Introduction

The flurry of press coverage on the cinema disturbances was short- lived and, as highlighted, beyond the autumn of 1956 rock ‘n’ roll ceased to feature so prominently in headlines or news columns. If the papers had helped to create a ‘moral panic’ around the music to any extent at all, then it was of short duration. Of course, Cohen himself recognized that such episodes, however intense they might seem in the short term, were often brief, regardless of their longer- term repercussions. While clearly elements of the coverage of the cinema disturbances demonstrated marked ‘variations’ on set ‘themes’ concerning youth subcultures and delinquency which had been well established by this time, and which would re- emerge subsequently, rock ‘n’ roll itself did not generally become an enduring or intrinsic element of such discourses. By late 1956, the general conclusion arrived at by most newspapers, and apparently by sectors of the public, seemed to be that a minority of troublemakers had spoiled what was otherwise the innocent, high- spirited fun of a majority of young cinemagoers. Noting similar findings in the Mods and Rockers reportage, Cohen remained cynical, suggesting that this sort of media argument – blaming trouble on a ‘Lunatic Fringe’ – only brought about further demonization of alleged miscreants and manufactured further, unnatural dichotomies among youth groups. However, the shock- ridden stories concerning rock ‘n’ roll had, apparently, served their purpose, however such a purpose might be defined, and, as reports of the disturbances abated, the focus of the newspapers altered accordingly.

Nevertheless, however routine or superfluous the stories of Teddy Boys or Haley may have seemed to reporters like Derek Lambert, it was certainly not the case that youth culture mattered to the papers only when it could be exploited for sensation. As highlighted, the newspapers faced something of a crossroads in the late 1950s; rapid changes within the industry and threats from competing media made it vital for them to scrutinize closely their images and identities if they were to ensure long- term survival. Success, in short, might depend on how effectively they could engage with deeper social changes, of which a visible and affluent youth culture might be considered a particularly potent symbol.