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George O'Dowd and The Arnolds

At a weekly disco at Bexley's Black Prince the youngsters are doing their own thing -  in a big way.    Putched jeans and scruffy tank tops and hair that' never seen a comb are definitly out - but other - wise anything goes. And the more bizarre the better.  The in-crowd at the Black Prince call themselves Arnolds.  THe rest of us, who wear ties, jackets and flaired trousers or jumpers and skirts are Wallys.                 Kentish Independent - october 1976 * It was the pre-punk period when the kids were casting around for something new to capture their imagination.  They found themselves in a cultural limbo with just a few straggling hippies and a handful of complacent musicians left over from the 1960 to call their own. And unlike their flower -clutching  pot - smoking predec individuals. They assembled at the Black Prince every thursday night, pouring in from miles around,  queueing patiently in their flamboyant costumes to pay their  fifty pence to get into the discotheque.  Some of tem rubbed gravel from the coach-park on their chins in the hope that the "stubble"would disguise the fact that they were way under age. And,  of the couple of hundred or so youngsters who squeezed into the ballroom, certain groups of regulars stood out, a little more outgoing, a little more outrageous than the rest.  Among them were Terry, Lennie and Jane, three extroverts who, with George were to fomr the hard core of what was to become the Bexley contingent. At the Black Prince these young exhibitionists came into their own.  here they could preen and be seen.  The music wa loud, the dancing frenetic, the competition intense.  It was the first time George had found himself in an environment in which he could excel without compromise. The last dance was The Bump, a vigourous routine seemingly consisting of press-ups and splits.  No one drank much, just beer or Coke.  lennie introduce the boys to larger and black- currant juice, the bright pink fram frequently matching the colour of their hair.  It was suitably camp and became George's favourite drink. The four became regular playmates.  George was 14,  Terry 15,  and Jane and Lennine 17.  By nature the most cautious, when it came to dressing up Jane was the wildest of them all.  Along with the rest of the Bexley contingent - The Arnolds - ,  as they became know, for reasons none of them can quite recall - they competed to see who could be the most outrageous, spending every spare moment at the Osfam shops and jumble sales, buying up anything that was loud, ugly and cheap, creating their own version of street fashion                  Sally Brompton - Chameleon BOY  GEORGE  BLITZ  KIDS  DAYS