'Ton-Up' was given due to their love of riding motorbikes on the road at high speeds. 'Ton-up' is a phrase to word 100 mph.
'Leather Boys' came about because of their uniform of leather: jackets, gloves, boots and sometimes even their trousers.
'Cafe Racers/Coffee Bar Cowboys' was used because the teenagers were more or less a group of outsiders to society and places such as pubs and dance halls didn't welcome them because they were usually covered in mud and people didn't appreciate how they dressed so therefore they gathered in cafés, drinking tea and listening to rock'n'roll. Additionally, the Ton Ups had motorcycle races on the roads using one transport cafe as a starting point and another as a finishing point.
Origins
After World War 2, many supplies were still low and a rationing on certain things carried on for a number years. Petrol was rationed until 1950 so therefore motorbikes couldn't be used until this year. This meant that there was a sudden rise of people using motorbikes in a short space of time which led them to rapidly forming into a counter culture group because of their similar interest.
Motorcycles
The Ton Up Boys' main focus was racing and riding their motorcyclists. A typical Ton-Up Boy's motorcycle would have the appearance of low handlebars, large petrol tanks for racing, a single seat, and exhaust pipes facing backwards across the back wheel. They would often tweak standard motorcycles into racing bikes and raced on public roads using a transport cafe as a starting point and another transport cafe as a finishing point. Events were sometimes held in different areas of Britain and the Ton Up Boys would participate in a variety of competitions including a race in which the winner was the slowest to cross the finishing line.
Mods and Teddy Boys are different.
There can sometimes be a confusion as to what a Mod, a Teddy Boy and a Ton Up Boy was. The name 'Mod' stands for modernist and is a term that was used to describe the teenagers interested in modern pop and modern fashion. It originated in London in the late 1950s, however it was a lot more popular in the 1960s. Mods are often associated with the circular target symbol (Red in the middle, blue on the outside and white in between) and Italian scooters. They dressed a lot more smarter than the Ton Ups and often wore parkas. Eventually in the 1960s, the Ton Up Boys were known as 'Rockers' because of their increasing interest in rock'n'roll and the Mods favoured pop. The groups conflicted and fighting sometimes occurred between them. The Rockers nicknamed the Mods 'children and the Mods nicknamed the Rockers 'greebos' as rockers had greasy and sweaty hair from wearing motorcycle helmets.
The 'Teddy Boys' had similar musical interests as the Ton Ups because they listened to rock'n'roll however they dressed a lot smarter. The favoured the Edwardian way of dressing but with a modern twist. Their uniform consisted of suits, ties and brogues and would sometimes wear a waistcoat underneath their jacket. Their hair was slightly longer than a short back and sides and combed back. The Teddy Girls would dress in a similar way but with small ribbons tied around their necks. The group are considered the first counter culture group in Britain to differentiate themselves as teenagers. A lot of them carried knives around with them however crime wasn't too serious. The Teddy Boys and the Ton Ups would usually get on well with each other.
Music
The Ton Up Boys mainly listened to American rock'n'roll.
Bo Diddley
Gene Vincent
Dorsey Burnette
Wanda Jackson Elvis Presley
Eddie Cochran
Ton-Up Boys' Cafe Playlist
Road Runner - Bo Diddley
Be-Bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent
Bertha Lou - Dorsey Burnette
Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
I Gotta Know - Wanda Jackson
Skinny Jim - Eddie Cochran
Fashion
Leather was an essential part of a ton-up boy's wardrobe. Leather mainly featured on a jacket and the motorcycle boots, however the teenagers often wore leather trousers, leather gloves and leather hats. The typical 1950 ton-up boy jacket was quite plain (sometimes a sewn on war badge featured) in comparison to the typical 1960 ton-up jacket which was usually embellished with studs and with writing painted on to the back.
The few girls that were part of this group would wear leather jackets, leather boots and jeans in the daytime and of a nigh time they would wear silk scarves, pencil skirts and bullet bras.
Ton-Ups to Rockers
The counter-culture eventually turned into the 'Rocker' group in the '60s. The music and fashion was kept similar to the previous decade, however it was quite a necessity to wear studs all over their leather.
