Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Of course, the 1950s saw the birth of the ‘teenager’ and their culture – which was mainly American inspired. One of the things we felt lucky to have were the music and the existence of the radiogramme.

My brother Stuart was lucky enough to get Bill Haley’s ‘Razzle Dazzle’ on his birthday (probably 1956). ‘Razzle Dazzle’ was a great hit in Britain in September 1956. But it was already a hit in the U.S. in 1955. The precise dates are unclear here. Regardless, I remember that this happened in York Avenue around 1955/6. Stuart was able to play his Rock ‘n’ Roll single on our newly purchased Ferguson radiogramme. 

This was a case of the ‘times-they-are-a-changin’ – the war and times of austerity were now ‘forgotten’. It was a ‘new age’, which my parents were never able to fully adjust to. The age of rock-n-rollers, beatniks and later hippies.  

During the 1950s, the radiogramme was considered a middle-class status symbol. Many of the 1950s and 1960s radiogrammes were quite ‘advanced’ with powerful 100 watt amplifiers and large loudspeakers, which were well-suited to playing the raw rock n’ roll songs.