Early sixties Chinese rock'n'roll

One of the sadly neglected areas of rockabilly culture is the impact of Chinese rock'n'roll from the late 50s and early 60s.


The cast of Spring Song (1959)

There were some great movies like Young Rock (1959) with Travolta-like greaseball Mak Kay and Patricia Lam in what might be described as an early version of Grease - it contained gang fights, hula hoops, showgirls and a kidnapping of a rich heiress; and Spring Song with gorgeous Grace Chang and Jeanette Lin. "What are the problems of the youth of today?" ran the advertising blurb, "What turns them into teddy-boys and teddy-girls? Shaw's latest production answers these questions boldly and unreservedly. It gives a frank and penetrating analysis of the problems of the younger generation."

There was great music too - including the wonderful Josephine Siu. Check out her version of Shakin' All Over:



And then there was everyone's sweetheart - Nancy Sit:



One of my favourites is the beautiful, glamorous Billie Tam:



Amongst the girl bands, the Reynettes stood out:



Rockabilly is still big on the south coast of China with many visiting Japanese and Filipino bands such as the Bembol Rockers:

That last one is rockin, but the others....geeeezzzzz....

I agree those last kats were cool.