MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF ROCK MUSICWhen the American rock-and-roll singer Chuck Berry first sang ‘Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikowsky the news!’ in the 1950s, he was telling the world that the new music, Rock-’n’-Roll, was here to stay. Over the last thirty years it has had an enormous effect on people’s lives, and especially on the kind of clothes they wear. The first group to be seen in the newspapers in the late 50s were the Teddy Boys. Their clothes were supposed to be similar to those worn in Edwardian England (Ted and Teddy are abbreviations of Edward): long jackets with velvet collars, drainpipe trousers (so tight they looked like drainpipes!) and brightly-coloured socks. Their shoes had very thick rubber soles and their hair was swept upwards and backwards. Before the arrival of the Teddy Boys young people had usually worn what their parents wore. Now they wore what they liked.
In the mid-60s the Mods, (so called because of their ‘modem’ style of dressing) became the new leaders of teenage fashion. Short hair and smart suits were popular again. But perhaps the Mods’ most important possessions were their scooters, usually decorated with large numbers of lights and mirrors. They wore long green anoraks, called parkas, to protect their clothes.
The Mods’ greatest enemies were the Rockers who despised the Mods’ scooters and smart clothes. Like the Teds, Rockers listened mainly to rock-and-roll and had no time for Mod bands such as The Who or the Small Faces. They rode powerful motor-bikes, had long untidy hair, and wore thick leather jackets. Whereas the Mods used purple-hearts (a stimulant or amphetamine, so called because of its colour and shape) ‘to get their kicks’, the rockers mainly drank alcohol.
Throughout the 60s, on public holidays during the summer, groups of Mods and Rockers used to travel to the sea-side resorts of south-eastern England, such as Brighton and Margate, and get involved in battles with the police and with each other. Nevertheless at that time ‘swinging London’ was everybody’s idea of heaven! Young people were very clothes-conscious and London’s Carnaby Street became the fashion centre of Europe and the world. It attracted thousands of tourists every year.
Towards the end of the 60s a new group appeared, whose ideas started in California, in the USA. The Hippies preached a philosophy of peace and love, wore necklaces of coloured beads, and gave flowers to surprised strangers on the street. The name comes from the fact that drugtakers in Asia and the Far East used to lie on one hip while smoking opium. Hippies didn’t use opium but they smoked marijuana, and took powerful drugs such as LSD. Music, especially under the influence of the Beatles, began to include strange sounds and images in an attempt to recreate the ‘psychedelic’ or dream-like experience of drugs. Hippies wore simple clothes, blue jeans and open sandals, and grew their hair very long. They often lived together in large communities, sharing their possessions. This was their protest against the materialism of the 60s and also against the increasing military involvement of the United States in Vietnam. However, the dreams of peace and love disappeared in the early 70s as the mood of society changed. People’s attention turned to life’s more basic problems as the world price of oil increased, causing a fall in living standards and rising inflation.
Skinheads were racist, violent, and proud of the fact. The ‘uniform’ worn by most of them consisted of trousers that were too short, enormous boots, and braces. As their name suggests, they wore their hair extremely short or even shaved it all off. As unemployment grew throughout the 70s, groups of skinheads began to take their revenge on immigrants, who were attacked on the streets and in their homes. Unfortunately the mass unemployment of the 80s has caused an increase in the number of skinheads. Many are members of the National Front, a political party that wants Britain to be for white people only.
Towards the end of the 70s another style of music and dress appeared and is still very popular. The word Punk derives from American English and is often used to describe someone who is immoral or worthless. The best-known punk bands of the 70s and early 8Os were the ‘Sex Pistols’ who are still famous for their strange name including Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. They sang songs about anarchy and destruction and upset many people by using bad language on television and by insulting the Queen. Punks’ clothes show a rejection of conventional styles of dress. Their music is loud, fast and tuneless. They feel that the music of the 70s had become too complicated. It had lost touch with the feelings of ‘ordinary kids’.
In the 1980s many new bands have emerged; and also old ones have reappeared. Out of punk has come New Wave music which totally rejects the ideas of the skinheads. Many of the bands contain both black and white musicians, and anti-racism concerts have been organized (known as Rock against Racism). West Indian music has also played a large part in forming people’s musical tastes. Many new British bands combine traditional rock music with an infectious reggae beat. From America, a new interest in discotheques and dancing has appeared.
Like the Rockers, Bikers still enjoy ‘heavy metal music’ which is easily recognized by its high volume and use of electric guitars. ‘Dancing’ is simply shaking your head violently to the rhythm of the music and so has become known as ‘head banging’. Many of the new bands of the 80s have been able to use the changes in technology to develop their music. Computerized drum machines, synthesizers and other electronic instruments are now just as popular as the electric guitar.
Black music has become increasingly important with international stars like Michael Jackson combining the best of modern music with spectacular live performances. ‘Hip Hop’ music has combined fast speaking in rhyme (called ‘rapping’) with the excitement of the rock beat. Finally, Live Aid and charity records have shown that many modern pop stars are interested in using their talents to help raise money for the poor.
¯ Read about a popular musical programme in Britain. Which similar programmes are there on the Belorussian TV? Vocabbox: to move up/down the charts number one single to appear live in the studio to make a record a hit
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