FOR a short while in the late 1950s and early 1960s, London was home to “der shvitz”, said to be the dirtiest, most deliriously danceable music of all with its hallucinating mix of surf rock guitar, West Indian calypso, mambo, skiffle and Jewish folk melodies.

When years later it crossed the Atlantic in diluted form as the twist, the music’s roots remained largely forgotten.

Now, however, an all-star East End band, the Yiddish Twist Orchestra, revive this one-off cultural collision of musical styles, paying homage to its beatnik founder, Willy Bergman, lost hero of the sex’n’drugs British music revolution, who had the slums and salons alike dancing to the pounding Yiddish beat.

This month, the Making Tracks organisation lets the Yiddish Twist Orchestra loose on a tour that ends up at the National Centre for Early Music in York on February 26, fronted by Ska Cubano’s retro king Natty Bo on vocals.

Tickets for the 7.30pm concert are on sale on 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

 

Courtesy of the NCEM, The Press has three pairs to be won.

Question: Who is the Yiddish Twist Orchestra’s lead vocalist?

Send your answer with your name, address and daytime phone number, to Charles Hutchinson, Twist Competition, The Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN, by next Monday morning. Usual competition rules apply.