Showaddywaddy | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Leicester, England |
Genres | Rock and roll |
Years active | 1973–present |
Labels | Bell, Arista, RCA |
Members | Romeo Challenger Danny Willson David Graham Andy Pelos Tom Bull Sam Holland Ed Handoll |
Past members | Malcolm Allured Dave Bartram Rod Deas Russ Field Buddy Gask Al James Trevor Oakes Ray Martinez Paul Dixon Rob Hewins Dean Loach Ray Hatfield Billy Norman Chris Savage Billy Shannon |
Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. They have spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and have had 10 Top Ten singles, one reaching number one. [1] The band were one of the leading acts in the rock and roll revival scene. Although they mainly covered American doo wop and rock and roll, they never charted in the states.
The eight piece band were known for their unusual feature of having two vocalists (Dave Bartram and Buddy Gask), two drummers (Romeo Challenger and Malcolm Allured), two guitarists (Russ Field and Trevor Oakes), and two bassists (Rod Deas and Al James). Although most have retired, a version featuring just Challenger performing and managed by Bartram still tour.
The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise (Dave Bartram, Trevor Oakes, Al James, and Romeo Challenger) and the Golden Hammers (Buddy Gask, Russ Field, Rod Deas, and Malcolm Allured), the latter often known simply as The Hammers. They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester, and soon discovered shared musical tastes. After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined permanently, and Showaddywaddy were born.
The band's first gig as professional musicians was at the Dreamland Ballroom in Margate, Kent, on 1 September 1973, [2] although the first gigs under the Showaddywady name were in 1972. They chose the name Showaddywaddy from the word sung in the background of popular 1950s doo wop song "Little Darlin'" by The Diamonds. [3] [4]
After a performance in a club, they were approached by an audience member from Birmingham, who asked them if they wanted to be on television; the show in question was "New Faces", which was to produce its first series, they ended up going on the show, making it to the finals, and came in second place, losing to Tom Waite, on 29 December 1973. [5] [6] They had already signed with Bell Records prior to New Faces. Their first single, "Hey Rock and Roll" (written by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. [7]
The band are best known for wearing multi coloured Teddy boy drape jackets on stage. Bartram said that when they were on one episode of New Faces, producer Mickie Most was one of the panellists. [8] When the cameras had shut off, he asked the group to sign with him, but because they were already with Bell Records, they couldn't. A few weeks later, Most signed Mud to his label and got them to wear the exact same jackets as Showaddywaddy and a few days after tenure on New Faces had ended on 29 December 1973, Mud had released "Tiger Feet" on 4 January 1974, thus making them the first commercial rock revival band to be seen in the jackets. [8] Bartram theorised that because Mud was only four people and they often wore the same colour jackets, compared to the eight piece multi coloured jacket Showaddywaddy, Mud didn't have "the same effect". [9]
They had most of their biggest hits with covers of songs from the 1950s and the early 1960s. These included "Three Steps to Heaven" (originally by Eddie Cochran in 1960), "Heartbeat" (originally written and recorded by Buddy Holly), "Under the Moon of Love" (originally a US hit for Curtis Lee in 1961, again co-written by Tommy Boyce), "When" (originally by the Kalin Twins), "You Got What It Takes" (originally by Marv Johnson) and "Dancin' Party" (originally by Chubby Checker). These six singles were all produced by Mike Hurst (a former member of the Springfields). On the South African chart, "Three Steps to Heaven" reached number 6 in 1975 and "Under the Moon of Love" number 6 in 1977. [10]
They have made nearly 300 television appearances, including their own BBC TV special, Showaddywaddyshow, broadcast between Christmas and New Year in 1980. The band also appeared in the 1975 film Three for All , where they performed "The Party" from their 1974 debut album. [11] [12] [13] Starting with "Dancin' Party" (1977), the band produced their own records with more cover versions including "I Wonder Why" (originally by Dion and the Belmonts), "Blue Moon" (based on the Marcels' interpretation) and the Curtis Lee song "Pretty Little Angel Eyes", co-written by Tommy Boyce.
After their first single, Showaddywaddy went on to have a further 22 UK hits [14] until late summer 1982. Their most recent chart single was "Who Put the Bomp", a number 37 hit in 1982, [7] which they also promoted in their final Top of the Pops performance. In total, they had ten top-ten singles, a solitary number one ("Under the Moon of Love" in 1976), and spent 209 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, including seven successive top-five entries. Their biggest-selling single was "Under the Moon of Love", which sold 985,000 copies. [7]
Malcolm Allured left the group in 1984, followed by Russ Field in 1985, and Buddy Gask in 1987. [15] [16] [17] Field was replaced by Ray Martinez (who wrote "The Only Way Out" for Cliff Richard) in 1985, who was subsequently replaced by Danny Willson in 1995. [18] [19]
Cherry Red Records began to release Showaddywaddy's extensive album back catalogue on CD from 2000 on their 7Ts imprint. The reissues featured rare bonus tracks, B-sides and non-album singles.
Early in 2008, the band finished recording their album The Sun Album (I Betcha Gonna Like It), released on Voiceprint Records on 21 April 2008. [20] [21] A special limited edition (500 copies only) was available, signed by the whole band, and comprised a CD, a DVD, special packaging and extended sleeve notes. In September 2011, Bartram released his long-lost solo recordings from 1982 to 1985 on Invisible Hands Music; the original tapes, consisting of seventeen songs, had been in his loft for 25 years, and was entitled Lost and Found. [22] [23] [24] [25]
Al James retired from the band in 2008, playing his last gig with the band at the Cheese & Grain in Frome, Somerset, on 20 December 2008. [26] In early 2009, Trevor Oakes decided to take a break from the band due to ill health. He left the band and officially retired on 1 May 2009, meaning his last gig was also at the Cheese & Grain. [27] Danny Willson also left the band during 2009 to join Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, and his last gig was in Denmark on 8 August that year.
Lead singer Dave Bartram left Showaddywaddy on 3 December 2011 after 38 years fronting the band, and his last gig was at the Kings Hall Theatre in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. [28] [29] Bartram continues as the band's manager, a role he has undertaken since 1984. The Ilkley gig also marked saxophonist David Graham's last gig, who had been touring with the band since August 2009 - Graham rejoined however in 2020. [30] When Graham left the band, they hired Dean Loach to join on keyboards and guitar, officially dropping the real saxophone instrument for the first time, with the sax effect being played on Loach's keys instead.
In 2013, the band celebrated its 40th anniversary and undertook a UK-wide tour between 11 January and 1 June. On 17 June 2013, the band released a new collection of its entire studio recordings to celebrate their anniversary. The anthology featured the band's entire 20th century catalogue of recorded material, including all of their original studio albums in mini-vinyl replica wallets, non-album A and B sides, together with a selection of alternative mixes and unreleased rarities unearthed from the vaults, in a 139-track, 10-CD box set. A 36-page booklet included a 7,000-word liner note from Showaddywaddy expert Steve Thorpe, and an introduction from former band member Dave Bartram. June 2013 also saw the release of their only live album to date. It contained 16 of their most famous tracks. This album was only available at live gigs with a pressing of only 1,000 copies.
Buddy Gask died on 7 June 2011 after suffering with ill health for a number of years. [31]
Bartram did his first solo post-Showaddywaddy appearance on 1 November 2013, at Upstairs At The Western, a venue above The Western pub in Leicester, where he was interviewed by a compere and took questions from the audience in an "evening with"–type format. He also performed three acoustic numbers on the night, "Smiling Eyes", "Three Steps To Heaven" and "Hey Rock And Roll" – the performance of "Smiling Eyes" was the song's first live performance, having been originally released some 38 years earlier on the 1975 Step Two album.
In June 2014, Showaddywaddy completed the "Once In A Lifetime" arena tour, with Bay City Rollers (starring Les McKeown), David Essex, and The Osmonds. [32] The same month saw the reissue of Showaddywaddy's 2008 The Sun Album (I Betcha Gonna Like It), which contained two new tracks.
Al James died on 16 November 2018 after falling down the stairs in his Market Harborough home. [33] [34] [35]
Rod Deas retired from the band early in 2019, playing his last gig with Showaddywaddy at The Qube in Corby on Friday 25 January. Dave Bartram returned to the stage to give Rod a farewell speech before the second set. Guitarist Ray Hatfield (who joined January 2017 when Paul Dixon left), keyboardist Dean Loach, and bassist Billy Norman (who joined the band in January 2018) all left Showaddywaddy in the summer of 2020. This occured during the Covid lockdown, and the band had stopped performing since March. Norman was replaced by Tom Bull, and Loach was replaced by Chris Savage of Mud II in August, but he left a month later after only ten gigs; [36] Graham rejoined the band on saxophone, guitar, and bass, reintroducing the actual saxophone since he initially in 2011. Former guitarist Danny Willson returned to play with the band in September 2021 on a temporary arrangement.
On 1 December 2021, Billy Shannon and Sam Holland were added into the group. [37] [38] Shannon left the band on 1 November 2024. His last gig was at a Pontins in Pakefield. Former guitarist Danny Wilson played a one-off with the band the following day, in Kettering, and it was later announced by the band that Wilson would continue to perform with the band until early 2025, when Shannon's replacement, Ed Handoll, will be ready to tour full time.
In September 2022, around £2,000 worth of merchandise fell out off their tour van, and were taken by an unknown amount of persons. [39] Challenger's wife eventually found some of the stock for sale on EBay, which were traced back to a Salvation Army shop in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. [39] The shops owner claimed they were dropped off at a clothes bank. [39] The shop returned all the remaining clothes for free. Challenger and his wife, Dawn, donated to the same Salvation Army shop as a way of thanking them. [39]
Showaddywaddy have continued to tour, and still do around 100 dates a year in the UK and Europe. The band currently consists of one remaining original member, Romeo Challenger, along with saxophonist/guitarist David Graham who rejoined the band in 2020 (having previously toured with the band 2009 to 2011) vocalist Andy Pelos, bass player Tom Bull, guitarist and drummer Sam Holland, and vocalist and guitarist Ed Handoll. [40]
In November 2024, to celebrate 50 years since its release, the song "Hey Mister Christmas" (originally released 15 November 1974 [41] ) was re–issued. The song entered the UK Vinyl singles charts a week later, peaking at number one, their first number one single since "Under the Moon of Love" in 1976. [42]
Bold = New member in the lineup
Italics = Original member
Period | Members |
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1973 – ? 1984 |
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? 1984 – July 1985 |
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July – August 1985 |
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August 1985 – September 1987 |
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September 1987 – ? 1995 |
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1995 – 20 December 2008 |
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20 December 2008 – 1 May 2009 |
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1 May – July 2009 |
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July – August 2009 [19] |
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August 2009 – 3 December 2011 [30] |
|
3 December 2011 – January 2012 [44] |
|
January 2012 – January 2017 |
|
January – February 2017 |
|
February 2017 – January 2018 [53] |
|
January 2018 – January 2019 [54] |
|
January 2019 – March 2020 |
|
March – August 2020 [52] [53] [54] |
|
August – September 2020 [45] |
|
September 2020 – September 2021 |
|
September – 26 November 2021 |
|
26 – 27 November 2021 |
|
27 November – 1 December 2021 |
|
1 December 2021 – 1 November 2024 [38] [37] |
|
2 – 8 November 2024 |
|
8 November – 1 December 2024 |
|
1 – 4 December 2024 |
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4 – 20 December 2024 |
|
20 December 2024 – present |
|
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