band re formed and played as a group and they were outstanding. They still played up until a couple of years ago, all in their 90s they were total professionals. Another great line up was Gene Vincents old backing group and performed equal to their heyday.
Quite a few other bands and singers, especially from the USA were dragged out of obscurity, only to perform a few times over here and then sent back to the States, after they had a brief flutter of stardom again, then sent back jobless to where they once again looked for work or settled into retirement. Some were good(Haley's band), some bad(Charlie Gracie) and some awful(Danny and the Juniors) but thats only my opinion.
Still, great days.
I dont Rock n Roll as much as I used to but still get about meeting mates from 40 years ago, look at the same old photo's and re tell stories we have all heard many times before, probably just as much as the Punks do probably, and sometimes we even swap stories should our paths cross.
J

 

[handymike]

Thanks @rocketeer, that's really interesting stuff.

 

[tropicalbob]

Nothing better than when punk and leather jackets intertwine. There's a whole thesis paper up for grabs on the philosophy linking the two together; wabi-sabi and the fleeting fifty second song celebrating life's toil and impermanence! And anti-aircraft artillery!

You remember Shrapnel? It was Legs McNeil's (of Punk Magazoon fame) band, and he had them wear WWII combat outfits and lined the stage at CBGB's with sandbags. Great idea, but the band sucked and the idea wore off pretty fast.

 

[handymike]

I much preferred the showmanship of industrial bands like Babyland, Tchkung, and the best "show" of all- Gwar

 

[Edward]

Yes the site has some good accurate stuff on it and a fair bit of self indulgence. I knew some of the guys featured on there, maybe not as best mates but certainly at the pubs and clubs we all went to.
There are three sort of phases of the RnR/Teddy boy period if you include the revivals. The 1940s-50s, when it was a youth cult all over the whole country. not all young men were Teddy Boys but many of the working class lads were. The sworn enemies were other Teds and anyone they did not like.
By the late 60s and into the 1970s the Teds took on a more colourful appearance and supporting the now ageing RnR stars of the 1950s. They were up against other youth cultures such as Punks who were probably similar to the original Teds of the 50s. Teds fought Teds, mainly because of spilt beer, chatting up others girlfriends but by the late 1970s had drifted towards the Ted v Rockabilly thing and Ted in 'billy' clubs and vice versa could cause friction.
One thing about the Teds of the 70s, we all loved our old 50s cars. Rusting yanks and old 6 seater Fords and Vauxhalls were great for taking your mates around and some back or front seat action with a lady if you were lucky. No one wanted these old cars at the time, only Teds and banger racers, you could say we started the, 'ahem' Classic car movement in the UK at least. None were really Classic but just nice old cars.
In the 80s Teds were still about but the younger set drifting into the US inspired Rockabilly movement. Wearing original American clothing was almost a must for both girls and boys. In the early 80s I was wearing an A2 to RnR/Rockabilly gigs but did not really fit in due to the smarter dressed 'Hep Cats' as they called themselves.
For the next few years RnR drifted along, Teds almost gone now except a few of the older guys still seen about today. A few younger people took up the cause but for every new ted on the scene, probably 10 Rockerbilly types would appear. A few true Ted clubs appeared run by folks featured on the ( http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page2.htm )Teddy Boy site but due to internal squabbling about originality and types of bands the club reps wanted to feature, they died off leaving today, mainly what are known as Jive Bunny clubs where us few older types still attend to listen to our favourite music.

Jive Bunny:
A modern day Rock n Roll fan who is a bit fair weather, often follows trends such as US inspired Line Dancing then moves along to the next big thing which at that time was RnR, now including WWII stuff. Tends to be more into dancing and wearing modern versions of 1950s inspired clothing, though not into the historical significance of the music though may take an interest in the more well known artists and vehicles of the period with a little vintage clothing thrown in for good measure.

Photo of me in 1979
Car is a 1960 Zephyr, jacket is a 'Drape', the design taken from a picture of Elvis, cost £70 in 1978(3 full weeks engineering apprentice wages)

Another marathon post. Must have a jukebox moment and cup of tea well deserved.

Thanks for this: I've absorbed a lot of information over the years about this sort of thing (having started with punk rock and worked backwards: a key record for me was the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac), but it's invaluable to hear how it was from somebody who was actually there. I get the impression that part of the issue for the Ted movement was that it became associated with a level of racism - much like the skinheads, though to nowhere near the same, overwhelming degree - out of all proportion to what there actually was there (sadly, it's just an unpleasant fact of life that a lot of circles have that element within them). Do you think that had anything to do with the apparent demise, or were the old Teds I heard blaming ShowaddyWaddy for making a mockery of the look (I believe "Bertie Basset" was the label they used!) closer correct?

Love the car. I always thought those big, Mk1 and 2 Fords were a cracking look for a practical alternative to the big, US cars of the time. All of the look, but a sensible size. Jings, I love those Yank Tanks, but the idea of trying to parallel park one, or the fuel bill (didn't the average 56 caddy do about a hundred feet to the gallon?) is truly terrifying! 1960, not far off the end of production, really, and yet right in the middle of the British rock and roll boom - a good year in that sense. Always fancied one of those - nicer motor than the Consul, not so underpowered. Friend of my dad's in the car scene twenty five odd years ago had a really nice Mk II Zodiac convertible, with the power hood and everything. Lovely motor. Myself, I've long fancied the estate version. The Vauxhaul PA Cresta was another lovely motor that captured some of that sense of big, ole American rock and roll.

Interesting to hear of the factionalisation and rows between Teds and Rockabillies.... I'm long familiar, of course, with the notion of Teds and punks as antagonists. There's a story I once heard about the Clash Tedding it up and going to a Ted club once as they all loved the music. The sory goes that, having forgotten they were looking like Teds, they dropped into their own (punk) local for last orders on the way home, and came close to having to fight their way out again...

Funny, too, to think how both schools of thought comibned with psychobilly in the eighties, which, ultimately, was the route for so many back into old school rock and roll later on...

Wonderful stuff, John. I've always thought it was interesting the way the old rock n roll stars of the 50s found their careers resuscitated by the kids of the late-60s, though it seemed more out of a misplaced nostalgia for a more innocent time.

Partially, I think - though I get the impression much more so by the eighties. Certainly there was, according to a lot I've read, a chunk of the US version of the scene that by the eighties saw the whole rock and roll thing not a route to rebellion, but a roadmap back to "a time before everything went wrong". Certianly, whatever the reason, it revivied a lot of careers. Reminiscent of how things had gone for an earlier generation of performers when the Stones rediscovered Muddy Waters and took him on tour, and so on. I also remember - later - when Pretty Woman (great song, dreadful film) revived interest in Roy Orbison, and how appreciative he was of a new generation of interest.

We had a lot of revival themed weekends from the late 1970s and these continue today. Lots of well know musicians still played not only Rock n Roll but as time went buy journeyed into other genres of music such as Johnny Kids band The Pirates even headed towards the Punk scene. Bill Haley came over in March of 1979 and I saw him at Southgate's Royalty Ballroom, one of the last great London dance halls. But a few years after his death, his original band re formed and played as a group and they were outstanding. They still played up until a couple of years ago, all in their 90s they were total professionals. Another great line up was Gene Vincents old backing group and performed equal to their heyday.
Quite a few other bands and singers, especially from the USA were dragged out of obscurity, only to perform a few times over here and then sent back to the States, after they had a brief flutter of stardom again, then sent back jobless to where they once again looked for work or settled into retirement. Some were good(Haley's band), some bad(Charlie Gracie) and some awful(Danny and the Juniors) but thats only my opinion.
Still, great days.
I dont Rock n Roll as much as I used to but still get about meeting mates from 40 years ago, look at the same old photo's and re tell stories we have all heard many times before, probably just as much as the Punks do probably, and sometimes we even swap stories should our paths cross.
J

We've been doing Rhythm Riot for a few years, hoping to extend to one or two other weekenders with time. (Limited a bit by transport as non-drivers, and camping not always being an option for us.) The interesting thing about this year's Eiot - the 20th - was that it was the first year without any original acts, yet still a huge success. It suggests that while there are still some on the scene only interested in original records (there is a proportion of Rioters who spend the entire weekend in the downstairs record hop, and don't see a single live band), the scene has legs to keep gonig once all the originals are gone. I guess by this point it's eitherf that or fade out, bearing inmind that even a Revivalist who was 20 in 76 is now sixty...

Interesting to hear comments on the clothes of the revival too. I love what you're wearing in the photo - I have my eye on a few jackets like that, based on Elvis. I've always wanted a proper Ted suit too - proper, old-school, fifties Ted style, a la the stuff Colin Taub makes. I saw a family of Teds once, back in 2012. It was mid August, I was on a date with Herself (our first); we were sitting outside a coffeeshop on the Strand, waiting for the Adelphi Theatre to open, right opposite the Savoy, when out of the SAvoy and across the road came afamily of Teds fully dressed. Three generations of the men, all in full-on, fifites style Tedwear, three-piece, with Grandpa obviously the right age to have been an original Ted. They looked amazing. Totally owned it.

 

[Edward]

You remember Shrapnel? It was Legs McNeil's (of Punk Magazoon fame) band, and he had them wear WWII combat outfits and lined the stage at CBGB's with sandbags. Great idea, but the band sucked and the idea wore off pretty fast.

Ha. I always loved the sheer nerve the New York Dolls had going onstage in 75 wearing red, patent leather with Soviet emblems on them. A fabulously provocative fashion statement. Yes, it was McLaren and Westwood's design cleverness (you can see the roots here of what they were doing later on - whether ill-advised or no - with the co-option of Nazi symbology), but it was the boys in the Dolls who had to take the often literal flak for it! (It's sometimes said this is why they ended up splitting up, though herion had a lot to do with it as well.)

 

[rocketeer]

Thanks for this: I've absorbed a lot of information over the years about this sort of thing (having started with punk rock and worked backwards: a key record for me was the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac), but it's invaluable to hear how it was from somebody who was actually there. I get the impression that part of the issue for the Ted movement was that it became associated with a level of racism - much like the skinheads, though to nowhere near the same, overwhelming degree - out of all proportion to what there actually was there (sadly, it's just an unpleasant fact of life that a lot of circles have that element within them). Do you think that had anything to do with the apparent demise, or were the old Teds I heard blaming ShowaddyWaddy for making a mockery of the look (I believe "Bertie Basset" was the label they used!) closer correct?

Love the car. I always thought those big, Mk1 and 2 Fords were a cracking look for a practical alternative to the big, US cars of the time. All of the look, but a sensible size. Jings, I love those Yank Tanks, but the idea of trying to parallel park one, or the fuel bill (didn't the average 56 caddy do about a hundred feet to the gallon?) is truly terrifying! 1960, not far off the end of production, really, and yet right in the middle of the British rock and roll boom - a good year in that sense. Always fancied one of those - nicer motor than the Consul, not so underpowered. Friend of my dad's in the car scene twenty five odd years ago had a really nice Mk II Zodiac convertible, with the power hood and everything. Lovely motor. Myself, I've long fancied the estate version. The Vauxhaul PA Cresta was another lovely motor that captured some of that sense of big, ole American rock and roll.

Interesting to hear of the factionalisation and rows between Teds and Rockabillies.... I'm long familiar, of course, with the notion of Teds and punks as antagonists. There's a story I once heard about the Clash Tedding it up and going to a Ted club once as they all loved the music. The sory goes that, having forgotten they were looking like Teds, they dropped into their own (punk) local for last orders on the way home, and came close to having to fight their way out again...

Funny, too, to think how both schools of thought comibned with psychobilly in the eighties, which, ultimately, was the route for so many back into old school rock and roll later on...



Partially, I think - though I get the impression much more so by the eighties. Certainly there was, according to a lot I've read, a chunk of the US version of the scene that by the eighties saw the whole rock and roll thing not a route to rebellion, but a roadmap back to "a time before everything went wrong". Certianly, whatever the reason, it revivied a lot of careers. Reminiscent of how things had gone for an earlier generation of performers when the Stones rediscovered Muddy Waters and took him on tour, and so on. I also remember - later - when Pretty Woman (great song, dreadful film) revived interest in Roy Orbison, and how appreciative he was of a new generation of interest.



We've been doing Rhythm Riot for a few years, hoping to extend to one or two other weekenders with time. (Limited a bit by transport as non-drivers, and camping not always being an option for us.) The interesting thing about this year's Eiot - the 20th - was that it was the first year without any original acts, yet still a huge success. It suggests that while there are still some on the scene only interested in original records (there is a proportion of Rioters who spend the entire weekend in the downstairs record hop, and don't see a single live band), the scene has legs to keep gonig once all the originals are gone. I guess by this point it's eitherf that or fade out, bearing inmind that even a Revivalist who was 20 in 76 is now sixty...

Interesting to hear comments on the clothes of the revival too. I love what you're wearing in the photo - I have my eye on a few jackets like that, based on Elvis. I've always wanted a proper Ted suit too - proper, old-school, fifties Ted style, a la the stuff Colin Taub makes. I saw a family of Teds once, back in 2012. It was mid August, I was on a date with Herself (our first); we were sitting outside a coffeeshop on the Strand, waiting for the Adelphi Theatre to open, right opposite the Savoy, when out of the SAvoy and across the road came afamily of Teds fully dressed. Three generations of the men, all in full-on, fifites style Tedwear, three-piece, with Grandpa obviously the right age to have been an original Ted. They looked amazing. Totally owned it.

I was not around in the 1950s but even as a 70s revivalist, a lot of us were not keen on showaddy though I do have a soft spot for Mud and Tiger feet + Lonely this Christmans.
my first car was that old Zephyr. I had 3 of those plus a PA Cresta(Horrible car but some amusing stories with it saved for another time.)
The Revivalists were not really racist either, they flew the Confederate flag but it was more about the RnR from the Southern States to be honest. Most Teds and Rockabilly's listened to black music so it didn't really ring true being racist and dancing away to Chuck Berry and Little Richard.
If you wish to trace modern 50s RnR roots of the Rhythm Riot etc, the first was in 1979 at Caistor Holiday centre in Norfolk, there are plenty of vids for it on Youtube and I, and my car are in it, which is where it lost the rear window trim. Without Caistor, (or it may be Caister) there would be no Viva Las Vegas in the USA, even that is run by an old Hep Cat Disc Jock by the name of Tom Ingram who spun the wax at the Downham Tavern in South London during the 80s.
Now the Rhythm Riot I have never been to but a mate from the 70s is a bouncer there, so he gets to see bands and gets paid. The odd fracas is just part of the job I suppose. The Rhythm Riot took over slowly from the Hemsby weekenders as they were more and more infiltrated by the dreaded Jive Bunnies. Not to say they do not go here but I was told this lot took things more seriously. Vintage clothing and vintage homestyle, these enthusiasts stand out a bit. What gets me though are those obviously teenagers in the 1970s and 80s, now in their mid 50s still dressing like they were 17. It can look ok, sort of, but really, a bald guy with a fat belly trying to look like an American teenager straight out of a Hot Rod B movie just can't cut it. Don't dress like Richie Cunningham's dad but......... I'll leave that one there.
Of course the original artistes will be retiring now or dying off, we really don't want to see any groups such as the Platters, where all the original singers have maybe passed on, the name kept alive by the cleaning ladies husband as lead singer by default of six degrees of separation or such like.
I still have the jacket in the photo though it has not fitted since around 1990, even then it was tight. The last weekender I went to was around 14 years ago on my BSA but the drape had long since been hung up and now it was leather jacket time. Well it had been really since about 1981.
Punk sort of cross referenced with Rockabilly during the 1980s with bands such as King Kurt, the Meteors, with the Cramps from the US. Not my sort of thing but we did like Rochee & the Sarno's who were a sort of comedy psychobilly band. As for Punks popping into the odd RnR gig yes it happened, I read Lydons autobiog a few years back and they did the same(pre Pistols). And got a kicking for their efforts.

COME ON YOU OLD PUNKS, lets see your reminiscences

Bill Haley at the Royalty Ballroom 1979 photo by me , me and a Jukebox I won in 1979(still got it) and some biker fun at Hemsby 2001 I think(photo from Classic American magazine.

Oh I do love a good reminisce. Seeya, J

 

[tropicalbob]

It's funny to see the differences between Britain and the US in the above descriptions. At the Dolls shows at the Algonquin, you could see every type of outfit imaginable, from Glitter to Hippie to, well, whatever, and there were absolutely no problems. It was the same at CBGB's, at least up until about the early '80's. A defined "punk" look didn't happen until the Ramones went to England, and then you started seeing younger kids emulating what was essentially a British interpretation.
WADR, I think Edward's a bit off when he surmises that the Rockabilly style in the US, in both music and dress, was based on a kind of nostalgia. For me at least, I had grown up in the NY area in the Fifties and early Sixties and was always impressed by the style of the "Greasers," as we called them. Even through the Hippie years, I don't think I was very far off, dresswise, from that look (black cafe racer, black pegged jeans, black cowboy boots, and a two-toned rayon shirt (fantastic shops in Bensonhurst, the Italian part of Brooklyn). Musicwise, the one band I detested was the Grateful Dead, as I couldn't bear the loose sound and the endless, meandering guitar solos. My interest in Rockabilly developed out of my love of the old Rock and Roll, particularly Elvis' Sun Sessions stuff, Carl Perkins, etc. What really put me over the top, though, was when a friend who worked at St. Mark's Sounds saved me a couple of copies of early Johnny Horton albums that had come into the shop. On songs like "I Got the Bull by the Horns," "Honkytonk Hardwood Floor, and "Lovers' Rock" the guitar (Grady Martin) was way up front, and every note sounded perfect to me.The more I tried to play it myself, the more I realized how much that kind of music depended on exact timing and the tightness of the band, not to mention how great it sounded coming through Marshall stacks. I guess you could say it was an entirely personal kind of thing, but it was that way for most of my friends.