Rockabilly Music

Go to http://www.rockabillyhall.com/, which is the Official Rockabilly Hall of Fame for music.

The site gives you free music to listen to, photos and videos and information on rockabilly artists.

WANDA JACKSON:

http://www.wandajackson.com/

Known as the Queen of Rockabilly, she began singing in the 50's, releasing 'Let's have a Party' in 1958. She has recently been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame after being the first woman in the 50's to perform unadulterated rock and roll. Today she still continues to sing.

RICKY NELSON:

London Rockabilly

VIRGINIA CREEPERS CLUB
Lighting up London's alternative lifestyle since 1997, Marilyn Coleman runs the monthly venue on a Saturday night, pulling off a Rockin' Club with a very different image.
It involves live bands and Burlesque style acts, 50's style, in between band acts, it attracts large characters and places emphasis on the Rock 'n' Roll theme.

The Gaff

Holloway Road

ROCK A HULA-BLOOMSBURY BOWLING LANES

A non stop 1950's club night that plays vintage rock 'n' roll music and up-tempo rockabilly sounds on the third Friday of every month. It takes place in London's best vintage venue with cinema, karaoke rooms, 1950's American style diner and a cocktail bar. It is an award winning 1950's rock 'n' roll, swing dancing and hula hooping event.

46-55 Tavistock Hotel

Kings Cross

BOSTON ARMS ROCKABILLY CLUB

Situated opposite Tuffnell Park tube station, this rockabilly club is into its 10th year and hosts a night of 1950's and 60's music, delivering a soft blend of rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, blues, instrumentals and rhythm 'n' blues, on a wooden dance floor with cheap drink prices.

178 Junction Road

London

YE OLDE AXE

A typical old mans pub, it transforms itself at 11:00 on a Friday and Saturday night, playing Rockabilly style music, filled with trendy youngsters dancing to the retro sounds.

69 Hackney Road

Shoreditch

LADY LUCK

A rockabilly club in Soho, it is the most seductive night on the last Thursday of every month. The music is an eclectic mixture, often with a live band.

23-25 Paul Street

Hoxton and Shoreditch

ACE CAFE

Run by rockabilly Mark Wilsmore, it is a trailer-like diner, running since 1938. Here rockabillies exercise their passion for cars and every evening a different tribe comes along to admire each others cars.

Ace Corner

North Circular Road

Stonebridge

VIVIEN OF HOLLOWAY, Holloway Road

A store that re-produces 50's and 40's style clothing, including Rockabilly, using period perfect fabrics and cuts only slightly adapted from genuine vintage styles.

"Our focus has always been on producing beautiful dresses and seperates with all the look and the charm of authentive vintage, but in a range of sizes to fit and flatter modern figures and ease of care to suit modern lifestyles.'

Situated at:

294 Holloway Road

London

Lower Holloway

SOUNDS THAT SWING

A shop for anyone that likes rock 'n' roll music, specialising in 1950's rockabilly music, blues and r&b and others. Situated in Camden Town.

46 Inverness Road

Camden Town

COLLECTIF

A shop selling retro clothing from the 50's and 60's, embracing the styles of Rockabilly and Physcobilly.

United 25

Stables Market

Chalk Farm Road

London

MODERN AGE

The first store in Camden to import American vintage clothing, and today continues to sell clothing from the 1950's to the 80's, and is a favourite for New Romantics, Rockabillies, Punks and Goths.

65 Chalk Farm Road

London

BLACK PEARL

Inspired by the love of 1940's and 1950's glamour, old tattoos, charms and trinkets, this shop sells a range of jewellry and accessories appealing to the Rockabilly nature.

Unit 12

20 Palmers Road

London

EGG AND CHIPS CLOTHING

An independant punk store that specialises in rockabilly clothing as well as punk, tattoo clothing and footwear. Stocking a huge range of rockabilly clothing brands and a large selection of rockabilly dresses.

26 York Street

London

Dita Von Teese

An american burlesque artist, model and actress, this woman keeps the rockabilly style looking fresh.

Rockabilly Images

Rockabilly Fashion Subculture

This trend first started in the 1950's, and has been strong since the birth of rock and roll music, along with the hillbilly, meaning rockabilly sounds brought the country barn dance to bluesy rock and roll with swingey, vibesy results. Other important influences include western swing, boogie woogie and rhythm and blues.



In the 1960's the popularity of the style waned, but it was revived in the late 1970's and early 80's, carrying on through to the present, to create itself as a subculture.



The trend involves:

pencil skirts for a modern look

poofy skirts with petticoats

'Bettie bangs' or pinned back bangs to form a quiff

pin-up style make-up with bright red lips

bandanas

nautical items, cherry and tattoo prints

flowers in the hair

checked shirts-tied around the waist

cat-eye sunglasses

neckerchiefs

creeper shoes-these were most popular in black and white and mostly worn by men, originally sported by popular artists such as Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Rockabilly Brands:

TUK Shoes

Collectif

Dead Threads

Miss fortune

Living Dead Souls

Charlie Feathers

King Draper

The Honeybees

Rip Carson

Rockabilly Bands:

Horrorpops

The Cramps

Demented Are Go

Hairstyles:

1940's-The Middy...this was the most popular hairstyle of the decade

Lots of layers of the hair, and curls. No one had straight hair, perms were the way to go, with Roll curls or Pin Curls 4" long.

B Store

The window design of the B store whilst I visited was a unique vision of the outdoors, created by artist Nicola Pomery and filmaker Ivana Bobic to celebrate the stores launch of its A/W collection. This is done with a window display of wooden sticks, earth and an image of the moon. This adds to the brown colour palette of the store itself. When I entered, there was no music playing so it proved very quiet, making me feel uncomfortable. It's a small and personal store with limited clothing and shoes, though well presented and tidy. No chances of getting lost here.

Topshop

Topshop on Oxford Street is one of the largest fashion stores and is home of the brand's flagship store. It includes a nail bar, a hair salon, a one hour tailoring service, a cafe and a one hour delivery service via a Vespa scooter. Walking around this shop it was easy to get lost in the amount of clothes on display. Music played loud and the lighting was medium. The styles of clothing were seperated well but still closely together despite the size of the shop. Accessories and bags held the first floor, and the vintage clothing and other brands, along with shoes, dominated the bottom floor. It seemed it would take an entire day to fully discover what this Topshop had to offer if you decided on a shopping spree, giving customers so much choice.