Reasons to love youTube No.11 - Stray Cats - Ubangi Stomp

Here's some great clips of the Stray Cats in the early days doing Warren Smith's rockabilly classic, Ubangi Stomp.

In the first clip Brian knocks the mic stand over during the intro so he lies down on stage to sing into. Classic

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Brian Setzer returns to UK

After being denied the chance to see the Stray cats during their farewell tour, due to Slim Jim falling off the stage the previous night, I'm happy to say that two-thirds of them are back this summer.

Billed as Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot, the new tour will feature two drummers and two bass players! I'm not sure how that'll work out but hopefully it won't be a mess. Setzer is joined by Johnny Hatton and Chris D'Rozario on bass, Kevin McKendree on piano and drummers Noah Levy and the legendary Slim Jim Phantom.

Check out briansetzer.com to see the dates and venues.

Stray Cats - Ubangi Stomp (youTube)

The graffiti on the wall says "have a wank". After watching this I nearly did.

Please Give Me Something - Roots Of The Stray Cats

Please Give Me Something - Roots Of The Stray Cats
Bullseye/El Toro

Track Listing:
Icky Poo : The Nomands
Tear It Up : Johnny Burnette Trio
Lonely Travelin' : Lonesome Lee
Sweet Love On My Mind : Jimmy & Johnny
Somethin' Else : Eddie Cochran
Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop : Lew Williams
Ubangi Stomp : Warren Smith
Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie : Eddie Cochran
Please Give Me Something : Bill Allen
Double Talkin' Baby : Gene Vincent
My One Desire : Ricky Nelson
That Mellow Saxophone : Roy Montrell
Your Baby Blue Eyes : Johnny Burnette Trio
Wasn't That Good? : Wynonie Harris
Let's Have A Ball : The Wheels
Rock Therapy : Johnny Burnette Trio
Race With The Devil : Gene Vincent
I'm Looking For Someone To Love : The Crickets
Beautiful Delilah : Chuck Berry
One Hand Loose : Charlie Feathers
Everybody's Movin' : Glen Glenn
Slip Slip Slippin' In : Eddie Bond
Your True Love : Carl Perkins
Stood Up : Ricky Nelson
Let It Rock : Chuck Berry
Mystery Train : Elvis Presley
Sleep Walk : Santo & Johnny
Hidden Charms : Chet Atkins

I’ve just had the good fortune of receiving a tasty package from Dave Penny on behalf of El Toro records. Amongst the delights was the new CD, Roots of the Stray Cats which looks at the original songs that they covered or in some cases, borrowed from. To top it all, the set also comes in vinyl format with the much missed gatefold sleeve. It’s easy to forget how much easier it is to read the sleeve notes on this format than the handy, but tiny CD sleeve.

The track list is phenomenal, and in fairness to the Cats, their versions of them all are top quality. In common with thousands of others my age, I became aware of a lot of these songs courtesy of Massapequa’s finest. I heard Ubangi Stomp for the first time on their debut, before I ever heard Warren Smith’s original. I know this’ll bring tutts and moans from one and all, but that’s the way it was. The Stray Cats brought some of this music to a new audience, who like me dug deeper in a quest to discover just where it came from. In the days before the internet that wasn’t easy, and a school kid couldn’t afford to but the wealth of reissues coming out at the time.

Amongst the Stray Cats catalogue there’s some straight covers, such as Tear It Up, Your True Love and Rock Therapy together with a couple of naughtier moments. Changing the odd words, didn’t make the song your own. Crawl Up And Die was Bill Allen’s Please Give Me Something, Wild Saxophone was definitely Roy Montrell’s Mellow Saxophone. Not quite as blatant, but pretty close was their adaptation of Lew Williams’ Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop into Fishnet Stockings and the Wheel’s Let’s Hall A Ball became Gonna Ball.

As well as being a great CD in it’s own right, there’s a couple of numbers that a lot of fans may not be familiar with. What’s amazing is the way that two of them, The Nomands’ Icky Poo and Lonesome Lee’s Lonely Travelin' were both used for the beat to Stray Cat Strut. I find it fascinating to hear them both, as they both provided elements of the Strut, but the contribution that Brian Setzer made to reinvent the number is mind blowing. The two originals are really good, but SCS is brilliant.

A great collection that pays equal homage to the Stray Cats and the guys that inspired them.

Flip's Clips No.7 - Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis - Turn On Your Lovelight

Now Shaun and I have several things in common, we are Welsh, we love cats, we support Spurs and Wales, but most importantly of all we just lurveeeeeeeeeeeeee Mr Jerry Lee Lewis. I`ve been a fan since seeing his famed 64 Granada TV show in the mid 60s and Shaun has been a fan for ten minutes or so (;-)) and we`ve seen him in Wales, Scotland, England and Memphis (and the Lewis ranch).

Now Shaun also digs rockabilly bass boppers, Elvis, Shaky, Stray Cats etc and I dig Eddie Cochran, Fats, Dave Edmunds, Chuck n Elvis but when it comes to da Killah it`s a different kettle of fish, he simply is THE man, on record, onstage and in life, totally unique and the greatest of the greats in our humble opinion.

So I thought I better put some Lewis clip up before we get disbarred from the First Assembly Of Lewis church (Ferriday and Wales branch), back when ole El was doing his tv and stage comeback and ole Johhny C and the Everlys had their own great tv shows the legendary Jack Good`s sidekick Rita Gillespie (who workd on Oh Boy, Shindig and the legendary Catch My Soul stage show) came up with some great tv pilots featuring JLL, family and musical friends but sadly as great as they are ( I mean JLL doing Ubangi Stomp fer gawd`s sake) they were not taken up for national syndication, fortunately the tapes survived and the long gone US cable channel Outlaw Music showed them in the 90s, this is one of my fav clips as it features JLL singing Bobby Bland`s classic r&b gem Turn On Your Lovelight whilst playing the drums, yes drums, watch and wonder without further ado!

Occassional Bootleg Series No. 8 - Brian Setzer '86.

Stray Cats – Lonely Cat
Recorded Live Ta Capitol Theatre ,Passaic NJ, 20th April 1986

Tracklist: Haunted River / Rumble In Brighton / Bobby's Back / Maria / Stray Cat Strut / Breath Of Life / Chains Around Your Heart / The Knife Feels Like Justice / Rock This Town / Radiation Ranch / Tear It Up


When the Stray Cats split in 1984 Brian Setzer had a brief flirtation as a serious American rocker in the vein of Springsteen and Mellancamp. He undertook a major US tour in 1986 to promote his first solo project The Knife Feels Like Justice. Die hard rockabilly fans were aghast at the modern sound of the album, but I really liked most of it. I was more appalled by the hair!!

This bootleg was recorded at a date in Possaic, New Jersey and where Setzer showcases a handful of tracks from The Knife together with a few Stray Cats classics. The band features Setzer on vocals and lead guitar, Tommy Byrnes on second guitar, Chuck Level on keyboards, David Prater on drums and Kenny Aaronsen on the dreaded electric bass.

Highlights of the album songs are the title track, Bobby’s Back and Maria, which was always my favourite. The soundboard quality is excellent and it allows us to enjoy Brian’s guitar which is as wonderful as ever. The trio are adult orientated rock whereas another from the album, Radiation Rock is guitar fest with echoes of rock, punk and rockabilly.

The album cover says that all songs were written by Setzer. Well if he wrote Tear It Up, I wrote Blue Suede Shows. Anyhoot, this version goes like the clappers and his guitar is on fire. The quartet of Cats numbers are great with the extended intro to Rock This Town starting in a slow before turning into the nitro-burning rockabilly classic we all know and love.

The clips below show a couple of performances from the ’86 US tour.

The Satellites – Wrong Move

The Satellites – Wrong Move
Planet X Records

Tracklist: Wrong Move, Trouble No More, Mad About Him Sad About Him How Can I Be Glad Without Him Blues, How Come It, Show Me, Too Close For Comfort, You Look That Good To Me, Bayou Rock

Adelaide, Australia natives The Satellites have only been going just over a decade but this latest release is already their seventh album on Planet X Records. The band consist of Belinda Hartman, Steve Mithchell, Jad Green and Darren Hunt and are one of the top bands in the Southern Hemisphere. They’ve toured all over the world and had the priveledge of supporting the Stray Cats on their recent tour of Oz.

The band excel at hot rockabilly with the title track being a wild rocker that kicks the album off in fine style. And even better is the scorching version of Joe Clay’s You Look That Good To Me that absolutely sizzles. Mad About Him Sad About Him How Can I Be Glad Without Him Blues is a lovely, hillbilly tinged rockaballad with great vocals from Belinda Hartman.

There’s a strong Stray Cats influence on a couple numbers with Trouble No More having the jazzier sound the cats sometimes employed, whilst the excellent cover George Jones’ cult classic How Come It is more Stray Cats than Thumper.

There’s a couple of hot duets in Bayou Rock and I think my favourite on the CD, Show Me, a bouncy little foot tapper with Hartman proving she’s got a great voice for rockabilly. A short but great CD, well worth checking out.

Slim Jim and Lee Rocker hit and slap around the world

Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom, the hip-swivellinest drummer in rock 'n' roll history is embarking on a few new projects this summer. The first, in early July will see him play a handful of dates in South America with guitarist Jimmy Rip, who many of you might remember for his recent association with the Killer. He's no mean guitarist and Jim knows how to lay a thin bit of stick on a tight bit of skin.

The following month looks brilliant, with Slim Jim teaming up with rockabilly legends Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding, together with original Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, who Jim knows from his Dead Men Walking days. To date they've got ahandful of dates arranged for the northern states of America, but are looking for more. It would be great to see that line-up head over here.

Meawhile, slap bass supremo Lee Rocker continues to be the most prolific of all the Cats, with a summer long diary that sees him criss-cross North America as well as a mid October date at the Cerdanyola Blues Festival in Spain.

The Clash - like watching three Eddie Cochran's

I've just been watching a documentary of my favourite punk band, The History of The Clash and heard a great quote fom one of their early followers. Talking about their live show, the guy said that with their head-on sound and the visual dynamics of the front three, "it was like watching three Eddie Cochran's". What a thought. I'd have been happy just to have seen the one, the closest I ever got was a tongue in my ear from Sharon Sheeley. Nice, but not like watching Eddie baby on stage. About the only link I can think of between Eddie and the Clash is Brian Setzer, who was best mates with Joe Strummer and played the role of Eddie in La Bamba. So here's a few videos of the Clash in their prime, Eddie in his prime and the Stray Cats doing Gene and Eddie.

The Jets live at Jolly Beggars, Coventry

The Jets live at Jolly Beggars, Coventry
25th April 2009

Now Coventry ain’t exactly on my doorstep, in fact it’s three and a half hours drive, but that’s what you get for living like Bobby Charles. This trip was planned for my niece Kelly Ann who like all good girls has developed a little soft spot for some rockabilly. She was going to see the ill-fated Stray Cats show Manchester last September, until Slim Jim did the kamikaze stunt the night before. So who better for her to see as her first rockabilly show than the Jets. I’ve seen them probably a dozen times so I knew she wouldn’t be disappointed. So, me and the misses and my sister and niece spent a lovely sunny day before hand in Stratford, where we got to help celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday, along with some totally strange Morris dancers.

The venue in the heart of downtown Coventry is ideal for this type of concert, a long dance-floor and a raised stage with seating all around. The DJ, whose name escapes me did an excellent job of working the crowd up, playing a well thought out set that went through the early days before closing with a couple of recent numbers from the likes of Go Cat Go, Darrel Higham and Bill Crittenden. He also did a few requests, including Billy Fury’s Gonna Type A Letter for my three gals. Him and his misses could cut a rug as well.



I hadn’t seen the Jets since they’ve suffered their health problems, but as soon as they started playing it was obvious that their music hasn’t suffered. They play pretty much anything from the classics to the obscure and their own originals to covers. They have their own unique sound which combines the standard three-piece rockabilly format with exquisite harmony vocals. Highlights of their set would have to include Razor Alley, Love Makes The World Go Around (a request) and an accappella version of Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight. Early in the set they did a great stroller version of Buddy’s That’ll Be The Day which blew me away. Stare, Stare, Stare and Bony Maronie were both excellent but next to That'll Be The Day I would have to say that my favourite was Little Orphan Girl. They encored with Andy Starr’s Dig Them Squeaky Shoes, rounding out of night of rockabilly meets doo-wop in the finest Jets tradition.

youTube - Stray Cats-Bring it Back Again/Runaway Boys

From an outdoor concer in Kaivari, Finland on 4.6.1989. The two songs are split by a short black and white interview with Slim Jim who looks so cool, and so young and tells the guy that this reunion was for the long term. He said that the magic they have as a band keeps bringing them back together. Let's hope it does in the future.

The concert footage is high quality, obviously done for television. I'd love to see the whole show as the camera angles are in-their-face and the trio sound superb. There's a boppin' country fell to Bring it Back Again, especially in Brian Setzer's guitar. It's a wondeful version that gives the issued single a run for it's money. There's a neo-rockabilly edge to Runaway Boys and it might just be my ears, but it sounds slightly slower than I'm used to. A great clip, that's the best seven minutes I've spent today.

Geraint Watkins - The Celtic Cajun

Geraint Watkins is the embodiment of the journeyman musician. He'sthe perfect guy to have in your touring band, he's always engaging onstage, full of good humour and to top it all, he's a damn good player.His work on piano and accordion has been heard on more tracks thanyou'd imagine, as well as being an integral part in the careers of twoother fine Welshmen, Dave Edmunds and Shakin' Stevens. I know we're a bit incestuous here and there's a lot of in-breeding, but Geraint has managed to work with a few foreigners as well!!

Born Geraint Meurig Vaughan Watkins in Abertriwr, South Walesin February 1951 his music career began in the early 70's with localWelsh language bands as well Buck Dancer, Juice on the Loose andRed Beans & Rice. He did a session for Stuart Colman's It's Rock 'n'Roll radio show and was included on the second volume of the show'salbums. Similarly, Charlie Gillett's Honky Tonk radio show and Demosalbum. He made a name for himself as a fine session player and overthe years has worked with such artists as Rory Gallagher, AndyFairweather Low, Sting, George Harrison, Status Quo, Eric Clapton,The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Paul Young, Mark Knopfler, The BluesBand and Box Of Frogs (featuring ex-Yardbirds). As well as Edmunds and Stevens he's also played on many a rockin' album including CarlPerkins, the Stray Cats, Frankie Ford, Restless, Matchbox and yet another Welsh band, the great Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers.He played on the five albums by the good-timey roots/cajun pub band,The Balham Alligators.
Recent times have seen him work with Nick Lowe, Van Morrison andBill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. As well as all this he's also released a coupleof solo albums, the first one, GW and the Dominators coming out in 1978.Anyone who caught Johnnie Allan's great shows in 1992 couldn't havefailed to be enthralled by Watkins. He was part of a blinding backing bandand really seemed to enjoy himself on backing vocals on Running Bear.He was also a part of the superb Carl Perkins and Friends RockabillySpecial. With ten guitarists on the go, GW still manages to keep his rolling piano up in the mix. Apart from the Balham Alligators, his most prolific timehas been as a member of the Refreshments. If the UK had it's own A-Team of musicians, Geraint Watkins would be the equivalent of Pig Robbins orFloyd Cramer. There aren't many Dave Edmunds produced sessions where he doesn't call on Geraint, even flying him to Texas for a Fabulous Thunderbirds album. As an aside, I was just playing Honeyboy Hinkling's Wonderful Night and the woman opposite me said, "that sounds like Dave Edmunds with that squeezy thing". I didn't say she was bright! But she did recognise the accordion of our man Geraint, so it does prove the point. I must confess to not having any of his solo releases but I've got two self explanatory bootlegs called The Sessionman Vol's 1 and 2. They perfectly demonstrate how his piano and accordion can bring a new dimension to a song, adding just the right amount of sparkle.
Here's a butcher's dozen to tap your feet to:
Dave Edmunds - Run Rudolph Run or Dear Dad - GW's piano plays theJohnnie Johnson to Dave's CB.
Shakin' Stevens - Oh Julie - almost a cajun rocker thanks to GW's accordion.
Crazy Cavan - Both Wheels Left The Ground - stomping JLL piano poundingfrom GW, and CC and the boys follow suit. Brilliant.
Southside - Don't Lie To Me - great GW boogie intro.
Nick Lowe - True Love Travels On A Gravel Road - to be honest GWis fairly restrained on the organ here, but what a version.
Memphis Bend - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - driving accordion.
Refreshments - Veronica - I love Ronnie Dawson's version but this kicksass as well.
Mason Ruffner - Baby I Don't Care No More - sounds as much like DaveEdmunds as DE sounds like Chuck Berry!!
The Balham Alligators - Gotta Have Money - does ever have a boring session?
Honeyboy Hinkling - It's Over - nice moody piece with some tasty brass andguitar.
Willie & the Poor Boys - Saturday Night - GW takes the vocals on a stonkingversion of the Roy Brown rocker.
Juice On The Loose - The Blue Flames Boogie - hot rocking boogie babywith GW in fine fettle.
Stray Cats - Look At That Cadillac - last but not least. GW works in fineunison with Mel Collins' sax. A romp.