Rockabilly Rebel!

What is behind the current Rockabilly revival in fashion? In this two part feature, musician, author and all-round rocker JOHN ROBB looks at the nation's fascination with rock symbolism and traces its emergence through the Teds, Rockabillies and Psychobillies. Part one focuses on the music behind the look...

Horrorpops (Photo: Octavio Arazala)

Rockers shop, Manchester.

Rocking shoe selection at Rockers.

Quiffed up and ready to ruck, the rockabilly rebel has been a continuing motif in rock 'n' roll since the very birth of pop. The sharpest and coolest look ever - it's intermittently revived itself over the years.

And in 2006 it finds itself at the forefront of fashion. Even in high street shops there is the dangerous whiff of the 50s lurking in the usual fodderstomp fashions, a skull here and there, a pencil skirt, a 50s style logo on a shirt even skulls on ties and for fuck's sake on underwear!

In pop it's a theme that has been revisited several times. There was the rock 'n' roll revival of 1972 and the weird Ted crossover of the glam rock bands in the early 70s with the iconic Brothel Creeper getting worn by such unlikely groups as Mud and Wizzard. Its next revival was in Punk - a movement that was a clever amalgamation of all the great pop styles.

The 50s being the sexiest of all the looks, was inevitably going to be a big influence on the sharp and angular style of Punk. Malcolm McLaren's shop SEX was, in the very early 70s, selling 50s styles called Let It Rock. The Clash wore their Brothel Creepers and the Punk look had a strong rocker flavour - the 50s rebel youth cults were riven all the way through punk.

In the aftermath of Punk, a myriad of youth cults sprung up taking the energy unleashed by Punk rock into several different contradictory directions. Just one of the teen gangs brawling in the streets were the Psychobillies, who took the stylistic backdrop of the Teds and the greasers and honed it down with the smarts of Punk.

With tight flat-tops or outrageous quiffs, the Psychobillies had their own bands like the Meteors, the Cramps, Demented Are Go, the Polecats. It was a cult within a cult, they sneered at their forefathers, the Teds, some of who had become a Showaddywaddy parody of themselves in dayglo drapes and multicoloured socks, this was a far more street look, a look that matched the amphetamined feel of the times.

Johnny Cash's 1976 hit single 'One Piece At A Time' may have been the first recorded use of the word Psychobilly, but it the Cramps who first used the term to describe their music. The band that really defined the scene though were the Meteors, who created a stylistic and musical template that is still an influence today. By the mid-80s the Psychobillies themselves went underground and seemed to have virtually disappeared from the picture until about five years ago when a new millennium version of the look appeared on the streets.

At the turn of the century, the Brothel Creeper started to make a resurgence. It was a reaction to the casual hell of UK clothes, the dreaded sportswear that made the streets look so dull, the new hyper Psychobilly look was again criss-crossed with Punk as the two movements mashed and made an impression on a new generation. Influenced by a new era of American pop punk bands who were adopting the 50s rocker look with Punk's raw aesthetic, this was a far more detailed and advanced look.

The new generation of 'billy kids are heavily tattooed and wearing designer label versions of the classic 50s look. Digging horror flicks, tatts, and a more sexed-up look, there is a dark sense of humour mixed with the sharp cuts of the 50s. There's a lot of skulls appearing alongside other motifs including cherries, devils and rock'n'roll symbols on T-shirts, belt buckles, even on socks and shoes. In the brand and logo world of 2006, it's like a parallel universe of rock'n'roll labels peppering black bomber jackets, cardigans and T-shirts. Some of the designs are really ornate, freakish devil drawings sprawl out from tattoos and onto clothes and back again. It's dark, sexy and dangerous.

The hair is still the classic quiff or the flat-top for geezers or neo-40s workouts for the women and all the time there is the Punk influence that mix 'n' match of styles.

Rockers shop in Manchester is probably the best shop on the scene in the UK. A couple of years ago, it was a cramped place, but it recently moved round the corner to a big space in city centre Manchester, complete with its own 50s diner. Rockers sells all the cutting-edge labels like Lucky 13, Route 66, Liquor Brand, Ace Jeans, Vivien of Holloway, Sourpuss, Vince Ray - with T-shirts by Monster, Felon and Gearhead. Underground shoes are the main footwear provider, made all the cooler by having a picture of your author on the labels!

Rockers is a real epicentre of the culture and a focal point of old Teds looking for bits of gear to young Psychobillies and hip, quiffed up punk kids picking up on the clothes. The split between Rockabillies and Psychobillies is all too apparent in the shop. Whilst the new generation of kids are easily adopting the Psycho look, the Rockabillies with their purist attitudes are not happy with new millennium take on their culture. As owner Kathy points out: "Some of the Rockabillies come into the shop and walk out again! They are so purist, they don't like anything modern."

The Rockabillies resent the modern twist on their culture. They are immersed in the purist world of mid-50s Americana. The Pyschobillies, with their Punk rock influence, are a British take on the classic American styles, filtered back through America and back over here again. The differences are small but enough to make either scene quite distinctive.

In part two of this series, we'll trace the fashion strands that took the rockabilly look from post-war austerity up to the present day.

Photos: Mark McNulty

Rockers Shop is at www.rockersengland.co.uk