March 1958 and Buddy Holly & The Cricketsare among the first American rock ’n’ roll
bands to tour Britain. Elvis never made it.
Johnnie Ray was another potential American
hero for Britain’s hungry youth market of the
early 1950s, and although he commanded a
large following, mainly among young women,
his overwrought delivery of emotional ballads
positioned him rather closer to Judy Garland
(whom he was to befriend in the 1960s) than
the soon-to-be-unleashed Elvis Presley. Gangly,
likeable, partially deaf from a childhood accident
and with two charges of soliciting men for sex
carefully edited out of his biography, Ray was a
huge success when he toured Britain’s theatres…
but he still wasn’t rock ’n’ roll.
hero for Britain’s hungry youth market of the
early 1950s, and although he commanded a
large following, mainly among young women,
his overwrought delivery of emotional ballads
positioned him rather closer to Judy Garland
(whom he was to befriend in the 1960s) than
the soon-to-be-unleashed Elvis Presley. Gangly,
likeable, partially deaf from a childhood accident
and with two charges of soliciting men for sex
carefully edited out of his biography, Ray was a
huge success when he toured Britain’s theatres…
but he still wasn’t rock ’n’ roll.
Of course this state of affairs simply
reflected an era in which the showbiz old guard
– broadcasters, promoters, managers and record
producers – still called the shots, resulting in
everything that wasn’t classical music being
labelled ‘popular music’, a mongrel category that
spanned romantic ballads, novelty songs, show
tunes and current pop songs. Unsurprisingly, the
first wave of US rock ’n’ rollers, among them Elvis,
Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent,
was regarded by showbiz grandees with mild
contempt coupled with genuine disbelief. When
Buddy Holly & The Crickets toured the UK in
1958 the compère was Des O’Connor, at 26 already
a mainstream showbiz comedian with whom the
young audience would have little in common.
reflected an era in which the showbiz old guard
– broadcasters, promoters, managers and record
producers – still called the shots, resulting in
everything that wasn’t classical music being
labelled ‘popular music’, a mongrel category that
spanned romantic ballads, novelty songs, show
tunes and current pop songs. Unsurprisingly, the
first wave of US rock ’n’ rollers, among them Elvis,
Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent,
was regarded by showbiz grandees with mild
contempt coupled with genuine disbelief. When
Buddy Holly & The Crickets toured the UK in
1958 the compère was Des O’Connor, at 26 already
a mainstream showbiz comedian with whom the
young audience would have little in common.
When Duane Eddy and his thunderous twangy
guitar toured the UK two years later in a package
show, he was obviously the star the kids went to
see, but the promoters had him supporting Bobby
Darin who was already favouring a Sinatra-style set
that no self-respecting teenager wanted to hear.
In Britain scant radio broadcast time was afforded
to American rock ’n’ roll even when it started to
take off in 1956. There was just the odd listener
request for Elvis on BBC radio’s Light Programme,
usually patronizingly introduced and quite possibly
sandwiched between a comic song and a bit of
guitar toured the UK two years later in a package
show, he was obviously the star the kids went to
see, but the promoters had him supporting Bobby
Darin who was already favouring a Sinatra-style set
that no self-respecting teenager wanted to hear.
In Britain scant radio broadcast time was afforded
to American rock ’n’ roll even when it started to
take off in 1956. There was just the odd listener
request for Elvis on BBC radio’s Light Programme,
usually patronizingly introduced and quite possibly
sandwiched between a comic song and a bit of
Gilbert & Sullivan. (European station Radio
Luxembourg did rather better, aiming livelier pop
radio at the UK from outside British broadcasting
jurisdiction, although unreliable radio reception
made it an elusive pleasure for its target audience).
Photographs of American rock performers were
also in limited supply. Singles bore no pictures and
you had to wait for an album sleeve to see what
an artist looked like, or else consult the music
magazines of the day for decidedly low resolution
black and white publicity photographs. Even then
Melody Maker, the longest established UK music
paper, favoured jazz and treated rock ’n’ roll with
disdain, while upstart newcomer New Musical
Express had yet to establish itself. A few rock stars
were cautiously showcased in films, and young fans
dutifully flocked to see them. Sometimes this was
deemed worthwhile. The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
was a heavy-handed satire but you did get to see
Little Richard, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran and
Gene Vincent performing, in colour. Sometimes,
though, the fans found the cinematic exposure of
their new heroes dispiriting, as, for example, when
Luxembourg did rather better, aiming livelier pop
radio at the UK from outside British broadcasting
jurisdiction, although unreliable radio reception
made it an elusive pleasure for its target audience).
Photographs of American rock performers were
also in limited supply. Singles bore no pictures and
you had to wait for an album sleeve to see what
an artist looked like, or else consult the music
magazines of the day for decidedly low resolution
black and white publicity photographs. Even then
Melody Maker, the longest established UK music
paper, favoured jazz and treated rock ’n’ roll with
disdain, while upstart newcomer New Musical
Express had yet to establish itself. A few rock stars
were cautiously showcased in films, and young fans
dutifully flocked to see them. Sometimes this was
deemed worthwhile. The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
was a heavy-handed satire but you did get to see
Little Richard, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran and
Gene Vincent performing, in colour. Sometimes,
though, the fans found the cinematic exposure of
their new heroes dispiriting, as, for example, when