"Showaddywaddy are one of Britain's top acts. A contentious statement perhaps, however, on assimilating the facts it becomes clear that Showaddywaddy have become synonomous with success. Since 1974, Showaddywaddy have logged up no fewer than twenty-two top 50 hits in this country, 10 of which made the top 10 - an achievement matched by any other artist (just behind them are superstars such as Abba, Donna Summer and The Beatles). Showaddywaddy's hit consistency over the last two years with seven consecutive top-5 hits has surpassed all others in the same period and matches the success of The Beatles and Rolling Stones in the '60's.
It was a Leicester pub 'jam' back in 1973 which led to the formation of Showaddywaddy. Touring as support to David Cassidy at the time of their first hit established Showaddywaddy as the leading rock 'n' roll revival band ever to emerge in this country (and probably even topping Sha-Na-Na in worldwide terms) but their appeal has spread far beyond the ranks of Teddy Boys and other rock 'n' roll freaks, their bubbling enthusiasm and electifying stage presence reaching out to an acoss-the-board 6-60 year old audience.
With two drummers, two bass players, two guitarists and two vocalists, Showaddywaddy could be described as the original stereo band. It's a line-up which gives their music tremendous flexibility and enables them to put together a real fun act with a lot of swapping around and dazzling routines. "Our appeal", says singer Dave Bartram, "is a mixture of nostalgia, new music, and a fast moving show".
Though Showaddywaddy have made a speciality of re-working old rock 'n' roll classics, they are also talented songwriters and indeed their first four hits, three of which are on this album, 'Hey Rock 'n' Roll', 'Rock 'n' Roll Lady', 'Hey Mr.Christmas' and 'Sweet Music' were self-penned. "We do a lot of writing but there are so many great old songs from the '50's and '60's and we love ove bringing our own flavour to them - and that's what our audience have come to expect from us". Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Marv Johnson, The Kaylin Twins, Chubby Checker and Curtis Lee are among the great artists of yesteryear whose records have inspired Showaddywaddy's work: "There are dozens more songs from that era which we'd like to tackle in our own way," adds Dave Bartram.
It was at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester that the eight members of Showaddywaddy came together, emerging out of two earlier pub bands, The Choice and The Hammers, who played the same venue and liked the same kind of music. They soon started working together and found they could do a package deal with promoters and get £25 for each group plus £100 for Showaddywaddy. Eventually, Showaddywaddy took over completely and, after winning a local talent contest, the group managed to land a recording deal. It was this record deal that led to their sensational run of hit records, although they had already tied this up when the group appeared on and won T.V.'s 'New Faces', but for most people it was the television show which launched Showaddywaddy, giving them a ready made audience when their debut record appeared.
Showaddywaddy have proved since then that they have incredible staying power, working upwards of 250 live shows a year, making numerous T.V. appearances and bringing out a string of records yet always managing to maintain that fresh vitality which first brought them to prominence. Here's another superb album to add to their unbelievable roster of hit records".