…Rock Around The Clock was originally a hit in 1957 and made the Top 20 again in 1968 and 1974. Groups like Shakin’ Stevens and The Sunsets, Sha Na Na and Matchbox kept the flame alive in the 70s and 80s, but no-one did it better or for longer than Showaddywaddy. Between 1974 and 1978 the group, formed when two Leicestershire groups got together on Sunday nights to play rock ‘n’ roll in a local pub, had ten Top 5 hits, five more that made the Top 20 and another eight that made the Top 40, most of them versions of songs that had been hits in the 50s and 60s for other artists.
Now to celebrate fifty years of Showaddywaddy making music, Edsel Records bring together everything the group ever recorded including a never before released Hit Mix and a new re-mix of Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller.
You’ll know all the songs. Heartbeat, Three Steps To heaven, Under The moon of Love, When, You Got What It Takes, Pretty Little Angel Eyes to name just a few. Along with all the other hits are included, but in this 5xCD set you’ll find the group’s versions of other hits like 24 Hours From Tulsa, Do Wah Diddy, Sea Cruise and (You’ve Got) Personality guaranteed to keep any party rocking along. Listening again to the 1987 single Why, I can’t believe this wasn’t a hit.
Trust me, this is foot-tapping music from beginning to end but when they do slow down as on Tell Laura I Love Her and Soul And Inspiration, the group’s love of oldies shines through. Five CDs, 106 songs and a 1700 word history written by front man Dave Bartram, this is an enjoyable journey through the songs of yesteryear Showaddywaddy style.
Author: AUSTIN POWELL
Austin Powell has spent his entire working life in the music business. From being an agent and manager of ‘beat groups’ in the sixties to working for major record companies in the seventies and eighties, he has also held management positions at radio stations in England, Wales and on the Isle Of Man. He continues to act as a consultant to several record companies and artists and presents a weekly 'oldies' show on Monday evenings on 101.8 WCR FM in Wolverhampton.
