The Polecats
Encyclopedia
Career
The Polecats are a rockabillyRockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
band formed in 1977 in North London. The original line-up was Tim Worman (a.k.a Tim Polecat, vocalist), Martin "Boz" Boorer
Boz Boorer
Boz Boorer is a British guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group, The Polecats, and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and musical director with Morrissey.-The Polecats:The band "Cult Heroes" was formed in 1977 by Tim Worman , Boz...
, (guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and vocalist), Phil Bloomberg, (bassist
Bassist
A 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...
), and Chris Hawkes (drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
), who originally played under the name "Cult Heroes." Finding difficulty persuading promoters to book them on the rockabilly circuit with a name sounding "too punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
", they adopted Hawkes' suggested band name The Polecats. Hawkes was later replaced by Neil Rooney; who was subsequently replaced by immensely talented John Buck.The Polecats played rockabilly with a "punk sense of anarchy and helped revive the genre for a new generation in the early '80s"
The band were first signed by the fledgling British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rockabilly record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Nervous Records
Nervous Records
Nervous Records is a UK based rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979. Artists include Nekromantix, Restless, The Nervous Fellas, The Quakes and many more. The website sells CDs and mp3s. Nervous Records an independent record label based in the UK born out of years of DJ...
, and recorded their first single
Single (music)
In 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...
"Rockabilly Guy" at Guitarist Alan Warner's "Lane Studios" in 1979. Formerly with the hugely successful "Foundations" band, Warner toured and recorded with the Polecats for about a year.
In 1980 the band signed to Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, and released their most successful LP
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Polecats Are Go! They had UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chart
Record chart
A 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....
success with a David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
cover "John, I'm Only Dancing
John, I'm Only Dancing
"John, I’m Only Dancing" is a single by David Bowie, released in September 1972.-Recording and release:The song was widely believed to be concerned with a homosexual relationship, the narrator informing his boyfriend not to worry about the girl he's with because he's "only dancing" with her...
", a reworking of "Rockabilly Guy", and another cover version
Cover version
In 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 the T-Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
(Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
) song "Jeepster
Jeepster (song)
"Jeepster" was a 1971 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex, both taken from the group's second album, Electric Warrior....
".
In 1983, they hit the charts in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with their song "Make a Circuit With Me." John Buck replaced Neil Rooney in 1982 drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s.
Two of their songs were on the soundtrack to the 1986 film Joey
Joey (1986 film)
Joey is a 1986 film written and directed by Joseph Ellison, based on a story by Ellen Hammill. The rock and roll movie features songs by Tim Worman and the Polecats and performances by the Ad-Libs, the Silhouettes, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and others.-Plot:...
.
Boz Boorer left the group to work as a guitarist, musical director, and co-songwriter
Songwriter
A 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...
with Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, but led a Polecats reunion in 1989, which produced a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
and a new studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
set.
Tim Polecat moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and formed the band 13 Cats with drummer Slim Jim
Slim Jim Phantom
Slim Jim Phantom is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside band mates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s.-Biography:...
of the Stray Cats
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American Rockabilly band formed in 1980 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer , upright bassist Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia and the U.S...
, stand-up bassist Smutty Smith of The Rockats, and guitarist Danny B. Harvey of The Swing Cats. Musically, Tim Polecat also continues to work as a film composer and solo singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
The band continue to tour and as of summer 2009 are playing gigs
Concert
A 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...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and USA.
In November 2006 frontman Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
of the British band Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
, along with bassist Steve Mackey
Steve Mackey
Steve Mackey is a British musician and record producer best known for playing bass guitar in the band Pulp. He also played bass for Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker in the latter's solo career, and worked as a songwriter and producer with artists such as M.I.A...
, released a 2-CD
Compact Disc
The 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 ,...
compilation album, The Trip, which features a wide selection of tracks
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
as varied as The Fall, Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
, Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
, Sonny Bono
Sonny Bono
Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.-Early life:...
plus The Polecats with their hit "John, I'm Only Dancing".
In June 2008 Disney Pixar film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, WALL E, used The Polecats 1983 hit song, "Make a Circuit With Me" in their television trailers for the film. In 2010, the US broadcaster TBS used The Polecats 1983 hit song, "Make a Circuit With Me" in two episodes of the TV series Glory Daze
Glory Daze (TV series)
Glory Daze is an American comedy-drama television series. The one-hour series revolves around a group of college freshmen who pledge a fraternity in 1986...
.
Line-up
- Tim 'Polecat' Worman — Lead Vocals, Guitar
- Martin 'Boz' BoorerBoz BoorerBoz Boorer is a British guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group, The Polecats, and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and musical director with Morrissey.-The Polecats:The band "Cult Heroes" was formed in 1977 by Tim Worman , Boz...
— Vocals, Lead Guitar, Saxophone, Piano - Chris Hawkes/Neil Rooney/John Buck — Drums
- Phil Bloomberg — Slap bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Chris Hawkes is now a tattooist (www.buzztattoo.me.uk)
Singles
- "Rockabilly Guy" - Nervous RecordsNervous RecordsNervous Records is a UK based rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979. Artists include Nekromantix, Restless, The Nervous Fellas, The Quakes and many more. The website sells CDs and mp3s. Nervous Records an independent record label based in the UK born out of years of DJ...
- "John I'm Only Dancing" / "Big Green Car" - MercuryMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
- #35 UKUK 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 ... - "Rockabilly Guy" - Mercury - #35 UK
- "Jeepster" / "Marie Celeste" - Mercury - #53 UK
- "Make A Circuit With Me" - Mercury
Albums
- Polecats Are Go! (1981) - Mercury
- Live In Hamburg 1981 - Maybee Crayzee
- Cult Heroes (1984) - Nervous RecordsNervous RecordsNervous Records is a UK based rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979. Artists include Nekromantix, Restless, The Nervous Fellas, The Quakes and many more. The website sells CDs and mp3s. Nervous Records an independent record label based in the UK born out of years of DJ...
- Live And Rockin (1989) - Link
- The Polecats Won't Die (1989) - Vinyl Japan
- Virtual Rockabilly: Tim Polecat (1994) - Nervous RecordsNervous RecordsNervous Records is a UK based rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979. Artists include Nekromantix, Restless, The Nervous Fellas, The Quakes and many more. The website sells CDs and mp3s. Nervous Records an independent record label based in the UK born out of years of DJ...
- The Polecats Won't Die (1996) - Jappin' & Rockin'
- Nine (1997) - Jappin' & Rockin'
- Pink Noise (1999) - Rock-It
- The Best Of The Polecats (2000) - Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
- Rockabilly Guys: The Best Of The Polecats (2001) - Raucous Records
- Between The Polecats: Boz Boorer (2001) - Raucous Records UK
- Polecats Are Go! (2004 Reissue with Bonus Tracks) - Anagram Records
- The Best Of The Polecats (with Bonus Track Desire) (2005) - Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
- Not Nervous! Rare 1980 Demos Remastered (2006) - NV Records
- Rockabilly Cats (2008) - Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
EPs
- "John I'm Only Dancing" - Mercury
- "Jeepster" - Mercury
- "Make A Circuit With Me" (1983) - Mercury U.S.
- "Live In Hamburg" - NV Records