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Stray Cats

When the Stray Cats stormed into the British charts at the start of the eighties it was the start of a love affair which still tugs at my heart today. We had Matchbox and Shakin' Stevens doing well and would soon have the added attractions of the fabulous Jets and the Polecats clawing at the charts. The Stray Cats brought with them a bad boy image which made them more acceptable in an era which was still in the clutches of punk and bands like the Stranglers and the Clash. A lot of the purists have little good to say about them but I'm sure they'd be happy to see a band of their ilk in the charts now!

The story starts in New York during the period when real rockabilly was just dying out, 1959-1961. Brian was born in Massapequa, NY on April 10th 1959, followed two years later by Slim Jim Phantom (Jim McDonnell) in Brooklyn on 20th March and Leon Drucker, better known as Lee Rocker.

In 1979 Brian formed a rockabilly cover band with his brother Gary on drums and Bob Beecher on bass, calling themselves the Tom Cats. They also played rock stuff as the Bloodless Pharaohs with Ken Kinally joining on keyboards. Brian left in early '80 to join school pals Jim and Lee and form the Stray Cats. By the summer they'd quit the States and headed to Britain where they thought (correctly) that people may be hipper to their sound. Following a gig at London's The Venue, they encountered Dave Edmunds, in their dressing room pouring himself a gin and tonic! Famed as both a performer and producer, Edmunds told them he'd like to work with them before someone who didn't know what he was doing tried it. They signed to Arista and over five days in October they recorded their first album at the Eden and Jam Studios in London.

The following month, Runaway Boys was released as their first single and the rest his history. Runaway Boys is a neo-Rockabilly classic. It was perfect for the time and helped generate a new band of followers for the group and the genre. It shot to the number 9 spot in the UK charts, helped by national exposure on Top Of The Pops and other music shows of the day.

Released at the beginning of February 1981, Rock This Town was another hit that had to happen. It had a catchy fast beat and more stinging guitar from Brian. The public ate it up and it followed Runaway Boys to the number 9 spot.

Released in February '81, the first eponymous album featured a mixture of the hit singles, some covers and a few originals. Produced in the main by Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds, there was also a quartet of tracks produced by the boys.

Fishnet Stockings was a wild rocker with some dynamic guitaring saving what would otherwise be a fairly mediocre song. For the re-make of Charles Underwood's Ubangi Stomp they followed the Warren Smith original except they made a bit more politically correct. Slim Jim sounds right at home with the jungle rhythm and with constant screams and warrior chant ending it's a great version. Storm The Embassy is a political song, the type of which was popular at the time. It was probably a smart move to give them more street cred than just singing about stockings and jukeboxes. The same could be said of Rumble In Brighton which appealed to the psycho fraternity with it's portrayal of gang fights. It's a great rocker with Brian's fingers again on fire and Slim Jim all over the skins. Roy Montrell's Mellow Saxophone became a Wild one thanks to guest Gary Barnacle.

Eddie Cochran's Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie and Gene Vincent's Double Talkin' Baby are given the full treatment and are fitting tributes to two of the bands inspirations (it's a theme they would refer to again). Crawl Up And Die is magic and Brain's adoption of the deep voice is one of my favourite vocal performances of his. Dorsey Burnette's, My One Desire (the b-side of Runaway Boys) is a nice mid tempoer with a lovely bassy rhythm from Lee and Jim.

The third single taken from the album was the loping blues of Stray Cat Strut. It was the only song of the album that they'd written whilst still in America. Written by Brian whilst jamming in Lee's garage, it has an hypnotic beat and inexplicably stalled at number 11 on the charts. This really could have been a number one song. Today, eighteen years later, when people ask what type of music I like and I say rockabilly, they often sing part of Stray Cat Strut. The b-side of the single (not on the album) is a live blues Drink That Bottle Down with Lee Rocker taking over the vocals while Brian played his best Eddie Cochran licks.

The next time they appeared on the charts was in June, when The Race Is On, a bouncy cover of the old George Jones two-stepper rose to number 34 as Dave Edmunds and the Stray Cats.

Sandwiched between the first two albums was a big tour of the States supporting the Rolling Stones. Whilst back home they also appeared on the Friday show, plying four songs and more importantly, displaying a sign saying they were unsigned that side of the Atlantic. EMI were watching!

Following the huge success of the first album, it was somewhat surprising that for the second album, Gonna Ball, Arista had them produce it themselves with help from Hein Hoven. The venue also moved from London to the Air Studios in Monserrat in the West Indies. Thankfully, they didn't feel the need to adopt a reggae beat and still used songs from the likes of Johnny Burnette not Bob Marley. I remember buying the album in Millet's in Hereford and was immediately struck by the brilliant cover photos. If my mum and dad were wondering why I was so quite on the way home, it was because I couldn't stop starring at the record! Overall the album falls short of the first one but does have some inspired moments. Baby Blue Eyes and Little Miss Prissy commenced proceedings with a couple of guitar filled rockers. Wasn't That Good was a fun groover with neat saxophone. Cryin' Shame was unlike anything they had previously cut, a great mid tempo blues with harmonica and even a bit of backing vocals. (She'll Stay Just) One More Day was pretty weak with keyboards, saxes and Lee on vocals. Way too jazzy although it does sum up the perfect woman, "She never gives me bitching, she's magic in the kitchen"!!

Side two opened with the single You Don't Believe Me, a bluesy rocker with some lovely slide work. Disappointingly, it only made 57 before falling off the charts after three weeks. The b-side, again not an album track was a mean Setzer composition, Cross That Bridge with Lee on vocals and harmonica (not at the same time). Title track Gonna Ball and Crazy Mixed-Up Kid, are little more than jam's with Brian's vocals sounding too strained on the former. I've always loved Wicked Whiskey, a galloping instrumental with all three Cats gelling on this beauty. It never crops up on any of their compilations which is a shame as it's as good as rockabilly instrumentals go.

The same can't be said of Rev It Up And Go. For one it's not an instrumental. It's a non-descript rocker with an awful call and response ending. Setzer's own, Lonely Summer Nights is perhaps the album's highpoint, a beautiful ballad complimented with some s*xy sax. The album took a bit of a slagging in the press and the Cats took this as a personal assault. When interviewed by Andy Peebles they said that they didn't understand why their press/publicity had become so negative, they thought they had done something wrong, but they didn't know what it was. I think all they did was they'd cut an album, which was a slight drop in the standards set by their debut. The press have never given rock 'n' roll/rockabilly much respect (see Shakin' Stevens for details!!).

The guys didn't have to worry for long. Following tours of Europe, Japan and Australia, they ventured back to the States in December, performing on ABC TV and signing with EMI. By April of '82 they were back in the States, releasing Built For Speed, a mixture of the first two UK albums plus the title track, a cross between Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut! They undertook a coast to coast tour and along with more national TV exposure, cracked the album charts, getting into the top three and selling a couple of million copies in the process. Kiss my ass seemed to be the theme adopted for England and there I was sat at home waiting for any news of the band. The only time and of them made the press was pictures of Slim Jim and Britt Ekland.

Two years I waited, then wham, back they came. What a great feeling it was, listening to the charts on a Sunday night, hour after hour of crap just to hear where they were. I nearly always felt bad afterwards, because they hadn't gone as high as I'd hoped. The first single, (She's) s*xy & 17 was the only one to chart, reaching a respectable 29 (No.5-US). The whole of Rant 'n' Rave was written by the band (most by Setzer alone) and it was a return to the Maison Rouge Studios in London with Dave Edmunds back behind the glass and Geraint Watkins on piano. It was a great album and one that had us believing again. On top of which, it had another great cover with these three hoodlums changing a tyre on Brian's hotrod.

Rebels Rule was in the Bo Diddley style and Too Hip, Gotta Go was a nice rocker. Look At That Cadillac was a splendid stroller with Mel Collins adding some meaty saxophone and Watkins filling out the sound with his piano. Something's Wrong With My Radio was a wild rocker giving Brian and Slim Jim ample opportunity to show their talents. At the time, I loved 18 Miles To Memphis because it mentioned Memphis. I'm older now and not so shallow (!!). Now I love it because of Lee Rockers' brilliant beat and the galloping country sound. I'd have loved to see them do a video for it on horseback!

Side two kicked off with (She's) s*xy & 17, a rocker with another killer solo. Dig Dirty Doggie a fun bit of rockin' nonsense. Slim Jim's favourite, the delicious doo-wop ballad, I Won't Stand In Your Way followed. After the basic track had been laid down, Brian wanted a doo-wop group but Dave Edmunds thought it was okay as it was. Thankfully, Brian won the argument and 14 Carat Soul were added. It's a great performance and it spent thirteen weeks in the US singles chart, peaking at 35. Brian has since said that he was really proud of this song and it's the one song he wanted to be a huge smash hit. Hotrod Gang was a Gene Vincent style rocker with a Gallupesque solo. The closer, How Long You Wanna Live Anyway? was a moody chugger, heavier than anything so far, and a precursor for what was to follow.

Around October '84 the Cats broke up following some personality clashes and no doubt some frustration at the downslide the group was on. Earl Slick joined Jim and Lee for a dodgy album, Phantom Rocker & Slick on EMI. It's a poor album but I won't sell it because Slim Jim looks like Joan Collins on the cover. It was over a year before Brian's solo album, The Knife Feels Like Justice, also on EMI, came out to good reviews. It wasn't rockabilly, but the playing was excellent, the lyrics were mature and I enjoyed it because it was Brian Setzer.

Despite the split and heavy tour schedules, they got back to record an album at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles which they produced themselves. It was a real surprise when this came out, but thankfully Andy's Records in Aberystwyth was on the ball and I was able to walk out of there around September 1986 with Rock Therapy under me arm. I was anxious to get home and spin it as to see if it was a record to rockabilly as there didn't look to be much in the way of quiff's on the cover. Rock Therapy is a thumping version which stays close to the Johnny Burnette & Rock 'n' Roll Trio original. Reckless, from the pen of Setzer, is more like John Mellancamp than John Cash, not my cup of tea. Gene Vincent is revisited for his 1956 classic, Race With The Devil. The version here is a cracker, all three cohere nicely and Brain's three solos are excellent - starting off like Cliff Gallup before moving onto his own trademark sound. Buddy Holly's Looking For Someone To Love maintains the high standard.

Due to the rushed, unprepared nature of the album, there's a lot of covers, but they all work really well, a lot better than the original stuff. A good example of this is the Setzer song I Wanna Cry which features Lee Rocker on vocals, but is little more than an average pop/rock song. I'm A Rocker is a frantic unpolished rocker with some sizzling' Setzer solos - and it closes with Brian shouting, "Give me a standing audition!!". Beautiful Delilah pays homage to Chuck Berry complete with in-tune guitaring. Memphis rockabilly legend Charlie Feathers is next to be remembered. Their take on One Hand Loose is right on the money and I love Brian's licks on this. Billy Poore refers to it as a lazy, tired sounding version in his book Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey - man I gotta disagree. Perhaps Billy's journey was just too long.




Two Setzer originals round things off. Broken Man is a country/folk mover with the type of social comments used in his solo project. The track is dominated by some fine banjo picking from Brian, an instrument which he'd learned since receiving it as a present from Lee and Jim. Definitely the pick of the new songs. Change Of Heart is a bouncy item with some nice jangly guitar - not rockabilly, but quite nice.

The next month, Phantom Rocker & Slick had their second album out, Cover Girl, but I passed on it. December saw the Cats back at the Whiskey A Go Go with Bruce Willis and Brian appeared with Dave Edmunds on MTV's New Year's Eve Rock 'n' Roll Ball. 1987 was quiet except for Brian's appearance in the film La Bamba where he played a cameo role of Eddie Cochran. It was a part he'd been practising for years. Things looked up a bit when Brian's second solo album, Live n*de Guitars came out in early '88. It had more of a rocking edge than his first with tracks like Rockability, Rebeline and a cover of Eddie Cochran's Nervous Breakdown.

Following years of non rockabilly solo ventures, April 1989 brought us Blast Off! a new album full of non-stop unadulterated rockin'. With Dave Edmunds again producing, the album was recorded in Ocean Way Studios, California and was dedicated to the recently deceased Roy Orbison and Cliff Gallup.

The title track is a blast, a 100 mph rockin' start. Gina is only average and Everybody Needs Rock 'n' Roll is a slightly quicker rewrite of Glen Glenn's Everybody's Movin'. Gene And Eddie is made up of Gene and Eddie song titles which works surprisingly well thanks to some fine playing from the trio and Brain's Gretsch on overtime. The accompanying video was full of live shots from the studio interspersed with old video clips of Eddie and Gene. Rockabilly Rules is a manic romp, great fun.

Bring It Back Again was a hard driving commercial rocker which even saw them return to the charts, albeit only to the number 64 spot. Slip, Slip, Slippin' In was a mighty fine version of the Eddie Bond classic. Rockabilly World strutted along nicely and Rockin' All Over The World was a bit like Status Quo doing rockabilly - but not as bad. Nine Lives was a jazzy Stray Cat Strut rewrite.

The summer of '90 was spent doing a six week tour with bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan and performing in a musical comedy "Mother Goose" as cats! The year finished on a real bum note with the release of the abysmal Let's Go Faster on Liberation Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers, it's a real clunker with the only good thing being the cover photo. Rodgers is a famed producer who has worked with many of the top stars but I can't be arsed to check which ones - as far as I'm concerned he owes me £14.

The next two years saw tours of Japan, Australia, America and Britain and then in June 1992 came the Pump Records release Choo Choo Hot Fish. Produced by Dave Edmunds, the new album was cut at the Pyramid Studios in Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee and named after the Choo Choo Hot Fish café close by. A much better effort, the highlight was the splendid duo with Edmunds, Cry Baby. Lust 'n' Love was a good moody rockabilly and Please Don't Touch and My Heart Is A Liar were really strong. Two instrumentals were cut, the romantic Jade Idol and the Santo & Johnny classic Sleepwalk which Brian cut again six years later with his Orchestra and picked up a Grammy for best instrumental performance. Cross Of Love and Let's Go Faster from the previous album were done again, but two years and a change of production couldn't save them, although Faster was an improvement. The closer, Mystery Train is a five minute tour de force with Lee and Slim Jim providing a frantic rhythm like the golden days and Brian playing some glorious guitar.

A big tour of Europe was followed by a trip to the Virgin Convent Studios in Los Angeles for their last studio album to date, Original Cool. It's a fifteen song run through some of rock 'n' roll's greatest hits. They're good performances but in the main add nothing to the originals. Highlights were I Fought The Law, Your True Love, Blue Jean Bop, Let It Rock, Stood Up and a blistering Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll.

That was pretty much it then as far as the Stray Cats goes. Lee Rocker has had a couple of critically acclaimed album's with his Big Blue band. 13 Cats starring Slim Jim, Lee and Danny B. Harvey have just had an album of swing and rockabilly released and Brian has risen to amazing heights with the swinging Brian Setzer Orchestra. The third album has taken the States by storm and recently picked up two Grammy awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gibson.

This success could delay/end any hopes of a reunion, although they reformed in February '98 for the Carl Perkins tribute at the House Of The Blues. A slew of budget live CD's have been released but the best of these is Tear It Up on Receiver Records. It's a real powerhouse 75 minute set, running through the hits and a couple of covers and Dave Edmunds joins them for The Race Is On. The band are brilliant, the sound is good and it's a fitting tribute to the coolest cats to come out of Long Island.