"In early 1954, on a late train from Southend, someone pulled the communication cord. The train ground to a halt. Light bulbs were smashed. Police arrested a gang dressed in Edwardian suits. In April two gangs, also dressed Edwardian-style, met after a dance. They were ready for action: bricks and sand-filled socks were used. Fifty-five youths were taken in for questioning. The following August Bank Holiday the first 'Best Dressed Ted Contest' was held. The winner was a twenty-year-old greengrocer's assistant. The Teddy Boy myth was born.''- Daily Mail, 12th April 1954
The origins of Teddy Boys go back to the late 1940's when Saville Row Tailor's attempted to revive the styles of the reign of King Edward VII, 1901-1910, known as the Edwardian era, into men's fashions. The Teddy Boy fashion of the fifties has its origins in what was an upper class reaction to the austerity imposed by the socialist government in the years following the World War II. Wealthy young men, especially Guards officers adopted the style of the Edwardian era. At that point in history, the Edwardian era was then just over forty years previous and their grandparents, if not their parents, wore the style the first time around. The original Edwardian revival was actually far more historically accurate in terms of replicating the original Edwardian era style than the later Teddy Boy style. It featured tapered trousers, long jackets and fancy waist coats. Originally known as 'Cosh Boys', the name Teddy Boy came about after a 1953 Daily Express newspaper headline shortened Edward to Teddy and coined the term 'Teddy Boy' (also known as Ted). The Teddy Boy style started in London in the early 1950s and rapidly spread across the UK, and later became strongly associated with American Rock 'Roll music. Although Teddy Boys are associated with Rock 'n' Roll music, the style actually came before the music. Rock 'n' Roll was adopted by the Teddy Boys from 1955 when the film, Blackboard Jungle, was first shown in cinemas in the UK.
A well known dance that the Teddy Boys adopted was 'The Creep', a slow shuffle of a dance so popular with Teddy Boys that it led to their other nickname of 'creepers'.
The Creep came out in 1953 and was written and recorded for HMV by Yorkshire born Big Band Leader and Saxophonist Ken Mackintosh and although this was not actually a Rock 'n' Roll record, it was widely taken on by the Teddy Boys of the time. Although there had been youth groups with their own dress codes called 'Scuttlers' in 19th century Manchester and Liverpool, Teddy Boys were the first youth group in England to differentiate themselves as teenagers, helping create a youth market. The Teddy Boy style and trend arose as income increased after the Second World War. Traditionally, Teddy Boy clothing has been typified with long 'Drape Jackets', usually in dark shades, generally with a black velvet collar and pocket flaps; high-waist 'drainpipe' trousers, often exposing the socks. As the fifties progressed, lighter colours for Drapes such as Powder Blue and other colours started to come in.
The predominant favoured footwear was highly polished Oxford shoes, chunky Brogues and crepe-soled shoes which were often suede (known as brothel creepers). Another popular suede shoe with a Crepe sole was the 'Eaton Clubman' sold as both a Shoe or as a Chukka Boot.
A high-necked loose collar on a white shirt (known as a Mr B. collar because it was often worn by jazz musician Billy Eckstine) was complimented by a narrow Slim Jim tie or Maverick tie and a brocade silk patterned waistcoat. These clothes were mostly tailor-made at great expense and paid for through weekly installments. Initially, it was difficult to buy a suit in the Teddy Boy style as ordinary tailors did not make them. Montague Burton, supplier of cheap mass produced tailored suits, was much more conservative. Young men had therefore to go to a backstreet tailor or a shop that specialized in Teddy Boy gear. Teddy Boys were the first real high profile rebel teenagers, who flaunted their clothes and attitude like a badge. It comes as no surprise then that the media was quick to paint them as a menace and violent based on a single incident. When teenager John Beckley was murdered in July 1953 by Teddy Boys, the Daily Mirror's headline 'Flick Knives, Dance Music and Edwardian Suits' linked criminality to clothes. The US film 'Blackboard Jungle' marked a watershed in the United Kingdom. When shown in Elephant and Castle, South London, in 1956 the teenage Teddy Boy audience began to riot, tearing up seats and dancing in the cinema's aisles. After that, riots took place around the country wherever the film was shown. Some Teddy Boys formed gangs and gained notoriety following violent clashes with rival gangs which were often exaggerated by the popular press. The most notable was the Notting Hill riot of 1958, in which Teddy Boys were present in large numbers and were implicated in attacks on the newly arrived and settled West Indian community. Preferred hairstyles included the 'Tony Curtis' - long, strongly-moulded greased-up hair with a quiff at the front and the side combed back to form a duck's butt at the rear. Another style was the Boston, in which the hair was greased straight back and cut square across at the nape.
As the early sixties progressed, Teddy Boys had largely faded away and the few that were left mainly became Rockers adopting leather jackets and riding British Motorbikes. At the beginning, the Rockers were an evolvement of the Teddy Boy without the drape. From this developed the 1960's period of Mods and Rockers. This is not to say that there were not still a few Teddy Boys still around because there were, however they were only a minority and not mainstream as they were in the 1950's. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, there was the so-called Rock 'n' Roll Revival where the Teddy Boy style re-emerged widely throughout the UK. During the 1970s, Rockabilly music enjoyed a renewed period of popularity and saw a resurgence of interest in the Teddy Boy style; the look was taken up by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren through their shop 'Let it Rock' on London's Kings Road. The 1970's generation of Teds adopted many aspects of the 1950s style but with a large glam rock influence, including louder colours for drape jackets, brothel creepers and socks. Additionally, rather than use grease to style hair, the 1970's Teds were more likely to use hairspray.
On Saturday 5th August 1972, the London Rock and Roll Show took place and was the first major Rock 'n' Roll concert held at Wembley Stadium in London, England in which Teddy Boys would gather together in large numbers. This was a landmark concert where the greats of Rock 'n' Roll could be heard in one concert for the first time in the UK Fashion designers such as Katherine Hamnet started bringing out designs in lurex drapes and this took a lot away from the original Teds. There were tartan, yellow and orange fluorescent drapes which would never have been worn by the original Teddy Boys. Commercial Bands such as Mud, and Showaddywaddy in the Seventies had given such a bad and distorted image of the real Teddy Boys, that the general public interpreted these incorrect styles as being how Teddy boys should look. Actually a lot of Teds stopped going out to regular clubs because there were so many people dressed in such gaudy colours.
One major event happened in the 1970's which brought Teddy Boys to the fore nationally, was the 'March to the BBC' and this took place on Saturday 15th May 1976. This involved thousands of Teddy Boys and Girls from all over the Country marching through Central London to the BBC studios in a national campaign for more Rock n roll to be played on the Radio. The campaign was a total success and the BBC caved in and this resulted in Harrogate born Stuart Coleman who had helped organize the march and much to his surprise into delivering a weekly Rock n Roll Show on Radio 1 late on Saturday afternoons.
However, the events leading up to this March and subsequent epic concert recording at Picketts Lock began in the dark winter days of 1975. This started as an idea to gather Rock 'n' Roll fans from all over the country to join forces and march through the streets of London to BBC Broadcasting House, to demand more time on Radio for our kind of music: Original Rock 'n' Rol, seemed impossible, but after months of publicity, promotion, touring around and foot-slogging spreading the word, the great day arrived and there outside Hyde Park, London. was the amazing sight of thousands of people (over 5000) nearly all Teddy Boys and Girls, all resplendent in their best gear, ready to march, and march they did! To the BBC where a 50.000 strong petition and a taped pilot Rock 'n' Roll show were handed in. After the march, the day was far from over for all those fans who had made the journey to London. The climax of this unique day was the live Rock 'n' Roll show at Picketts Lock. For this major event, three of the top Rock 'n' Roll bands in the country were to play: Crazy Cavan 'n' the Rhythm Rockers, The Hellraisers and Flying Saucers. An LP of the Picketts Lock Show was made entitled 'Rock'n' Roll is still Alive'.
The emphasis on Rockabilly music amongst the Teddy Boys during the period from the mid 1970's through to today has been the mainstay of the Rock 'n' Roll scene. Although with the interest into British Rock n Roll amongst the Teddy Boy scene, this has been somewhat overshadowed. The documentary below illustrates the interest in Rockabilly music amongst Teddy Boys as explained by Sunglasses Ron. Another problem as far as the Teddy Boys of the 1970's were concerned, was the move by many to adopt the 1950's American styles and as a result groups such as 'Rockabillies' and 'Hep Cats' emerged. A number of people who had been Teddy Boys left the ranks of the Teds during this period and started wearing clothes worn by American 1940's as well as 1950's teenagers. The Hep Cats, who wore flat-top hair styles were a major thorn in the side of the Teddy Boys during the late 1970's and early 1980's and there was some friction between the two groups. Many Hep Cats who had been Teds, came with the attitude that they had outgrown the Teddy Boy scene and that it was not cool enough. The Hep Cats also started listening to 1940's as well as 1950's music. These styles were not to be found in the original British 1950's youth and music culture. There was considerable friction between the Teds and these groups as well as with Punk Rockers which had emerged during this period. The rift between Teds and these spin off groups has now been largely resolved and members of all groups now quite happily co-exist and can be found together at many rockin' venues and events
During the 1970's, there were Teddy Boy groups in most main towns and cities throughout the country. Many of the Teddy Boys & Girls who are members of the Edwardian Teddy Boy Association originate from this period along with a few original Teddy Boys from the 1950's. This was a great period for the Teddy Boy movement and many new bands emerged notably Crazy Cavan & the Rhythm Rockers who created the distinctive Crazy Rhythm sound. Crazy Cavan & the Rhythm Rockers became the Teddy Boy band of the 1970's and 1980's and have remained so till this day with songs such as Teddy Boy Boogie and Wildest Cat in Town. Other notable bands who emerged were the Flying Saucers and The Riot Rockers.
During 1970's and 1980's due to the 'Glam Image' that had infiltrated the Teddy Boy scene, the original Teddy Boy style had become largely diluted and to a large degree, somewhat lost. In the late 1980's, it was felt amongst many Teddy Boys that a return to the more authentic original styles of the 1950 was far from overdue. This was initially spearheaded by Bradford born Teddy Boy, Brian Rushgrove who endorsed and encouraged the idea of returning to the original more conservative Edwardian style of Teddy Boy dress. This return to the original style, was then later adopted and taken on by the formation of the 'Edwardian Drape Society' (T.E.D.S.) in Tottenham, Middlesex during 1993/4 which concentrated on reclaiming the original 1950's Teddy Boy style. There has due to all these influences, since been a move amongst mainstream Teddy boys in the UK to return the original 1950's style and image. In general this has now been largely achieved and most Teddy Boys and Girls are now wearing a far more authentic form of 1950's Edwardian Teddy Boy form of dress than they were during the 1970's.
