Introduction

The look: 'Bronx’ (‘Perfecto’) leather motorcycle jacket often decorated with rows of metal studs and hand-painted insignia, jeans, motorcycle boots or very pointed ‘winklepicker’ shoes.

The time: 1962+ (previously known as Ton-up Boys or Coffee-bar Cowboys)

The place: Britain

Influenced: Greasers, Headbangers, Punks, Pervs

Essay Excerpt

Throughout the ‘60s leather-clad ‘Rockers’ faced an uphill struggle against the Mods who first captured the attention of the British media and then, following on from the now Modish Beatles’ conquest of America, the attention of the world. It’s said that it was the Mods who first rechristened the Ton-up Boys as ‘Rockers’ but in fact the Bikers quite liked the name and adopted it with pride. At the same time (from 1962 onwards) they also made some alterations to their style: now featuring lots of metal studs, hand-painted insignia and sharply pointed shoes known as ‘winklepickers’. (The winkle is a tiny, edible shellfish traditionally popular as a cheap snack amongst the English working class. The point of the name is that the shoe had such a sharp point that it could be used to winkle a winkle out of its shell.)