The Search for Terry & Julie
Lucas, Jake, Zack and Katie at Waterloo.
Photography & Text: Nick Clements
Since the late 1970s, my journey into style through the recording of revival subcultures – first on film and then a digital sensor – could easily be characterised as a hunt for the mood, sentiment and London-ness that Ray Davies evoked with his mythical couple in 1967. Music lore has much to say on who the pair were, but I always felt this song was composed for those who were born, bred and still stuck just south of the river. Watch Karel Reisz’s 1958 fly-on-the-wall documentary, We are the Lambeth Boys and suddenly the real Terry and Julie start to take shape. In this photo-story we see three dedicated followers of fashion with their scooters and a good degree of credibility. This gathering was put together by musician, clubland entrepreneur and vintage dealer Lucas Gomersall, who invited aspiring art historian Freddie Foulkes, scooterist Jake Bonnici and Lucas’ partner in crime Katie Town (can that name be real or was the original Miss Town an extra on Ready Steady Go!?). A cricket ball’s throw from Waterloo Station and just as close to Lambeth Walk, the quartet find a momentary haven amongst London brick. In these images the air hangs-heavy with the scent of Castrol’s finest and the last of the early autumn’s warm remains. They are joined by friend Zack and then they leave as quickly as they arrived. Time waits for no man and truly modern people rarely stand still. Terry and Julie move on.
