Miss Howard Rocks With Johnny Devlin

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28792, 13 January 1959, Page 7

Miss Howard Rocks With Johnny Devlin

new s “and e “ IU1 X r a?S th ?^ r ttd racks last evening-the Minister Association was“deM for the Igdf ?H CUnty (^i SS Howard)- rock ’n’ rollers, and the anwle ?„ bat a!) you girls’ are envi- seating provided plenty of room °“ s ’ a ri ISS i- Howard said as she for the hundreds of watchers ■ kissed Devlin and then proceeded middle-aged and elderly

Asked for a comment on Miss Howard's dancing, Devlin gave a big grin, and said: “Real cool, dad, regl cool,” Miss Howard, who had spent the evening at Devlin’s show, smiled and said: "I’m coming on.” Miss Howard and Devlin arrived at the barracks shortly before 11 p.m. and left about 15 minutes later. At the jamboree the two danced while 10 constables held back a mob of s- earning teenagers. Smiling broadly, Devlin encouraged Miss Howard. As they left the barracks again for the car, yelling youths and girls crashed past the police and ripped the remainder of Devlin's shirt It had previously been ripped when he left the theatre. Miss Howard, who was also buffeted in the crush, told the constable escorting her: “Don’t worry about me. look after him.” In spite of .efforts by the police to restrain them, girls bit and scratched and fought seriously over the shreds of Devlin’s shirt. The Jamboree Those who had prophesied the Imminent death of rock ’n" roll might have been surprised had they visited the barracks—the

The doors of the barracks were opened at about 7.30 p.m., and little groups of technicolourclothed boys and girls, with a fair sprinkling of their elders, swarmed in. The programme was slow in starting, and it was not until about 8.15 p.m., after an introduction by the unintelligible compere,! that Martin Winiata and his band (“Real smooth man”) swung into action. Most of the crowd were content) to clap their hands, stamp their feet and chew their gum for the first few minutes, until the first) skilful couple got up and practised a few holds. In no time the floor was a mass of bodres, with more than 100 couple swinging to the beat. From then the evening was a success. With two bands, one on each side of the floor, the dancers were seldom without a banging beat to dance to, and, fast or slow, hot or cold, they danced. Youngest Couple The other band, led by Max Merritt, had as its main attraction a young man in a white suit, with a bright red shirt, who sang a number of songs while accompanying himself on' the microphones. It was an evening for the young; the youngest couple on the floor, and they were doing very well, were a boy aged 11 and a girl aged 12. Few of the other girls dancing could have been any more than five or six years olden* It was apparent that rock ’n’ roll certainly is not dead, nor even dying; but it is liable to go into violent convulsions at any time which will hasten the end.