A Beatle boot or Cuban boot is a style of boot that has been worn since the late 1950s but made popular by the English rock group

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

in the 1960s. The boots are a variant of the Chelsea boot: they are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, ankle-high boots with a sharp pointed toe. The style can feature either elastic or zipped sides. Beatle boots saw the reintroduction of high-heeled footwear for men.

History

Beatle boots are a direct descendant of the Chelsea boot, but have an even more pointed toecompare the slightly earlier winklepickersand a centre seam stitch running from ankle to toe, and the flamenco boot, from which its Cuban heel was derived. Beatle boots originated in 1958, but in October 1961 English musicians

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, George Harrison and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

saw Chelsea boots while in Hamburg, being worn by a London band, and then went to the London footwear company Anello & Davide to commission four pairs (with the addition of Cuban heels) for the Beatles, to complement their new suit image upon their return from Hamburg. Beatle boots were very popular with rock bands and artists during the late 1950s, but started to decline during the late 1960s. They were worn by subcultures such as Teddy Boys, beatniks, rockers and psyches etc. The boots saw a surge of popularity during the punk movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s but again started to decline throughout the 1990s. During the late 2000s and early 2010s the boots have seen a steady surge in popularity.

Notable wearers

Non-fictional

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* Carl Barât *

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* The Dave Clark Five *

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* Eddie Cochran *

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* Roy Orbison *

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* Alice Cooper * The Dandy Warhols *

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* MC5 *

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* The Grateful Dead * The Kinks * The Zombies * The Sonics * The Yardbirds *

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* Steve Lukather * Ryan Ross * Daedalus Howell *

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* KISS *

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

* Jef Aerosol * Marc Zermati * The Pretty Things *Peter Gunn of The Inmates *

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Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

* The Gruesomes *

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* Alex Turner * Richey Edwards * Andy Warhol *

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Fictional

* Riff Raff from the 1975 film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' * Austin Powers, from the ''Austin Powers'' series * Ned Flanders, from ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' *Sid from '' Hey Arnold!'' *Starfleet officers in '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' *Eddie Dean from Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower'' series.

References

External links