Thanks for staying! Glad you did, because if 15 years' exposure couldn't make you dig rock and roll, I wasn't going to try. For those who believe, read on.

Remember 1963 (after this I promise, no more nostalgia) when you or your big brother were throwing jars of Brylcreem into the bin? You went on to dig the Beatles, Stones, Blues Revival, Soul, Folk, Dylan, Hendrix, Love, Woodstock, the heavies and other supergroups. Some people stopped off on the way, others are staying on till the terminus. There were some who didn't take the trip at all and okay, they missed a lot, but they know exactly what they like and at the moment their heads aren't spinning like most people's are. After all, the Teds were noted for being rebels and all these guys did was to rebel against the new crazes and refuse to be distracted.

However, the things that Teds could relate to gradually vanished; the local dances, rock and roll on the radio, drapes and wedges in the shops, etc. Well, if you want a scene, paint it yourself! Last year the North-East Rock ad Roll Society was started and almost immediately a hard core of full-time Teds got together. Starting with 50s records as the basis, a lot has emerged since then and it's happened despite and not courtesy of the hustlers of the music business, Radio 1 and the clothes boutiques. Last week over 500 people danced to nothing but 50s rock and roll at Newcastle Polytech with DJ Tongue-Tied Pete Forrester, one of the guys who started the Society. Future dates include a return to the Poly in three weeks and before that a night at Newcastle University on the 7th February. In a sense, this could be Golden Era vol 2 as the club has access to virtually every worthwhile record; complete collections Presley, Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Cochran, Vincent and Bo Diddly and all the rare material from more obscure artistes. No DJ in the 50s had access to this much gold! The situation now is that the Society can put on a dance almost anywhere in the NE and of course its regular members, notably the Teds, will be in there bopping. Anyone having second thoughts will be pleased to know the razors and bike chains of the 50s are no longer standard equipment and that it really is the music that they go for.

North East Rock and Roll have two regular sessions at the Aventine Club in Cuthbert Street (off Bensham Road) Gateshead on Monday nights and at the Newcastle WMC, St James Street (near football ground) Newcastle on Fridays. Both of these sessions have licensed bars and dancing. Apart from these regular nights there'll be the various dates at the colleges etc, which will be advertised.

Finally, this isn't another Revival and no-one is pretending that rock 'n roll is the next development in music. It's nothing to do with the pop-art rock and roll gear that gets mixed up with space suits on Top of the Pops. Like this mag we're an alternative and we're independent. If you like it, get out your boppin' shoes!