Trends – they’re really cyclical. A couple of years ago, were you to go for a wander wearing a beret and red trousers that perfectly contoured the exact definition of your groin, everyone would think that you were a weirdo. ?Not now though. You’d be just another guy in beret and jeans, having a bit of a stroll.
And, of course, the clever ones know to hang onto these garments, even when they no longer feature on the cutting edge. They shall rise again. They always do. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day… and for a bit of the rest of your life.
Anyway, the point being that – thanks to a new Drew Barrymore film – roller skating looks all set to soar again, as it once did in the 1970s and 1980s. Hence, we thought it high time to leap directly onto the bandwagon early doors, and after the jump there are ten wonderful roller skating videos that you can show to?your friends, as you explain that, really, you’ve always been into it…The Empire Rink, 1978
Believe it or not, but roller skating in a pair of minuscule shorts used to be considered a rather macho thing to do. You might not sense it from the above clip, but these men were dripping with testosterone. Absolutely dripping.
Bobby Cash Redd, Skate Party People
It’s a shame that people don’t make songs about their favourite?hobbies any more – the charts could well do with a couple of funk-driven numbers about speed walking, or dicking around on computer games. Above is a great example of a genuinely brilliant song about roller skating.
Skatetown USA
Not an actual town, this was,?in fact,?an early example of Patrick Swayze‘s acting/dancing skills. May he rest in peace etc…
Gene Kelly on Roller Skates
Probably the greatest dancer of them all – and that includes Travolta in Staying Alive, AND Pacino in Scarface – Gene Kelly was one of the first Hollywood stars to incorporate wheels into his work. And with magnificent results.
Roller Skating Music by Michael Lauziere
Some roller skaters like to take their sport to the extremes. Some go over ramps, some jump from building to building. Others tie cutlery to their?equipment and use?old glass bottles to make songs happen (above)
De La Soul, A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday
Rap music’s favourite hippies managed to mistime the upsurge in roller skating popularity by almost twenty years, but now this could conceivably make for a rather smashing Number One hit single.
The Dolly Dots Roller Skating
The great thing about roller skating is that it was very inclusive. You didn’t need much money, just a pair of smelly trainers, some old wheels, a tool kit, a Krypton Factor mind that understood physics, some DIY skills, bits of metal, probably a decent pen, expert balance, and some nice shorts. The ladies above probably splashed out on some expensive ones.
Flight of the Conchords, Ladies of the World
The magnificent New Zealand duo have already paid a rich and fitting homage to roller skating, in a song about wanting to have it off with as many girls as their underpants can handle.
Roller Boogie
The underground roller skating community was awash with sexual chemistry, as these gliding youngsters fell in love with one another mid-move. Roller Boogie caught this steamy electricity and took it to the silver screen. To?skating enthusiasts, this was basically pornography.
Vaughan Mason and Crew, Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll
The greatest roller skating song of them all, this urged listeners to “bounce”, then “rock”, then “skate”, then “roll” and then do it all over again. Repeatedly. Until death.
This was a guest blog by Josh Burt from Interestment Comedy. May he live forever.
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elle says
Xanadu!
Missi says
AMEN, Xanadu is the BEST!
Roko says
OMG!!!!!!!!!!! thank you for posting this! STRONG ISLAND NY RIGHT HERE BABY!
summer says
I LOVE MY SKATES! love ’em! and my helmet by nutcase-im not cool enough to go unprotected…wait…im cool enough to protect myself! ;-) Thanks esp. for the flight of the conchords.