The Hamsters | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Southend-on-Sea, England |
Genres | Blues rock, R&B, Americana, rockabilly |
Years active | 1987–2012 |
Members | Snail's-Pace Slim Rev Otis Elevator Ms Zsa Zsa Poltergeist |
Website | www.thehamsters.co.uk |
The Hamsters were a British band from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
They performed their first live show at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, on 1 April 1987, and their last at The Half Moon, Putney on 1 April 2012, exactly 25 years later. They initially played in local pubs with no ambitions to take themselves seriously or to turn professional. [1] As the band ethos was to combine humour with music [2] two members of the original band (and later all three) used light-hearted and parodying pseudonyms as stage names. [3] The original line-up was Snail's-Pace Slim on vocals and guitar, Rev Otis Elevator on drums and Andy Farrell on bass. Andy Billups, aka Ms Zsa Zsa Poltergeist, replaced Farrell on bass in 1988.
The band's name was based on a pseudonym used by the Sex Pistols. [4]
Their first performances were in local pubs in and around Southend as a part of the area's well-known R&B scene which had begun in the 1960s; they initially formed for their own amusement [5] and didn't take themselves too seriously. [6] Their bookings quickly started to increase as an increasing number of local music fans requested venues to book them. [7] Eventually it was decided to turn professional and slowly they started getting bookings from venues further afield. During 1988–1990 they released a limited run of four cassette releases of their music until they released their first CD in 1990, titled "Electric Hamsterland" as a parody of the Hendrix "Electric Ladyland" album. There was also a limited run of vinyl LPs of the album.
The group constantly toured throughout UK and occasionally mainland Europe. [8] Described as "Britain's most popular and hardworking pub-rock band", [9] by March 2009, the band claimed to have performed more than 4,000 shows, [1] including supporting Albert Collins and Status Quo. [10] [11] During 2006 and 2007 they joined Wilko Johnson and John Otway to perform The Mad, The Bad & The Dangerous tour. Their track Route 666, from the album of the same name, was played over the end credits of low budget British horror film Stag Night of the Dead . [12]
The Hamsters played their final two gigs on 1 April 2012, at The Half Moon, Putney, exactly 25 years after their first.
The Hamsters were called Britain's leading interpreters of the music of Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top. [13] [14] and so were called a blues rock band, although they were not a tribute band : "they take the music and push it a little further in the direction originally intended". [15] These covers made up only a small part of their playlist, the majority being Americana. [16]
Apart from Slim's guitar virtuosity, [17] the band were known for their instrument swap during ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man. [18] The band would start the song in the regular configuration, and in the middle the two guitarists would make their way from the stage into the audience, where they would swap instruments and make their way back to the stage, where Slim would swap with Otis on drums, and would finish the song with Zsa Zsa on lead guitar, Otis on bass, and Slim on drums, all without missing a beat of the song. [19]
The Hamsters' lead singer and guitar player, Snail's-Pace Slim (Barry Martin) has been part of the Southend music scene for many years. He formerly played in various Essex-based bands including Dr Feelgood, the Kursaal Flyers and the Old Pals Act (with bassist Dave Bronze and Robin Trower's brother Brad). He was voted one of the top 100 guitarists of all time in a radio poll on LBC. [20]
Slim also contributes technical articles to guitar magazines, and was featured in the September 1994 edition of Guitar Techniques. Slim was asked by the magazine to contribute a monthly recorded lesson on how to play the blues for inclusion on the CD which accompanied every issue. He was also included in the Guitarist Magazine Book of Guitar Players, published in 1994. [21] In 2007 Slim was interviewed as part of a 3-hour video documentary about the Fender Stratocaster titled Stratmasters, [22] and in August 2008 he was interviewed by Guitarist for their October 2008 issue. [23]
His stage name was selected as a parody of old time blues players such as Lightnin' Slim. [24]
Named after seeing a manufacturer's name plate at the base of an escalator in a local shopping mall, Rev Otis Elevator (Alan Parish) was the drummer of the Hamsters. He was born in Edmonton in 1951 and is largely self-taught as a musician. [25] Before joining the Hamsters, he worked with various Top 40 bands, as well as playing radio and TV jingles. [26] He also provided back-up vocals and plays bass during the traditional Hamsters' finale. [18]
Ms Zsa Zsa Poltergeist (Andy Billups) was the last bass player. He had replaced original member Andy Farrell in 1988. In 1992 he left the band, after he was diagnosed with focal dystonia, affecting his right hand. He was replaced by Dave Bronze. In 1994, after having re-learned the bass using a custom-designed thumb-pick, [27] he rejoined the band when Bronze left to join Eric Clapton's band.
In 2011, Billups released a solo album Afton Down, in a more "folky" style than The Hamsters material, which does not credit any contributions by Martin or Parish. [28] From 2017 onwards, Billups has been the bass player with the Free tribute band, Tons of Sobs. [29]
His name was based on the name of an incidental character from the BBC radio comedy show Round The Horne .
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music."
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Electric Hamsterland (1990) was The Hamsters first LP and CD release and consists entirely of Jimi Hendrix covers. This was the only time they recorded an album of totally non-original material. There was a limited release of the album in vinyl LP form.
Hamster Jam (1991) was The Hamsters second CD but first live CD only release. It was recorded live with no overdubs.
The Hamsters (1993) was The Hamsters third CD release. It was a studio album utilising more production techniques than previous releases. This was also the first Hamsters album to use additional session musicians.
The Jimi Hendrix Memorial Concerts: 1995 is a live, double CD composed entirely of Jimi Hendrix covers. It is The Hamsters fifth CD release.
Condensed Hamsters (1990) is a Hamsters album that was originally released only as an audio cassette compilation of the four original cassette only albums that were only available from the band's gigs. They never received a national distribution. Eventually the band stopped producing the tape albums, including this compilation, when their CD releases started to become popular.
Open All Hours (2004) is The Hamsters ninth album. It was recorded during a hectic touring schedule June/July 2003.
By a Thread is the ninth studio album by American Southern rock jam band Gov't Mule. The album was released on October 27, 2009, by Evil Teen Records. It is the first album to feature bassist Jorgen Carlsson, who joined the band in 2008, replacing Andy Hess.
John Rockford "Rocky" Hill was an American blues guitarist, singer, and bassist from Dallas, Texas, United States. Hill was the older brother of ZZ Top bassist, Dusty Hill.