It’s been 65 years since Bill Halley and his Comets released Rock Around the Clock and a group of Scottish elders have revealed how much the record changed their lives.
The hit single was the first record to sell over a million copies in the UK and paved the way for a new style of music, dancing and socialising.
The birth of rock ‘n’ roll gave young people a way to express themselves in a genre of music that was noisy, exciting and completely different from the ballads and big band music of previous decades.
To mark the 65th anniversary of Rock Around the Clock, Care UK invited nine care home residents to share their recollections of the iconic record in a specially commissioned film.
From the birth of rock ‘n’ roll to profound cultural changes, the stories from their younger years evoke a time of freedom and prosperity in a post-war climate.
For Helen Hardie, aged 86, “It was music to some people, and it was a heck of a noise to others”.
Jocelyn Ordidge, aged 82, remembered: “We were all singing Rock Around the Clock – it even gets my feet going now!”
Dancing constituted an important part of many of the testimonies shared by residents, including Florence ‘Freda’ Purcell, aged 90, who recalled: “Fellas used to swing us around, let go of your hand and then you’d come twirling round and come back again”.
For some it was the freedom of the dancing that appealed.
David Dowie, 91, said: “People came up with new movements, there were no steps”, although Rose Southon, aged 82, fondly recalled: “All this jiving came in. I never could do it but I gave it a damn good go.”
As well as asking residents for their memories, Care UK has used the anniversary to encourage residents and teams at its homes to run 1950s-themed events to relive some of the excitement of this much-loved era.
Over 40 homes are taking part with events varying from live music by Elvis impersonators to visits by 1950s cars, dances and vintage menus.
There are even plans to decorate the coffee shop of one home as a 1950s diner and plenty of people will be enjoying the chance to wear 1950s fashions.
Care UK’s dementia expert Suzanne Mumford said: “For many residents in our care homes, the 1950s are often associated with happy memories from their youth and positive emotions.
“The release of Rock Around the Clock symbolises much more than just the birth of rock ‘n’ roll in Britain – it reminds older people of a time when post-war austerity was ending and young people had more freedom to spend evenings, unchaperoned by parents, in coffee shops and dance halls.
“It was wonderful to go on this inspiring journey back to the 1950s with residents, and we hope other people will enjoy stepping back in time too and share their memories on our twitter and facebook pages.”
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