ROCKERS.-book.

Description

ROCKERS. Johnny Stuart.

Illustrated with over 170 rare and evocative black and white photographs, five years in the finding, this soft back book captures and brings to life the danger, the myth, the magic and the melancholy of a youth culture which continues to fascinate and to endure.
The mean and moody leather boy on a thundering bike is one of the strongest, most potent images of popular culture. Rejecting stereotyped bourgeois conformism, rockers crystallised a youth style. This book is about that epic style, evolving from a cross-fertilisation of influences, a love affair with bikes and speed, and a British interpretation of American 'glamour'. All this took on a new perspective with the eruption of rock'n'roll.

Streamlined drainpipe jeans and clean-cut leathers were tailored for the sleek, throbbing British 'iron' and the gutsy music. All were elements of the style, reflecting a raw edginess, a studied cook, a search for excitement, a hint of sex and even of violence. This style survived Mods and flower power, not even eclipsing before today's long-haired 'bikers'.

To explain the myth and magic, the author looks at dream machines, the original heroes and, above all, the ton-up boys themselves. Why the cult endures is encapsulated in the photographs. Rare and eye-catching they explain the enduring fascination of rocker culture.

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Plexus Publishing (March 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859651258
• ISBN-13: 978-0859651257
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches