Rockin' Song of the Week No. 95 - Breathless – Oh You Babe

Breathless – Oh You Babe
Magnum Force MFEP005

All those soppy assed prudes that think Crazy Cavan are the Status Quo of rockabilly, must absolutely hate Breathless. They come from the same stock but turn their amps up one extra notch. Both bands come from Newport, South Wales with Breathless having no less than two of Crazy Cavan’s brothers, Pat and Colin Grogan.

Breathless, formed in the late seventies, with the two Grogan brothers joined by lead guitarist Robert Davies, rhythm guitarist lan Haines and Colin "Eddie" Edwards. They undertook tours all over Europe with Cavan, Little Gina, the Stray Cats, Freddie Fingers Lee and Whirlwind among others.

They released their first EP, "Sock Hop Boppin'" on Magnum Force in 1981 and all four tracks were great. They were all self written by various band members. In 1985 their first self written album appeared on the French Big Beat label, titled "Bad Bad Boys". The last time I saw them was at a Cavan gig at Dewstowe a couple of years ago, and they were really good, and really loud.

Oh You Babe was written by guitarist Davies and it’s a no holds barred rocker, very much of the early 80s, with a modern, heavily amplified sound. At a time when rockabilly was hitting the charts left right and centre, there was no reason why this couldn’t have landed them a spot on Top of the Pops.