Official Showaddywaddy Web Site 1976-1978

1976-1978 was arguably Showaddywaddy’s peak period of popularity. 1976 got off to a slow start with the single “Trocadero” and the album of the same name released during the Spring not doing particularly well in the charts, although the album attained Silver status. The follow up single in the Summer, “Take Me In Your Arms” did not chart at all - hardly surprising given the A and B sides were already available on the album released a couple of months earlier. Despite this, the band still kept the momentum going with numerous TV appearances, as well as being on the road touring all year. However in October, things were to take an upward turn with the release of “Under The Moon Of Love”, which was to prove to be the band’s only number 1 hit.

Showaddywaddy first performed the single on TV 4 days after it was released on the TV show ‘Arrows’, and the track was performed another dozen times over the next couple of months, culminating in the band reaching the number 1 spot in the singles charts in December. Not only that, the band’s first ‘Greatest Hits’ album reached number 4 in the album chart, featuring the aforementioned “Under The Moon Of Love”, and all but one of the singles released to date (plus select album tracks). What a way to end the year!

1977-1978 saw Showaddywaddy striking gold with every single they released, with seven consecutive top-5 hits (1976's "Under The Moon Of Love" which remained in the charts well into 1977) - “When”, “You Got What It Takes”, “Dancin’ Party”, “I Wonder Why”, “A Little Bit Of Soap” and “Pretty Little Angel Eyes”. Promo videos were recorded for most singles in this period, some of which were later officially released on VHS. The guys were barely off the TV, racking up at least 54 television appearances in addition to the 19 spots on the small screen in 1976. Gig-wise, at least 100 gigs were performed in 1976, 97 gigs in 1977, and 78 gigs in 1978.

The latter stages of 1978 saw Showaddywaddy perform live on TV in November in front of the Queen Mother at the London Palladium for the Royal Variety Performance, with the band overcoming technical difficulties after their cables got pulled out of their equipment due to the rotating stage going the wrong way. However those technical problems were soon forgotten when the band met the Queen Mother after the show, a moment of which they are all very proud of. The same month also saw the release of the ‘Greatest Hits 1976-1978’ LP, an album which gave the band their only number 1 spot in the album charts. Showaddywaddy’s final gig of the year was in their home town of Leicester at the Demontfort Hall on 19th December, where it was announced on stage that the album had reached number 1 in the charts, the band playing one of their best ever gigs, and partying well into the small hours after the show, celebrating a fantastic end to the year!

1976 to 1978 proved to be a phenomenal three years for Showaddywaddy, and a period which they will never forget.