A history of the early days of rock ‘n’ roll in Brisbane . as told by some of the people who were there. Geoffrey Walden B. Ed., M. Ed. (Research) Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology January 2003. Abstract The music history that is generally presented to students in Queensland secondary schools as the history of music is underpinned by traditions associated with the social and cultural elite of colonialist Europe. On the other hand, contemporary popular music is the style with which most in this community identify and its mass consumption by teenagers in Brisbane was heralded with the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll in the mid-1950s. This project proposes that the involvement of the music education system in, and the application of digital technology to, the collection and storage of musical memories and memorabilia with historical potential is an important first step on the journey to a music history that is built on the democratic principles of twenty-first century, culturally and socially diverse Australia rather than on the autocratic principles of colonialist Europe. In taking a first step, this project focused on collecting memories and memorabilia from people who were involved in an aspect of the coming of rock ‘n’ roll to Brisbane. Memories were collected in the form of recorded conversations and these recordings, along with other audio and visual material were transferred to digital format for distribution. As an oral history focusing its attention on those who were involved with the coming of rock ‘n’ roll to Brisbane in the mid to late 1950s and the early 1960s, this project is intended as a starting point for that journey. Even as a starting point however, some interesting findings emerged. For example: i • Early Brisbane rock ‘n’ roll was a suburban affair. • Dancers were just as important in bringing rock ‘n’ roll to Brisbane as were the musicians. • Musicians not only had to learn new music on new instruments, they had to, in many cases, make their own instruments. • The rock ‘n’ roll story as promoted by the newspapers of the day was very different to how it is remembered by the participants. • Community institutions such as family, school and church played a vital support role in the lives of young rock ‘n’ roll musicians. • Brisbane’s rock ‘n’ roll musicians generally reflected the conservative nature of their community. • Brisbane’s very early rock ‘n’ roll musicians were strongly influenced by country and western music. • Once the commercial viability of rock ‘n’ roll became evident, it became more accepted as an entertainment format. Of the many thousands of people who lived in Brisbane during the 1950s and who had an interest in or were affected by the coming of rock ‘n’ roll, only a very small percentage were involved in this project. This would indicate that there is a significant body of untold memories and stories waiting to respond to the interest of Queensland music students. Keywords Rock ‘n’ roll, music history, Brisbane music history, oral history, music education, rock ‘n’ roll history ii I declare that the work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and my own work, except as acknowledged in the text, and that the material has not been submitted either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. Geoffrey Walden January 2003 iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those who in some way have made the completion of this thesis possible. Most important are those people who lived and worked in Brisbane during the early days of rock ‘n’ roll and who enthusiastically made their memories available. This project belongs to them. In thanking the city’s rockers as participants in this project, it is important to remember John Bell who passed away during the period of the research. He was influential in getting the project started and keeping it on track. This project, as well as the Brisbane rock ‘n’ roll scene would have been that much poorer without his influence over the past forty years. Dr Gordon Tait has been my supervisor for the majority of time I spent on this thesis and it is to him that I owe a debt of gratitude for his time, support and encouragement. Many is the time he had to redirect my thought processes to ensure that I didn’t succumb to my “usual urge to not-so-subtly hint that the entire process is a crock of shit” (Tait, 2002). Thanks Gordon, it has been a pleasure to work with you. My sincere thanks also must go to Dr Belinda Carpenter for her time, support and editorial comment. Her valued input has been essential in getting my words into a readable form. Projects like this cannot be completed without a generous support base at home so it’s a special thanks to my family for their support over the years and especially to Lorraine for her generous assistance and encouragement. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................IV TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................V LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...................................................................................X LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................XI PREFACE...........................................................................................................XII Using the CDs ...............................................................................................xii Accessing the CDsxii Disk 1 Main Menu.......................................................................................xiii Disk 2 and 3 Main Menu.............................................................................xiv INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 The project ...................................................................................................7 The procedure............................................................................................ 10 The purpose ............................................................................................... 12 Some limitations ......................................................................................... 14 Reporting Outline ....................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 1 Ideology, Theory and Praxis Introduction................................................................................................. 24 v Ideological Assumptions............................................................................. 25 Theory ........................................................................................................ 30 Praxis ......................................................................................................... 46 Conclusion.................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER 2 Coming, Ready or Not Introduction................................................................................................. 53 Rock ‘n’ Roll comes to Australia ................................................................. 54 Brisbane in the 1950s................................................................................. 60 The Teenager............................................................................................. 68 Bodgies and Widgies.................................................................................. 70 The Radio................................................................................................... 72 ‘Birch Those Delinquents’........................................................................... 74 Migration..................................................................................................... 78 Conclusion.................................................................................................. 82 CHAPTER 3 Rock ‘n’ Roll Comes to Brisbane Introduction................................................................................................. 84 The Dances and the Dancers..................................................................... 85 The Pictures and the Radio...................................................................... 101 The Music and the Musicians................................................................... 108 The Day Job............................................................................................. 128 Conclusion................................................................................................ 132 CHAPTER 4 The Rock Sets In Introduction............................................................................................... 133 The Rocketts ............................................................................................ 134 vi The Hucklebucks...................................................................................... 138 Brisbane’s Early Rock ‘n’ Roll Timeline .................................................... 142 The Authorities – A Different Perspective................................................. 164 Conclusion...............................................................................................