The Woodville Hall Soul Boys

Soon after I'd paid My sixty Or seventy pence, I found myself In what I thought Was a miniature London. I saw girls In chandelier earrings, In stiletto heels, Wearing evening Dresses, Which contrasted with The bizarre Hair colours They favoured: Jet black Or bleach blonde, With flashes of Red, Purple Or green. Some wore large Bow ties, Others unceremoniously Hanged Their school ties Round their Necks. Eye make-up Was exaggerated. The boys all had Short hair, Wore mohair sweaters, Thin ties, Baggy, Peg-top trousers And winklepicker shoes. A band playing Raw street rock At a frantic speed Came to a sudden, Violent climax... Melodic, rhythmic, Highly dancable Soul music Was now beginning To fill the hall, With another group Of short-haired youths... Smoother, more elegant, Less menacing Than the previous ones. These well-dressed Street boys Wore well-pressed pegs Of red or blue... They pirouetted And posed... Pirouetted and posed. "Wicked Cahoots" and "The Woodville Hall Soul Boys" stem from stories written in the late 1970s; while they first saw the light of day in versified form in 2006.)