What's the deal with sponsor patches?

[nick123]

Nick, do you recall where you saw this patch? I vaguely remember there was a guy on the Fl who produced them.

Made custom for me by Johnny S. here on the Lounge (username eludes me). It is sitting on my night stand as a decoration as I type this. PM me, it’s yours (just shipping cost because I’m broke.) I wanted to make this whole bonsai tree montage with it but that fell through long ago.

Way off topic, but it seems some of the easier Ventures tunes are the only really accessible things to play on the guitar well (for me). All I ever play/can play! Okay, “Rumble” is a kick, but it’s Ventures for me. You can start with Walk-Don’t Run or Diamond Head and end up on the fuzzy “Knock Me Out” album and suddenly you can play Blue Cheer. Lol.

Anyone who has liked the Ventures “Live in Japan ‘65” album will have their heads explode in this video. This is repro live performance, note by note! Just like our jackets but with music! Jaw dropping.

 

[tropicalbob]

What a great piece to wake up to! I was watching Jeff Beck playing "Apache" the other night and spent hours trying to hammer it out on my Melody Maker. And now this!
PM me with your Paypal address and I'll send you the funds. I was thinking the patch would look really cool with my new Russet Bronco from AVI. Thanks so much, Bob.

 

[Edward]

Melody Maker? Pics, pls!

1. Are there any actual "retail" versions of these jackets for sale to the public? I .e. officially made racing jackets with official patches for sale to the public. The idea is simple. It's just like nba , nfl jerseys, but on this occasion just applies to sports racing.

I've seen quite a few. REd Bull branded ones were especially fashionable among the mainstream fashion kid set a few years ago (around the time red bull and vodka was the in drink).

2. If so, I assume there must be some licensing deal between the jacket maker (e.g. Vanson) and the sponsor (e.g. Suzuki) for any retail sales of the official jacket with patches? Or more likely, Vanson will have a deal with the association of the sports racing to produce replica clothing (i.e. the jackets ) with the correct specs (i.e. including the patches)?

I would assume so - a licenced product, paying a royalty to use the trade marks.

3. Fans of sports racing: Is there actually a market for these patched jackets? What I mean is, unlike other sports (e.g. basketball, nfl etc.), it is not really expected that you wear a full on patched jacket to watch the competition. In other sports you wear your favourite team jersey to support your team, or may wear them for playing sports and what not. It is unlikely that you will wear this jacket with patches on the street. This type of clothing seems particularly only serve its purpose on the racing track and not otherwise.

I've seen them pop up more as a fashion thing, myself. While I saw lots of logos at the NW200 over the years, I don't recall many folks in the crowd wearing this sort of thing. Though the guy my dad used to buy his helmets from had a couple of customers who'd buy a new helmet every year in the latest colours for the NW.

 

[breezer]

Many moons ago ( during Will's tenure ), I was down at Aero and laid out on the table in the sale room was a leather biker waistcoat ( vest in American parlance ) - I guess it was made by Aero, but I'm not sure. Anyways the job they had in hand was sewing on the club colours of our local outlaw biker club ( gang ), The Blue Angels. I guess these chaps have to get their gear somewhere.

 

[breezer]

Oh and bringing the conversation around to music, there was a Glaswegian beat combo in the 60's called the Poets. They were managed by Andrew Oldham, but they never really made it big. I have a particular fondness for this track:

 

[Edward]

Many moons ago ( during Will's tenure ), I was down at Aero and laid out on the table in the sale room was a leather biker waistcoat ( vest in American parlance ) - I guess it was made by Aero, but I'm not sure. Anyways the job they had in hand was sewing on the club colours of our local outlaw biker club ( gang ), The Blue Angels. I guess these chaps have to get their gear somewhere.

The acronym BLUE is amusing. I remember reading some clubs pride themselves on having members sew 'their own' colours (of course, colours always remain property of the relevant MC - individuals are merely granted a licence to wear them) to a kutte. I imagine that's maybe gone out the window over time as the quality of leather used has improved.... (the earliest MC colours were denim; by the Sixties, if memory serves, they switched to leather to stop the favourite police tactic of washing kuttes belonging to arrested MC members). Don't think Aero make anything close to that any more - course, I think in those days they also took in a level of repair / alteration work which they no longer do since management changed hands again.

 

[rocketeer]

Nothing wrong with wearing sponsor patches if that is your thing. I don't really like it but I do have a Dainese Power Ranger get up with Dainese in big letters across the chest and down the arms and I am happy with it. Yes it is free advertising for Dainese but in this case I quite like it.
Now lets look back a few years.
In the 1960s and 70s British Rockers or Greasers as they were called often wore a hundred and one motorcycle badges, some of bikes they probably would not be seen dead on and other makes they had never even seen in a showroom. To those we could add plastic Esso men and other medallions etc all advertising products we use. But what do we say "Thats an authentic 60s look" etc.
So lets go forward to today.
And here we see at many shows and music weekenders older men and women dressing like their teenage rebel idols most, I have seen are over 40 and many over 50. Dressing in their turned up jeans Harley hats and engineer boots trying to look their best pretending to be either 'Johnny Strabbler'(good old Marlon) or Wino Willie Forkner(A genuine 40s era biker)
Overall it is just a look that goes with the bike, Tweeds and flat caps on the belt drive pioneer era stuff, black leather and jeans for the 40s-80s look and the Power Ranger stuff which is the current sports bike look, and of course vintage sports bikes.
Much to much to really get into, wear what you like but dressing as you want does not make you more of a biker than the next person. So the badged up super bike rider may be just as much a hard core rider as the guy on the 40s Knucklehead in full original retro gear.
Its those that spend more time trying to look cool than riding a bike that are the ones to be questioned.
PS
In the film 'The Wild One, was Johnny's surname ever mentioned?
Cheers and enjoy your riding. Tee

 

[Edward]

In the film 'The Wild One, was Johnny's surname ever mentioned?

I've not read right through, but running a search on this shooting script it seems not; https://www.weeklyscript.com/Wild+One, The.html . I'd always assumed it was mentioned when he gets arrested, but maybe not. Been a couple of years since I last watched it.

 

[rocketeer]

Strabler or Strabbler, I don't really know. But there really was a Wino Willie.
Off to the Roockerbilly Rave next month to join the 101 other 50 year old teenagers(but not in my power Ranger leathers )

 

[Edward]

Strabler or Strabbler, I don't really know. But there really was a Wino Willie.
Off to the Roockerbilly Rave next month to join the 101 other 50 year old teenagers(but not in my power Ranger leathers )

I've been to every Rhythm Riot since 2012 bar 2017; some year we'll make it to the Rave too - always looks great.

Yeah, Wino Willie Forkner founded the Boozefighters; he is the historical person on whom Chino (Lee Marvin's character in The Wild One) is based. Whereas the Brando influence was strong (albeit ith a local makeover and flavour) among the Brit rockers, the est Coast one percenter scene was both the basis for and greatly inspired by Marvin's Chino look - legend has it that no less than Sonny Barger bought the striped shirt Marvin wore in the film, and wore it himself to early HAMC meetings.

 

[rocketeer]

I've been to every Rhythm Riot since 2012 bar 2017; some year we'll make it to the Rave too - always looks great.

Yeah, Wino Wille Forkner founded the Boozefighters; he is thehostorical person on whom Chino (Lee Marvin's character in The Wild One) is based. Whereas the Brndo influence was strong (albeit ith a local makeover and flavour) among the Brit rockers, the est Coast one percenter scene was both the basis for and greatly inspired by Marvin's Chino look - legend has it that no less than Sonny Barger bought the striped shirt Marvin wore in the film, and wore it himself to early HAMC meetings.

Ahhh the Rhythm Riot. Nearly got there but none of my mates ever go and whats more the 'Jive Bunnies' have moved in.. To be honest I only go where friends go as no matter how great the acts or how cool the girls and boys are it's no fun on your own anymore. So it's long time friends from Germany and the UK at the Riot, I shall be going on a bike rain or shine wearing, lets call them embellishments haha including a Harley hat I bought at Warr's in the Kings Road 32 years ago and My Eastman Luftwaffe masquerading as a 60s bike jacket.
As for all these vintage clothes that have survived, I could sort of believe the Chino shirt thing as it would have grown up from around the time, but it's funny how all these A2's and other stuff has still come to light including makers & contracts etc, such as Steve MqQueens A2, James Deans red jacket, Brando's cap and jacket, Marylyn's white dress etc etc have all survived to have folklore tales surrounding them.
Cheers, J.

 

[Edward]

Ahhh the Rhythm Riot. Nearly got there but none of my mates ever go and whats more the 'Jive Bunnies' have moved in..

I don't tend to see too many of those when I've been there; there is the odd lindy (you can easily spot them because they're the ones that look impressive the first time you see them dance, then later you realise they've just learned a routine that they repeat to certain songs...), but not much... I think the Winter timing, and it being financially close to Christmas keeps out a lot of the 'tourists'. That said, I've always heard that the Rave was much more hardcore rockabilly, so it may look different. The attraction of doing the rave some year for me is the chance to go in the warmer weather, and needing fewer heavy clothes! Hopefully eventually there'll be one that sits comfortably in leather jacket weather.

As for all these vintage clothes that have survived, I could sort of believe the Chino shirt thing as it would have grown up from around the time, but it's funny how all these A2's and other stuff has still come to light including makers & contracts etc, such as Steve MqQueens A2, James Deans red jacket, Brando's cap and jacket, Marylyn's white dress etc etc have all survived to have folklore tales surrounding them.
Cheers, J.

Highly profitable folk tales, which I'm sure has a lot to do with it...

 

[rocketeer]

I don't tend to see too many of those when I've been there; there is the odd lindy (you can easily spot them because they're the ones that look impressive the first time you see them dance, then later you realise they've just learned a routine that they repeat to certain songs...), but not much... I think the Winter timing, and it being financially close to Christmas keeps out a lot of the 'tourists'. That said, I've always heard that the Rave was much more hardcore rockabilly, so it may look different. The attraction of doing the rave some year for me is the chance to go in the warmer weather, and needing fewer heavy clothes! Hopefully eventually there'll be one that sits comfortably in leather jacket weather.

Highly profitable folk tales, which I'm sure has a lot to do with it...

I am sure absolutely no film producer bothered to look up or was even interested in authentic features such as A2 contract numbers, pocket flaps or makers names etc back in the 1950s-60's or even as late as the 1990s to get that spot on precision some film goers require today.

I often go leathered up and dance the night away, jacket flaying and zipper twirling as I attempt my not very well remembered dance steps learnt 40 years ago. I don't usually put my Aero Highwayman on the back of a chair like some will leave a cardigan, but I have started to wear an old 50s unlined plaid Mackinaw which I can fling into a corner while I preform a routine more like 1950s Whirling Dervish version of the jive.

'Jive Bunny' (latin name; chorus quinque bunny lepores) Thats the nearest I can translate I'm afraid. A sub species of dancer and Rock and Roll enthusiast not belonging to the hard core element in the world of a retro lifestyle in a generic term known as Rockabilly.
The men.
Can usually be spotted at events wearing non original Hawaiian shirts and lettermen jackets often featuring motifs of 1950s cars, music notes, dead film stars(Marylin, Elvis, James Dean etc). Tattoos may be present, for males and female but probably not a full sleeve of flames and hot rods as seen on the true enthusiast. Replica A2 jackets are seen but often coupled with two tone correspondent shoes and trilby hats though said jackets are sometimes worn by women.
For women, whom to be honest take their look a little more seriously than the men, neatly rolled hair in a 40s-50s style, bottled Rita Hayworth(as Gilda) is popular at the moment, skirts or dresses featuring again dead personalities from the 40s 50s era. With thick red lipstick emulating the striptease and burlesque artiste's (basically strippers again) of the day, with low cut tops with plenty of cleavage for those so endowed. No Bettie Page style fetish queens have yet appeared but I am still hoping .
The dance.
Yes the often choreographed routine can be a spectacular, especially the Lindy style but as Edward says "look impressive the first time you see them dance, then later you realise they've just learned a routine that they repeat to certain songs..." Very well said
A big difference in the dance style clothing to the older 1970s-80s Teddy Boy era is the undergarments the ladies now wear. Then, it consisted of a woman spinning her skirt would often raise to waist level revealing usually black suspender belt with matching stockings, for the Jive Bunny and often more serious enthusiasts to, these slightly alluring garments have been replaced with thigh length cycling or gym wear, stockings usually kept in reserve for the more tighter fitting clothing where searching for the giveaway suspender tabs have to be carefully looked for for a serious aficionado of this look.
One good thing that has changed is the level of beer drinking violence associated with the earlier RnR revival era. No longer would the slightest offer to dance with another mans girl cause mayhem, broken bottles and broken noses amongst the women as well as men, or split beer on another's drape or dress begin a western style uproar, with the bleeding dead or dying returning next week for another bout in every club in every town.
But we were young men and women, and life was different .

Loving how these topics diversify from the original post
Seeya, 'Johnny'