Rock 'n' Roll: It's Better Than Beating Up Old Ladies with Bicycle Chains

ROCK 'N' ROLL

The Merseyside gangs were the toughest in Liverpool—and in Liverpool in those days, all the gangs were tough. The chaps would hang around street corners showing off their haircuts, and whenever outsiders invaded their turf, they would step right out and start a rumble. Today most of the old belligerence is gone. The gangs have spawned rock 'n' roll quartets like amoebae, and the boys have swapped their bicycle chains for guitars.

The musical metamorphosis of Merseyside is only one of the wonders rock 'n' roll has worked in England. As...

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