The Spirit of the 59 website was launched in 2005, to formalise a motley collection of webpages on rockers that we had established on the internet since 1995. Being directly involved in the rocker movement of the 60s and the ‘Rocker Reunion’ movement of the 1980s onwards, we felt it was time to pay our overdue respect to the man who had been the spirit of the 59 Club … and how had ‘strangely’ been written out of rocker history and excluded. Father Graham Hullett.
In the final acknowledgement to the deceased Johnny Stuart’s seminal book called ‘Rockers!’, allegedly the “most shoplifted book in the UK”, John asks where were the “keen photographers” who had captured the rocker era from within its ranks and their photographs. We were the first to publish them for the world to see. The 59 Club knew where they were, why did they not say?
A few questions remain in our minds.
- Why, when Father Bill Shergold, ex-club leaders Mike Cook and others were directly connected to Johnny Stuart, was Father Graham Hullett erased from the history of the club and movement, denying access of the rocker world, now worldwide, to the images, memories and true spirit of its heyday?
Why had he at that time been erased from 59 Club history by the current leaders, individuals who had removed him as trustee without his knowledge as we understand?
Why were we been fed a fabricated, sanitised version of our and the club’s history?
What actually happened?
Father Graham Hullett has always been far too principled an individual to discuss the past. But we are not. Because we are rockers. And our opinion is, if we had known what had happened at the time, we probably would have fucked them off out the club for ever … and the club would been far better for it.
It’s time the world started to know, especially those fine young rockers and rockettes who have embraced our lifestyle on every continent, about some the realities … good and bad.
It’s about time someone threw a rattle into the snakes den! I for one would have happily kicked the shit out of the ‘cunts’ that ruined the 59 Club had I known the skulking skullduggery that was going on back then.
Father Graham was and still is the epitome of a Christian man who thru his beliefs and abilities helped many of the less desirable element of the 59 club members. Left to the likes of Mike Cook and his cronies we would have had no place to go and that is exactly what happened when Father Graham left, with him went the ethos or the 59 club. They were lucky we never knew what was going on. I speak for many of the original Chelsea Bridge boys whose second ‘home’ was the ‘Nine’.
Lenny Paterson
We was all rockers too but way out of London and never heard got to the 59 Club. We never knew what them 59 club badge was all about. You’d used to be able to buy them and “69″ badges from bikes shops back then.
We knew what a 69 was. It was sexual position. We used to think a 59 was anal sex coz if you think about it, the 5 is like a round arse and the 9 is like a cock going up it. Funny to read about all this stuff going on with the leaders years later.
59 refers to the year, such as: 1959 and all that goes with the motor-cycling culture (not the U.S.A. term Biker: that is somewhere in Newcastle). Forget all the 60s Hippy shit and distortion , get back to British Rocker culture.
Regard to all
Real Rocker
I’m editor of a Chinese magazine, and we would like to introduce the stories of motorcycle and 59 club in our next issue, could you please contact me via email? As we will use some of the photos on your web.
im to young to run in the 59ers and living in Australia i always looked at the old pictures of the 9ers and thought i would have loved to run with guys like that,as i got older i bought an old pre unit triumph and a vintage jacket and rolled alone with my mates into old cars and not getting what i was into.till one day i found a flyer at kustom lane gallery for a mods and rockers run .i went along and wow here in Melbourne the 9s thriving .a place where i hope to belong, a tradition to live up to…..
go 9ers go rockers
nice post! am looking towards read your future post, great weekend ahead!
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Hi all, I first met Father Graham at the I O M TT in 1965 when the TT headquarters were in the church hall on the old quay. Graham was a true gent and always got to know everyone who called in to see him, he gave me a red silk scarf once because he said I looked frozen. He was the true spirit of the 59 and I used to ride to Park Place Villa’s in Paddington, and spent many weekends there ( I was riding from the Wirral in those days about a 450 mile round trip) . During this time I only remember seeing Father Bill once, but Graham was always around to meet everyone, he had that gift of being one of the lads but respected by all, he never preached but when he spoke we all listening and we learnt. We meet up with Graham at the TT and The Dragon Rally and also meet in London many times, When he became less involved I had no idea why, but it appears that it was through a disagreement.
Its suprising the club survived without him because he was the club.
I’d like to thank him for some happy times, good advice, and some great laughs as would all the all the other lads from up here.