He's got the Elvis-style sideburns and dazzling drape jacket. George simply can't get enough of the 1950s.

But he is not alone. It seems the fifties scene is still thriving.
Reporter MARK PAYNE met him.

GLAM rock was the height of fashion when George Birks was a teenager.

But instead of bands like the Bay City Rollers and Slade, he preferred the music of his dad's generation.

He just loved Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley.

It made him stand out from the crowd but he didn't care.

"Some of my friends would ask 'what are you listening to this for?' they thought it was boring and old fashioned.

"But I have always been into the music through my father. I just love it and the lifestyle.

"With the music you can really talk and have contact with a girl, it's much more sociable than the modern music."

Girlfriend, Julie Seed, 47, agrees. She said: "I was always buying Roy Orbison or the Everly Brothers records. I just love the old fifties music."

One of the most important parts of being a Teddy boy is having the right clothes, in particular the authentic drape jackets.

They can cost hundreds of pounds and George has his tailor-made by a man in Yorkshire.

The internet is also full of websites dedicated to the era and retro clothes shops help keep the fifties fashions alive.

George, of Hall Crescent, Horden, said: "As soon as I put a jacket on I am back in the 50s, you go back to that era.

"We don't go out to stick out. I like to dress this way anyway. I wouldn't wear my drapes to go down to the supermarket but only because they are too expensive, but I would wear my leathers."

It is the same for Julie, although she has been known to wear her finery on her way to a dance after work.

She said: "I might pop into the garage and everyone will look at you but they think it's great."

George added: "It really breaks the ice. The older people will come up to us and say 'I remember the Teddy boys and the clothes', and the younger ones are just really interested."

Having just turned, 50, George may have been too young to be part of the original rock n roll scene.

But he and Julie, who also lives in Horden, have more than made up for it in later life.

Since their children, from previous relationships, have grown up and flown the nest they have been able to indulge in their love of the era.

Now they – and hundreds others like them – are to be found most weekends jiving away in a local venue.

It seems rock n roll never went away with working men's clubs and community centres in Easington, Horden, Blackhall and Peterlee all regularly packing in punters for 50s dance nights.

George, unemployed, said: "People don't realise it is still going on but it is happening all over the country.

"There are hundreds of people who are into it."

In their time Teddy boys gained a notorious reputation for violence and vandalism.

But George says today's Teds just go out to have fun.

He said: "We go to enjoy the music and the atmosphere and just have a good time."

"And boy do we have a good time," added Julie, a care support worker.
"You need to go to a dance to see how much of a good time we have, it's unbelievable."

George and Julie have been going out together for four years.

George has three children, Joanne, 23, Wayne, 21, and Scott, 18. Julie is mum to Steven, 28, Paul, 25, and David, 22.

So what do they think of their hobby?

"My friends and family love it," said George. "They think it's great. They have been to a few nights and you see their feet tapping away."

Their love of the 50s lifestyle means they regularly travel all over the country to support other Teddy boy groups.

Their travels have taken them to Scarborough, Blackpool, Norfolk, and even abroad to Malta.

"We all support each other," said George.

"We are like one big family."