My dad was a 17yr old Ted at the time living in East Ham London he got married to my mum in Dec 55.The following year he started his national service.He died in January this year they were still married - 67yrs.
Aah, real Teddy Boys, just as I remember them. Neat hair not hanging down their backs, no long grandfather mutton chops, no earrings, no tattoos. They were so neat. Few had creepers. Black polished oxfords or chukka boots were the thing.
I'm not a fan of that whole 70s Teddy Boy revival either. A garish, cartoony parody of the originals. I was a Teddy Boy during the 90s, but was careful to take inspiration from the Teds of the mid 50s. No Showaddywaddy bollocks for me!
Neo Edwardian style, launched by Savile Row for the wealthy in the mid 40s. Adopted it by the working class in ap 1949. This clip shows Little Seizers, ( coined by the real wearers back in the 40s) before Elvis Presley rose to fame in 1956. Life is a little funny game .
Part of this was included in a documentary series called Almost Grown that went out on BBC2 in 89/90. I was 14. I went mad on Teddy Boy culture because of it but I could never stand the 1970s look and I think it was because of this particular episode.
@@BaronVonPenguin Hi Baron Really a nice 🎥 1989/90 some of the best times of my live I came 2 London in Oct 89 & got 2 see original Teds I finally settled in London in 1993 Sadly I got 2 witness the fall of the pub scene in the 90s in favour of big events Best wishes Jose
There’s a follow up to this from the mid 60s and they’re both window cleaners. They used clips from this first segment in a BBC Series from 1989/1990 called Almost Grown that dealt with all of England’s subcultures from the 50s onwards but this particular episode, I think it was the second one was my favourite. I was a little Teddy Boy myself and emulated the lad’s walk with the hand in the pocket cos i thought he looked the bollocks. They laid some John Coltrane over the scene. It was fucking ace! Hearing it here for the first time raw has opened me eyes 🤣
On the one hand, nothing could be farther apart and on the other there are a lot of simultaneous between the 1950's British Ted's and the 1940's Los Angeles Pachuco's. Both rebellious youth of their own era with their own music and style. Both had their own way of subverting the standard conservative suit and tie into an expression of youth and freedom from the squares and peasants.
Teddies weren't very much different than teenagers have EVER been! Not young children, yet not full fledged adults. Their angst stems from being in-between the innocence of youth and rigidity of adulthood.
I think you're right. Every generation might SEEM different at face value, and there are certainly differences but if you dig deep enough, there are plenty of common themes, and the need to rebel against their parents or against the older generation and be seen to be different from before is one common theme. There is also this desire to find something, anything to go to war against, especially another group, to prove their manhood. I was exactly the same myself when I was a teenager, it was a very long time ago but I still remember what it was like, you got fed up with being treated like a child, nobody wanted to be a boy, you wanted to be a man, and you had to prove your manhood in some way to be seen in that way you wanted to be seen, whether it was by having a fight or just doing something else that gained respect from your peers. The irony is that given time, every generation ends up being exactly what they were once fighting against,. Look at all of those punk-rockers who claimed to be fighting against the system back in the 70s and 80s, they've nearly all sold out, they all became mums, and dads, with mortgages and 2.4 kids, becoming a part of the system. Same with the 60s Hippies, what happened to them and their rebellion?? Again, 2.4 kids, mortgages and all that, that's what happened. So much for all that "revolution" and "fight against the system" stuff, eh?🤣
Not a Leopard print Drape or shoulder length hair with ridiculous thick souled suede shoes in sight ...... these are proper ted's ... not those 70's Caricatures that had nothing to do with being a Real Teddy Boy .... The 70's rejects are a joke ...nothing 50's about them whatsoever
