Teddy Boy's Beano

RE TEDDY BOYS BEANO A HISTORY OF THE TEDDY BOY BY CHRIS FENDER BLACK Teddy Boys got named as they based their suits from the smart Edwardian dress style of the late 19th Century, “Teddy” is short for Edward. Nearly everybody in the 50's belonged to a gang of some sort and the Teddy Boys used the Edwardian dress as a way of standing out from all the other gangs. The Teddy Boy Edwardian dress developed very quickly became very popular with all the teenagers as it made a statement against all the strict Victorian attitudes of the time. The Teddy boys added crepe soled bopping boots in all colours to match their outlandish suits and tight drainpipe trousers They had studded belts which they took off and used as weapons in a gang fight. They had big rings on every finger and used these as knuckle dusters in a fight. Also some wore a chromed bicycle chain slung round their necks so they could swing it round and give someone a pasting with it !!! Flick knives and small silver choppers were also quite common in these times, Gang warfare was very active in these boring times and gangs would meet up at the local dance halls and Mecca Palais, and go to seaside resorts in the summer en mass! A good day out for them was getting drunk and having a good punch up as life was so regimented at work in factories etc. and they had to let off steam somehow! Their music was Boogie Woogie (Winifred Attwell) Big Band swing stuff, Ted Heath, Squadronaires, Johnny Ray, Phil Tate Band, and many more. Rock-n-Roll was not invented till 1956. Their main song was the CREEP which they danced to, close up with a Teddy Girl. The whole era slowed down and faded when they were called up for 2 years National Service in the army etc at the age 18 and 21 (for apprentices). After two years in the army you realize that you are not the hardest or fastest or the "Jack the lad" you thought were ,and you soon found out there was always someone better than you no matter what it was you were good at ! This made you think twice about starting any trouble and you had to conform and keep within your limitations. Active service in some inhospitable foreign country made you appreciate walking on a pavement and getting on a bus back in England. When the Teddy Boys were de-mobbed from National Service they were better behaved and a little more respectful and not so violent as they now just wanted to enjoy life. The famous Teddy Boy hair do "The Quiff" and the "D.A." (ducks arse) was copied from the USA films and Tony Curtis was the main man! There were no fancy hair sprays available to stiffen up your hair for style-ling, so you used Brylcreem or Vaseline (when you could afford it ) or made do with Lard or Margarine as a last resort to make it shine.!!! Becoming a Teddy Boy depended largely in what area you happened to live in and how you were bought up. I was born in Barkingside Ilford Essex in 1938 and my parents were dead against it and also didn't like me playing guitar and doing rock and roll so it was not easy for me and my gang to get involved. We were to young in the early 50's when the scene was at it's height, although we all had drainpipe trousers, black jeans, and bright colored socks and bopping boots and our greasy Tony Curtis Quiffs and D/As, We were still at school and had no money to afford a Drape jacket or Teddy Boy suit. The Teds were all older and had jobs to pay for their gear. I started work in 1954 in London as a commercial artist and my wages were £3 per week !!! I got told off for my quiff hairstyle at work and told to comb it out but I was a rebel and I still kept it in place 24 x 7 ! I didn't have any spare cash to spend but I did manage to get myself a new Dayton racing bike on the H,P. And my Dad had to go guarantor much to his better judgement as buying something on HP was frowned on as a bad thing in those days. I was always the gang leader and then the band leader, and I decided where we went, and what we played musically. Lonnie Donegan brought a massive Skiffle hit called Rock Island Line in 1955 and this started everyone playing guitars and forming Skiffle Groups. This was a great time to be a teenager and we had such a buzz from making our own music and learning to play guitars from chord books and old 78 records on wind up gramophones. It was such a great energy release and keep us from getting into trouble gang wise. Our first gigs were at Chislehurst Caves in Kent what a magic time that was playing all acoustic in the damp darkness with just a few candles for lighting! Then it all happened ROCk & ROLL was born!, We were told to go to the cinema and see a film called Blackboard Jungle. Like thousands of others it was an experience I would never forget and I can still get the goose bumps on my arms still just thinking about it. My whole gang were transfixed listening to Bill Haley's ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK. What a sound came out on the cinema's BIG SPEAKER SYSTEM WOW WOW WOW! We had never experienced anything remotely like it before as all we had were wind up gramophones which sounded really naff. It was like being hit with a baseball bat behind your head... a BIG WAKE UP CALL We all went every night the whole week just to hear Rock Around the Clock over and over again. You just couldn't sit still and had to get up and leap about. By the end of the week loads of metal red cinema seats were ripped up and thrown in the orchestra pit. No punch up's, it was just the energy created by this new music from the USA. A whole new lifestyle opened up, Coffee Bars, Ice Cream Parlours, Cafe's, Rock and Roll dress, Jiving and an avalanche of fantastic music direct from the USA swamped us like a massive tidal wave! Everybody wanted to hear this new rock-n-roll so a JUKE BOX suddenly appeared in every coffee bar and cafe etc etc as rock and roll was not played much on the radio, and you could choose what you wanted to hear. Everybody took their records with them to Youth Clubs and parties..... you just could not get enough rock and roll music. Teddy Boys and girls were still around but they were in the minority now due to this general public surge for rock and roll. It changed the music scene in the Palsies and dance hall and big bands became old hat and small rock-n-roll groups took over and the first D.J.'s, and everywhere was packed out with dancing and jiving rock-n-rollers, with no agro, what a great time SADLY never to be seen again. We all had many many girl friends at this time but sex was mostly out the question as there was no pill available and if you got a girl pregnant you had to marry her and brought disgrace on both families .It was definitely Shotgun time! Everybody knew everybody and if you bought a packet of Durex in the chemist your mum and dad knew about it before you got home! We still had a lot of fun sex wise and it was a great laugh and you did sometimes manage to score despite all the opposition from the older generation that was going on. It was 1957 before I could afford a Red Edwardian Drape jacket and I wore it proudly for six months then I got called up to do my National Service! It wasn't till rock n roll faded out into to the background during the late 60's that the Teddy Boys and Girls of today claimed the music as their own and kept it alive and well all over the UK. They must be complimented on this as they have formed many great weekly Rock-n-Roll Clubs and Pubs and have Weekend gigs in Holiday Camps all year round. The Teddy Boy is very much alive and well today and there is no substitute for him, and he has no comparable group of young people to challenge his dress and music, and never will ! LAND MARK SONGS FROM THE 50's CRY ( JOHNNIE RAY ) THE CREEP ( TED HEATH BIG BAND ) BAD PENNY BLUES (HUMPHREY LYTTLETON) ROCK ISLAND LINE / BRING A LITTLE WATEWR SYVIE (LONNIE DONEGAN ) ROCK AROUND CLOCK / SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR / SHAKE RATTLE & ROLL ( BILL HALEY ) DIANA ( PAUL ANKA ) BE BOP A LULA / SAY MAMA ( GENE VINCENT ) DON'T BE CRUEL / HOUND DOG (ELVIS) BYE BYE LOVE / CATHY'S CLOWN ( EVERLY BROTHERS ) WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN GOIN ON / GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (JERRY LEE LEWIS) LITTLE DARLING ( DIAMONDS ) C'MON EVERYBODY / SUMMERTIME BLUES / 20 FLIGHT ROCK (EDDIE COCHRAN) MY BABE / I BELIEVE / IT'S LATE / HELLO MARY LOU (RICKY NELSON) SILOUETTES / WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE ( FRANKIE LYMON ) TEENAGER IN LOVE / THE WANDERER (DION) BLUEBERRY HILL (FATS DOMINO) THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT / LONG TALL SALLY / GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY (LITLLE RICHARD) PARTY DOLL ( BOBBY KNOX ) IT'S FABULOUS (CHARLIE GRACIE) COME ON, LETS GO / DONNA / TELL LAURA I LOVE HER / LA BAMBA (RICHIE VALENS)