1956 ROCK 'N' ROLL HERO

Seventy years ago, a mighty wave was about to wash over these isles.

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A thrilling new sound from across the Atlantic began to prick up the ears of British youth, and popular music would never be the same again. Then a preteen, Spencer Leigh was already hooked on this exhilarating, outrageous new sound, and the wild, exotic creatures making it. Here he picks a selection of singles that defined that watershed year for him and millions of his generation.

I was born in wartime Liverpool in 1945. During the mid-50s, my friends and I became fascinated by this new rock'n'roll music and thought it magical. Still do. Unlike other generations who put away childish things as they got older, we knew it would last. What I heard when I was 11 years old is still magic to me now.

Nearly everyone who reads this article is going to be younger than me. Well, go check out some 80-year-olds and pat them on the back. We appreciated the music, and we never lost that love. It may not have developed in a way we liked but it all stems from the 50s. They don't have jukeboxes in old folks' homes but if they did, they'd have the coolest choices on the planet.

Here's how it began - a look at the New Musical Express chart for 7 January 1956 and the key records that joined them during the year. I can't believe that Be-Bop-A-Lula stalled at No 23 - that record, more than any other, told us that this was a magic kingdom...