He travelled to England in the 1950s and probably witnessed the famous "Notting Hill riots." He is talking about the white British members of street gangs who were notorious for racially motivated attacks on Afro-Caribbean immigrants. The song was originally composed in 1946 under the title "Old-Time Cat O' Nine" and was recorded again with updated lyrics in 1955 under the titles "Teddy Boy Calypso" or "Cat O' Nine Tails". That's why it refers to Teddy Boys.