Blackboard Jungle – The 50s

You can feel young at heart no matter what your age, but you are only be considered a "youth" for a short period of life.

For many, it is an important time; a time when you begin the be independent. A time when you experiment and are tested; a time of liberation, moving out, and perhaps of rebellion against parents and adult society; a time of searching that may ultimately affect your entire future, values and lifestyle.

1954 was the year rock 'n' roll came to town. Bill Haley sang Rock Around the Clock –a song that later featured in the much-talked-about film Blackboard Jungle.

More rock 'n' roll films followed. Fights were commonplace at their screenings and Jönköping was no exception.

Religious people stood outside the cinema in Jönköping, warning youths not to see the films. After the screenings, clashes broke out between youths and police, who were armed with both batons and sabers.

My Generation – The 1960s

The 1960s is the decade of pop and England was in the spotlight. The Beatles inspired an entire generation of youths to make music.

There were many local groups during this era, such as the Hoods, Ramblers and Ghostriders. The most successful of these was The Caretakers. Their hit song The End of the World (ital) reached number one in the summer of 1966.

Youth embracing the Mod subculture also started riots in Jönköping that same summer. Mods were long-haired and were chased by rival "raggare" gangs riding in classic American cars. Fights between youths also broke out at a pop concert held at Rosenlundshallen Hall.

English pop groups such as Cream, the Animals, Fleetwood Mac and the Yardbirds also played at the Jönköping People's Hall. One of the biggest bands to play here was The Who – known for their hit song My Generation.

Another rising star of the day was Agnetha Fältskog, who grew up on Tegelbruksgatan in Jönköping. She later had a fantastic career in Stockholm, both as a solo artist and as a member of world-famous pop group ABBA.

No Place of Our Own – The 1970s

In the early 1970s, Jönköping's youth start an association aimed at securing a building for their use in the city centre. They wanted a community centre where they were in charge – a place of music, culture, art and creativity.

This was also a transition period for the local pop scene. Discos began to take over and it became cheaper to play records than to pay to hear live music. There was also a shortage of live music venues and the handful of local pop groups found it hard to find places to rehearse.

A band's biggest dream was to make its own record, though it was becoming harder and harder to do so.

In the late 70s, a club called the Kamratföreningen Sjöbo started its own record label, which released records by bands like Crut, KG22 and hard-rockers Trazer.

Fire! Fire! – The 1980s

English punk band the Sex Pistols visited Jönköping in the summer of 1977. The pub where they were to play received bomb threats. The show went on, and the performance sowed the first important seeds of a new music movement in Jönköping. Nonetheless, three years passed before the city's first punk band – Tant Brun – made a name for itself.

Music society Acne became the lynchpin for the local punk movement. It shared some of its ideals with the left-wing, anti-commercial Swedish "progg" movement of the 1970s. Youth arranged concerts, printed newspapers and even started small record companies.

On Jönköping's streets, long-running feuds between different youth groups – punk rockers and "raggare", hard rockers and synth music lovers continued. These fights reached their climax in the early 1980s and led indirectly to the occupation of the old fire station in the summer of 1982.

Politicians now realised that something had to be done. Ultimately, the youth lost control of the fire station. To appease them, however, the local government established a cultural centre with rehearsal halls, stages and a café on the old match factory site.

Inside the display are a number of objects linked to Jönköping's youth culture from the 1950s onward.