Birmingham Town Hall 1964 (Hail, Hail Rock And Roll) Poem by stephen west

Little Richard bounced on stage
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
And Baby Face and Lucille
His set over too soon
But then, clad in black leather
Leg iron and black glove
Gene Vincent with the floppy hair
An image that we love.
(And parents hate
But wait)
The hall now dark and quiet
Then someone starts a shout
The South will rise again, Hoorah
And Jerry Lee walks out.
Snaked eyed, he sees the piano
His look of mean disdain
He sits, preens, and then he smiles
Hello Birmingham again
The crowd goes wild and screams and whoops
The first verse all but drowned
The Killer gets into his stride
The real King of Rock (uncrowned)
Plays the piano just like railings
His right hand is the stick
Glissando rising, falling
All show, all verve, so slick.
He mixes wilder numbers
With soft sweet Country tunes
The One Rose that’s left in my Heart
My favourite of the slow ones.
Then comes Great Balls of Fire
And soon the piano stool
Goes clattering across the stage.
He’s hot, but really cool.
We all danced in the aisles that night
When Jerry Lee took the stage
Just when the Beatles broke the mould
And the start of another age.