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PAGE UPDATED: March, 2007
Hayden Thompson CD Review
Review: Rockers Reunion Weekend, 2007
Songs of John D. Loundermilk
All Star DooWop Weekend
Rhythm Riot No. 10 (Review)
Wildest Cats in Town '06
New Jerry Jaye CD
Hemsby #36
Rockabilly Rave No. 10
23rd Annual Rockers Reunion
Review: Rhythm Riot No. 9
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 35
HAYDEN THOMPSON, 'Rockabilly Rhythm'
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 34
Tony Wilkinson Reviews Green Bay Fest II
Rockabilly Rave No. 9
Rhythm Riot No. 8
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 33
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 32
Rockabilly Rave No. 08.
Rhythm Riot #7
HEMSBY Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 31, October 2003
ROCK 'N' ROLL FROM DOWN UNDER (PART THREE)
BILL FLAGG - Guitar Rock - CD
ROMAN SELF, A Tribute to Ronnie Self - CD
MATT LUCAS 'I'm Moving On'
Early Rock & Roll From New Zealand Vols. 5 & 6
TERRY LEE & THE WILD ONES
Rockin' 50's Fest - Oneida Casino'
Bill Haley and His Comets: 'Vive La Rock 'n' Roll'
HEMSBY #28 - In Review
HUELYN DUVALL / CDs
HUELYN DUVALL / THE HOUSEROCKERS
THE AQUATONES - '40 Years Later'
2 CD Reviews: THE ADVENGERS and THE RHYTHMAIRES
2CD: Rocky Burnette, Darrel Higham & The Enforcers
2 CD Reviews: HUELYN DUVALL
Review: Rhythm Riot No. 5
Early Rock & Roll From New Zealand Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4
Gene Vincent: "Town Hall Party TV Shows 1958/1959
Book Reviews: "The Wild One" & "Long Distance Information"
Hemsby Rock & Roll Weekender #27
VLV 4 - Five Days, Five Days of Rockin' 'n' Rollin'
EDDIE COCHRAN - Town Hall Party TV Shows 1959
ROCKIN' AUSTRALIA - PART TWO - SEVERAL CDs
EDDIE SULIK / THE ECHOES CD - 'Sweet Memories'
BILLY ADAMS CD
Winter Party Rockers Reunion Review
RHYTHM RIOT No. 04 - REVIEW
Spo-Dee-O-Dee - Texasbilly Rockers - Foggy Mountain Rockers
VARIOUS ARTISTS "Bop 'n' Roll Party"
CHARLIE RYAN - "Hot Rod Lincoln"
CHAS MCDEVITT SKIFFLE GROUP
Various Artists - "Teenage Cruisers"
TRITONS - "Saturday Night At The Duckpond"
VERNON TAYLOR - "Now And Then"
3 CD: Various Artists - Charlie Rich - Frankie Ford
WILD BOB BURGOS
Dick Darmron, Alvis Wayne, Kenny Vance CDs
EDDIE SULIK "A Farewell Legacy"
LARRY DONN "The New Recordings"
RAY SMITH CD - "The Complete Wix Sessions Of Ray Smith"
DALE WATSON - The Borderline, London
TRIBUTE CDs - Perkins, Holly, Presley, Cochran
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Lamar, Sutch, Wells, Pierce
GENE VINCENT & EDDIE COCHRAN - "Rock 'n' Roll Memories"
EDDIE BOND - "The Memphis Bopper"
VARIOUS ARTISTS - "Rock-A-Ballads/Rock-A-Hits"
ROCKIN' IN LONDON TOWN, July 10-13, 2000
VIVA LAS VEGAS 3 In Review
IAN CALFORD & THE BRAKEMEN: "Strapped For Cash" - CD Review
Di MAGGIO BROTHERS: "Rockabilly From The Boots Up" - CD Review
RICK HOLLOW: "Swing Your Hips" - CD Review
LEROY DAVIS: "Play It Cool" - CD Review
MOON MULLICAN & THE SHOWBOYS - and - BONNIE LOU - CD Reviews
GRAHAM FENTON'S MATCHBOX - "Rockabilly Rebel - CD Review
WANDA JACKSON - "Rock Around The Eiffel Tower" - CD Review
HAWKSHAW HAWKINS and ZEB TURNER - 2 CD Reviews
EARL LEWIS & THE CHANNELS: "The Best of Take One & Take Two" - CD Review
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Wolf Call" - CD Review
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Mickey B's Juke Box Review Volume 1" - CD Review
BOBBY LOWELL: "Rocka Boogie/Rocka Billy: Just Won't Stop!" - CD Review
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Cash On Delivery" - CD Review
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Alter Of Dreams" - CD Review
TOMMY BRUCE: "The London Boy" - CD Review
THE PLANOTONES: "Teenage Jazz" - CD Review
A Look at Gary Byrant
Various Artists - "For 20 Ar Sedan" - CD Review
The Winter Rock 'N' Roll Party - Show Review
Various Artists CD - "Talk About A Party! - The Crest Records Story"
Rhythm Riot No. 03 - Show Review
Eddie Fontaine CD - "Cool It Baby"
Huey Piano Smith - Frankie Ford - Jimmy Clanton
Various Artists - "Twistin' Time Volume 1 and Volume 2"
Bobby Lowell & Jim Cidlikn" - 3 "45s"
The Paladins CD, "Slippin' In"
Paul Evans CD, "I Was Part Of The Fifties"
Various Artists CD, Fernwood R&R
Vernon Taylor
Danny Gatton & Robert Gordon
Alvis Wayne, Darrell Higham, Railmen (Show Review)
Rock & Roll Down Under - Multiple Artists
Various Artists: Mark Lamarr's Roc-King Up A Storm"
Various Artists: Hi Records-The Early Years Vols. 1 + 2
Everly Brothers: "Live In Paris"
Sonny West: Rockola "Ruby/Sweet Rockin' Baby"
Cochran/Vincent "Town Hall Party"CD Review
Golden Crest Instrumentals
Hardrock Gunter
30 Original Historic Rockabilly Classics Vol. 2
As Art Ontario 1957-1962/As Art Buchanan 1991-1993
32 Original Historic Rockabilly CLASSICS
Fernwood Rockabillies CD
Don Weise Hillbilly Cat CD
Gene Vincent, Vinyl
Warner Mack, CD
Mike Berry & The Outlaws, CD
Vipers Skiffle Group, Vinyl
Gary Tollet w/the Crickets, Vinyl
Wanda Jackson's Show
Bobby Wayne
.
AMERICAN MUSIC MAGAZINE
A POTTED HISTORY
One of the foremost specialist music magazines in Europe (especially in the
Scandinavia region) is the quality American Music Magazine, a non-profit
making concern which is dedicated to all things real rock 'n' roll.
The magazine came about during a meeting in May 1979 between Bo Berglind,
Claes-Hakan Olofsson, Erik Larsson, Bertil Jansson and Christer Malmstedt at
Vessigebro, Southern Sweden with the joint intentions of spreading the word
of original and true rock 'n' roll and bringing rock 'n' roll originators to
Sweden. It was quickly realised by the participants that the best way of
achieving these laudable aims was to launch a r 'n' r magazine and the first
issue was in September 1979 - with the featured artist being rockabilly
great Jack Earls.
The magazine quickly went from strength to strength and obtained a wide and
steady readership in the Scandinavia area. The magazine was and is published
quarterly and it is the magazine's proud boast that not one issue has been
missed since its launch.
Around 1981, Bertil Jansson was unfortunately killed in an accident when his
car stalled on a level crossing but his place was taken by Erik (Bad Boy)
Petersson in 1982 and Erik remains a core member of the AMM team to this
very day. 1982 also saw the first USA visit by Berglind and Larsson when the
intrepid duo met up with Janice Martin, Mickey Hawks and Carl Perkins plus
attended the Rocky Burnette "Get Hot Or Go Home"recording session - there
were also numerous (mis)adventures on this trip but a veil will be drawn
over those.
Larsson was struck down by the terrible M. S. disease upon his return from
this trip and so had to leave the production staff of AMM. Christer
Malmstedt had launched his Rock & Country Record label in the late sixties
and his continued heavy involvement with releases lead to his connection
with the magazine gradually fading away. However the remainder of the
founding fathers remain actively involved and were joined by Tony Wilkinson
as the UK representative in 1993 - as a result of a particularly wild Hemsby
Rock 'n' Roll Weekender. Morton Reff has also joined as the AMM man in
Norway.
The magazine helped The Sun Rhythm Section become a significant touring act
in Northern Europe and was instrumental in establishing Rocky Burnette as a
known name. In 1995, AMM bought Jerry Jaye and Darlene Battles to 'Sweden
for their first ever concert dates outside of the USA - these were followed
the same year by appearances in the UK.
AMM is proud of the fact that the first major articles on many r 'n' r
originators have appeared in their pages, all of which were and are
accompanied by a wonderful and extensive selection of photographs (many
being published for the first time) and generally a full discography.
Artists who have recently been featured include Jimmy Swan, Eddie Cash, Joe
Turner, Lloyd Arnold, Vernon Taylor, Johnny Kidd, Conway Twitty, Jeff Stone,
Joyce Green, Bobby Wayne, Don Weise, Carl Mann, Van Broussard, Troy
Shondell, Mickey Lee Lane, Vernon Green & The Medallions etc. etc.
Forthcoming issues will contain the Specialty label story and similar on the
Golden Crest group of labels, the last mentioned will be the first all
English language issue of AMM.
The magazine has an extensive list of contacts all over the rock 'n' roll
world and is really appreciative of their invaluable help and assistance,
none more so than the rocker from Bono, Arkansas - Larry Donn.
If you want to join the ever increasing band of readers,
annual subscriptions (four issues) are available from
Erik Petersson,
Stangebergsv 3,
426 68 Vastra Frolunda, Sweden
as follows:
For Sweden: - 150 SW. Crowns
For elsewhere in Europe (apart from UK) - 180 Sw. Crowns
For rest of the World - $30 (US)
For the UK and Ireland, contact:
Tony Wilkinson,
4 North Street,
Great Wakering,
Southend on Sea,
Essex, SS3 OEL, England
(fax number Int. + UK Codes + 1702 218 8 50)
for which anannual subscription is £15.00 (UK).
Sample copies are available at 40 Sw. Crowns/$8.00 (US) post paid.
If any further information is wanted,
please contact the editor,
Bo Berglind, Kungsgatan 1,
432 40 Varberg, Sweden
(fax Int.+ Swedish Codes + 340 877 24).
.
Review: Pontins Holiday Centre, Camber,
England 9th to 13th March 2006
Rockabilly Rave No. 10
The tenth annual Rockabilly Rave demonstrated that this festival has grown from its small beginnings
to an international affair. There were literally people and acts from all over the world in
attendance. There was a particularly strong representation from our Continental friends with
German, Dutch, French and Spanish languages heard as frequently as English. This was no doubt partly
due to the closeness of the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover.
The bill was cleverly constructed with three distinct entities, new(ish) young bands such as the Mad
Men from Croatia, acts that spearheaded the rockabilly revival in the seventies with the likes of
High Noon and Buzz Wayne plus a couple of originators in the form of Janis Martin and Sonny Burgess.
With attendance announced as being in excess of 3,000 people, the joint was jumpin' to top notch
rockin' sounds.
Business commitments prevented myself from attending on the opening day on Thursday and so I
unfortunately missed Big Sandy + The Flyrite Boys from the USA, The Go Getters (from Sweden), The
Tin Stars (from Holland) and The Skiprats (UK). However, reports I received the next day were all
confirmatory and that the main hall was like a Saturday night out with Big Sandy playing an awesome
set and that the Go Getters received a tumultuous reception with their heavily punk tinged
rockabilly.
Friday, 10th March 2006
Opening act was the UK band The Infernos followed by the first of the rockabilly revival acts,
namely Buzz Wayne who had been a popular act in the seventies and eighties leading Buzz & the
Flyers. For myself, this was the first time of viewing and it became quickly apparent that I had
missed (up to now) a quality act. Buzz possesses an exciting reasonably powerful voice and coupled
this with a first rate animated stage presence. He had an excellent backing band that featured the
great Sean Mencher on lead guitar. Stepping on to the stage in a three piece suit and an Ollie
Hardy style hat, it was straight into a mixture of originals such as 'From Every Walk Of Life'
'Crazy Girl You' with good covers in the form of an excellent 'Little Pig' and 'Sixteen Tons'.
Buzz really mixed up styles and tempos and excelled on the Gene Vincent tunes 'Pretty Baby' and
'Dance To the Bop'. After stripping off the jacket and hat, it was clear that he was giving the
show his all, with bucket loads of sweat pouring off him. Other notable performances were his
workouts on 'Everybody's Moving' and 'My Baby Can't Be Satisfied'. Suitably impressed, I hope to
be able to catch further Buzz Wayne shows.
Next up was man who in my books can do virtually no wrong, namely the Arkansas wild man, a 73 years
young Sonny Burgess. He had bought over Pacers drummer Bobby Crafford and piano man Kearn Kennedy
with him and the remainder of the backing group comprised the Swiss/Austrian band Mars Attack who
had backed up Sonny at the Green Bay festival in 2005. Sonny stepped on the stage a picture of
sartorial elegance dressed in black trilby, bright red jacket, black shirt with white spots and
black trousers. After a warm-up instrumental, it straight into the rockin' with 'My Bucket' Got A
Hole In It' and 'We Wanna Boogie' followed by Bobby Crafford taking the lead vocals on 'Mathilda'
and 'Ain't Got No Home'. Sonny appeared a little agitated and he called upon the stage technicians
to rectify amplifier problems. The reason for this became clear when he advised that this
performance was being recorded. Back to Sonny for 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' and 'Higher' before Crafford
took over again with 'Wipe Out' (playing the drums blindfolded) and 'Forty Days'. Clearly, Sonny
was still concerned as he sang 'Wings of an Angel' and 'Find My Baby For Me'. After calling the
technicians back to the stage, the set really took off with 'Ain't Got A Thing', 'Sadie Brown' and
'Red Headed Woman'. On the last mentioned, two drummers were featured and the entire ensemble did
the 'Bug Dance' that Sonny advised had been lifted from Roy Orbison's Teen Kings. The stage was a
picture now of wild rockin' with Sonny in powerful voice and the rest of the musicians hammering
away like there was no tomorrow. 'Tear It Up' was then segued into 'Red Head Woman' before we were
treated to a wild 'Rock 'n' Roll Ruby' and Kearn Kennedy hammering the key boards into submission of
'K K Boogie Woogie'.
Showing no signs of wanting to leave the stage, despite the house lights flashing, the 75 minute
long act finally closed out with a medley of 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On and 'Gone Gone Gone',
'Ain't Got No Home' and 'Don't Be Cruel'. The person standing next to me described this performance
'as good as it gets'. No further comment needed.
The live rockin' on Friday night concluded with an appearance by the original line-up of The Dave
'n' Deke Combo. This included the two original upright bass players, the original drummer and was,
so we were informed, the first time that this line-up had played together for thirteen years.
Coming on to the stage dressed as country hicks, they blasted their way into a rockin' orbit. At
times, the cornball humour got a tad tiresome, but the quality of musicianship overcame this every
time. Fronted by Dave Stuckey and Deke Dickerson, the group gave out with a right ol' mixture of
hillbilly with heavy lashings of rockabilly music served up complete with dashes of western swing.
The songs ranged from covers of tunes such as the Sparkletones 'Maybe Baby' and Jimmy C Newman's
'Carry On' to originals like 'Baby You Ain't As Dumb as You Look' and 'Tally Ho' There was an
amusing send up of the song 'In The Ghetto' which was rechristened 'In The Meadow' with suitably
adapted lyrics. I particularly enjoyed 'Chrome Dome' and 'No Good Woman' and especially their
rendition of 'Goin' Steady with The Blues '. Their versatility, especially that of Deke, was
demonstrated on 'Chicken Picker' which featured various style of guitar playing such as that of Joe
Maphis, Scotty Moore and Duane Eddy. For an encore, the band came back on stage in one-piece bright
red underwear and rocked away on 'I Am My Own Grandpa'. A fine show that went down well with the
audience at 2:00 am in the morning - but one can understand why Deke Dickerson has gone on to do his
own thing.
Saturday, 11th March 2006
Before we go into the performances in the main hall, it is best to describe the general scene.
Dotted through out the venue were clothing stalls, record stalls and general bric a brac stalls.
There was also the camp radio serviced by top jocks and presenters like Del Villareal from Detroit.
Downstairs in the secondary hall, every afternoon, there were a series of performances such as that
by Kim Lenz backed up the reasonable Spanish Jaguars group. She turned in a pleasant performance on
such ditties as 'You Made A Hit' 'Kiss And Tell Baby' and 'Got A Lot Of Rhythm'. There were too
many up-tempo numbers; in fact, there was only one slow song in the fine reading of 'Thinking About
You'. There was also an indoor Hot Rod show and the now standard Sunday morning flea market. Bars
were open for much of the day as was the cafeteria.
However, we digress. The night's performances in the main hall kicked off with Marti Brom, now
based in Austin, Texas. What does one say about this lady? She has a top-notch voice capable of
singing rock 'n' roll, country, western swing, plus is a stunning looker and has great stage
presence. Have I gone overboard? No way! She is all the foregoing in one package, and then more.
(I shall retreat to my darkened room before completing this segment of the review). Opening up
with 'That Crazy Beat', she was backed-up by a superb bunch of musicians including the divine Lisa
Pankratz on drums (I will have to stop this as I am giving away 'my dirty old man' persona). The
musical content ranged from the pure country of 'Stop This World', 'Whole Lot Of Lonesome' and
'Whiskey Six Years Old' to raucous rockers like 'Tomcat' and a superb version of Joyce Green's
'Black Cadillac'. She sang with heart wrenching anguish on 'Blue Tattoo', 'Wicked White Lies',
shimmied like crazy on 'Three Hearts Later', strutted around the stage on 'Fallin' and rocked like
no tomorrow on 'Great Shakin' Fever'. This was truly memorable.
We remained with Austin based rockers for the next performers. It was back to early rockabilly
revivalists with the original line-up of High Noon. Well not quite, as bass player Kevin Smith was
unable to appear due to his current engagement behind Dwight Yoakam. Chicago's finest, Jimmy
Sutton, took his place, alongside Shaun Young on vocals/rhythm guitar and Sean Mencher of lead
guitar/occasional vocals. Notice there was no drummer but, boy, did they lay down a cracking beat
between them in a fast-paced act. The vocals from Young were fine, especially on 'Rockin' Wildcat',
'Hanging From The Old Oak Tree', Rattlesnake' and 'Movie Magg'. There was a spell binding
instrumental from Sean Mencher that, I believe, was titled 'Comanche Moon' and another stand out
number in the set was 'Blue Bonnet Boogie'. The quality of musicianship up there on the stage was
oh so high, as was the entertainment value. All too soon, they had reached the end of their
allotted time, but there was (in effect) more to come the next night.
The next act was another personal favourite, the top rockin' lady Janis Martin. This was a set of
vintage Janis numbers such as 'Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll', 'Alright Baby', 'Billy Boy', 'Ooby Dooby,
and 'Crackerjack'. On 'Let's Elope Baby', Miss Mary Ann joined her to duet on lead vocals and this
worked well. However, Janis appeared to be concerned with the playing by her backing band The
Ragtime Wranglers. Musically, they played well but did lack that raucous spark. Essentially, they
were playing in a hillbilly style whereas Janis's music commands the more raucous edge of a
rockabilly outfit. Janis, being the first rate performer that she is, managed to effectively
overcome this difficulty with good humour as she shimmied her way through 'Bang Bang', Barefoot
Baby' and 'Good Love'. Once she donned her own guitar, the set really ignited. We were then
regaled with 'Hard Rockin' Mama' and 'My Boy Elvis'. This had developed into vintage Martin. She
concluded her set with a Presley medley of 'My Baby Left Me/Good Rockin' Tonight/C C Rider' and
'Johnny B Good'. If one judge's popularity of a performer by the length of the autograph queue
after a performance, and it is a good yardstick, then Janis achieved top rating. She was still
signing over 75 minutes later when the concluding act of the night, The Mad Men, took the stage.
Now this is a young band, who presented a mixture of original songs and covers in a frantic style.
Too much so for my taste as one number began to blur into another with a distinct lack of musical
finesse. That said, they drew a big response from the audience with numbers such as 'Boo Hoo',
'Rockabilly Ball' and 'Til the Law Says Stop'.
Again, I retreated a happy bunny to my lonely room for the night.
Sunday, 12th March 2006
For openers on the final night, we had the German band Ike & The Capers who were followed by Charlie
Thompson (UK) and Miss Mary Ann who played a heavily rockabilly tinged hillbilly set. Backing was
again by the Ragtime Wranglers but this time around, their picking was wholly appropriate. The
majority of songs were served up as duets, and included 'Do The Bop With Me', 'Don't Lie',
Claudette' and a lovely 'I Wonder If I Care As Much'. Each performed a solo number with Miss Mary
Ann singing 'Crazy' and Charlie treating us to an authentic treatment of 'Slowly I'm Falling'. This
was a good time music set, pleasing on both the eyes and the ears. Other good renditions included
'Gee Whiz Baby', 'In the Jailhouse Now', The Louvin Brothers 'My Baby's Gone', Jimmy & Johnny's
'Sweet Singing Daddy' and James O'Gwynne's 'Trying To Forget You'.
The next act was billed as a Ronnie Dawson Tribute. I am always wary of such well-meant events that
frequently fail to deliver. However as the band assembled on the stage, I just knew that there
were no such worries on this occasion. Up there stood High Noon (Shaun Young, Sean Mencher and
Jimmy Sutton) plus sitting behind the drums was the delectable Lisa Pankratz, all musicians who had
often performed with Ronnie. For the second lead guitar, they were joined by Deke Dickerson.
After a fitting introduction by Chris Dawson (Ronnie's widow), it was straight into a wild rockin'
set with all concerned giving a one hundred per cent. Jimmy sang lead on 'Red Hot Music', Shaun on
'Monkey's Uncle 'and back to Jimmy on 'Rockinitis'. The music flowed, the action was wild (I cannot
recall having see Shaun so animated previously) and the excitement coming from the stage could not
have been bettered. There were guest lead vocalists such as Peter Sandberg (Go Getters) on 'Shim
Sham Shimmy', Big Sandy performing two brilliant songs with 'I Make The Love' and 'Congratulations
To Me' plus Marti Brom on 'Knock Down Dragout'. I guess that the majority of lead vocals were
carried out by Shaun and he rocked like a madman (but with effect) on 'Action Packed', 'Rockin'
Bones' and 'Home Cookin'. The entire ensemble returned to the stage for 'Monkey Beat'. I doubt if
any of the performers had anymore to give, this had been sheer brilliance.
The close out act for the festival was Scotland's High Voltage. After the last set, they had to
spend a bit of time and effort cranking up the audience. That they succeeded is to their credit and
they got better as the act proceeded. They set about tearing down the barriers with 'Honky Tonk
Man', 'All I Can Do Is Cry' and 'Let's Rock Tonight'. Mention must be made here that the lead
guitarist could have passed feature wise as a young Keith Richards, quite fascinating. Clearly,
another high energy band, they knew how to work the audience as they gave out with 'I'm Heading
Home', 'Shadow My Baby', a fine version of white Tommy Tucker's 'You Don't Love Me (Uh Huh Huh)' and
'Foxy Dan'. Most lead vocals were handled by Vince Turner but the occasional spot was dealt with
adequately by the drummer. A slight jarring note to the performance was the occasional use of bad
language that added nothing to the performance. The set closed out with 'Please Don't Go',
'Miserlou and 'Jump Start Boogie', all of which were performed with a heavy edge.
Everyone that I talked to commented how much they were enjoying themselves. This bodes well for the
future of our music and for the continuation of this festival. Long may all this continue ...
Promoter Jerry Chatabox advised that next year's event will again top everything to date, that will
take some doing.
© Tony Wilkinson
March 2006
.
Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading, England - Saturday, 21st January 2006
MARVIN THE MAGNIFICENT:
23rd ANNUAL ROCKERS REUNION
Top Cats
Sandy Ford's Flying Saucers
Johnny Red
Dave Savage
MARVIN RAINWATER
Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers
Again, the year's rockin' in the UK kicked off with the annual Rockers Reunion held at the
Rivermead Leisure Complex, an easily accessible and relatively spacious complex located on west
side of Redding. Attendance was again well up on the event held in 2005. To go along with
the music, there were the now standard well-stocked bars, cafeteria plus record and
clothes stalls. A strong feature of this event is that it is a melting pot of age
groups, but all gathered there were clearly intent on enjoying themselves dancing
to and watching rock 'n' roll.
Due to conflicting pressures, I missed Top Cats who were the opening act but there
was an evident buzz around the venue when I arrived in time to catch a portion of
Sandy Ford's Flying Saucers. Sandy has been on the scene since the seventies and
this was evident in his stagecraft. Professional and rockin' with a passion, this
is one band that I always appreciate watching. It was soon on to the next act,
Johnny Red, who was the lead singer with Johnny & the Jailbirds. Delivering a mix
of rock 'n' roll standards such as 'Judy', 'Promised Land' ' 'Lonely Blue Boy' and
'Believe What You Say' along with original numbers like 'Sexy Eyes' and 'West Coast
Rock 'n' Roll' (from his days with his previous outfit) this was a pleasing
performance. On stage, Johnny exudes stage mannerisms to those witnessed at a
Shakin' Stevens show. Indeed, there were vocal similarities. This is no bad
thing and fitted with the night' scenario of straight in your face good ol' r'n'r.
Not quite knowing what to expect from the next act, I received a pleasant jolt.
This was Dave Savage with his tribute to the late Screaming Lord Sutch, with more
that a dash of Screamin' Jay Hawkins thrown in for good measure. There must have
been a small truckload of props on the stage and there were constant costume
changes throughout the performance. Entering on to the stage complete with cape
and top hat, it was evident that we were going to be in for a night of mayhem as
Dave launched into his lordship's 'Murder In the Graveyard', followed by Jay Hawkins
'Alligator Wine' that saw Henry, the skull on a stick, being paraded around the stage.
The Savages for the night were a bunch of first-rate musicians and special mention must
be made of the sax player. They kept up a constant thuddering rockin' beat whilst Dave
worked in every Sutch stage trick that he could think of. I lost count of the costume
variations during 'I'm A Hog For You Baby' but there was yet more to come in the set's
showpiece number 'Jack the Ripper'. This came complete with an attractive young lady
on stage having her arm amputated in a magic trick and Dave guillotining himself.
He also swallowed a sword and the trick 'seemingly went wrong' when fake blood cascaded
over his jaw from his mouth. Oh for sure, this was over the top stuff but most amusing
and entertaining. Towards the end of the set, Dave came on without any props and delivered
numbers such as 'Good Golly Miss Molly' and 'Boney Moronie' in his best (not in tune) Sutch
singing voice. Yes, I did enjoy this, bought back quite a few pleasant memories.
It was now time for the headliner of the night, namely Marvin Rainwater. Backed up
by The Hemsby Houseband with the lead guitar work being handled in a superb manner
Antonio Coni, it was straight into 'Love Me Baby (Like There's No Tomorrow)' and
it was quickly apparent that we were in for a magical performance. After singing
his 1958 UK number one hit 'Whole Lotta Woman', Marvin commented that he was then
34 years old and told that he was too old to be a rock 'n' roll star. Now 80 years
old he declared that he still loved to rock 'n' roll. Believe me; he was rockin'
out with the best.
With very little gap between numbers, he proceeded with 'Baby, Don't Go', 'I Dig
You Baby' and 'My Brand of Blues'. All quality songs performed in the best possible rock
'n' roll manner. You may get the correct impression that I was really enjoying this!
Following an inspired 'Mr. Blues', he then advised his favourite place in the UK was
'Newcastle Town' and the reason for this was his favourite drink Newcastle Brown.
He then sang a tribute in the form of 'Me And Newkie Brown' before delivering a
devastating 'Dance Me Daddy' that was originally titled 'Rock Me' before the record company
decided that this was too suggestive. Marvin's singing voice was in great shape and he had
a lovely guttural edge to the vocals, especially on the song 'Rockin' Down The Wall' that
he had previously advised was to be on his new CD but which has yet to appear Marvin,
I am waiting.. The set closed out with a new number 'Rockabilly Music Is Coming Down'
and the classics 'Boo Hoo' and 'Hot And Cold'. Forget the 'Starvin' Marvin'
tag as based on this performance; it has to be 'Marvin the Magnificent'.
The evening once again closed out with perennial Rockers Reunion favourites Crazy Cavan &
The Rhythm Rockers. I have previously made the comparison that they are the Status Quo
of rock 'n' roll. Like the Quo, they have their legion of followers who will go and
see them perform whenever they can. However, also like Quo, they appear to introduce
relatively little new material into their act. Instead, they decide to concentrate
on proven and perennial favourites. This was a good decision as far as the audience
at the Rivermead Leisure Centre was concerned and the band received their customary
enthusiastic response.
Once again, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and well worthwhile making the trek.
I am looking forward to next year's Rockers Reunion. However, before then, there
is oodles of good rock 'n' roll heading our way to salivate over: especially Hemsby
in May with Carl Mann, Bobby Brown (the guy who recorded for Vaden Records and not
the hubbie of Whitney Houston), Barrence Whitfield, Roddy Jackson (now that should
be a blinder), the Velours and Bobby 'One Way Ticket' Crown. Be there or be square.
© Tony Wilkinson
January 2006.
.
Camber Sands Holiday Centre, Rye, England - 25th to 28th November 2005
Review: Rhythm Riot No. 9
By Tony Wilkinson - All too soon, the time had come for the final major weekender of the year
and it was time to head off to Camber Sands on the south coast of England for the ninth Rhythm
Riot. This time, I did not have Mrs. Wilkinson and daughter Colinda along with myself as
the other offspring (known as Superbrat) had just produced her first sprog. If I am able
influence matters, the future of rock 'n' roll will be secure with introduction of young Master
Rory Keeble on to this planet. Mrs. Wilkinson' face was certainly beaming as I navigated the
car out of the drive and set off for an eclectic mixture of rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, honky
tonk, jump and jive, rhythm & blues and down-home dirty blues along with a few beers and the
hope of acquiring some rockin' wax.
Friday, 25th November 2005
After studying the programme, it became clear that Friday evening was Ladies Night. All the
acts and disc jockeys were of the female persuasion, and they produced some mighty fine music.
First act to take the stage in the main hall was Lil Rachel (USA) backed up by the Rhythm
Riot Kings of Rhythm. This attractive young lady is part of the Austin based Casey
Sisters who are scheduled to reform next year. That she possesses a great voice
became readily apparent as she launched into the LaVern Baker tune 'Whipper Snapper'
followed by tough rockin' interpretations of 'Dancing With Teardrops In My Eyes'
and 'Tough Lover'. As she raunchily strutted the stage demonstrating good stage presence,
the band started to cook. The set was a mixture of jumpin' R&B and ballads and other
standout songs were '12 O'clock' and 'Please Mr. Jailer'. This lady is a talent.
Annita & The Starbombers from Holland followed her, the latter are also known as The
Barnstompers. From the outset with 'Burn That Candle', it became apparent that we
were in for a rockin' treat. The vocals were spot on and the backing was sublime.
Annita proceeded to dance around the stage and thrill with such ditties as 'For Rent',
'I'm Waiting Just For You', 'What Good Would It Do Me' and an outstanding version of
the Brenda Lee song 'Bigelow 6-200'. This was music par excellance and more of the
same continued with the superb beat ballad 'Don't Ever Leave Again' before picking
up the tempo with 'The Big Bounce' and proceeding on with 'Not Anymore' and an
unusual but fine treatment of 'Mean Mean Man'. She closed out with 'These Mean
Hangover Blues'. The Netherlands keep producing first-rate rock 'n' roll musicians,
Annita is up there with the best of them.
It was now time for the first of the American headliners, Shirley Gunter.
As the lady is unfortunately partially sighted, she was escorted on to the stage by
her daughter, flowed by the previously mentioned Annita and Lil Rachel who were
to act as replacement Queens for the night. She started with 'Baby I Love You So'
and this was followed by 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme'. Unfortunately, the backing band
was not as one with her and she had been provided with a directional radio microphone.
It became apparent that her style is to sing sideways into the mike and thus it was
not always possible to hear her vocals with clarity. The set proceeded on with 'Ipsy
Opsie Ooh' and a tasty 'I'm Sorry'. She had the respect of the audience and this was
enhanced as Shirley served up 'Baby' I Love You So' and 'You're Mine' in which the two
aforementioned young ladies provided fine backing vocals. Shirley then sang 'Fortune
In Love' and 'It's You' before we were treated with the classic 'Oop Shoop'.
There was one encore with the apt 'Headin' Home'. For sure, the lady was popular
with the audience. The close out act for the first night was Candy Kane & Her Band.
This lady is certainly well endowed in all manner of ways.
Saturday, 26th November 2004
For openers, we were served up with the musical delights of the Swedish outfit The
Exposives who were followed on stage by Rusti Steel & The Red Hot Wranglers. Rusti
has of course been on the circuit for a number of years and on this occasion, he had a
seven piece line-up behind him consisting of twin fiddles, lead guitar, drums, upright
bass, acoustic guitar, saxophone whilst Rusti played a mean steel guitar. The music was
primarily western swing but with heavy rockabilly overtones, a pleasing blend that was
demonstrated on 'Crazy Man Crazy', 'San Antonio Rose', 'Roly Poly', a splendid 'Traffic Jam'
and a fine 'Teardrops From My Eyes'. The outfit had the dance floor full with 'Ballroom
Baby' and 'Real Rock Drive' before enabling the bum clutchers on the floor to hold each
other close with a splendid 'Sleep Walk'. Rusti has nice nasal overtone to his voice and
this was demonstrated on the Hank Williams classic 'I Saw the Light' before he closed out
with 'Rompin' And Stompin'. A tasty, varied and most enjoyable set.
To vary the musical styling, the next act Little George Sueref & The Blue Stars served
an authentic sounding R&B come Blues set. Opening up with 'Early One Morning', but with
a latin beat', the set continued with the likes Walter Horton's 'Little Boy Blue ' and
Howlin' Wolf's 'Built For Comfort'. It became apparent that Little George is his own
man and he often dropped into a searing high-pitched vocal styling, somewhat reminiscent
of Ted Taylor. Other tunes served up by the four man combo included 'Everyday About This
Time', Further On Down The Line' and 'Rhythm Rockin' Boogie'. It was then time for one
of my favourite acts from South Louisiana, Warren Storm who forsook his drummer's stool
for the night and concentrated on his vocals. Launching straight into 'Mama, Mama, Mama',
it was clear that we were in for a professional and tight rockin' set. We were not
disappointed as he continued with 'The Prisoner's Song', a great version of 'Send Me Some
Loving' and 'Lonely Lonely Nights'. Despite having caught a cold, or perhaps because of,
there was a good rasping edge to his vocals and this was amply demonstrated on 'Fannie Mae',
'Please Mr. Sandman', 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and a superlative treatment of Elton Anderson's
'Shed So Many Tears'. The pace and tempo was constantly varying, all adding to the exciting
mix. Clearly adept at utilizing the stage, Warren rocked away on 'Slow Down', the swamp
pop anthem 'Mathilda', a hard rockin' 'Lucille', a tasty 'Honest I Do' before closing
out with 'Sick And Tired'. This had been first-rate entertainment.
Next up was a guy who I had not previously seen, namely Californian resident Roy Gaines.
Backed up by the hard working Rhythm Riot Kings of Rhythm, but with a trumpet player added
for a fuller fatter sound, it was a set chock full of hard driving blues based rockin' music.
From the outset, it was non-stop action on the stage. Indeed, Roy played the guitar behind
his head in the opening number - and what a guitar player he truly is, one of the best that
I have seen. He started with an instrumental that segued into 'I'm Leaving This Town'
followed by 'Midnight Train'. The stage was a vision of wildness as he lay down on
the floor still playing the guitar with the sweat pouring off him. I only wished that
I had as much energy. Roy is as good a vocalist as he is a picker and this was amply
demonstrated on 'Everyday I Have The Blues', On the Outside Looking In' and a truly
wonderful 'Skippy Is A Sissy'. The last mentioned was a wonderful piece of hard driving
rock 'n' roll. Other songs featured in the sixty five minute set included 'Baby Please
Don't Go', 'Chicken Shack Boogie' and I Love Southern Women'. Based on this performance,
he is a must-see again act.
The Rhythm Riot always throws up an act about whom little is known but who are simply
wonderful. Such is the case with the final act for the night, San Francisco based Stompy
Jones who came complete with his own band, and what a great outfit. The style was I suppose
can be classified as jump-jive lounge music in the vein of the great Sam Butera. Strangely,
the band did not include a guitarist but did have two sax players, trumpet, piano bass and
drums. The quality of the musicianship was high, bloody high and Stompy's vocals were
spot on. The set consisted of Stompy singing tunes such as 'I Wanna Know, 'My Heart Will
Always Belong To You', 'Marie', 'Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night', a totally different
slant on 'Keep A Knockin' plus a speel binding 'angel City Blues. Then whilst, he took
rests by sitting on the side of the stage, the band came to the fore, much in the same manner
as a Bill Haley show. In the last mentioned, they performed a sensational version of 'Rudy's
Rock' with the sax player blowing away like crazy. Spell binding stuff. Again, another
act that I hope will return to these shores.
Sunday, 27th November 2004
The start up act was The Revolutionaires, a straight in your face rock 'n' roll show
band with bags of energy who performed numbers such as 'Rockin' Is Our Business', 'Walk
Right In', 'Mystery Train' and a clutch of instrumentals. As a side note, one of our
party, Ken Major, got asked to dance by a young lady. He obliged and clearly got so
excited that he returned with the crutch ripped out of his trousers. Next Up were
The Barnstompers who were superb. This Dutch outfit consists of high caliber musicians
and vocalists and they demonstrated these attributes on a rockabilly come country set
that included the likes of 'I Still Miss Someone', 'Move On. Move Out', Six Pack To Go',
'Rollin' Rock' and 'Dig Boy'.
American blues original, 85 years young T-Model Ford came next.
Supported only by a drummer and singing 'n' picking sitting down, this was a set of
authentic blues straight out of the Fat Possum school. Like many other blues singers,
especially such as Jimmy Reed, many numbers sounded similar to well known songs but
with subtle variations. However, I do believe that his set included 'Backdoor Man',
'Gypsy Woman', 'Mojo Man'. 'Call My Name', 'Sally Mae', 'Don't Leave Me No More'
and 'Down The Road I Go'. For sure, this was the real thing.
This festival always has one vocal group and this time around, it was the turn of
The Five Keys. Following on from the demise of the late great Rudy West, the leadership of
the act has been taken over by Maryland Pierce who joined in 1950. Dressed smartly
in black dinner suits, and two members utilizing walking sticks, the guys appeared on
stage. Soon, their superb vocal harmonies and perfect coordinated movements swept all
before them. This was music, real music from a legendary band. Opening up with 'From
The Bottom of My Heart', it was straight into the beautiful 'The Glory Of Love' and
this was followed by the likes of 'Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind' and 'Doggone It, You Did It'.
The mix was clear, up-tempo and ballads, all performed with sheer professionalism and
class. This was a real joy to listen to and watch. 'Ling Ting Tong' was sublime,
especially as the Five Keys own rhythm guitarist quietly but determinedly lead the
backing band. One of the attributes of this performance is that the numbers were
kept to their original duration and not extended beyond credulity. This group has
been going for over 56 years and this clearly shone through. All the Keys classics
such as 'Wisdom Of A Fool', 'The Verdict' and 'She's The Most' were included and the
act closed out with 'It's A Groove' and 'Real Fine Mama'. Oh, how I did enjoy myself.
The closing act for the festival was the Italian outfit Captain Jive, who as the name
suggests were a high-energy jump jive outfit. This seven piece line-up were dressed in
safari suits and their act contained many set piece visuals such as the entire band
laying on their backs playing whilst the sax man took a solo. Quite a few of the numbers
were sung in Italian, such as 'I Want To Be Like You' (from 'The Jungle Book'). This was
a party band.
Yet again, overall, another great Rhythm Riot and there is next year's weekender to
think of and salivate over from 24th to 27th November 2006. Headliners announced so
far include Hayden Thompson, Ray Sharpe and Eddie Bo with more to be announced.
Telephone (0)20 8566 5226, fax (0)20 8566 2525 or contact the web site www.RhythmRiot.com
for further information and booking details.
© Tony Wilkinson
December 2005
.
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 35 --
29th September to 2nd October 2005
Baby, That Was Rock 'n' Roll
After a long summer with limited live rock 'n' roll attendance by yours truly due to
business commitments, I was really looking forward to Hemsby 35 to recharge those rockin'
batteries. So come the Thursday, I jumped into the automobile and headed north, ready
to rock. Overall, expectations were lived up to and I had a great time as will be
demonstrated in the following text.
Attendance was down for the normal October Hemsby but I understand that there was numerous
pay on the door late arrivals guests. Not to sure why there should be this reduction as the
bill was strong and the scene at Hemsby is always good. Whatever, the promoters elected
to stage the main shows in the smaller Norfolk Room. This had advantages, as the sight
lines were good as were the acoustics. The record dealers and clothes stalls were
located in the main hall but, unfortunately, the traders decided to close this
section off at around 8.00 pm each night. Anyway, this was incidental to the main
happening, the music.
Thursday, 29th September 2005 (the rockin' starts)
Opening act for this festival was Mischief who was making their fourth Hemsby appearance.
They are a good 'n' basic European rockabilly trio that the programme advised hailed from
Belgium but the compere announced Holland. They set the scene with the out and out
rockabilly of 'Ridin' Along In My Automobile', produced good raucous vocals on 'I
Want Some More' and an excellent version of the Kershaw Brothers 'Hey Mae'. They
varied the lead vocals amongst the band plus, on some songs, it became a duet.
They closed out with wild rockin' on 'Yes I Do', 'Grow Up' (a cousin to 'Tore Up'),
a first rate work out on 'Train Kept A Rollin' and a fine 'Justine'.
Next up was the Detroit rocker Johnny Powers, accompanied by Chris Casello on lead guitar,
Clive Osborne on sax and members of the Shufflers forming the rest of the backing band.
From the opening bars of 'Mean Mistreater, it was evident that this performance was going
to be something special as the diminutive rocker as Johnny demonstrated his stage craft and
powerful vocals. This was followed by a great interpretation of 'Be Mine (All Mine)', a frantic
'Be Bop A Lula' and the pounding beat ballad 'With Your Love, With Your Kiss'.
The picture for the performance was painted by varied tempos, all of which were enhanced by
Johnny's professionalism and the biting
guitar sounds of Chris Casello. Chris was Steve Nadella's predecessor in Jack Scott'
s band and subsequently went onto to play for Emmy Lou Harris. Currently has his
own band in the USA as well as playing for BR549. His style is reminiscent of that used by
Al Hopson behind the late Warren Smith with that lovely stinging sound. Chris was
a real revelation and he too knew how to use the stage as he bopped around. This entire
scene served to push Mr. Powers to new heights as he launched into the likes of 'Me And My
Rhythm Guitar', 'Rock Rock', 'Mama Rock' and 'Long Blond Hair'. He performed a truly
appealing ballad in 'Three Little Words' that demonstrated his versatility as did 'Indeed
I Do', 'I Was There When It Happened', 'A New Spark For An Old Flame' and 'Give It To Me'.
The only slightly duff number was 'Trouble' which was taken at too fast a tempo, thus
effectively robbing the tune of its menace. Whilst there were the scheduled encores,
the crowd demanded more and Johnny had to keep coming back and ended up playing for in
excess of an hour. That was rock 'n' roll. Return to these shores soon Johnny and bring
Chris Casello with you.
Friday, 30th September 2005 (the rockin' keeps on the simmer).
The rockin' in the main hall commenced with the UK band Shaun Horton & The Tennessee
Trio. Unfortunately I did not catch their performance as I was at the artist met 'n' greet
session but by all accounts, they gave a good performance that was well received.
However, I was there for the second time UK performance by Andy Anderson backed up well by
Gene Gambler and The Shufflers. He had good stage presence as he went into 'Tough, Tough,
Tough' followed by 'Gimme A Lock O' Your Hair', 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You'
and 'I Got Me A Woman'. Andy advised that the last mentioned was a number that he had
recorded in 1956 at the Delta Studio but remained unreleased. It is a good rockin' piece.
So far this had been an acceptable performance but, unfortunately, it went downhill
for the rest of this show. Seemingly, the problem emanated from Andy having a hearing
impediment and so he changed vocal key rather often in numbers.
Still it was good to finally see the man who includes the club favourite 'Johnny
Valentine' along with 'You Shake Me Up' 'Hey Ba Reba' (reminiscent of Billy Lee Riley's
'Trouble Bound'), 'Big Game Hunter' ' and 'I'm A Rollin' Stone' in his stage show.
Friday night next act was The Smokey Mountain Boys, an English band who specialty is
authentic hillbilly sounds and do not include a drummer in their line-up. In this
laudable aim, they succeeded but then spoilt it with too much clowning around and
bucket loads of false 'hee haws'. The singers have good guttural voices and their
picking is good .Sorry guys but, based on this show, it was not for me. I am all for
humour in an act but not over the top with it. Final act for the evening was the
Spanish outfit Big Jamboree.
Saturday, 1st October 2005 (the rockin' gets real hot)
Dave Moore, who has previously been to Hemsby playing lead guitar for Vernon Taylor and
Billy Adams, picked for Ace Brown & The Helldivers, an act based in Philadelphia.
Again no drummer in their successful attempt to recreate the fifties rockabilly sounds.
They showed true enthusiasm and respect for the musical genre with a whole heap of
original numbers as 'Street Angel', Lucky Penney' and 'Yes She's Mine' alongside the likes
of 'Cool Off Baby', 'You're My Baby' and 'Purr Kitty Purr'. An enjoyable performance and
demonstrated plenty of potential.
The Helldivers returned to the Hemsby stage, this time with Ace Brown on drums,
to support the true original Pat Cupp. This was a performance similar to that at the
Rockin' Fifties Fest 11 with Pat including a mixture of the five originals issued
on the Modern label, such as 'Do Me No Wrong', 'I Guess It's Meant That Way and 'Long Gone
Daddy', along with a selection from his new CD on Wild Hare Records (#HSO5001).
Also featured were a few rockin' covers such as 'I Got A Woman' and 'Roll Over
Beethoven, which were just great. From the new numbers, especially pleasing were
'Contract With My Baby' with great guitar work from Dave Moore, 'Everything's All
Right' and the splendid ballad 'New World'. Pat appeared very at home on the
stage and was at one with The Helldivers. A tasty performance.
Also making his fourth Hemsby appearance was Narvel Felts (the only other headliner
to receive such an accolade is Jack Earls) who had Gene Gambler and The Shufflers backing
him. This proved to be a killer combination as it was a blistering performance with Narvel
excelling and the British band pushing him hard. No wonder he is called 'Narvel the Marvel'
as, based on this show, there is not many who can come close to the pure excitement that came
forth from the stage. Starting off with his monster hit 'Reconsider Me', it was into an
adapted version of Chuck Berry's 'Back In the USA' that Narvel titled 'Back In The UK'
followed by an exciting version of 'Foolish Thoughts'. The stage was a whirl of rockin'
movement and came complete with an emanation of hard drivin' rock 'n' roll sounds. It
could not be bettered, virtual perfection. Narvel's years of being a professional
clearly showed through as he proceeded with 'Honey Love' and 'Pink And Black Days'
before slowing it down for the climatic 'My Prayer'. Narvel was giving a commentary
about his early days and the numbers he then performed. He demonstrated this with a
powerhouse treatment of 'Down the Line' (only previously seen bettered by Jerry Lee,
it was that good) and later with 'Be Bop A Lula' with the band really nailing the
Bluecaps sound. He also included the story about one of his earliest performances when he was
ejected from the dance hall for rockin' it up too much on the stage the band carried on
playing waltzes. We were then treated to
'Kiss A Me Baby' and 'My Babe' before the emotional tribute to his late son with the
ballad 'Even Now'. This has previously been, and continues to be, a highlight of Narvel's
show. Back to rockin' with 'Maybelline' before featuring, for the first time, a version of
his early record 'Genavee' that was recorded at the Hi Studio, Memphis and
released on the Pink label. This was good and refreshing. The set concluded with 'Goin'
Home', 'Lonely Teardrops' and the number that we were all waiting for: 'Did You Tell Me'.
I have seen Narvel quite a few times but cannot recall when I have seen him better.
The concluding act for this night was Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers. I have previously
commented that Cavan is a band that one either loves - or not. That said, there
are not too many bands who can come on at 2 am in the morning, get the joint really
jumpin' an still be talked about the next day. All power to them, they are the Status
Quo of rock 'n' roll.
Sunday, 2nd October 2005 (the rockin' ain't done yet).
The rockin for the last night kicked off with Scotland's Hi Voltage followed by America's
The Roy Kay Trio. Regrettably, I was unable to catch these two performances but based on
previous experience, I know that Hi Voltage put on a great rockin' show whilst there was
plenty of good buzz regarding Roy Kay who hails from Seattle.
However, I was there for the magic voice of Pookie Hudson, lead singer of the Spaniels
making a rare sole performance. Supported by UK band The Swingkings, who blended in admirably,
he stepped on stage dressed very dapperly in a white suit complete with a black bowler hat.
Soon that magic voice was treating us to 'Stormy Weather', 'I Know', the marvelous
blues tinged ballad ''You're Gonna Cry' and the sublime , 'Baby It's You' But it was not
all slow numbers as we also had rockin' R&B with the likes of 'Crazee Baby. Two standouts
from this mesmerizing performance were '(You Gave Me) Peace Of Mind' and, of course 'Goodnight,
Sweetheart, Goodnight'. Maybe I shall see Pookie perform 'Bus Fare Home' one day but in the
meantime, please give me more of this. Perhaps this show was even more remarkable as
Pookie has not been in the best of health in recent times.
The final act for this Hemsby was Paul Ansell's Number Nine'. Here I have to hang my head
in shame as, for various reasons; I had never previously caught their show. Now I know what
I have been missing! In the hands of bands such as this, the future of our music is safe.
Paul has a great voice and stage presence and the current line-up of Number Nine is such
a tight and oh so talented band. The outstanding thing about Ansell is that he
can take a song and interpret it in his own unique styling And he does select numbers
form the most unlikely of sources such as Aaron Neville's 'How Can I Help But Adore You',
Billy Ocean's 'Red Light Spells Danger' and Iggy Pop's 'Passenger'.
Paul is also a talented writer as we were served up numerous originals such as 'Rockin'
In Memphis' and 'It Ain't Right'. I never thought that I would see the Hemsby
audience lap up 'Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town' or 'Jody Love' but with the
treatments served by Mr. Ansell, it was a given. We had varied selections from the
Presley songbook like 'Crawfish' and 'His Latest Flame'. Then there were the driving
rockers in the form of 'Lonesome Train', 'Ready Teddy' and 'Mean Woman Blues'.
I believe that the outfit were called back for at least five encores, may have been more.
However, I do recall that they included 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'By The Time I Get To Memphis'.
Clearly one of the best 'new' acts around today, and that is from anywhere in the world.
I shall now get down off my soapbox. Just go and see for yourself when they are playing near you.
To reiterate, this was a good rockin' Hemsby. But, there is plenty to look forward to
as the May 2006 Hemsby has to have one of the strongest line-ups yet. Headliners include
Carl Mann, Roddy Jackson, Barrence Whitfield, Bobby Brown (of Vaden Records fame), Bobby
('One Way Ticket') Crown, The Velours together with a great list of supporting acts.
Be there or be square.
©Tony Wilkinson,
October 2005
Barry Dixon Photos: Hemsby #35
.
HAYDEN THOMPSON
& The Rhythm Rockers
'Rockabilly Rhythm'
St. George STG 7714 - Playing Time: 48.33
Mama's Little Baby/Love My Baby/Rockabilly Boogie/Reelin' And Rockin'/Milk Cow Blues Boogie/Let's
Get Gone/Sugar-Coated Love/Boppin' High Scholl Baby/Chicago River Blues/Hang Out/Can't Hardly
Stand It/Gonna Rock & Roll Tonight/Boppin' The Blues/Blue Moon Of Kentucky.
Rock 'n' roll originator Hayden Thompson returns with a set of new recordings laid down in
Chicago in 2005. Boy, what a set! This is easily the most significant r 'n' r album release
this year so far and it is a scorcher from beginning to end. I normally treat the liner
blub on an album with a degree of skepticism but when in this particular case they state
that 'Get ready to rock and bop like it's 1956. This session is white-hot rockabilly cut
in 2004 but played with the feel and intensity unleashed by the Hillbilly Cat at the Memphis
Sun Studios in 1955', I cannot fault the sentiment as it aptly sums up the content of
this release.
Hayden's voice is a perfect blend of excitement and feel and is in complete syncopation
with the backing musicians who rock like there is no tomorrow. This is not a frantic set
of thrash 'n' bash recordings but is the achievement of a group of musicians who understand
the idiom that they are recording and obtain the desired result. Whilst the ultimate credit
must go to front man Hayden, the backing musicians such as Rockin' Billy Harden on lead guitar,
Nick Lightnin' Lloyd on string bass and Louisiana legend Warren Storm on drums have also to
be singled out for praise.
The songs are in the main covers of reasonably obscure numbers from the fifties but in
all cases, they have new life breathed into them. Take for example Chuck Berry's 'Reelin'
And Rockin', the work-out here incorporates a fiddle in the backing and it works, it moves
like crazy. There are also some originals in the form of the stompin' 'Let's Get Gone'
and the blues drenched vocals of 'Chicago River Blues', both of which were co-written by
the album producer George Paulis. The last mentioned for myself is the stand out track
with its (country) Jimmie Rodgers vocal inflections. This, and the similar vocal styling
on 'Love My Baby' (which reverts more to the original Junior Parker version), 'Milk Cow Blues',
'Can't Hardly and 'Sugar Coated Love' are simply pure magic. One can but hope that Hayden
will consider more recordings in this vein in the future.
It is not often one gets an album in which all tracks are good (no, make that great)
but this is a rare exception. I could go on at length about the content but I would
only end up repeating myself. For anyone with rock 'n' roll blood coursing through the
body, this has to be classified as essential. Go get it. (Contact St. George Records at
1202 N-West 75th Street, #277, Downers Grove, Illinois 60516 for further details).
(c) Tony Wilkinson
July 2005
.
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 34 - 5th May to 8th May 2005
Rock 'n' Roll Time Again
I must admit to having been a trifle apprehensive that Hemsby 34 might have come across as
a trifle downbeat coming so soon on the heels of the Rockin' Fifties fest. 11 held in Green
Bay, Wisconsin. However, my concern was baseless as this great weekender proved to be one
of the most enjoyable Hemsbys yet. It rocked from beginning to end and the large attendance
clearly thought the same. It is pleasing and gratifying to know that this long established
festival is going from strength to strength.
THURSDAY
Business commitments prevented me from arriving for the first night but colleague Ian
Wallis was there to catch the performance by first time European visitor Roc LaRue.
He advises that Roc came across as a competent performer featuring such cuts as
'Baby Take Me Back' and 'I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine' that were issued on
the Rama and Holland labels back in the fifties. These songs were performed alongside
newer numbers like 'Red Headed Mama' and the Ronnie Haig composition 'Hey Little Baby'.
With a sympathetic backing provided by Gene Gambler & The Shufflers, Roc gave a very
visual show, full of Presleyesque style movements, and he demonstrated that he has a
strong voice to match. Another good rock 'n' roll discovery.
The evening closed out with an appearance by German outfit Ike & The Capers who have
the pleasing advantage of a femme drummer. These are high-energy people who gave out
with well seasoned tunes in the form of 'It's All Your Fault', 'Down On The Farm'
and an original treatment of Ray Smith's 'You Made A Hit.
FRIDAY
Welsh band Gene Gambler & the Shufflers opened up the proceedings and gave out
with a pleasing slab of rock 'n' roll mixing in their own compositions and covers of
Roy Orbison's 'You're My Baby' and a first rate workout of the Sonny Burgess song 'Find
My Baby For Me. In the five years since their formation, this group have steadily built
up their expertise and should go on to further greatness.
Next up was another first time UK visitor, who was back there in the fifties, namely
Louisiana's Jay Chevalier. Bounding on stage in an eye catching two piece gold lame
outfit, he launched straight into his rockin' ode to American footballer 'Billy Cannon'.
Jay's years of treading the boards were clearly evident as he carried on giving a
confident show with his own hook laden 'Come Back To Louisiana' before descending
nto a raid on the Chuck Berry songbook with 'Promised Land' and 'Memphis Tennessee'.
This was followed by a sing-along version of 'You Are My Sunshine' and a medley of
the Hank Williams Snr. songs 'Hey Good Looking/Setting The Woods On Fire/My Bucket's
Got A Hole In It'. The last mentioned pair showed indications of not having been on
the prescribed set list as the backing band, the aforementioned hard working Gene
Gambler & The Shufflers, at first struggled to keep up with Jay. This 'making it
up as one goes along feeling' was further enhanced with a rather lame 'Mama Don't
Allow'. However, the showman that is Jay Chevalier retrieved the situation with 'The
Ballad Of Earl K Long' (a personal favourite from his recorded repertoire), his first
record 'Rock 'n' Roll Angel', the rockabilly classic 'Casto Rock' and the sublime
'Lost In Louisiana 1959'. A further Chuck Berry medley of 'Johnny B Good' songs
was somewhat superfluous but as he encored with a repeat of 'Lost In Louisiana'
leaving one with the impression of having witnessed a good performance (overall).
Eighteen months marked the return to the Hemsby stage of Art Adams and his own
guitarist Bill Stewart. In that time, his performance has gone from strength to strength.
He reinforced the reputation of being one of the top highly visual solid core rockabilly acts
and he gave 110% of himself in a long high powered set. Opening up with the instrumental
'Rhythm Ride Rock' he then proceeded to rock out on 'Get With It', and his own
'Indian Joe' (complete with war chants) and 'Rock Pretty Baby' before slowing
the pace a trifle with his own new song 'Canadian Lady', a tasty mid tempo ditty.
However, it was soon back to crazed rockin' with 'Flat Foot Sam', 'Red Headed Woman'
and a great interpretation of Webb Pierce's 'Walkin' the Dog'. The American
visitors were provided with great backing from the English band The Infernos
and the stage was a cauldron of rockin' excess as Art bopped and weaved across
the stage. He included more of his own compositions with 'Sweet Kandie Jean'
and 'She's From Tennessee' before exhaustingly closing out with repeats of 'Indian
Joe' and 'Rock Crazy Baby'. All in all, a more than justified bill topper.
American Chicano act Omar & The String Poppers' closed out the night with a no
holds barred assault on the senses. They tore through 'Problem Child' and other
tunes like there will be no tomorrow. Exhausting to watch, the guys must have been
totally drained when they left the stage.
SATURDAY
Fairly frequent American visitor to these shores, young Eddie Clendening, opened
up Saturday's rockin' in the main hall backed by Ike & the Capers. Eddie 's act
is getting good and he certainly appeals to the ladies and he left quite a few
femme body parts a fluttering.
The next act, the great, the marvelous, the raunchy, the blindingly superb Janis
Martin was greeted by loud and sustained applause as she took the stage. No ifs,
no buts, this lady is the rockin' business and I do not think that I have seen her
better. All of her rock 'n' roll classics such as 'Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll',
Alright Baby', 'Billy Boy', Ooby Dooby', and 'Crackerjack' were delivered in
top notch style, all of which was rapturously devoured by the audience. She
and her backing group, The Hemsby Houseband, were clearly inspired and when she
kicked of her shoes and tore into 'Barefoot Bay' the roof of the hall nearly
came off. This was followed by 'Bang Bang' and the aptly descriptive, 'Hard
Rockin' Mama' before the set concluded with 'My Boy Elvis'. Could she go
without performing more, no way! She returned to the stage with her tribute
to the ailing Ruth Brown in 'As Long As I'm Moving' and finally 'Good Rockin'
Tonight'. Janis returned to the stage, clearly emotionally drained, as indeed
was most of the audience. That had been ultimate rock 'n' roll.
There are not many performers capable of even coming close to the last mentioned performance but
fortunately for us, the promoters had wisely booked the wondrous Jack Earls for what I
believe was his fourth Hemsby appearance. Backed by the Infernos, who did the business perfectly,
he literally tore into 'Flip, Flop And Fly', 'Take Me To That Place', 'Hey Jim' and 'Sign
On The Dotted Line'. His stage art is near perfection but I do wish he would drop a few of
those corny lines such as 'I would love to put y'all in my suitcase and take you home with me'.
But when it comes to top notch rockabilly, few can hold a candle to Jack as he went on to
demonstrate with 'Let's Bop', 'They Can't Keep Me From You', 'She Knows How To Rock Me',
'Goodbye Mary Ann' and a frantic 'Tear It Up'. The excitement being exuded from the stage
was a joy to behold and it continued to build with 'My Little Mama', 'Rockin' Daddy',
'Crawdad Hole', 'Rock 'n' Roll Ruby' before climaxing with his Sun Records tour de
force 'Slow Down'. The audience wanted more and Jack being the professional he is,
came back and delivered. We were treated to rockin' tributes to the late Ray Harris
with 'Come On Little Mama', to Charlie Feathers with 'Wedding Gown Of White' and to Carl
Perkins with a medley of his magical recordings but all served up with that Jack Earls
styling.
The Hicksville Bombers closed out this night with their normal lashings of modern
styled rockabilly. Boy, what a great night for rockin' music this had been.
SUNDAY
The preceding commentary has focused on the acts appearing in the main hall but part of
the fun of weekenders such as these is the whole scene. During the days, acts such as
The Texabilly Rockets, The King Beans and The Sugar Creek Trio had given their all
in locations throughout the camp, disc jockeys had played a fantastic selection of music
between acts and there was an enjoyable boot fair (where I managed to acquire a few long
sought after goodies).
The rockin for the last night kicked off with German band The Velvetones whose act I
unfortunately was unable to catch. However, I believe that they were quite unique,
albeit somewhat on the heavy side of rock 'n' roll and performed a blend of original
tunes and unusual covers such as 'Welcome To The Pleasure dome'. However, I was
there for the main act of the night, namely vocal group The Willows.
This group originated in New York back in 1952 and remain based in Manhattan.
For this show, three of the original line-up, lead singer Tony Middleton along
with Ralph Martin and Richie Davis, were present. Sadly, the other original member,
Joe Martin, passed away last February and his place has been taken by Desi
Edwards Middleton, son of Tony. They also had their own musical director,
Michael Cisternas, with them who did wave his arms around quite a bit.
From the outset, it was obvious that the group were a touch ragged,
both in the harmonies and stage movements. But, in actuality, this
enhanced their appeal as clearly they were the genuine article and their
set consisted of original material with no 'doo wop medleys'.
They presented a good balance of ballads such as the delectable
'First Taste Of Love' and up tempo numbers like the stompin' 'Rock
Little Francis'. The duet between Tony and Richie on 'Delores' was a joy
to both the ears and the eyes and on 'Don't Push, Don't Shove', the
group really excelled themselves. Early in the set, we had 'Love Bells'
which was their own answer to their real biggie, the 'Church Bells May Ring'
which of course has entered into the realms of being classified as a doo wop classic.
We were treated to the latter twice and boy it was good as it bought their
show to an apparent conclusion. However, we were then treated to a major surprise.
Tony Middleton was the singer on the demo recording of 'Big Hunk Of Love' that was presented
to (and of course recorded by Elvis A. Presley). Tony came back on stage and
preformed this little ditty for us with the rest of The Willows and the backing
band, an on-form Swing Kings, gradually joining in. Magical moments and I put
The Willows in the must see again section, clearly a view shared by many as the
group finally left the stage to enthusiastic applause.
The final act for Hemsby 34 was the German outfit Hot Boogie Chillum, who like Jack Earls
were making their fourth appearance that these weekenders. They are one of those bands who
you either love or loathe with a passion. For many of the audience, they were one of the
highlights and certainly are original.
To reiterate, this was one of the best Hemsby yet and it makes me look forward to next one in
October when I can put on my rockin' shoes for the line-up that includes Narvel 'The
Marvel' Felts, Pookie Hudson (of The Spaniels), Pat Cupp, Johnny Powers and
Andy Anderson. See's you there.
© Tony Wilkinson,
June 2005
.
Pontins Holiday Centre, Camber, England
11th to 14th March 2004
Rockabilly Rave No. 9
By Tony Wilinson -
This was the ninth annual Rockabilly Rave and this one has to rate as probably the strongest yet.
Maintaining its justifiably gained reputation as a full blown international rockabilly come
rock 'n' roll festival, it again attracted in excess of 2,000 visitors from all around the world.
All were here to watch, listen and dance to eclectic rockin' music from a mixture of American
originators and new bands. With regard to the last mentioned, it has to be pointed out
that they came from all over the world to play what promoter Jerry Chatabox correctly
describes as classic straight ahead rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. The stated policy is
to supply quality music, keeping it pure but fun, and ensuring that everybody has a good time.
Apart from an odd hiccup, this laudable aim was achieved - no mean feat.
Friday, 11th March 2005
Opening act was Canadian band Roy Thompson & The Royal Acadians, who after opening
up with an instrumental proceeded to attack a catalogue of Louisiana based R&B influenced
rockabilly. Roy (real name Olivier Laporte) has a nice guttural voice, well suited
for the music he was putting across and the rest of the band were just fine, especially
that lead guitarist who produced some real tasty licks. They rocked out well
on Charles Page's 'Baby You Been To School' and Johnny Jano's 'High Voltage'
plus other good numbers like 'Billie Jo', 'Hey Mr. DJ', 'Little Red Ridin' Hood',
Honky Tonk Stomp' and 'True Loving'. A pleasing performance.
It was then time for the second ever UK appearance by Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones.
It was immediately obvious that the group was all-together and was now tighter in their
playing, vocal harmonies and showmanship. Consisting of the four original members from back
in the fifties, namely Joe Bennett on vocals and lead guitar, Howard 'Sparky' Childress on
alternate lead guitar and back up vocals, Wayne Arthur on upright bass and vocals plus
Jimmy 'Sticks' Denton on drums, they were clearly enjoying themselves and it showed
in their cohesive playing and laid back approach. Launching into 'Let's Go Rock And Roll',
the guys rocked their socks off with their own 'Maybe Baby', the teen bopper 'Boys Do Cry',
'Cotton Pickin' Rocker' and 'Boppin' Rock Boogie'. This was good time rock 'n' roll
and they mined the same vein with 'Late Again', 'Rocket' and 'Do The Stop' before
varying the tempo with the ballad 'Softly' where their voices blended seamlessly.
They paid tribute to Gene Vincent with 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' but this was to be the only
non-original song in the whole set. The set closed out with 'sparkling' interpretations
of 'Bayou Rock', 'We've Had It', 'Penny Loafers And Bobby Socks' plus their
real biggie 'Black Slacks'. A first rate performance from the band and they made it
look oh so easy. The final act for Friday was The Mean Devils from Portugal, a
rockabilly outfit with bags of bash and thrash, playing most numbers at a frantic tempo.
They served up a good version of the Little Jimmy Dickens/Ricky Van Shelton song
'Hole In My Pocket'.
I went to bed a fluffy bunny excited by what I had seen, and heard -
treasuring the show by The Sparkletones.
Saturday, 12th March 2005
Downstairs in the secondary hall, in the afternoon, there had been a guitar forum presented
by several pickers demonstrating various guitar techniques, interesting and enjoyable.
This was followed by sets from Japanese band The Big Chief' and UK act Shaun Horton &
Tennessee Trio. However, at lunchtime, Stomper Time Records owner Dave 'Pierce Brosnan'
Travis had treated Eddie Bond, Eddie Jones (from Dave's Bad River Band) and yours truly
to a splendid lunch to mark his birthday. Consensus for this momentous occasion was that
it had to be a landmark anniversary.
Opening act for this evening was the German band The Round Up Boys who proved to be
a competent rockabilly outfit. Their set comprised a few originals such as 'Rock It Up'
plus quite a few covers that were, in the main, reasonably obscure and therefore not
heard too often from the stage. By this I mean such ditties as 'Sneaky Pete', 'I'm
Sitting On Top Of The World', 'Standing In Your Window', 'Mean Little Mama', 'If You
Don't Treat Me Right' and 'Hypnotized'. An enjoyable set and the guitar pickin' by
leader Axel was a joy.
The Ragtime Wranglers appeared next and performed three good instrumentals,
including 'Groovers Bop' as the warm up for the next American visitor, Barbara Pittman.
I was really looking forward to seeing this lady as this would mark the first time I had
managed to catch her performance. Unfortunately, I was to be disappointed, as on several
tunes, she went off key and she kept wandering on and off the microphone.
She got it all together on 'Sentimental Fool', and 'I Need A Man' but to counter this,
there were not good versions of 'River Stay Away From My Door' and 'Money Honey'.
The other songs in the 29 minute set were 'There's Good Rockin' Tonight', 'Everlasting Love',
'I'm Getting Better All The Time', 'Lonely Weekends' and Great Balls Of Fire'.
I understand that Barbara was not well and so it probably will be best to leave it
at that and draw a veil over this sub-standard performance.
Redeeming the situation was the next act, Billy Lee Riley. Anybody who knows me
is aware that I am a Riley fan - big time. Like good wine, this guy seems to
get better with age. From the onset, it was obvious that we were in for a no
hold barred stompin' rockin' time. Opening up with 'Everybody Let's Rock',
it was straight into 'Rock With Me Baby', 'Trouble Bound', 'Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll,
'Roll Over Beethoven, 'Pearly lee' and 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy'. The backing band was
just fine with the lead guitarist being straight out of the Roland Janes school of
playing. Billy's voice had lost none of its raucous originality and he was dancing
all over the stage with those little crouches and quirky little jumps that mark his
performances. (Perhaps it is worth mentioning here that in the last two years,
he has had two operations on his back, an artificial hip fitted and recently a steel
plate installed in his leg but none of this was evident from this vintage Riley show).
Hardly pausing, the set proceeded with 'Got The Water Boiling' before slowing down
a bit to launch into the gut bucket raunchy 'Hoodoo Woman Blues' before taking
of again with 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'Baby Please Don't Go and the first of two
workouts of 'Flip. Flop and Fly'. Delving back into his Sun Records catalogue we
then treated to 'Wouldn't You Know' before he reverted to two r 'n' r standards in
the form of 'Blue Suede Shoes' and (an overlong) Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'.
This 75 minute show of vintage rockin' came to a conclusion with 'Red Hot' and second
performances of 'Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll' and 'Got The Water Boiling'.
Riley left the stage to tumultuous applause. A minor gripe would be the inclusion
of so many standards to the detriment of his own original songs but that,
in all honesty, is the purist in myself coming out.
Saturday night closed out with Sweden's own Jack Baymore The Bandits. He too went
down a storm and my betting is that several young ladies got over excited.
At one point, he was joined on stage by Charlie Thompson and Wild Fire Willie on back
up vocals. Two standout numbers were 'Ain't That A Dilly' and 'Weary Blues'.
Again, I retreated as a happy bunny to my lonely room for the night.
Sunday, 13th March 2005
For openers on the final night we had Lynette Morgan & The Blackwater Valley Boys
who performed a traditional honky tonk set (down to not having any drummer). Boy,
this young lady sure does have a good voice. Earlier in the day downstairs, we had
been treated to performances by The Madmen from Croatia and the Roy Kay Trio the USA.
Back to the main ballroom, we were next treated to the vocal delights of Texas originator
Huelyn Duvall with backing by the previously mentioned Round Up Boys. Huelyn was
clearly out to enjoy himself and set about rockin' with the crowd pleasing 'Pucker
Paint' and 'Juliette' before going into the jerky beat of 'Hey Brutus' and his fifties
record 'Friday Night On A Dollar Bill'. The tempo was varied with the chuggin' beat
of 'They Ain't Close To You' before zooming off with 'Rock It Down'. The set really
ignited with Huelyn's interpretation of Sid and Billy King's 'Let 'Er Roll' that was
inserted at the last minute and without any rehearsal with the band. Despite this,
it was seamless and the trip to the rockin' stratosphere continued with a brilliant
treatment of Tooter Boatman's 'Thunder And Lightnin', truly awe-inspiring. Again,
I have to mention the guitar playing by Axel of the Round Up Boys, it was spot on
and up there with the likes of Deke Dickerson. By now, Huelyn was thrusting his
body all over the stage and as the show continued with 'Lonesome For A Letter'
and 'Three Months To Kill', the audience was roaring its appreciation. The tempo
was slowed somewhat for his USA hit 'Little Boy Blue' before taking off again with 'High
Class Baby', 'Coming Or Going' and 'It's No Wonder'. For an encore, we were treated
to 'Bertha Lou' (Clint Miller style) and 'Down The Line'. I have seen several
of Huelyn's performance but this was one of the best yet.
Final American visitor for this weekender was Eddie Bond who had Roy Thompson &
The Royal Acadians as his backing band. Maybe Eddie does not move around the stage too
much anymore but that excellent powerful voice is still totally in tact and evidenced
as he tore into 'I Got A Woman', 'Boppin' Bonnie', 'Talking Off The Wall', 'Baby, Baby'
Baby' and 'Monkey & The Baboon'. He included two Hank Williams Snr. Songs in his set,
namely 'My Buckets Got A Hole In It' and Move It On Over' both being served up
in sparkling style. The tempos were nicely varied with 'This Ole Heart Of Mine',
'Standing In Your Window', 'Here Comes That Train' and 'Juke Joint Johnnie'. Top notch
rockin' was achieved with 'Tore Up' before reverting to his own catalogue with 'Double
Duty Loving', 'Flip Flop Mama' and 'Rocking Daddy'. His show closed out with
'Slip Slip Slippin' In'. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.
Final act for the weekender was Paul Ansell's No. 9 before it came to a conclusion.
Unfortunately, by this time, I was in the chariot roaring across Kent's wastelands,
known as the Romney Marshes, due to work commitments the next day. However, Paul
Waring caught the show by No. 9 and comments that a cluster of pretty girls gathered
at the front of the stage as the four-piece band came on. This group has its own devoted
following and expect moody type Elvis vocals complete with a strong lead guitar over
slap bass and drums. They were not disappointed when this styling was applied to
a host of contemporary numbers that Paul has made his own through his CDs.
On this night, we were treated to Billy Ocean's 'Red Light Spells Danger',
Aaron Neville's 'Crying Shame', Don Gibson's 'Sea Of Heartbreak plus a selection
of Elvis songs in the form of 'Lonesome Cowboy' and 'Pocket Full Of Rainbows'.
Mixed in with these were self-penned numbers such as 'Me And The Jukebox Have Found
A friend' and 'It Ain't Right', both of which had the crowd singing along with and
demonstrating that he has left his own foot-print on music. The band was called
back for three encores, namely Lonesome Train', 'Veronica' and 'Viva Las Vegas'.
This was no mean feat, especially coming at the end of three days of good music.
The Rave came to a conclusion with a Tiki Party at 3.:00 am lead by Friki Tiki King Kukelee.
The consensus was that this had been the best Rockabilly Rave thus far.
However next year with be the tenth Rockabilly Rave and I am assured by promoter
Jerry Chatabox that the event will top everything to date. That said the 2005
festival would take some beating.
© Tony Wilkinson (with thanks to Paul Waring)
March/April 2005
.
Camber Sands Holiday Centre, Rye, England
26th to 29th November 2004 ... REVIEW:
Rhythm Riot No. 8
With all the shops blaring out Christmas music and enticing one to come in and send money,
I knew that the time had arrived to take Mrs. Wilkinson and daughter Colinda for their
annual treat. Accordingly, scooting home from work, picking up She Who Must Be Obeyed
and offspring, the chariot headed off to the traffic jams en route to Camber Sands on
the south coast of England for the eighth Rhythm Riot. Anticipating the by now normal
'rockin' bizness' of an eclectic mixture of rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, honky tonk,
jump and jive, rhythm & blues and down-home dirty blues, we were not disappointed read on ...
Friday, 26th November 2004
First act to take the stage in the main hall was the Sheffield (UK) based R&B outfit
The Big Heat who, complete with a three piece brass section, served up a tasty full fat
sound knocking out their renditions of ditties such as 'I Ain't Mad At You', 'Much Later For
You Baby', 'I'm Nervous', 'The Walk', 'I'm Your Boogie Man' and a great interpretation of 'Chicken
Shack Boogie'. We were off to a good start. One of the great things of this weekender
is that generally there is one act that is a real revelation with regard to their music
and stage act. This year there were no less than three such instances, the first of whom
was the Dutch band Lil' Ester And Her Tinstars. They took the stage and from the opening
bars, it was clear that we were in for a real treat. Lil' Ester has a great voice ideally
suited for the mix of rock 'n' roll come rockabilly numbers that the group performed.
Coupled with this, The Tinstars had a tight sound and special mention must be made of
the lead guitarist who was no slouch at picking, effectively capturing the James
Burton/Joe Maphis Imperial Records sound. Opening up with 'Go Daddy Go', the
band then tore into numbers like 'Buddy', 'Let's Fall In Love', 'Need A Little Love',
Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll' and 'That's All Right With Me. All the time the stage was
full of visuals complete with exciting sounds as Lil' Ester and her guys succeeding
in impressing. We were then treated to 'No Time For Love', 'Flame Of Love' (awful
lot of lovin' going on) before concluding with 'Arguments And Alibis', 'Rock Boppin'
Baby' and 'Mercy'. They got a justifiable great reception.
By now we were really cookin' but the heat unfortunately went off the boil with the
next act, the first visiting American headliner Joe Houston who was backed by
The Rhythm Riot Kings Of Rhythm. From the onset, clearly something was wrong, as
Joe was late in getting on stage and then promptly left apparently to go to the loo.
When he returned, looking very dapper on a cream suit and matching hat, the opening
jam session ended in a version of 'Flip Flop And Fly' (I think). This was followed
by an elongated vocal version of 'Rock Me Baby' with a minimum of sax playing.
I do not know what the third number was titled but basically Joe just stood there
with the occasional squawk on the saxophone. 'Sweet Little Angel' followed and
this that basically was a repeat of the previous performance. After this I, and
the majority of the audience, had lost interest. The set was then mercifully drawn
to a conclusion whilst Joe disassembled and cleaned his saxophone. I understand
that Joe was not well and so a veil must be drawn over this disaster.
This evening's shows were rescued somewhat by a good set from Jook Joint.
Saturday, 27th November 2004
For openers, we were served up with a piano boogie set from the Hoodoo Kings lead by Bob Hall.
This is a quartette who specialise in capturing the boogie-woogie sound laid down over the
years from 'Suwannee River Boogie' through 'I'm Moving On' to 'If You Won't Go Home'.
These guys demonstrated that they were very competent musicians, with Hall (despite having
a passing resemblance to Rolf Harris) excelling on the piano and vocals. He also did a fine
solo workout on 'Pinetop's Boogie. Other pieces included 'Somebody's watching Over Me, 'I
Don't Play Boogie' and the original number 'Rock This Joint. Very satisfying. Next up was
Spanish outfit The Lazy Jumpers who perform in an R&B come swing style. The lead vocalist
was also competent on harmonica. They were okay but did not exactly set the stage alight.
They were followed by Wes Weston's Big Rhythm were a different kettle of fish. Here was
quality musicianship, with fine vocals from Wes, who is a first rate showman, and a great
backing from the guys on a set of basically jump jive offerings. The lead sax player was
particularly outstanding. Plenty of stage action from the guys, some of whom play with the
Big Town Playboys and James Hunter, who treated us to 'Everyday I Have The Blues', 'Boogie
Chillum', Go On Fool', 'Rock This Joint' and Ray Sharpe's 'Linda Lu'.
The Southlanders were scheduled to appear but medical reasons prevented this.
Deputising for them was the UK vocal group The Extraordinaires who are very visual on stage.
This more than compensated for some of the vocals that were weak on certain tunes. They
mixed in back flips and bags of coordinated movements on good workouts on the likes of 'Tell
Me Why', 'Real Gone Mama', 'Lucy Brown', 'Let's Fall In Love', 'Ruby Baby', 'Zoom' and 'Hey
Senorita'. They got it all together on an accapella treatment of 'Goodnight Sweetheart'
before concluding with 'Let's Rock 'n' Roll'. Clearly popular with the audience, they
received good applause. The Rhythm Riot Kings Of Rhythm who excelled themselves provided
their backing in no uncertain style. Unfortunately this cannot be said of their
performance behind the next artist, the legendary Hank Thompson. Okay, the brass section
was justifiably missing, and the guys were augmented by steel and fiddle players but
they were all over the place. On occasion, it seemed that they were playing a different
tune that that which Hank was singing. As for 79 years young Hank himself, his vocals
were spot on, especially on 'Humpty Dumpty Heart, 'Green Light', 'Indian Reservation'
and 'Wild Side Of Life' where thankfully all the guys on stage got it together.
It was a joy to listen to 'Wabash Cannonball', 'Six Pack To Go' and 'Take Me Back
To Tulsa' and we were even treated to 'White Christmas'. Come back any time Hank
but hopefully next time will see you performing 'Rockin' In The Congo'.
I mentioned revelations previously and the second took the stage to conclude this night's
shows. They were the American Chicano group Vicky Tafoya & The Big Beat. This lady has a
great singing voice which excelled on a good variety of songs like 'Do You Wanna Jump
Children', 'Reelin' And Rockin', 'So Young, 'Mello Saxophone' and a superb 'We Belong
Together. She carries her own band in The Big Beat and it showed. These guys were
all together, with a real quality tight sound that was amply demonstrated backing
Vicky on 'Rock Rock Rock', 'Rock A Beatin' Boogie', 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'
and 'There Is Something On Your Mind'. From the foregoing, hopefully you get the
picture that this is a top-notch band with good stage presence. I certainly went
to bed a fluffy bunny.
Sunday, 28th November 2004
Unfortunately I missed the opening act, The Jive Romeros, but there was certainly a good buzz
in the man hall when I arrived to see Scottish rockabilly outfit Hi Voltage who were good.
These guys know their business with consistently good performances taken at a nice tempo on
ditties like 'Lonesome Tears', 'I Loose', 'Jump Start Boogie', 'Shadow My Baby, 'I Used
To Be' and a sparkling rockabilly styling on 'Just Walkin' In The Rain'. A good act.
It was then time for the third revelation of the weekender and what a revelation!
This was American visitor Roddy Jackson backed up by the house band. He came on stage and,
with his leopard skin fronted shirt on, it was straight into 'I've Got My Sights On Someone
New' followed by 'Moose On The Loose'. Roddy rocked, he rolled and he gave a 110 percent
of himself. He pounded the keyboards into submission and belted out on the saxophone (not
at the same time) as he gave a wild man performance. He has a raucous rock 'n' roll voice,
reminiscent of the late great Ronnie Self, he is that good. He and the band were spot on
with 'Hiccups', performed with humour, 'Any Old Town', 'Gloria', 'I Found A New Girl'
and 'Love At First Sight'. He advised us that UK Ace Records have located a quantity
of unreleased songs that he recorded for Specialty that will be released in 2005 and
proceeded to treat us to a selection such as 'Juke Box Baby', 'Consider', 'I Love Her
Just The Same' and 'Give A Little Love'. The majority of these are wild rock 'n' roll
songs that Roddy gave full-unbridled leash to in their performance. He has a great
stage personality and this was fully demonstrated on 'She Said Yeah' that he co-wrote
with the late Sonny Bono. I cannot wait to see him again. We have a new rock 'n' roll hero.
New Orleans favourite Clarence Henry, who explained that this was his first UK visit in
around 22 years due to income tax reasons, followed him on stage. But he quickly established
a fine groove with an opening Fats Domino medley of 'My Girl Josephine/Margie/I'm Gonna Be A
Wheel Someday'. His voice was in fine shape and the Rhythm Riot Kings of Rhythm provided a
sympathetic backing as he followed with 'Troubles Troubles' and 'That's Enough' before going
into an elongated medley of his sixties hits 'But I Do/You Always Hurt The One You Love.
'Cajun Honey' then ensued before dropping into a further medley of 'Jambalaya/Hey Le
Bas/Blueberry Hill' and then continuing on with his own 'Little Suzy' and 'Lonely Tramp'.
The last two mentioned bought cheers from the gathered multitude, as did 'Ain't Got No
Home' which evolved into another medley of 'Twist/Johnny B. Good/Shake Rattle And
Roll/Rag Mop'. For his encore, Clarence performed his concluding medley of 'When The
Saints Go Marchin' In/Mama Don't Allow'. This was a pleasing performance by a show
business veteran. The final act for this year's Rhythm Riot was I Belli Di Waikiki
from Italy. This is a party time group who perform rock 'n' roll with a Hawaiian influence
such as 'Honolulu Rock 'n' Roll' and 'Rock A Hula Baby'. Enjoyable.
Yet again, overall, another great Rhythm Riot and there is next year's weekender to think
of and salivate over from 25th to 28th November 2005. No headliners have been announced so
far but it would be great to see Ace Cannon fill the sax man spot and Nathaniel 'Village Of
Love' Mayer on that stage based on reports of his appearance at this year's Ponderosa Stomp.
Telephone (0)20 8566 5226, fax (0)20 8566 2525 or contact the web site www.RhythmRiot.com for
further information and booking details.
© Tony Wilkinson
December 2004
.
REVIEW: ROCK 'N' ROLL TIME AGAIN
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 33
30TH September to 3rd October 2004 -
At the risk of boring you, a little personal background to this particular Hemsby.
Eldest daughter (Superbrat) was currently residing in Australia whilst her husband
gained foreign experience for his job as a hospital registrar.
Mrs. Wilkinson decided that we were all going out to stay with them and then go on for
a tour of New Zealand. However a check with Willie Jeffery, the promoter of Hemsby,
revealed that the dates conflicted and thus made for an agonising choice.
Result, I came back after the Australian leg of the holiday on the Wednesday,
arriving at Hemsby on the Thursday, whilst the rest of the Wilkinson brood went
on to the windy isles. Rock 'n' roll prevailed!
Thursday
Opening (and closing) Hemsby 33 was the Spanish rockabilly outfit The Bop Pills who
comprised members from the bands Nu Niles and Los Brioles. The audience-pleasing
Robert Gordon followed them. Now Robert is known for the occasional cantankerous mood
swings and this was unfortunately one of those happenings. After arriving late on stage,
a considerable portion of his set was spent chewing out the backing Hemsby House Band
and seemingly changing the set list as it progressed. That said, when he was singing,
that chocolate voice of rock 'n' roll was a joy to listen to and his performance was
overall well received. The choice of material ranged from the thunderous opening 'The
Way I Walk', the sublime 'I Just Found Out', a marvelous reading of the ballad 'Need
You (at the special request of Trevor Cajiao, the editor of 'Now Dig This') to
the rockin' workouts of Drivin' Wheel' and 'Susie Q'. He also featured songs
from his latest CD such as 'Sea Of Heartbreak', Sweet Nothin's', 'Dear One' and
'Little Boy Sad'. It was good to watch new material from Robert.
Friday
The Unknown, a southern UK band were first on and performed a selection of Ricky Nelson,
Presley and Johnny Burnette Trio, together with originals, type material in a rockabilly
style. Their first album has just been released.
The next act scheduled was one of my all time recording favourites, the marvelous Link
Wray & The Ray Men. However word came through that very afternoon that Link had
influenza and had elected not to travel over from Denmark (his current base).
This is understandable when one considers that the Linkster only has one lung and has to
take special care. (Do check out his marvelous CD 'They're Outta Here, Says Archie'
Rollercoaster RCCD 3032, a just issued 25 track compilation of previously unreleased
(in the main) of recordings submitted to Archie Bleyer in 1958 for a proposed album follow
up to 'Rumble'). As a substitute, we got a selection of Hemsby acts performing various
songs. Of course, this had been quickly cobbled together but it was fun. The Hemsby
House Band launched the proceedings with Link's 'Run Chicken Run' followed by Joe Clay on
'Shake Rattle and Roll', (a hot off the airplane) Bobby Hendricks on 'Mustang Sally' and
'Under The Boardwalk' before Robert Gordon took the stage to reprise 'Sea of Heartbreak',
'I Just Found Out and 'The Way I Walk'. This was oh so different, and great,
performance to the previous night, it was coordinated and all there. This portion
of the show closed out with the Hemsby House Band rockin' with a tasty version of
Dick Dale's 'Miserlou' (but lacking that essential trumpet and saxophone - perhaps
'Rumble' would have been a better choice).
Next up were Wayne Hancock and his American backing musicians (guitar and bass).
I have seen Wayne previously and he came across as Hank Williams Snr. on speed,
and that is a compliment. This show was no exception except that he kept virtually
all his material at the same tempo; a more varied selection would have maximized his impact.
However we were treated to Wayne wrapping those marvelous nasal tones around songs such
as 'Louisiana Blues', 'Flatland Boogie', 'Lovesick Blues', 'Thunderstorms And Neon
Signs, '87 Southbound', 'Johnny Law, 'Hoy Hoy Hoy' and 'That's What Daddy Wants'.
I must single out a number titled (I believe) 'My Echo, My Shadow And Me', a superb
honky tonk ballad that reeked pure emotion. This was good roots music and all credit
to Hemsby for ringing the changes in styles. The final act for Friday was The Sugar Creek
Trio who I had last seen as support on the recent Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry UK tour.
Jet lag had nailed me by this time and so I retreated to the land of nod but I
understand that they gave a more than competent rockabilly show.
Saturday
Feeling suitably refreshed, and having spoken to Mrs. Wilkinson down under, Saturday's
proceedings in the main ballroom commenced with The Briarcats from Germany.
This is an experienced band with a varied programme content that they aptly call Swing-O-Billy.
Next it was a welcome return to the Hemsby stage for Joe Clay. I have seen Joe several
times previously but this turned out to be one of his best ever shows. He rocked, he rolled,
he thumped the heck out of the drums, he minced around the stage but at all times he was
exciting. All his cult classics like 'Ducktail', 'Doggone It', 'Get On the Right Track',
'Cracker Jack', Goodbye Goodbye', 'You Look That Good To Me', 'Did You Mean Jelly
Bean (What You Said Cabbage Head)', 'Slipping Out And Sneaking In' and a top notch
'Sixteen Chicks' were included. Along the way he also included his
versions of 'Lucille', 'Linda Lou' and 'I Hear You Knockin'. That was rock 'n' roll.
Lee Rocker and his American band then took the stage. Lee was and is, of course, the bass
player for the Stray Cats, a band who are phenomenally popular but not one of my personal
favourites. It was with some trepidation then that I watched the outfit take the stage
but my apprehension was quickly dissipated. The band, consisting of two lead
guitarists plus a drummer and Lee on upright bass, was oh so cohesive and Lee's
vocals were spot on. I guess that he could be described as the natural successor
to the latter day Ronnie Dawson, he was that good. The set consisted of
a selection of original tunes such as 'Bullet Proof', 'She's Gone', 'Blue Suede
Night', 'One More Shot Of Loving You' and 'A Little Piece Of My Heart' along with
a few Stray Cats tunes like 'Rock This Town' and 'Stray Cat Strut'. He also slipped in a
few Elvis tunes, including a marvelous interpretation of 'Trying To Get To You' and 'My
Baby Left Me', along with Chuck Berry and Hank Williams Snr. ditties. One surprise
was a knock out version of Johnny Kidd's 'Please Don't Touch'. Lee's bass
playing was of the highest order, including, so I am advised, triple slapping
and did I mention that his band was on so good? A truly memorable show,
especially as I was not expecting that much. Last on for this night was Gene Gambler
& The Shufflers, a spin off from The Rimshots. With a pedigree such as that, you know
that they are a fine rockin' outfit.
Sunday
The final night's shows kicked of with Rudy La Croix & The All Stars, a UK Swindon based
band that have previously opened for both The Comets and Scotty Moore. Next came The
Go Devils, a mixture of members from Sweden's Go Getters and the UK's Blue Devils. It was
quickly evident that their style consisted of bags of bash and thrash. 'Nuff said.
Bobby Hendricks who had been a member of The Drifters, as well as having solo hits followed
them. The Swing Kings who had added a new guitarist and drummer for the occasion backed
him up. This certainly improved their playing, it was not nearly so pedestrian as on
previous occasions. Bobby's years in show business were quickly evident as he was slick
and polished, very enjoyable to watch and listen to. The only real complaint is that he
elected to concentrate on Drifters material like 'Ruby Baby', 'Dance With Me', 'Up On The
Roof', 'Under the Boardwalk, 'Save The Last Dance For Me', 'Drip Drop', 'This Magic
Moment, 'Money Honey' and 'There Goes My Baby' to the detriment of his own solo outings.
Indeed, the only tune from his own songbook was a very fine 'Itchy Twitchy Feeling',
sadly no 'Molly B. Goode' and 'Physco'.
Hemsby 33 closed out with the return of The Bop Pills along with Hugo Salvage (this is Spanish
for Sweden's Wild Fire Willie). Frantic crowd-pleasing rock 'n' roll ensued.
Overall, another enjoyable festival and I am salivating for Hemsby 34 from 3rd to 9th May
2005 with the line-up that includes three first time UK visitors of Jay Chevalier,
The Willows and Roc La Rue, along with the established names of Janis Martin, Jack Earls
and Art Adams. This should be something else.
© Tony Wilkinson,
October 2004
.
REVIEW: ROCK 'N' ROLL TIME AGAIN
Hemsby Rock 'n' Roll Show No. 32
4TH May to 9th May 2004
Several people commented to myself before the latest Hemsby that, on paper, the bill did not look so strong
this time around. Not sure that I could agree with them but, based on the actual event, this was a wonderful
rock 'n' roll festival. This is one of the two times a year that Mrs. Wilkinson smiles at me (the other is the
October Hemsby) as I set out northwards in the car. A few hours later, I was immersing myself in the great
buzz surrounding the event that is known as Hemsby.
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday
Whilst regular work commitments prevented myself getting there for the first two nights, I
understand that the two opening acts acquitted themselves well. First up on Tuesday was local
band Porky & His Good Luck Charms whilst Wednesday night had the South London based outfit Peter
Hutton & the Beyonders.
The first act that I was able to catch was The Donettes, a high energy group from Seattle in Washington State.
The programme advised us that there were a three girl to guys outfit but on this appearance, one of the young
ladies was missing. As a side note, there was a young lady wandering around the reception area after the
Donettes performance playing a guitar and singing Gene Maltais's 'Ragin' Sea'. Based on the pictures on
the groups' releases, she did bear a strong resemblance to the missing person. However I digress, back to
the Donettes show. This was good rockin' music well played and presented with one of the two remaining
young ladies, who announced that she was from Austin, Texas, competently taking the lion's share of
the lead vocals whilst the lead guitar work was from one of the guys who was good. Their set comprised
a selection of original tunes and covers, all of which rocked out nicely, albeit there were too many numbers
at a similar fast tempo. I especially enjoyed 'Hey Little Boy Scout', 'Rocket 69', 'Hitch My Hot Rod To A
Star', 'Cry, Cry, Cry', and 'Mercy'. The band received a great response from the audience and clearly should go far.
Next up was Boston, Massachusetts based Barrance Whitfield. Backed up by the Hemsby house band, who
were augmented by twin saxes, he launched into a frantic spell binding no holds barred wild rock 'n' roll
show out of the Little Richard school. Opening up with 'Rockin' The Mule In Kansas', this was wonderful
stuff and full of energy. From here the total assault on the senses continued with 'Big Mamou', 'Bloody
Mary', 'I'm In The Madhouse', 'Juicy Fruit' an outrageous 'Caveman' and 'Bip Bop Bim'.
This was pure excitement with Whitfield and the band blending well and clearly sparking off
each other. On we went with the screaming rock 'n' roll of 'Wild Cherry', 'Geronimo Rock', 'Sadie Green', 'Stop
Twisting My Arm' before concluding with a reprise of 'Bloody Mary'. The stage antics had been brilliant
and everybody up on the stage had given 110%. There was tumultuous applause and clearly
the crowd hungered for more, this was to be satisfied on Saturday night. Make no mistake,
this guy is a headliner of the first order and I have not enjoyed a performance such as this in quite a little while.
Friday
First live performance of the night was from Rocket 88, complete with their original line-up and
fronted by Leroy Bradley. They were followed by The Go-Getters, a three piece from Sweden, deputizing
for a poorly Ersel Hickey who had unfortunately been hospitalized back in the USA. Hopefully Ersel
will make a full recovery and this was only a postponement. The Go-Getters were popular with
the younger element of the audience as they served up a selection of numbers with bags of thrash
and bash. Opening up with 'Rock It On Down To My House Baby', this was followed by the likes of 'Hip
Shakin' Baby', 'Let's Fall In Love', (the Jack Earls) 'Slow Down', 'The Devil Made Me Do It' before
making a welcome change in pace with the slower 'I Wonder'. The main vocalist was the snare
playing drummer but the guitarist did take over the lead for a few numbers. Other songs included 'Black
Magic Woman', 'Tired And Sleepy', a heavy version of 'Brand New Cadillac' (performed in the style
of the UK group The Pirates), 'Slow Down' (Larry Williams song), 'Mexico, 'Ice Cold Baby' and a
fitting tribute to the late Ronnie Dawson with 'Jump Jivin' Doll'.
Before the next act, UK disc jockey Wild Cat Pete was presented by Hayden Thompson with a certificate
inducting him into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame for forty years completed as a rock 'n' roll DJ. Nice
gesture and obviously deserved.
Go Cat Go then took the stage. This was the original line-up apart from obviously the late Darren Spears
whose place on lead vocals was taken by Eddie Clendening who had been last in the UK last March with Deke
Dickerson. It was a bit of a hesitant start, clearly all were somewhat nervous and probably a little rusty
but as the set progressed, it came good and the outfit was a cohesive unit. This was an enjoyable set
with a good balance of numbers and varied tempos. Clendening's vocals and stage movements were suited
to the backing provided by Brian Freeman on bass, Lance LeBeau on drums and special mention must be
made of the picking from the lead guitarist Bill Hall that was spot on. The show comprised a mixture
of original songs such as the crowd pleasers 'Please Mama Please' (which had to be performed twice), 'Forever's
Much Too Long', 'Little Baby Doll', 'Ten Ways To Rock' and 'Can't Tie Me Down' along with the bands
interpretations of such as 'Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll', 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky' and 'Just Because'.
I especially enjoyed 'Hot Rod Man', 'Who Was That Cat' and 'I've Got My Eyes On You'. A fine group
who garnered a good reception and hopefully they may now continue performing. Closing out Friday's
performances were The Blue Flames with their mixture of R&B and rockin' blues.
Saturday
The programme advises that the first act on in the main ballroom was Boni Maki & The Sun Dodgers but
unfortunately I was unable to catch their show. They were followed by a 77 year young Jimmy Cavello
making his second UK appearance along with his own lead guitarist Ron Spencer. In the two years since
he last made these shores, he had lost none of his impact and proceed to wow the audience with a
demonstration of what showmanship was all about. His vocals were excellent and his sax playing
sublime. With no messing, he went straight into 'Rock The Joint' followed by 'Bloodshot Eyes', 'Leave
Married Women Alone' and 'The Big Beat'. The last mentioned had three saxophone players playing in
unison. Cavello was seamless with the Hemsby house band. and this was demonstrated on 'Poor Me', 'Sick
And Tired' before going into a splendid 'Rock Rock Rock'. Then it was back to the Fats Domino songbook
with 'Please Don't Leave Me' which Jimmy demonstrated was the forerunner to Bill Dogett's 'Honky Tonk'.
It was great to see an instrumental performed so appetisingly well. With guitarist Ron Spencer well to
the fore, we we