My uncle was a teddy boy and some of those pictures could be him! (Possibly they are--he was 20 in 1955 and living in London.) I saw a similar article on Teddy Girls a few months back--and the photos were taken by a young Ken Russell.
I didn't read the article Don linked to, but, as someone born in England in the late 1950s when certain items were still being rationed, I have to think much of the Teddy culture was a rebellion against the drabness and scarsity of post-WWII "Austerity Britain". Keep in mind when you look at those photos you're probably looking at working-class teenagers who'd grown up with the blitz, then with rationing, limited food, limited clothing options. I can understand what they were trying to do.
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My uncle was a teddy boy and some of those pictures could be him! (Possibly they are--he was 20 in 1955 and living in London.) I saw a similar article on Teddy Girls a few months back--and the photos were taken by a young Ken Russell.
I don't think I saw the Ken Russell photos. I'll have a look around.
This is where I first saw them, but a Google search had a bunch of links: http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/02/10/the-forgotten-1950s-girl-gang/
Thanks, Deb. I usually catch the Messy Nessy stuff.
They're great photos. Russell had that eye, even back then.
Also, a rock'n'roll obit: http://m.newser.com/story/225402/beastie-boy-who-named-the-band-dies-at-age-52.html
I was 10 in '55, all I remember was how cool the new Fords and Chevies looked.
A nice, if under-sourced Wikipedia piece:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Boy
I like the suggestion that the zoot suit may have been an inspiration (as well as Edwardian fashion).
And any of them who have survived to date are 75-80 years old.
Stay off their lawns!
Yes --my uncle is about that age now.
I didn't read the article Don linked to, but, as someone born in England in the late 1950s when certain items were still being rationed, I have to think much of the Teddy culture was a rebellion against the drabness and scarsity of post-WWII "Austerity Britain". Keep in mind when you look at those photos you're probably looking at working-class teenagers who'd grown up with the blitz, then with rationing, limited food, limited clothing options. I can understand what they were trying to do.
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