With his white hair and weather-worn face you'd expect this grandad to be slipping discs rather than spinning them.

But Rockin' Billy Wheeler has proved the oldest swinger in town by wowing the crowds as a DJ for more than 45 years.

The entertainer will be ready to collect his pension in four years - but still wears a teddy boy jacket, suede shoes and a quiff which would put Morrissey to shame.

He said: "I started down Brighton seafront back in 1962 when I used to work on the dodgems near the Volks Railway, which is where the Crazy Golf is now, playing music on my old record player.

"They all used to gather round and I had to play mostly Elvis songs.

"I used to play early 1950s records and really early 1960s, before The Beatles and all that.

"As the years have gone by I've had to mix in things from the 1970s as well."

But Chris Moyles needn't worry about his crown as Britain's top DJ.

For Billy, 61, of Ninfield Place, Brighton, refuses to play anything from the 1980s onwards.

He said: "The music I play I find easier to dance to because of the beat. It's more exciting music.

"My mum and dad used to have big band music but I got into rock n roll and it's always stayed with me."

A commited rocker, Billy had his fair few scrapes with the Mods in the 1960s when rival gangs used to do battle on Brighton seafront.

Billy said: "We had quite a few skirmishes down by the old pier and the old sundeck and aquarium.

"I suppose it was just that we were dressed differently. We were leather boys and they were mods riding their hairdryers and all that, but that was quite a few years back."

Far from hanging up his drainpipes, Rockin' Billy, who is married to devoted wife and manager Pam, is still pulling the crowds in with his monthly slot at The Chequers Inn, Preston Street, Brighton, and every Sunday at The Stag in Kemp Town.

He said: "I used to play at Chequers years ago and I went in there once a few years ago and they asked me back.

"I've still got my suede shoes and the music has never left me because I've grown up with it.

"It's really great to see people up and dancing and know they appreciate me.

"The song that always gets them bopping is At the Hop by Danny and the Juniors but my all time favourite is Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel."

Despite rocking towards his bus pass, Rockin' Billy has no intentions of giving up and even rates himself above Brighton's other famous DJ Fat Boy Slim.

He said: "I suppose he's good for what he does and he's good for the scene today but I'm a bit more authentic.

"I just play the records as they go."

Catch Billy at The Chequers Inn on the last Saturday of every month.

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