VIRGINIA TURBETT/GETTY IMAGES
The roots of neo-rockabilly weave a tangled web indeed. Was it an unholy union inspired by the spirit of punk, or simply a new generation rediscovering a wealth of underground artists from the 1950s that the mainstream music business had seen fit to sweep under the carpet? Even the title itself is a contentious issue. “It was a term used by a couple of journalists back then, but more in the sense of the word, as in ‘Neo, a new form of the music’ rather than a complete genre,” Clint Bradley of The Blue Cats explains.
North London’s The Polecats pictured in September 1981