Dave Bartram Q&A - 5th April 2001
Linda from Folkestone asks:
Have you any plans to come to Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone in the near future?
DB: Linda - I'm sure the new 'Hey Rock & Roll' show will visit the Leas Cliff Hall either this or next year!
Dave Kennedy from Chapel-en-le-Frith has one for you Dave......:
What exactly do Jive Entertainments do?
DB: Dave - Jive is the management company run by myself (with 2 staff) that handles the band affairs, as well as Suzie Quatro and a couple of up & coming bands and artists!
....and one for Rod:
Hearing you sing on "Rock 'n' Roll Music", you have got a great voice. How come you don't sing more lead vocals?
DB: Rod is not really comfortable on lead vocals, we've tried to persuade him to do more, but he is quite content adding to the harmonies!
Jason Reed from St Alban's asks:
Would SWW ever consider going back to the full teddy suits the band wore in the mid '70s?
DB: Jason - I think we are a little too mature for tight trousers, however there will be some costume changes in the new show! [See footnote 1]
Janette Salisbury of Gloucester asks:
I have seen SWW several times at Gloucester and Cheltenham - any chance of a return visit?
DB: I'm sure if the 'Hey Rock & Roll' show is a success it will definitely go to Gloucester (perhaps Cheltenham too!)
Chris from Cheshunt asks the band:
I was looking through some old '70s annuals recently, and on the inside of the front cover of one annual is a picture of the boys with their cars - Rolls Royce's, a Mustang, American cars etc - so my question is what cars do they drive these days?
DB: Myself & Rod drive Mercedes (E class & Merc sport) Trev drives a Lexus, Romeo BMW 3 series, Danny a Vauxhall Cavalier. Al does not drive! [See footnote 2]
Valerie Vernall from Falkirk would like to know:
What do SWW do to keep fit apart from the energetic shows?
DB: Valerie - Fitness - I cycle & run as well as a bit of Gym work Rod plays Golf, Danny plays Squash, Trev plays football on Sundays, Romeo still does Gym work.
Are you still writing new songs?
DB: Trevor and I still write songs, I'm sure at some time in the future we will record some of them!
Chris Horrell from Devon says:
Can you tell me prior to playing in bands, did u ever serve in the Army?
DB: Chris - No I was never in the Army, though after many tours (inc Falklands, Bosnia etc) I have the utmost respect for our forces!
Jim Swinburne from Australia asks:
Have you ever thought about coming to Australia - west in particular?
DB: Jim - Grey area this one, we had several offers to go to Oz, but there were certain members (who are no longer with us) who didn't fancy 3 months or so down under, shame as we would've loved to have gone, but there's still time!
Anthony Aduhene of Nottingham asks:
In a recent TV programme, the presenter suggested that Romeo's old band, Black Widow, was a Satanist band. Is this so?
DB: Romeo's former band 'Black Widow' were indeed a satanist band, although Romeo himself didn't follow that sort of thing too closely, it was more a vehicle for the writing of the frontman Jim Gannon!
Stephen Shaw of Northern Ireland asks:
Why did SWW not record any more Everley Brother songs after 'Temptation'?
DB: Don't really know why we didn't do more Everly's stuff, maybe a little lightweight for the stage show, but they were brilliant!
Pete Tustain of Banbury has a few questions:
I know that you used to buy all your stage wear from Elleneff Tailors in Leicester. Do you still use this company or do you now have a new supplier?
DB: Pete - Haven't used Ellaneff for years, he became very expensive (he must have retired now) we use a company in Nottingham called Unicorn.
When Ray Martinez left the band was there any ill feeling or was it an amicable split?
DB: Fairly amicable split with Ray, though he certainly didn't contribute as much as Danny!
Is there any chance that the brilliant "Soul and Inspiration" will ever feature in the live show again?
DB: I doubt very much we'll use Soul & Inspiration again in the set. [See footnote 3]
Who is the best musician you have ever worked with?
DB: Best session - Plas Johnson who was the Sax player on The Pink Panther Theme & many legendary tracks, really nice guy too, he guested on a few tracks for the band!
Sue Dando says:
I saw a few clips of Showaddywaddy & interviews with the delicious Mr Bartram on TV over Christmas & it reminded me how great they are - my first ever album, acquired aged 7, was one of theirs. What I want to know is, do they ever play near here - that's Hertfordshire. They have certainly re-acquired a fan!
DB: Sue - Not sure about Herts, I don't think there are that many Theatres that we could tour with the new concept!
Another "when will you be here" question from Adrienne Small of Dundee:
I was a huge fan as a young girl and teenager and I saw you in concert 6 times in Coventry. Have you any plans to come up to Dundee? We had Alvin, Suzie and The Rubettes here 2 years ago, but would be fab if you lot could play at the Caird Hall. (Bryan Adams was here no so long since!)
DB: Caird Hall in Dundee ought to be a must for "Hey Rock & Roll"!
Pat from Hanworth Middlesex asks:
Hi boys hope you're all well - Can Al James tell us how he chose his stage name?
DB: Al James himself doesn't quite know why he used a stage name!
In the 70s, were SWW guests of Alvin Stardust when he appeared on This is Your Life (or did I imagine it?)
DB: Yes we did appear on Alvin's This Is Your Life!
Also can you tell me if Malcolm and Rod owned race horses? I seem to remember the fan club setting a competition to name them.
DB: Neither Rod or Malclom Allured owned racehorses! [See footnote 4]
Peter Eames from Cardiff says:
A belated happy birthday to Dave Bartram - I hope he had a good one. I would like to know if the band are due to come to Cardiff with the new show? It would be great to see them here. Also, will there be an album to tie in with the show as I think it would be a great idea and put Showaddywaddy back in the charts.
DB: I was personally in Cardiff recently as a panellist on a BBC radio quiz show called 'Rock Of Ages' it was great fun! We should be announcing something on the new album front very shortly!
And a few from myself:
Did any of the session musicians that appeared on your records ever perform with you on stage?
DB: We never actually toured with the session musicians who played on the tracks, although the Sax player Jeff Daly was offered a position in the band, he turned it down. I often see Jeff and he has always regretted it to this day!
I saw from Through The Keyhole that you have a recording studio at home. What do you record there?
DB: My home studio is just for making Demo's of newly composed songs.
Do any of the band members collect any of the records they have made over the years (other than gold discs!)?
DB: I'm fairly certain that we all possess mint copies of everything we've ever had released!
If you could take any three people to dinner, dead or alive, who would they be?
DB: 1) John Lennon 2) Marilyn Monroe 3) Posh & Becks
What do the guys like to do away from music and the band?
DB: What do we like to do away from the band? Mainly chill out, obviously go to Leicester City (not much fun at the moment, our manager is spending too much time with Sven). Curries are a bit of a speciality amongst the band, with a large Asian population in Leicester there are some wonderful Indian Restaurants as I'm sure there are in Bradford!
I have recently been sent a song called 'Behind The Painted Smile' - it sounds like Bill singing. What can you tell me about this song?
DB: ' Behind The Painted Smile' was scrapped we did not think it was a very good cover! [See footnote 5]
Linn from Perth asks:
Why did you pick Southend-on-Sea as a debut for your new show?
DB: No particular reason for Southend, we do have a great following down there and it's a perfect Theatre for such a thing!
I know it will be successful so when you get more dates, will you be coming to Scotland? Keep up the good work Dave. We hope to see Showaddywaddy again soon.
DB: I'm sure we'll be in Scotland before the year is out!