Rocker (subculture)
Rockers is the English name for the members of a (youth) subculture that emerged in the 1960s and is mainly associated with passionate motorcyclists . The British rockers showed signature clothing ( leather jackets , jeans ) and a penchant for rock 'n' roll and rockabilly .
Despite some similarities, the term rockers denotes a different type of motorcycle-enthusiastic subculture than the German term rocker .
background
As early as the 1950s, the later rockers were known as "Ton up Boys". This name came from the speeds beyond 160 km / h (100 mph), in the colloquial language "the Ton", with which they made the streets unsafe. Their motorcycles, Cafe Racer , were stripped and rebuilt in the style of contemporary racing motorcycles: clip-on handlebars, small mudguards, small seat bumps, large (aluminum) tanks and set back footrests. They met in the suburbs of big cities in pubs like the Ace Café (London), Chelsea Bridge tea stall, Ace of Spades, Busy Bee and Johnsons.
After the end of the strict rationing in post-war England and with rising incomes, the dream of owning a motorcycle suddenly became feasible for many young people and led to a high point in the English motorcycle industry. Inspired, among others, American films like The Wild One ( The Wild One ) with Marlon Brando developed many young people from the original hobby to ride a motorcycle, an unbound and rebellious lifestyle beyond the bourgeois norms.
More scenes
The rockers scene thus developed roughly at the same time as other English subcultures such as the greasers , rockabillys and teddy boys . In the 1960s, the mods and skinheads referred to the rockers as greaser or grease because of the often used pomade , which is why these names are sometimes used synonymously in England today.
Conflicts with mods
In 1964 they achieved national fame because of the rivalries with the mods on the occasion of the Bank Holidays in the seaside resorts of Clacton , Margate and Brighton . This conflict between the subcultures of the rockers and the mods is a central theme in the movie Quadrophenia .
The youth cultural phenomenon was researched by Stanley Cohen, among others . Cohen coined the term Moral Panic in 1972 on the basis of a study ( Folk Devils and Moral Panics ) on the public reaction to youth cultural deviation. According to Cohen, the media reported in exaggerated form of deviant behavior, which is considered a challenge to social norms. According to Cohen, the response in the media helps to define the phenomenon, to communicate it and thus to increasingly recommend it for imitation.
Despite some similarities, the term rockers denotes a different type of motorcycle-enthusiastic subculture than the German term rocker . And although there are Cafe Racers and Rockabillys in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well, the Rockers in this form remain an originally British phenomenon. However, there are stylistic imitators all over the world, especially in Japan (see also Bōsōzoku ), the USA and Australia.
Picture gallery
Rockers on Chelsea Bridge
The legendary AJS 7R "Boy Racer" with 350 cm³
literature
- Horst A. Friedrichs: Or Glory: 21st Century Rockers. Prestel Verlag, Munich u. a. 2010, ISBN 978-3-7913-4469-0 .
- Sabine Welte: Cafe Racer: Speed and Bikes and Rock 'n' Roll. GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7654-7694-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olivia Edward, Genevieve Cortinovis, James Eggleton, Youyoung Lee, Ashley Hermitage: MTV England. John Wiley & Sons 2007, ISBN 0-764-5877-30 , p. 230.
- ^ R. Hopkins Burke: An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Cullompton Willan 2001, p. 154.