GANGS of Teddy Boys and Teddy Girls will gather on the seafront in Weston-super-Mare to mark the 70th anniversary of Elvis Presley signing a contract with a record company.

2024 marks 70 years since 19-year-old Elvis Presley left his job as a driver for Crown Electric and signed for Sun Records in Memphis, recording songs that would change the world.

On Saturday, September 28, The Winter Garden Pavilion in Weston-super-Mare will host the ‘Teddy Boy Tempest All-Dayer’, a celebration of all things rock ’n’ roll.

To kicks-tart a full day of music, gangs of Teddy Boys and Teddy Girls from all over the country will gather on the seafront at 11am in their rock ’n’ roll finery – Edwardian drapes for the guys and colourful vintage 50s frocks for the gals – before marching up to the sea front and around the town, entertaining the crowds with their music and dancing and their love of the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle.

Alan Wilson of Western Star Records, a record label based in Somerset, who helps run the event, said: “This Teddy Boy all dayer is a great showcase for these music enthusiasts who have spent their lives in rock ’n’ roll”.

Some remember Bill Haley’s arrival in the UK in 1955 when huge crowds of Teds greeted him at our train stations.

Others surfed the rock ’n’ roll wave of the 70s and 80s which rolled in from over the Bristol Channel in the 1970s with Newport rocker Crazy Cavan.

The Teddy Boy movement became a uniquely British take on rock ’n’ roll.

Our oldest is now in his 80s, with other third generation Teddy Boys in their 20s.

And of course, Weston is flying high in the rockin’ world at the moment as home to Emilio Santoro, recently crowned Ultimate Elvis Tribute World Champion at Graceland, the King’s former home.

Mr Wilson added: “British seaside towns have a notoriously difficult history with youths using music as an excuse to invade resorts, but The Teddy Boy Stomp is a joyful, colourful celebration of music and fashion of the past.

“Seafront walkers need not be alarmed by the sideburns, brothel creepers and the gold sovereign rings.”

The Winter Garden Pavilion will then open its doors at midday for 12 hours of music from four 50s style rock ’n’ roll bands, as well DJs from the current scene.