Showaddywaddy are a 1970s
popPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
groupA musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They specialised in revivals of
hitA hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as
Teddy BoyThe British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
s.
History
The
bandIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
was formed in 1973 by the
amalgamationConsolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
of two groups, The Choise and The Golden Hammers, the latter often being known as simply 'The Hammers'. This led to an eight-member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, a couple of
drummerDouble drumming is a musical technique, used mostly in rock music, where two drummers play two drum kits at the same time. One may play the rhythm while the other may play another style, or both may play the same rhythm...
s and two
bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
s. They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester and soon discovered shared musical tastes. After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently and Showaddywaddy was born.
Subsequently they were approached and asked, "Do you want to be on TV?". The show was
New FacesNew Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
. They won one programme in the series and were runners-up in the "All Winners Final". Their first
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Hey Rock and Roll" (
writtenA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Showaddywaddy then went on to have a further twenty-two UK hits until late 1982. They had most of their biggest hits with
coversIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of songs from the 1950s and the early 1960s. These cover versions included "
Three Steps to Heaven"Three Steps to Heaven" is a 1960 single by Eddie Cochran. It became a posthumous UK number-one hit for Cochran following his death in a car crash. In the US it didn't reach the Billboard Hot 100...
" (originally by
Eddie CochranEddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
in 1960), "
Heartbeat"Heartbeat" is a rockabilly song written by Bob Montgomery and Norman Petty and recorded originally by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B side of the single was "Well.....
" (originally written and
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by
Buddy HollyCharles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
), "
Under the Moon of Love"Under the Moon of Love" was a popular hit single by Showaddywaddy.Written by Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee and produced by Phil Spector in 1961 for Curtis Lee, "Under the Moon of Love" was a minor hit in the U.S. reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.Fifteen years later the song was...
" (originally a
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hit for
Curtis LeeCurtis Lee is an American singer of the early 1960s, who twice over was one of the beneficiaries of 1961 productions by Phil Spector. These were "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and "Under the Moon of Love" Curtis Lee (born October 28, 1941, Yuma, Arizona, U.S.) is an American singer of the early...
in 1961 and co-written by
Tommy BoyceTommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were a prolific songwriting duo, best known for the songs they wrote for The Monkees.-Early years:Hart's father was a church minister and he himself served in the Army after leaving high school, Upon discharge,...
), "When" (originally by the
Kalin TwinsThe Kalin Twins were a pop music recording duo, comprising twin brothers Hal and Herbie Kalin .-Career:...
), "
You Got What It Takes"You Got What It Takes" is a 1959 single by Marv Johnson. In the US it reached #2 on the Black Singles chart, and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. In the UK Singles Chart it reached a high of #7.-Other recordings:...
" (originally by
Marv JohnsonMarv Johnson was an American R&B and soul singer, most notable for performing on the first record to be issued from what became Motown.-Biography:...
) and "Dancin' Party" (originally by
Chubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
). The above six singles were all
producedA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by
Mike HurstMike Hurst is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:...
(a former member of
The SpringfieldsThe Springfields were a British pop-folk vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland and included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, record producer Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, later a noted Sufi writer, who was latterly replaced by Mike Hurst, who...
, who had also previously produced
Cat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
).
On the South African charts, "Three Steps to Heaven" reached no. 6 in 1975 and "Under the Moon of Love" no. 6 in 1977.
Following "Dancin' Party" (1977), the band produced themselves with more cover versions including "
I Wonder Why"I Wonder Why" is a doo-wop song, written by Melvin Anderson and Ricardo Weeks, and first recorded by Dion and the Belmonts in 1958. It is sung from the point of view of a man telling to his girlfriend that he neither knows nor ultimately cares to know the reasons for his love for said other...
" (originally by
Dion and the BelmontsDion and the Belmonts was a leading American vocal group of the late 1950s. The group formed when Dion DiMucci, lead singer , joined The Belmonts - Carlo Mastrangelo, baritone , Freddie Milano, second tenor , and Angelo D'Aleo, first tenor , in late 1957.-History:After an unsuccessful first single,...
), "
Blue Moon"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
" (based on
The MarcelsThe Marcels were a doo-wop group known for turning American classical pop songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and signed to Colpix Records, with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss...
' interpretation) and another Curtis Lee original "Pretty Little Angel Eyes", again co-written by Tommy Boyce. Their most recent chart single was "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)", a minor number 37 hit in 1982.
In total they had ten
Top TenA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
singles, a solitary number one ("Under the Moon of Love" in 1976), and spent 209 weeks in the UK Singles Chart.
At the peak of their popularity, this tally included having seven successive Top Five entries. Their biggest-selling single was the aforementioned "Under the Moon of Love", which sold 985,000 copies.
Cherry Red Records began to release Showaddywaddy's extensive album back catalogue on
CDThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
from 2000 onwards on their '7Ts' imprint. The reissues featured rare bonus tracks (
B-sidesA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
and non-album singles).
Early in 2008, the band finished recording their album,
The Sun Album (I Betcha Gonna Like It), released on
Voiceprint RecordsVoiceprint Records is a company and record label based in England, founded in 1990 by Rob Ayling. They specialise in re-releasing old material, especially progressive rock, but also have new releases, all under the Voiceprint and other imprints....
that spring. A special limited edition (500 copies only) was available, signed by the whole band and comprised the CD, a
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, special packaging and extended sleeve notes. In September 2011, lead singer Dave Bartram releases his long-lost solo recordings from 1982-1985 on Invisible Hands Music. The seventeen track album will be entitled
Lost and Found.
Despite the hits drying up nearly three decades ago, Showaddywaddy have continued to tour, and still do around 100 dates a year all around Europe.
Band members
The original Showaddywaddy line-up was:
- Dave Bartram (born 23 March 1952, Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
) — vocals;
- Buddy Gask (born William Gask, 18 December 1948, Leicester – 7 June 2011, Spain). — vocals;
- Russ Field (born James Lewis Russell Field, 1 September 1949, Berwick Upon Tweed) — guitar;
- Trevor Oakes (born 9 September 1946, Leicester — guitar;
- Al James (born Geoffrey Betts, 13 January 1946, Leicester) — bass;
- Rod Deas (born 13 February 1948, Scarborough, North Yorkshire) — bass;
- Malcolm "Duke" Allured (born 27 August 1945, Leicester) — drums;
- Romeo Challenger
Romeo Challenger is a Caribbean-born, British-based musician.Challenger was born in St Johns, Antigua, West Indies. Since 1973 he has been the drummer in the rock and roll band Showaddywaddy...
(born 19 May 1950, St John's, AntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, West Indies) — drums.
Malcolm Allured left the group in 1984, followed by Russ Field in 1985, and Buddy Gask in 1987. Al James retired from the band in 2008, playing his last
gigA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
with the band at The Cheese & Grain in
FromeFrome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
,
SomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, on 20 December 2008. In early 2009, Trevor Oakes decided to take a break from the band due to ill health but in the Spring of 2009, he left the band and officially retired from 1 May 2009, meaning his last gig was also at The Cheese & Grain. Danny Willson also left the band during 2009 to join
Martin Turner's Wishbone AshMartin Turner's Wishbone Ash is a British rock band led by Martin Turner, original bassist, lead vocalist and songwriter of Wishbone Ash. Including various reunions, his tenures with the "original" Wishbone Ash band lasted 1969-1980, 1987–1991 and 1995-1996....
and his last gig was in Denmark on 8 August. Danny had been in the band since 1995 and had replaced Ray Martinez who had a 10 year stint in the band, having replaced the departing Russ Field in 1985. Trevor Oakes is the father of footballers
Scott OakesScott Oakes is a former professional footballer, best known from his time at Luton Town in the early 1990s. Oakes began his career at Leicester City but was transferred to Luton in 1991 as part of the deal that took Steve Thompson the opposite way.At Luton, Oakes soon became a regular in the side,...
and
Stefan OakesStefan Trevor Oakes is an English footballer, who most recently played for Tamworth in Conference National.Oakes' brother Scott was also a professional footballer. Their father Trevor Oakes was a guitarist in the band Showaddywaddy....
. Contrary to popular legend, however, Challenger is not the father of footballer
Dion DublinDion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...
. Gask retired to
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 2005, and died in 2011 after suffering with ill health for a number of years, whilst Field runs a guest house with his wife in
BeadnellBeadnell is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is situated about south-east of Bamburgh, on the North Sea coast, and has a population of 528....
,
NorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. Allured owns a
nightclubA nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called MFN at Shipley Gate,
EastwoodEastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
,
NottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
.
The remaining originals, Bartram, Deas and Challenger, continue to perform, along with guitarist Paul Dixon and David Graham who plays saxophone, keyboards and rhythm guitar. On 18 October 2011, it was announced on the band's website that original band member Dave Bartram had decided to leave the band after 38 years. His last performance will be 3 December 2011 at a West Yorkshire gig.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year |
Album title |
UK
|
Label |
| 1974 |
Showaddywaddy |
9 |
BellBell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York, the owner of children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A...
|
| 1975 |
Step Two |
7 |
| 1976 |
Trocadero |
41 |
| 1977 |
Red Star |
20 |
Arista |
| 1979 |
Crepes and Drapes |
8 |
| 1980 |
Bright Lights |
33 |
| 1981 |
Good Times |
– |
Bell |
| 1983 |
Living Legends |
– |
RCARCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
|
| 2008 |
The Sun Album (I Betcha Gonna Like It) |
– |
Voiceprint |
Compilation albums
| Year |
Album title |
UK
|
Label |
| 1976 |
Greatest Hits |
4 |
AristaArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
/Bell |
| 1978 |
Greatest Hits 1976-1978 |
1 |
Arista |
| 1981 |
The Very Best of Showaddywaddy |
33 |
Arista |
| 1987 |
The Best Steps to Heaven |
90 |
Tiger |
| 1991 |
Jump, Boogie & Jive |
– |
President |
| 1996 |
The One and Only (Greatest and Latest) |
– |
CMC |
| 2002 |
Hey Rock 'n' Roll |
– |
Ovation |
| 2004 |
Hey Rock 'n' Roll - The Very Best of Showaddywaddy |
56 |
Demon |
| 2006 |
I Love Rock 'n' Roll |
– |
Singles
| Year |
Title |
UK
|
IRL The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
|
Label |
| 1974 |
"Hey Rock and Roll" |
9 |
5 |
BellBell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York, the owner of children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A...
|
| "Rock 'n' Roll Lady" |
15 |
– |
| "Hey Mr. Christmas" |
13 |
15 |
| 1975 |
"Sweet Music" |
15 |
12 |
| "Three Steps to Heaven "Three Steps to Heaven" is a 1960 single by Eddie Cochran. It became a posthumous UK number-one hit for Cochran following his death in a car crash. In the US it didn't reach the Billboard Hot 100...
" |
2 |
1 |
| "Heartbeat "Heartbeat" is a rockabilly song written by Bob Montgomery and Norman Petty and recorded originally by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B side of the single was "Well.....
" |
7 |
5 |
| "Heavenly" |
34 |
– |
| 1976 |
"Trocadero" |
32 |
– |
| "Take Me in Your Arms" |
– |
– |
| "Under the Moon of Love "Under the Moon of Love" was a popular hit single by Showaddywaddy.Written by Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee and produced by Phil Spector in 1961 for Curtis Lee, "Under the Moon of Love" was a minor hit in the U.S. reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.Fifteen years later the song was...
" |
1 |
– |
| 1977 |
"When" |
3 |
7 |
AristaArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
|
| "You Got What It Takes "You Got What It Takes" is a 1959 single by Marv Johnson. In the US it reached #2 on the Black Singles chart, and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. In the UK Singles Chart it reached a high of #7.-Other recordings:...
" |
2 |
12 |
| "Dancin' Party" |
4 |
6 |
| 1978 |
"I Wonder Why "I Wonder Why" is a doo-wop song, written by Melvin Anderson and Ricardo Weeks, and first recorded by Dion and the Belmonts in 1958. It is sung from the point of view of a man telling to his girlfriend that he neither knows nor ultimately cares to know the reasons for his love for said other...
" |
2 |
10 |
| "A Little Bit of Soap "A Little Bit of Soap", written by Bert Berns , was a song, first sung in a bluesy soul style by The Jarmels, who reached #12 with it in September 1961....
" |
5 |
2 |
| "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" |
5 |
2 |
| 1979 |
"Remember Then" |
17 |
7 |
| "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller" |
15 |
9 |
| "A Night at Daddy Gee's" |
39 |
26 |
| 1980 |
"Always and Ever" |
– |
– |
| "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts" |
22 |
24 |
| "Blue Moon A blue moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations...
" |
32 |
27 |
| 1981 |
"Doo Wah Diddy "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters.It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat and pop band Manfred Mann...
" |
– |
– |
| "Multiplication" |
39 |
– |
| "Footsteps" |
31 |
– |
Bell |
| 1982 |
"Good Timing" |
– |
– |
| "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp-a-Bomp-a-Bomp)" |
37 |
– |
RCARCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
|
| "Goody Goody "Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Benny Goodman and his Orchestra recorded this song. Frankie Lymon performed this song live on television on several occasions, including in 1957 on The Ted Steele Show...
" |
– |
– |
| 1983 |
"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" |
– |
– |
| 1986 |
"Under the Moon of Love" (Remix) |
– |
– |
Genie |
| 1987 |
"Why?" |
– |
– |
Tiger |
| 1990 |
"Rockin' and Rollin' With Santa Claus" |
– |
– |
President |
External links