This is the other short piece I wrote for a writers circle years ago and together with "Delusion" gave me the inspiration needed to write my first novel; "Heil, Heil, Rock 'n' Roll." Since then I have explored different genres and time frames for my other novels.
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I remember Rock 'n' Roll.
Ron Bush
It was in 1955 that rock 'n' roll burst into my life; changing me and countless other people of my age completely. Hair styles changed from "short back and sides" to D.A.'s and Tony Curtis. Hair received so much lacquer from the barber that I remember my quiff collecting rainwater one day as I waited for a bus.
Teddy Boys influenced the way I dressed but it was the music that changed everything! No sugar sweet crooners for us! Bill Haley, Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent were who we listened to. For the first time the young had something of their own and the word "teenagers" entered the vocabulary of the press.
HAIL,HAIL, ROCK 'n' ROLL!
How the anthem of rebellion belted out! Teenagers gyrating to it's primal beat. We wore drape jackets, flourescent socks, bootlace ties and fancy waistcoats. Our girls had petticoats stiffened with sugar-water and skirts that flared out horizontally as they danced, giving us boys tantalising glimpses of frilly underwear. Ii was heady stuff, but it was the impact of the music, which, unless you lived through this period, is hard to imagine. Juke-boxes in coffee bars blared out exciting new records. I shall never forget hearing "Rebel Rouser" for the first time! Not that I needed any rousing, I was already a rebel!
Record players became a must and reluctant parents were coerced into signing Hire Purchase agreements as guarantors to enable us to buy them. To us it felt like a crusade to convert everybody to our music. How could anyone not like rock 'n' roll? Keep it loud, give in to it's frantic message. We were who we were and society had better accept it. Things would never be the same again.
American cars became sought after, though rarely owned. I was offered a Buick with real leather upholstery for £80, needless to say I couldn't raise this king's ransom.
Cinemas had police in attendance when "Blackboard Jungle" and "Rock around the clock" were screened. But this did not deter us from dancing in the aisles nor, unfortunately, the odd fight from breaking out causing a lot of damage. Religious leaders condemned rock 'n' roll as the Devil's music and sought to get it banned. Elvis was only permitted to be seem on T.V. from the waist up! My father said it was jungle music and it would never last.
LONG LIVE ROCK 'n' ROLL!
We carried flick-knives concealed behind handkerchiefs in the top pocket of our tailor made suits. The other essential accessory was, "something for the weekend,sir?" as the barber would ask. We hoped we would never have to use the knives and had little hope of using what was bought with a swagger at the barbers. Some of our heroes did die. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, were killed in a plane crash. James Dean, who influenced us greatly in the film, "Rebel without a cause" was pronounced dead at the scene of a car crash. I had tickets to see Eddie Cochran in Lewisham, only to be told by Gene Vincent that Eddie had also died in car accident. But the music rocked on. Live now; die young, who wanted to grow old?
Our only drugs were alcohol and rock 'n' roll. The gang was everything and we thought our music would live for ever. We had plenty of homegrown talent to compete with the American musical diet we so eagerly imported so to sum up my memories I would like to quote from a song by a young British singer.
THEY SAY IT'S GOING TO DIE, BUT HONEY PLEASE LET'S FACE IT
i JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO REPLACE IT
THE RYTHM THAT GETS INTO YOUR HEART AND SOUL
LET ME TELL YOU BABY, IT'S CALLED ROCK 'N' ROLL!
To the enthusiast nothing has replaced it. Rock 'n' roll still rocks on. Some of the young of today keep the music alive, even dressing as we did in our heyday. How lucky I am to have such memories!
All of my novels are available on Amazon and Kindle. I know that if you have enjoyed these two short pieces you will enjoy the novels they spawned. So...happy reading!
