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Showaddywaddy played their first gig with the new line up tonight at Dorchester Abbey, in aid of The Nasio Trust, and it was a very successful night all round. Rod Deas and Romeo Challenger said it went really well, better then they could have imagined.

The band are up and running for 2012, with many more shows to come throughout the year!

It was an emotional night at the King's Hall in Ilkley on Saturday 3rd December. Dave received a standing ovation as he walked on stage and before he had sung a note, and we knew it was going to be a special night.

Dave and the band gave it absolutely everything, knowing that it would be the last time that he would be singing those songs, and the last time he would be performing on stage - not to mention Dave Graham's impending departure too!

The band ploughed their way through two hours worth of material, including "Dancin' Party" "Rock 'n' Roll Lady", "Sea Cruise", "Remember Then", "Pretty Little Angel Eyes", as well as newer songs such as "Bobabloo", and Dave even sung the first few lines of "Swansong".

As the band walked off stage after the final encore of "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll", lining up for a bow, and with "Swansong" blasting out over the PA, there were a few tears being shed!

And so we go to 2012, with the band still on the road and the first gig with the revised line up is on 28th January. Showaddywaddy will be around for many more years yet!

A video message from Dave can now be seen, courtesy of The Wry Dogs

Early December 2011

Showaddywaddy are just about to complete their 38th year on the road and the band again toured the length and breadth of the country in the earlier in the year, and the the tour was a great success!

Rod Deas: "Dave will always be a very close friend who I respect and admire tremendously both as a musician and as a person. He should feel proud of his massive contribution to the band both musically and in his role as manager. I'd like to thank Dave for fantastic memories that we have from the 38 years of Showaddywaddy and wish him every happiness in the future".

Since Dave's announcement, the band have performed two dates at Leamington and Selsey where they went down a storm. Following the last couple of dates in 2011 with the present line-up, the revised band take to the road early in 2012, and will be embarking on "The Greatest Hits Tour" from February. SWW will be playing hits (and more) in their full length original form. Get your tickets today!

News is now sinking in of Dave Bartam's imminent departure from the band which was announced late on Sunday evening.

Dave's thank you message to the fans can be found here, in which he reveals a forthcoming book publication, with another in the pipeline, news of what he will be doing after leaving the band, and a heartfelt farewell to all the fans who have followed and supported the band over the years.

Dave's 'swansong' will be at Ilkley in West Yorkshire on Saturday 3rd December 2011 and no doubt many a tear will be shed on the night.

Despite some hesitation from fans about Showaddywaddy in 2012, Romeo Challenger had these reassuring words:
"My message to the fans is to keep the faith - Showaddywaddy will be around for many more years yet."

News officially reached Showaddywaddy.net HQ tonight (Sunday) that Dave Bartram has sadly decided to call it a day with his time in Showaddywaddy. However it is pleasing to announce that Showaddywaddy as a band will still continue with founding members Romeo Challenger and Rod Deas - Paul Dixon stays on board - and joining the band will be Andy Pelos on lead vocals, Rob Hewins (drums/guitars/vocals) and Dean Loach (keyboards/vocals).

A full statement from Dave Bartram will be published in the next few days, but in the meantime he says:
"The time has come for me to say goodbye. I really can't express my love and gratitude to all the amazing fans who have supported the band over the years. Rod and Romeo will be continuing with my blessing, and I will be staying on to manage the bands affairs and generally help in any way I can. The new guys joining are very talented and will give the band a new lease of life. The new lead singer is Andy Pelos, but the load will be spread over three vocalists, much like it was in the early days. It is very sad to bring down the curtain on what can only be described as an amazing 38 year career".

More details will be announced on www.showaddywaddy.net shortly, but in the meantime, I personally would like to thank Dave, as we all would, for Showaddywaddy, for being the driving force behind the band, and for giving millions of fans loads of great memories since 1973.

2012 Greatest Hits Tour Announced!
Showaddywaddy are pleased to announce 'The Greatest Hits Tour' for 2012!

Dave Bartram says, "The band will be adding two talented new members to the ranks in time for next years tour dates. The new guys are: Rob Hewins, (who has already played one gig with Showaddywaddy in Leicester in August 2011). Rob is not only an excellent drummer, but a great guitar player too, with a strong voice to match.
Dean Loach is the other new face - Dean is a fantastic keyboard player, who will fill in the gaps left by Dave Graham. He will also take lead vocals on a handful of songs.
The band are very excited to have 2 such talented guys on board, that will only make the band musically and vocally stronger".

The CD features extensive sleeve notes including contributions by Dave, and previously unseen photos.

Dave Bartram's solo album "Lost & Found" released. After 27 years in hiding, tracks recorded by Dave Bartram between 1982 and 1985 was released by Invisible Hands Music in September 2011.

14 previously unheard new-old tracks make up a running list of 17 songs:

1. Black Ice (Album Version)
2. Highly Strung
3. He Won’t
4. Delirious
5. Can’t Hide The Hurt Anymore
6. Lovestruck
7. Incommunicado
8. Excitement
9. Lost In The Post
10. Cryin’ In My Sleep
11. Memories Are Made Of This
12. Stranded
BONUS TRACKS
13. Burnin' The Candle (Demo)
14. Delirious (Instrumental)
15. Black Ice (Single Version)
16. Delirious (Alternative Version)
17. Perfect Harmony (1995)

Sadly David Graham will be leaving Showaddywaddy at the end of 2011 due to work commitments. On joining the band in August 2009, David brought the saxophone to Showaddywaddy's live sound that was prevalent on the band's studio recordings of the 70s and 80s.

His versatility, with keyboards, guitars and vocals as well as the sax will be sadly missed. The fans would like to wish David all the very best for the future!

On Saturday 13th August 2011, Showaddywaddy featured two drummers in the line up for the first time for 27 years!

Rob Hewins played alongside Romeo Challenger the band at the Summer Sundae Festival in Leicester. Rob, who has played with a number of artists including Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash and Alvin Stardust, may be playing more dates with the band in the future - watch this space!

In 1975, Showaddywaddy's management company used this bus to promote the band's touring up and down the land throughout the year. Do you remember it coming to your town?

David Graham plays saxophone on stage with the band at Assembly Rooms, Tamworth, performing Under The Moon of Love. He is later to join the band permanently, his first full gig being in Loudoun Castle, Galston, East Eyrshire on 29th August 2009. He replaces Danny Willson, who leaves the band and played his last gig at Holstebro, Denmark on 8th August.

Al James retires and plays his last gig with the band at The Cheese & Grain, Frome, Somerset. Al's place is taken by Paul Dixon who joined Showaddywaddy full time early in 2009. This was not Paul's first stint in the band having played with the band on a tour of Ireland in the autumn of 2008 whilst Danny was on paternity leave!

The Cheese & Grain was also Trevor Oakes's last gig with Showaddywaddy, but this was not known at the time. Trevor commenced a temporary break from the band early in 2009 due to ill health, but officially retired on 1st May 2009.

It has been announced that the new album will now consist of 17 tracks rather than the original intended 19 - the remaining two will be held back for an exclusive EP!

And Voiceprint records, the label the album will be released on, have launched a sneak preview of the new album on You Tube - check it out here! Voiceprint's YouTube channel can be found here.

Showaddywaddy's new album will be released in stages. Firstly there will be a web-site link for fans to pre-order a special limited edition Box Set which will include the album, a special booklet and the DVD as a bonus item.

Also included only for pre-orders will be an exclusive entry into a competition to fly out to Memphis to visit the band at Sun Studios. The limited edition will be restricted to 500 copies. If demand is exceptional further box-sets will be made available at a later date, but without the competition entry.

The initial release of the CD will be at the end of March and will only be available by mail order and at tour dates which commence Spring 2008.
The CD and DVD will then be made available on general release probably during early June.

A brand new Showaddywaddy album will be released during 2008. The band return to their rock 'n' roll roots with an album of around 18 songs originally recorded for the legendary Sun Records label. The guys will start work on the album in the UK during November and then finish off at Sun Studios in Memphis - hoping to give the tracks a more authentic feel - immediately afterwards. This album will be Showaddywaddy's interpretations of their favourite Sun Recordings from the mid 50's/early 60's. Some of the tracks will be previously unissued songs recorded for the Sun label, which the band feel are unearthed 'gems'!

Ultimately the album promises to be Showaddywaddy's return to the roots of rock 'n' roll and the band are really excited to be involved in this project. Also in the pipeline, the guys are hoping to do a short series of gigs featuring the new material especially for their loyal followers. These gigs will be totally different to the normal SWW format. Details will follow as soon as they are available!
Dave Bartram says, "All in all this is something we've always wanted to do, and we are over the moon to have this opportunity."

The band are due to record a brand new rock 'n' roll "concept album" in the autumn, ready for release in the Spring of 2008. It will be supported by a major PR campaign. Keep your eyes peeled for more news in the coming weeks.

Saturday 3rd March 2007

Showaddywaddy's new DVD is in the shops on 26th March 2007, but you can get your copy now by ordering from Cherry Red.

Click here to order!

The DVD features various television footage, promo video for 2006's "Hey England!" and an extensive career-spanning interview with the band.

Showaddywaddy's new album was officially released on 12th June 2006. The band recorded "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" throughout March, April and May.

Whereas the band were famous in the '70s for their revivals of '50s songs, the new album contains songs made famous in the '70s!

The album can be purchased from HMV, Virgin, Woolworths, Asda - it will also be available via their online stores - and also stocked by Amazon and Play.com.

This page hasn't been updated for a year! But there was lots going on during 2006 and all the "latest news" was published on the front page of Showaddywaddy.net. I have now updated the main news retrospectively back to and including 29th Jan '06.

Showaddywaddy's DVD will be released in March 2007. It will contain old TV appearances, mainly from Europe, and also the promo video that the band filmed for "Hey England" in the summer.

Showaddywaddy will be featuring in Peter Kay's next charity single, a cover of The Proclaimers' 1988 hit "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"!
The video was filmed on 24th November at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire and should be released in March 2007!

Also, the news that you have all been waiting for - a Showaddywaddy DVD will be released next year!

The tour dates for 2007's "Rewind Tour" have been announced today, over three weeks after they were initially intended!

Showaddywaddy will be featuring in a 9-date arena tour round the UK in April next year. The band will be opening for The Osmonds, David Essex and David Cassidy.

A new tour featuring Showaddywaddy in 2007 will be announced in the national press today! Details to follow on site shortly

The new album has currently sold around 8,000 copies which Dave Bartram describes as "deperately disappointing", hardly surprising with absolutely no promotion from Demon. The only real promotion has been here on Showaddywaddy.net and a couple of TV appearances.

"Hey England!" has at last been made available to download - nearly a month into the World Cup!

The official release date for the album is 12th June, but it appears that it has sneaked out on Monday 5th - a number of fans have got their hands on it already!

The TV advert will not now be shown on TV - Demon state that demand was not as they had hope from retailers with regards to the album and single.
The single will not be released as Demon believe "it is not a viable proposition".

"Hey England!" will be rush released as a single next week! The band are filming a promo video for it in Truro today - they have a gig there tonight, which is why they are filming it in Truro.....

The TV advert is now available to view online at Showaddywaddy.net! It will not get its first TV airing until June 4th!

Also, the track "Hey England!" is due to be available as a download only single on HMV and Virgin Digital soon.

The track listing of the new album has been announced. The album is called "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and contains covers of songs made famous in the 1970s, along with the band's World Cup song "Hey England!" and also, "Old Habits Die Hard", a track recorded by the band in 1988 which they are extremely proud of and glad to make it available after all these years!

The band will be performing live on the Jonathan Ross Radio 2 show on Saturday 22nd April at around 12:00 midday. They will be performing acoustically in the studio and Jonathan will be giving the first ever public airing of Showaddywaddy's football world cup song, "Hey England!"

The new album will be released on 29th May 2006. No news yet as to what the album is called or any song titles that will be featured.

The band are bringing out a brand new album in June this year on the Demon label. They are recording throughout March and the album will be TV advertised.
Dave Bartram is really upbeat about it and reports that the rest of the guys are really enthusiastic too.
I understand it is a "concept" album but do not have any more information about this as yet. There will be 20 songs on the CD, including 'Old Habits Die Hard' which was recorded by the band in 1988 and as yet unreleased.
Dave is pleased that this will be out for the fans to hear after all this time as he says it is one of the best songs the band have recorded in their career.

Showaddywaddy were featured in a Channel 4 programme at 10:00pm on Saturday 10th December entitled 'Bring Back The Christmas No. 1'. The band performed on a brand new Christmas record called "I'm Goin' Home" which has been written and produced by Rob Davis (ex Mud guitarist) who has had a lot of success recently with Kylie Minogue, Rachel Stevens & many more. Unfortunately, due to time constraints at EMI, the single will now not be released on on Monday 12th December as planned. However, it is available to download from the Channel 4 web-site Downloads section. The artist is shown as 'David Essex', something which Showaddywaddy are not happy about!
Other artists featured on the record are members of Slade, Jona Lewie & David Essex. David Essex peforms the main vocals with Dave Bartram harmonising and doing answerbacks. The rest of Showaddywaddy provide backing vocals.

Time Out magazine recently featured their 'Greatest 100 London Gigs Ever' in the May/June edition of the magazine. Showaddywaddy featured at number 56 for the gig at Kilburn National on 7th September 1987, in which they were in a double header with German band Einstuzender Neubaten! Dave Bartram recalls, "We blew them off stage that night! It's unbelievable really as Live Aid is at number 50".

Wednesday 13th October 2004: New Digitially Re-mastered Album and with new track!
There is to be a new "Very Best Of" Digitally remastered TV advertised album released on DMTV on November 15th. The album is entitled "Hey Rock & Roll - The Very Best of Showaddywaddy". It will include previously released tracks and a new song, "Woo Hoo", (more details to follow). The band recorded the TV ad on Tuesday 14th September and the first showing will be during Heartbeat (ITV) on Sunday 14th November.

In the past few weeks, SWW fans have been voting for songs they would like the band to do on the tour. The voting was closed early October and the final list of top 5 songs voted for were:

The band usually do 'Hey Rock And Roll' and 'Under The Moon Of Love' so expect to see those. 'Johnny Remember Me' has been ruled out as it was originally a hit for John Leyton who is also on the tour! However, Dave Bartram reports that Showaddywaddy may resurrect this in their regular shows toward the end of the year , along with 'Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller'.

Sunday 15th February 2004: Showaddywaddy will be taking part in a new theatre tour in October/November 2004.

Please send your requests to (vote now closed). Latest scores will be shown on the homepage on a regular basis!

Sunday 15th February 2004: Cherry Red's re-release of the 1981 album 'Good Times' looks to be on hold. Unfortunately their 7T's section have other projects that are taking priority at the moment.

Sunday 23rd November 2003: Thanks to all Showaddywaddy fans who voted on the Top Of The Pops 2 web-site weekly vote. SWW came top with the most votes, over 400, and their last ever TOTP performance was repeated on BBC on 5th November 2003. The original date of transmission of "Who Put The Bomp" was 2nd September 1982.

Tuesday 2nd September 2003: Showaddywaddy's version of Blue Moon was used as part of the soundtrack in an episode of BBC's Cutting It early in 2003.

Sunday 1st June 2003: Showaddywaddy.net now runs in conjunction with the new Yahoo 'Showaddywaddygroup'. Set up by Chris Dabbs, it is a facility for fans to chat, show rare pictures and record sleeves and share SWW memories. Note that all messages and pictures are moderated prior to being shown!

Showaddywaddy's 30th Anniversary Tour closes on 1st June. Spanning 40 dates, the tour has been a great success with most shows being sold out. Due to the tour's success, the promoters hope to announce more dates for 2004.

Showaddywaddy will be appearing on BBC1's "Inside Out" programme at 7.30pm Monday 2nd June 2003. Unfortunately each BBC region has its own Inside Out show - Showaddywaddy will be on in the East Midlands only. The band have had a film crew with them for the past few months and the results are shown on the programme.

Sunday 15th December 2002: There have been some rumours floating around that 2003 will be Showaddywaddy's farewell year and that the tour with Sweet and The Rubettes in the Spring will be their last. "Do not worry!", says Dave Bartram, ".....I did say when negotiating with the promoters that this would probably our last tour of this type. Based on the alarming slump in audience sizes at 90% of theatre tours (Hey Rock 'n' Roll shows).........However please emphasise to readers of the site that there is absolutely no chance of the band splitting up. We will continue to play venues up and down the country for a few years yet."

Sunday 15th December 2002: Cherry Red will be re-releasing the 1980 album 'Bright Lights' and 'Arista Singles Collection Vol.2' during the early part of 2003.

Monday 18th November 2002: Showaddywaddy's 1977 album 'Red Star' was officially re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records today, 18th November 2002. It features eight bonus tracks not on the original vinyl release. Again, this is an excellent package by Cherry Red - keep up the great work!

The record company 'Crimson' have recently released a 3CD box-set called, "The Sensational '70s". It features two Showaddywaddy tracks, 'Three Steps To Heaven' and 'Under The Moon Of Love'.

Wednesday 30th October 2002: Due to continuing abuse of the message board facility by a few anonymous people who did not log in under their own identities (used aliases), generally causing trouble and abusing people, the facility has been removed. I don't have the time or will power to check the message board everyday for swearing and personal insults.
A new message board may be some time away as if a registration policy is used, a board has to be paid for and I don't have the funds available for this purpose.

Sunday 29th September 2002: The final Hey Rock 'n' Roll date will now be Sunday November 10th at Billingham Forum. Hey Rock 'n' Roll began life at Cliff's Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea on the 4th and 5th of May 2001.
All being well, the shows should resume again in 2004!

Tuesday 17th September 2002: The new Mailing List was ready to be uploaded to the site, then I found out that there could only be a maximum of 100 subscribers. There is another mailing list facility available from my ISP Force9 - I should have access but do not at this time. I am currently making enquiries with Force9 and should have it up and running in the next week or so.

The Hey Rock 'n' Roll show on October 9th 2002 in Croydon will be the last for International Artistes. Showaddywaddy will be putting the concept on the back burner for a while, and looking for a new promoter towards the end of 2003.
Don't be too disappointed about this news - It is Showaddywaddy's 30th Anniversary in 2003 - expect some news soon.

The date for release of SWW's 'Arista Singles Collection Volume 1' is now 25th October 2002.

I have decided to remove the hit counter from the front page. The number of visitors isn't of great importance, but keeping people abreast of all the latest Showaddywaddy news and past nostalgia is!

Monday 2nd September 2002: Unfortunately, the Mailing List was closed down by the suppliers during July 2002. I have not been able to retrieve the 300+ e-mail addresses that were subscribed to it. I am currently in the process of setting up and new one and it will be available shortly. The bad news is, you will have to re-subscribe yourself!

7T's will be releasing the Showaddywaddy Arista Singles Collection Volume 1 on 14th October 2002

Sunday 2nd June 2002: After recently telling Cherry Red they could only re-release Showaddywaddy's 1977 album 'Red Star' if hit singles were removed, Crimson have now relented and given full permission for this project.
However, Cherry Red's next SWW project will be an 'Arista Singles Collection Vol I' in September, followed by 'Red Star' at the end of the year. The 'Vol II' singles collection will hopefully follow next year.

Sunday 19th May 2002:
* New Album - Now Available * Showaddywaddy's new album is now available! Released in conjunction with the Hey Rock 'n' Roll theatre shows. It is available exclusively via this web-site for a time before going on general sale. Click here to order!

Sunday 19th May 2002: Cherry Red's latest release of Showaddywaddy's back catalogue was the 1976 album Trocadero, released on 14th January 2002. This was an excellent package and many commented it was the best Cherry Red release yet.
However, it looks like there will not be any more re-releases for a while as there is someone new in charge of licencing at Crimson, the company who own the rights to Showaddywaddy's recordings. Explained Mark Brennan of Cherry Red, "We did try to get '"Red Star' and the licensing people said yes as long as we took off any hit singles! This is what we are up against....".
Mark has said he will keep me informed of any news.

Tuesday 15th January 2002: * New Album * Showaddywaddy's new album to compliment the "Hey Rock 'n' Roll" theatre show, will shortly be available to order, exclusively via www.showaddywaddy.net. More news as I get it!

Monday 14th January 2002: Showaddywaddy's third studio album, Trocadero, re-released by 7T's/Cherry Red for the first time on CD today. Includes the correct version of Lucy Jane - the b-side to Heartbeat - as opposed to Lucy Jane (Part 2) that was included on the Bell Singles collection. 7T's/Cherry Red have made an apology for this in the sleeve notes!

Tuesday 13th November 2001: The following item isn't really "latest news" but I want it off the front page now so this is the most convenient place to put it:

Favourite Album Poll
The favourite album poll which I ran during 2000 gathered 455 votes. The winner was 'Crepes & Drapes' with 'The Yellow Album' close behind. I am surprised that 'Jump Boogie & Jive' came above 'Good Times' as I think the latter is a better LP by far. I am not surprised that 'Living Legends' came near the bottom. Even Dave Bartram has said in the past it was a "disgrace" and "a total mish-mash". Strong words from the main man although it does have a few good songs on it. Here are the results in full:

Friday 6th October 2001: The Showaddywaddy Bell Singles Collection. This CD, released in October 2001 is excellent - the CD insert is packed with info about the singles, images of foreign picture sleeves and the single release dates. One small gripe is with the song 'Lucy Jane'. Unfortunately, 'Lucy Jane (Part 2)' from the 1977 'Red Star' LP is used instead of the proper 'Lucy Jane' from the b-side of 'Heartbeat'. This was due to Crimson, who hold the licensing for SWW's songs sending Cherry Red the wrong tape. However, Cherry Red are going to make up for this by including the proper version of 'Lucy Jane' as a bonus track on the CD re-release of the 'Trocadero' LP, planned for November 2001.

Lack of Updates on Showaddywaddy.net. I have now settled in my new house in Wakefield. Thanks to all those e-mailed me to wish me all the best in my new home. Updates will resume in earnest!

Wednesday 23rd May 2001: Next on the Showaddywaddy agenda for Cherry Red is a Showaddywaddy Bell Singles Collection, which they hope to release in August 2001. It will feature all SWW's a-sides and b-sides release on the Bell label between 1974 and 1976.

Sunday 11th March 2001: Dave Bartram is due for another slot on TV in the next few weeks. He will be on 'Weekend Jobfinder' which will be broadcast on Carlton Central (ITV) on Saturday 7th April and repeated on Sunday 8th April. I am told that the times of transmission vary across the region so I can't give you an exact time.
For the record, Jobfinder is the jobs and careers show, broadcast every day 50 weeks of the year, across the central region which covers around 12 counties to an audience of 6 to 8,000 each day. Dave Bartram has been included in the new 'Jobs from Heaven' series (as he lives in the broadcast area) which runs in six parts and started in March. The report is on a singer (Dave) who has been going for 27 years, and Dave is managing a 17 year old Stamford wannabe singer, Teresa 'Twee' Measures. The final part in the series ends with her the following week.
Many thanks to Radica Sewcharan and Rhian Mathias from Carlton TV for all the info.

Sunday 11th March 2001: Dave Bartram will be featuring on a radio show on Saturday the 28th of April. The show is called 'Rock Of Ages', a pop quiz that pits each musical decade against each other. Dave will be appearing on the 70's team and will be facing the might of Trevor Burton, Move guitarist. The show will be broadcast on BBC Radio Wales at 12.30pm. The frequencies are 882 and 695 Medium Wave and 93 - 104FM. If you're outside Wales, I am told you can hear the show via the Internet from the BBC Wales homepage www.bbc.co.uk/wales or Astra satellite channel 928.

Sunday 11th March 2001: The Step Two CD is scheduled for release on Monday 26th March 2001

Sunday 18th February 2001: The two pilot dates for the new Showaddywaddy musical will be at Cliff's Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea in May. See the Concert Dates page for more info.

Saturday 10th February 2001: I have noticed that Showaddywaddy have made it onto two box-set compilations recently. 'Under The Moon Of Love' is on a '70s compilation and surprisingly, 'Blue Moon' has made it onto an '80s collection. Both box-sets are on the EMI-Gold label.

Wednesday 31st January 2001: Some interesting information from Dave Bartram about a new tour format in 2001: ""We will be touring later this year in a new format which is along the lines of our own musical. It will be called 'Hey Rock & Roll' and there will be 2 pilot dates in early May to help shape the thing, the tour will go under the guise of the 50 greatest rock and roll songs ever recorded and will feature guest DJ's, female singers, and jiving specialists. It will be a totally new departure for the band, but will obviously feature many of our own hits and stage numbers from the current set! There should be an album to support the show, so the Rockabilly album will be put on the back-burner for now".

Dave later sent me some more info: "There have been some very interesting ideas suggested for 'Hey Rock & Roll' the band are really up for it, it's not really a musical concept, but more of a rock & roll show, which I'm hoping will have a very authentic '50s feel!"

So it looks like it going to be an interesting year for Showaddywaddy. I think it's a great idea from and hopefully we'll hear some more of SWW's old songs that they don't normally play these days. And who knows, maybe we'll see SWW back in the charts again!

Wednesday 31st January 2001: News on the new album from Dave Bartram: "The new album will more than likely be very much in the Rockabilly style. We have half a dozen or so songs that we are working on and will be considering further material in the next couple of weeks. We are talking to a number of promoters about an extensive tour to support the album, so release date will depend very much as to when the tour takes place."

Sunday 3rd December 2000: As you will all know by now, Showaddywaddy's first album, aka 'the yellow album', was re-released on CD on Monday 9th October 2000. If you are having difficulty getting hold of the CD, you can order it directly from 7T's/Cherry Red Records. Send your name, address and phone number and a Cheque or Postal Order for £9.99 to: 7T's Records, Unit 17, 1st Floor, Elysium Gate West, 126-128 New King's Road, London, SW6 4LZ.
The price includes postage & packing. Don't forget to quote the album you want and the catalogue number, GLAM CD2

Saturday 28th October 2000: No news on Showaddywaddy's new album recently. There has been a delay for some reason - they were originally supposed to go into the studio in early October, but it looks like it might be next year before anything new resurfaces now.

Saturday 28th October 2000: Showaddywaddy's first album, aka 'the yellow album', was re-released on CD on Monday 9th October 2000. It is released with the original artwork as shown above and features two bonus tracks not on the original release - 'You Will Lose Your Love Tomorrow', and 'I'm A Traveller'. It is on the 7T's label, a division of Cherry Red Records, cataloge number GLAMCD2. It should be available in all the usual high street record shops, Virgin, HMV etc, but you may have to order it. It is also available at a few outlets on the web, including NME and Amazon.co.uk. 7T's say they need to sell at least 1,000 copies to make it a viable project. If it sells well, then 7T's will continue to release Showaddywaddy's back-catalogue on CD.

Sunday 30th July 2000: Well, two pieces of good news for you all! The first is that Showaddywaddy's first LP, otherwise known as 'The Yellow Album' is to be re-released on CD in September. I got an e-mail from Mark Brennan of 'Cherry Red Records'. They have just set up a 70`s re-issue label called 7T`s. He tells me it will be released in September with the original artwork for the sleeve and also two bonus tracks, which will be the b-sides to the singles that were on the album. He tells me if everything goes okay, they will ask Crimson (boo, hiss) about releasing Showaddywaddy's other albums as well. Mark also tells me that 7T's will be releasing a 'Glitter Band Bell Singles Collection' and also The Arrows' 'First Hit'
The second piece of news (save the best until last).....is that.....Showaddywaddy are to release a new album! Dave Bartram told me recently: "We now have the go-ahead to compile material for a new album, which should be ready for early next year. The album will be all new material, however it looks as if it will be a compilation of material that we have always meant to record, which will be very much in the old Showaddy style obviously including a lot of reworks. We will be going into the studio in early October to record the first few tracks".
Dave also tells me that it will be the launch product for a new Internet label. Sounds interesting - I'll let you know when I get more news!

Monday 19th June 2000: After many letters to Crimson about whether they plan to release Showaddywaddy's back catalogue on CD, I finally received an e-mail from a lady called Connie Pring. She informed me:
"I'm afraid we do not feel there is sufficient market at the moment from other territories to bring out Showaddywaddy's full back catalogue. This doesn't mean to say we won't re-evaluate the situation again in the future. So sorry to disappoint you. With kind regards, Connie Pring".
I sent Connie and e-mail back asking about whether they would consider releasing a limited edition box-set and I would even put an advert for their company on my site. She said: "Really, really sorry, but I'm afraid producing very small numbers is not very cost effective as it does take a lot of man hours to produce an album and so just at the moment this is not a viable project. We are not saying a definite no for ever though".
So despite what she says about it being a definite "no", it looks like we will be without Showaddywaddy's back catalogue on CD for the forseeable future. That being the case, you have to ask why did Crimson buy the rights to SWW's recordings if all they plan to do is release greatest hits CD's? Waste of time if you ask me.
I think it would be a good idea if as many of you as possible write to Connie Pring and give her your views, and prove that there is sufficient interest. Crimson's address is: Crimson Productions, Marpol House, 6 The Green, Richmond, TW9 1PL.
Let me know if you write. Cheers.

Tuesday 25th April 2000: I have been long overdue in sending my thanks to Mick O'Donnell from Handsacre in Staffordshire. The reason to thank him is that he has been kind enough to lend me four Showaddywaddy scrapbooks that he has kept over the years and I hope to use some a lot of the information within them in the site. I have scanned a couple of pictures in already - the ones of Romeo, Al and Dave on the Group History & Pictures page - and this update features articles from cuttings that are in one of the books. So thank you again Mick, it's much appreciated. Incidentally, I will always welcome contributions to the site, whether it be a song whose lyrics you have transcribed, or a scan of a photograph. I always endeavour to mention the name of contributors.

Tuesday 25th April 2000: I have still had no response from Crimson Productions about the release of Showaddywaddy's back catalogue on CD.

Friday 14th April 2000: The new 'frames' site has been active since 28th March now and I have received many kind comments. I personally think it looks a lot better than it did before. I was looking at an old version of the site I had from back in July 1998 and it has really developed a lot. To date I have had over 11,000 visitors (depending which counter you go by), and that is a comforting thought for me. When I started the site, I never thought I'd get to be in regular contact with Dave Bartram and be on nodding terms with the other SWW members, nor did I think I'd ever hear anything of Russ. He seemed to have disappeared altogether since 1985! So a big thank you goes out to all visitors to the site, and even more so to the regular visitors. Also, a big thank you to the people on the mailing list - nearly 100 people are subscribed to it at the moment, and more are being added to that list every month. I also thank you all for your interesting e-mails. It may take me a couple of weeks to reply, but rest assured I will reply eventually. Keep your eye on the site for updates and to be informed first, subscribe to the mailing list.

Wednesday 12th April 2000: There isn't anything to report on Showaddywaddy's new album as yet. Dave is still liaising with the record company, and further progress is yet to be made. I never got any response from Crimson from my letter dated 10th January 2000 regarding the reissue of Showaddywaddy's back catalogue. I wrote to them again on the 10th April. I will keep you all posted - I think a resissue of Showaddywaddy's back catalogue is well overdue and I am tired of seeing nothing but 'Greatest Hit'-type CD's in the shops!

Saturday 22nd January 2000: I have managed to get the poll sorted out as promised. You will notice the poll is for you to vote for your favourite Showaddwaddy album. I have used all the 'original' albums for the possible answers, but also included an entry should you wish to vote for any of the many compilations out there. Once you have voted, there is a comments field for you to use if you wish to do so.

Saturday 22nd January 2000: I sent a letter to Crimson Productions last week to find out about what they intend with SWW's back-catalogue that they now own. Well, in fact, it was more of a plea for them to release the whole lot on CD! I am still waiting to hear from them, so watch this space.

Thursday 30th December 1999: You will notice from my second message of 30th August 1999 on this page that I decided to experiment with a couple of different counters for the site. When I created the new counter at the bottom of the main page, I configured it so that it tied-up with the existing Force9 counter. Now, four months later, they don't tie up at all! The Force9 counter plus 2,500 should be the correct total - I don't know why the other counter adds up to more visitors. I think the time has come to search for a new one.

Sunday 19th December 1999: People on the mailing list (there are over 60 of you at the moment) will be aware that I have got the answers back from Russ Field in reply to the questions submitted to him by readers of the site. I will put these on sometime over the Christmas period hopefully. You will also notice on this site update that I have put new headers on all of my pages. This is the start of the "overhaul" of the site which I hope to get underway when I get round to building my new computer. That just leaves me to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you keep visiting in the year 2000 and beyond....

Sunday 14th November 1999: I have recently come into contact with Russ Field and he has kindly said he will answer any questions anyone may have. If anyone would like to ask Russ any questions or find out what he has been up to since 1985, e-mail me and I will forward the questions onto him.

Sunday 14th November 1999: Crimson/Music Club, who have just released Greatest Hits CD's are part of the same company apparently. I have had an email back from the marketing manager of Music Club who tells me that as they have just released two SWW CD's, they will not be releasing anymore until next summer. But, even then,