When rock ‘n’ roll came to Liverpool 60 years ago or how Rock around the Clock (1956) was not the moral panic it is believed to have been by Dr. Yannis Tzioumakis
5:00pm - 6:30pm /
Wednesday 28th September 2016
Type: Seminar /
Category: Department
- Dr Yannis Tzioumakis
- Suitable for: All
- Admission: Free
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The “Works-in-Progress” Seminar of the Department of Communication and Media together with the Institute of Popular Music invite you to the talk
When rock ‘n’ roll came to Liverpool 60 years ago
or
how Rock around the Clock (1956) was not the moral panic it is believed to have been
Wednesday 28 September, 2016 – 5-6:30 pm
In March 1956 the film Rock around the Clock (Sears) was released in American theatres with great commercial success by Columbia Pictures. A low-budget production made in just 2 weeks the film rushed to exploit the remarkable success of the song “Rock around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets (1955) that had sold millions of copies. Featuring a schematic narrative and a whopping 17 songs by the band and other well-known recording artists of the era, the film was credited as the first ‘teenpic’, specifically addressing (and exploiting) its young audiences who had embraced rock ‘n’ roll music (and dancing) as their own and as fundamentally different from the music of older generations.
However, the release of the film was accompanied by reports of widespread riots by American youth, with a number of cinemas refusing to screen the film and with local councils in various cities and towns in the US banning the film. By the time the film was released in the UK approximately 6 months later, on 11 September 2016, and for the following weeks, British newspapers reported similar stories with a number of local councils, especially in the North West, banning the film. And while in few cases some young people were arrested for ‘unruly’ and ‘aggressive’ behaviour’ during and after the few screenings of the film before it was banned, in most cases, young people’s behaviour extended to singing their words of the song during the screening and trying to dance in the theatres aisles, which is far from the rioting that was widely reported.
With the opportunity afforded by the 60th anniversary (in 11 September 2016) of the film’s release in the UK, this talk will examine how the film was received in Liverpool and its councils, especially Bootle, where one key incident related to the film was widely reported. Through evidence from the local press of the time (especially articles in the Liverpool Echo and The Bootle Times), the talk will show that Liverpool, despite its rich relationship to music, also decided to ban the film after a few screenings. But contrary to the belief that the film incited riots in the city, evidence will show that this was not the case. Rather than because of a rampant problem with city’s youth, the decision was taken because of other factors that the talk will explore.
Yannis Tzioumakis is currently co-authoring a book on the film Rock around the Clock, under the title Rock Around the Clock: Exploitation, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Origins of Youth Culture, as part of the Cinema and Youth Cultures book series, which he co-edits for Routledge.
If you require further information please contact:
Filomena Saltao
Marketing, Recruitment & Events Administrator
Marketing, Recruitment & Events Team
0151 795 3129
Filomena.saltao@liv.ac.uk
sotaev@liverpool.ac.uk
When rock ‘n’ roll came to Liverpool 60 years ago
or
how Rock around the Clock (1956) was not the moral panic it is believed to have been
Wednesday 28 September, 2016 – 5-6:30 pm
In March 1956 the film Rock around the Clock (Sears) was released in American theatres with great commercial success by Columbia Pictures. A low-budget production made in just 2 weeks the film rushed to exploit the remarkable success of the song “Rock around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets (1955) that had sold millions of copies. Featuring a schematic narrative and a whopping 17 songs by the band and other well-known recording artists of the era, the film was credited as the first ‘teenpic’, specifically addressing (and exploiting) its young audiences who had embraced rock ‘n’ roll music (and dancing) as their own and as fundamentally different from the music of older generations.
However, the release of the film was accompanied by reports of widespread riots by American youth, with a number of cinemas refusing to screen the film and with local councils in various cities and towns in the US banning the film. By the time the film was released in the UK approximately 6 months later, on 11 September 2016, and for the following weeks, British newspapers reported similar stories with a number of local councils, especially in the North West, banning the film. And while in few cases some young people were arrested for ‘unruly’ and ‘aggressive’ behaviour’ during and after the few screenings of the film before it was banned, in most cases, young people’s behaviour extended to singing their words of the song during the screening and trying to dance in the theatres aisles, which is far from the rioting that was widely reported.
With the opportunity afforded by the 60th anniversary (in 11 September 2016) of the film’s release in the UK, this talk will examine how the film was received in Liverpool and its councils, especially Bootle, where one key incident related to the film was widely reported. Through evidence from the local press of the time (especially articles in the Liverpool Echo and The Bootle Times), the talk will show that Liverpool, despite its rich relationship to music, also decided to ban the film after a few screenings. But contrary to the belief that the film incited riots in the city, evidence will show that this was not the case. Rather than because of a rampant problem with city’s youth, the decision was taken because of other factors that the talk will explore.
Yannis Tzioumakis is currently co-authoring a book on the film Rock around the Clock, under the title Rock Around the Clock: Exploitation, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Origins of Youth Culture, as part of the Cinema and Youth Cultures book series, which he co-edits for Routledge.
If you require further information please contact:
Filomena Saltao
Marketing, Recruitment & Events Administrator
Marketing, Recruitment & Events Team
0151 795 3129
Filomena.saltao@liv.ac.uk
sotaev@liverpool.ac.uk