Elvis first mention in Dutch Magazine
Posted: October 11th, 2025, 7:17 am
In The "Bravo" thread I talked about the first Dutch publication in wich Elvis was mentioned in september 1956. Here it is again, but now I've translated it to Englisch... for those interested.
ROCK AND ROLL BACILLUS ALSO INFECTS EUROPE
A new craze is raging across America: the craze for Rock 'n roll. And the prophet of this ecstatic-hysterical combination of singing, dancing and music is Elvis Presley. This 21-year-old young man from Memphis with his greasy, long hair and his boxer's nose and a weak face has pushed stars like Frankie Laine and Johnny Ray back into his shadow in just a few months. He now towers in the worship of a teenage youth who has thrown himself at his feet with dedication.
The phenomenon of dance rage coupled with idolatry is in itself by no means new in America. The bobbysoxers and blue jeans boys apparently crave to discharge their emotions in ever new fierce and primitive-looking dance movements and adoration. And he who knows this youth the fiercest on the whips is their man. However, objectivity compels us to say that this is by no means a monopoly of today's American youth. Numerous religious sects throughout the world have practiced dances from ancient times to the present day, indulging in the incredible spasmodic movements in a trance. And in old chronicles one can find that in 13 74 a real dance rage among the youth manifested itself in Aachen, which spread rapidly over the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy. Hundreds of boys and girls then wriggled in streets and squares in epileptic curves. According to the chronicles, they could only be awakened from their dance hypnosis by kicks and punches from resolute bystanders. Rock 'n Roll has the same epidemic effect, but on an international scale.
This mass hysteria, in which girls in particular burst into tears, tear off their clothes and faint, has recently spread to the old world as well. In England, after the screening of the new American film "Rock around the clock", riots occurred in numerous cities in which the police had to intervene harshly. The film, which is now banned in many British cities, only gave rise to wild dance manifestations after it turned out that American rock and rollers had turned things upside down! Although the music based on a 12 mediocre blues is indeed contagious, it is probably just troublemakers who are eager for a riot. And a man like Elvis, who has already been threatened with prison in the United States, gives them that chance to the fullest.
According to experts, Rock n Roll has little or nothing to do with real jazz. One of the matadors of this music, the American Bill Haley, has candidly said that you just have to play the music upside down. But anyway, a large part of the British youth is already rocking around the clock and in France this music is taking ground by storm, although they give it a special touch a la Saint Germain des Prés. In the Netherlands, however, young people have so far been quite immune to this epidemic. But even in the Netherlands, the last word on Rock 'n Roll will not have been spoken yet
ROCK AND ROLL BACILLUS ALSO INFECTS EUROPE
A new craze is raging across America: the craze for Rock 'n roll. And the prophet of this ecstatic-hysterical combination of singing, dancing and music is Elvis Presley. This 21-year-old young man from Memphis with his greasy, long hair and his boxer's nose and a weak face has pushed stars like Frankie Laine and Johnny Ray back into his shadow in just a few months. He now towers in the worship of a teenage youth who has thrown himself at his feet with dedication.
The phenomenon of dance rage coupled with idolatry is in itself by no means new in America. The bobbysoxers and blue jeans boys apparently crave to discharge their emotions in ever new fierce and primitive-looking dance movements and adoration. And he who knows this youth the fiercest on the whips is their man. However, objectivity compels us to say that this is by no means a monopoly of today's American youth. Numerous religious sects throughout the world have practiced dances from ancient times to the present day, indulging in the incredible spasmodic movements in a trance. And in old chronicles one can find that in 13 74 a real dance rage among the youth manifested itself in Aachen, which spread rapidly over the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy. Hundreds of boys and girls then wriggled in streets and squares in epileptic curves. According to the chronicles, they could only be awakened from their dance hypnosis by kicks and punches from resolute bystanders. Rock 'n Roll has the same epidemic effect, but on an international scale.
This mass hysteria, in which girls in particular burst into tears, tear off their clothes and faint, has recently spread to the old world as well. In England, after the screening of the new American film "Rock around the clock", riots occurred in numerous cities in which the police had to intervene harshly. The film, which is now banned in many British cities, only gave rise to wild dance manifestations after it turned out that American rock and rollers had turned things upside down! Although the music based on a 12 mediocre blues is indeed contagious, it is probably just troublemakers who are eager for a riot. And a man like Elvis, who has already been threatened with prison in the United States, gives them that chance to the fullest.
According to experts, Rock n Roll has little or nothing to do with real jazz. One of the matadors of this music, the American Bill Haley, has candidly said that you just have to play the music upside down. But anyway, a large part of the British youth is already rocking around the clock and in France this music is taking ground by storm, although they give it a special touch a la Saint Germain des Prés. In the Netherlands, however, young people have so far been quite immune to this epidemic. But even in the Netherlands, the last word on Rock 'n Roll will not have been spoken yet