Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2026 i Vintage Rock

All of the groundwork had been laid long before rock’n’roll finally went overground, but it took a handful of pivotal 45s to take the big beat roaring loud into the mainstream. Bill Haley rocked the cinema aisles and made the headlines with Rock Around The Clock and Elvis The Pelvis lit up radio switchboards with That’s All Right, but it was one lascivious, piano-driven masterpiece that did the business in far more savage style. When Tutti Frutti dropped in 1955, Little Richard let his one-of-a-kind persona loose and immediately lived up to his proclamation that he was indeed the Architect Of Rock’n’Roll. Within the grooves of that one solitary record lay the complete definition of what rock’n’roll was all about. And with everyone from David Bowie and Prince to modern stars…

Another new publication that’s a must-buy for fans of rock’n’roll, Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards’ biography The Life And Trials Of Cliff Richard profiles Cliff’s life and career, including his childhood memories of living in India and through his early rock’n’roll hits, his battle to break America, and on to the shattering 2014 sex abuse allegations and his unfair treatment from the press. Complete with a foreword by Morrissey, this new publication contrasts Cliff’s private and public personas, and digs deep into the life of Britain’s most successful home grown pop star. See p58 for an excerpt from the book and our interview with the authors!…

HEMSBY ROCK’N’ROLL WEEKENDER #72 5-9 March FEATURING Sonny George, Marcel Bontempi, CM Wolf, Toto & The Raw Deals, MFC Chicken, Restless LOCATION Hemsby Beach Holiday Park, Hemsby BOOKING WEBSITE hemsbyrocknroll.co.uk VIVA LAS VEGAS #29 9-12 April FEATURING Linda Gail Lewis, The Desperados, Mozzy Dee, Jackson Sloan, Big Sandy And His Fly-Rite Boys, Dale Watson & His Lone Stars, The Go-Getters, The Jive Aces LOCATION The Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas BOOKING WEBSITE vivalasvegas.net FOLKESTONE JIVE #28 10-13 April FEATURING The Firebirds, Good Rocking Tonight, The Kingcats, Bo Walton & Red Alert LOCATION Grand Burstin Hotel, The Harbour, Folkestone, Kent BOOKING WEBSITE holidayrock.co.uk THE ROCKABILLY RAVE 2026 16-20 April FEATURING Bubba Feathers, The Hundred Dollar Quartet, Deke Dickerson & The Whippersnapers, The Country Side Of Harmonica Sam LOCATION Vauxhall Holiday Park, Acle…

A fun pop fact: the flamboyant Chappell Roan, one of the biggest stars in the world right now, a queer icon whose eye-popping aesthetic is heavily influenced by drag culture, has a pet chicken named Little Richard. The singer explained all to host Zane Lowe during her Carpool Karaoke TV segment in 2024, revealing that she also has feathered friends named after Lady Gaga and each member of the Spice Girls. “They’re all pop stars,” she beamed. It’s an association that Richard Wayne Penniman, a former drag queen himself, would no doubt have approved of during his gender-bending pomp. And it’s far from the only modern endorsement that the self-proclaimed King and Queen Of Rock’n’roll has received since his death at age of 87 in May 2020. Rapper Lil Nas…

Gene Vincent is the rocker’s rocker. Most recognise the top songs of Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Given a spin at a party, they jive to Bill Haley’s Rock Around The Clock. But Vincent is more remote. Be-Bop-A-Lula aside, none of the other records he made with The Blue Caps have passed into the collective consciousness. Admitting a liking may be a touchstone for the true early rock fan. Vincent wasn’t easy to be around and had no interest in smooching up to the press. He wasn’t such a female magnet as some of his contemporaries. On the epochal but ultimately tragic tour of the UK in 1960 with Cochran, he started out top of the bill. However, the story goes that as the package rolled round…

Music historians put Gene Vincent in Elvis Presley’s shadow. Elvis was the consummate entertainer, versatile in his material, a sensational mover and, if not exactly a man of many words, shyly charming. Vincent is not deemed to have been any of these things. Yet a study of his back catalogue shows a wider talent than we are primed to expect. After the Gallup-era Nashville recordings, part of the holy grail of rockabilly, there was a follow-up phase working in Hollywood on a completely different, yet still compelling sound. He was also an expert balladeer and a fine blues singer. While never a country singer as such, he recorded material from that genre with sensitivity. He was also a mesmeric performer. In the movie Hot Rod Gang, Vincent stands with the Clapper…

As a teenager, Chris Strachwitz, a German émigré who arrived in California in 1947, lapped up the Maddox Brothers And Rose’s shows on the radio, notably their theme song I Want To Live And Love and Fred’s southern twang, which sounded like music to his ears. Years later he founded the Arhoolie Records roots label, and began releasing compilations of their material, the most important being the 4-Star recordings on America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band (Their Original Recordings, 1946-51) Vol 1 and a second volume under the same title, covering the years 1947–51. As a collection of their most uninhibited material, the first volume could hardly be bettered, containing a high quota of rattlin’ rock-a-boogies, while not neglecting their other strengths as straight country and harmony singers. Volume 2 is…

A year and a half in the making, Desire On Ice features an impressive line-up of guest appearances, including The Reverend Horton Heat, Kid Congo Powers, Boz Boorer, Eddie Angel, and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream. Meticulously pieced together from recordings made in L.A., Nashville, New York, London, Rome and a variety of other exotic locations, it all began in the cradle of rock’n’roll itself. “The initial sessions were held at our recording home, Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis. Then the guest participants recorded their parts remotely,” explains Falco from his home on a beach south of Bangkok. Italian musician and producer Mario Monterosso played a key part in bringing this ambitious project together, and his musical partnership with Falco has lasted over a decade. “In 2014 my band…

THE CREATION BIFF BANG POW: THE SINGLES DEMON 7" box sets can be an expensive luxury, but are also undeniably attractive items for the hardcore vinyl lover. Sleazy Records in particular have excelled in creating these high-end items over the years and their Interstate Rockabilly, Crazy Cavan and Johnny Kidd collections are still much prized by collectors. Demon Records take collectability to new heights though as they appraise the career of British freakbeat legends The Creation with this glorious production. Housed in a solid filing box, five gatefold sleeve singles slide out the side and each one contains two coloured vinyl 45s. Each double pack is illustrated with a selection of photos and memorabilia from throughout the band’s relatively short career. The only thing that’s missing is a little booklet…

We like to keep up to date with the latest new models from Gretsch guitars, suppliers to many of rock’n’roll’s greatest superstars from Eddie Cochran and Cliff Gallup to Brian Setzer and Darrel Higham. The most recent model to catch our eye is the Limited Edition Abbey Road RS201 Studiomatic, the company’s collaboration with the famous London studio. “For the first time,” states the Abbey Road press release, “our technology has been incorporated directly into the signal path of a guitar, with the integration of a circuit inspired by the classic RS97 Rumble Filter, a technology designed in the 1950s by the EMI team at Abbey Road to remove very low-frequency and mechanical vibrations from recordings.” Ideal for those vintage sounds and with gold hardware and Classic Walnut Stain finish,…

Cavegirl style, not caveman values. That’s the message that powers the savage sound of CaveGirl + The Neandergals, and the mission to preach their prehistoric gospel has taken the three-piece from the UK to the USA and Finland. Formed back in 2022, the band experienced a few early line-up shuffles, recording their debut EP Carnal Desires with Suzi Sabretooth on drums and Ruby Raptor on guitar. Ruby departed at the end of 2024, and Betty Brutal claimed her vacant spot, bringing the trio back to full strength. “It’s great. I feel like we’ve really settled into our groove now,” says bandleader CaveGirl. They selfreleased Live And Raw at the start of 2025, capturing their energy in its most primal form. “We thought, if we can just do it live, all…

Travelin’ Shoes (1963) Little Richard biographer Ahmad Greene-Hayes rightly points out the “slow”, sombre nature of Richard’s religious songs, but there were exceptions. See this groovy gospel stomper, all wild and wonky organ and roof-raising choir vocals. Money Is (1971) One of Richard’s greatest moments on record is this Quincy Jones-composed and produced funk banger. If you can, track down the German 45 for the sleeve, which sees the Quasar’s gorgeous face stamped on a $100 bill. In Richard we trust. Rock Island Line (1988) Bizarrely, the King and Queen Of Rock’n’roll teams up with ska-punks Fishbone. Their rubbery, slap bassinfused version of this folk standard appeared on A Vision Shared, a tribute album for Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. It’s what they would have wanted. The Power (with Elton John)…

Gordon certainly knew how to pick his sidemen and beyond Link Wray on the first two LPs, Gordon explored his sound with the help of some formidable six-stringers. Signed up to his dream label RCA Victor, in February 1979 Gordon enlisted session star Chris Spedding as his right hand man on third LP Rock Billy Boogie, a slick collection of rock’n’roll classics and a few originals including the infamous title track from Johnny Burnette and Black Slacks, a hit for the Sparkletones in 1957. Great reviews followed but little chart success, the LP slumping at No.106 in the Billboard. Spedding also featured on its follow-up Bad Boy, released in 1980, and on 1991 live album Greetings From New York City. Gordon’s final studio album with RCA and his best-selling LP,…

At Sun Records – The Collected Works Jerry Lee Lewis 2015 (BCD 17254 RL) Compiled across years of painstaking research, this whopping 18-disc set is the definitive chronicle of the Killer’s time at Sun. Every take and alternate version, mono and stereo, is presented here, alongside two hardbound books with complete discography and previously unpublished photos. I’ve Been Around – The Complete Imperial And ABC Recordings Fats Domino 2019 (BCD 17579) Presented in a beautiful clothbound slipcase, this revolutionary set features 312 tracks, including unedited masters and unreleased takes. There’s also an excellent DVD featuring Joe Lauro’s fantastic Domino documentary, plus the usual book packed full of rare photos. Memphis Belles – The Women Of Sun Records Various Artists 2002 (BCD 16609 FK) This superb box set puts Sun’s female…

Be-Bop-A-Lula Vincent’s first Capitol single, so familiar now, it takes a moment to imagine how strange it must have sounded on release in 1956. Cliff Gallup’s Gretsch Duo Jet counterpoints Vincent’s hyperventilating sighs and drummer Dickie Harrell’s screams. Tape echo effects create an alien ambience. Initially planned as the B-side to Woman Love, described as “vocal pornography” by New Musical Express. Git It The period 1957-58 saw Vincent experimenting with a vocal group sound with Peek and Facenda. In My Dreams and You Are The One For Me, that has lovely falsetto and clever use of repetition, were fine efforts. However, the most ambitious arrangement was given to Git It, an uncharting single in 1958, paired with Little Lover. Several observers have suggested the layering of the harmonies anticipate The…

Were we able to return to the early 50s, to a street corner in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx, it’s likely we’d find a certain group of five a capella singers serenading the surrounding neighbourhood, who in turn would be expressing their delight from their apartment windows above at the interwoven harmonies permeating the air below. Their centrepiece? Sh-Boom, a song that both playfully evoked the circling Cold War paranoia, heightened after the detonation of the first H-bomb, while cleverly encapsulating the party spirit now in full swing post-WWII. And perhaps most importantly of all, at its heart lay the spirit and harmony of that beloved Bronx community. For their fellow Bronxites, they cooed, “Life could be a dream”, and Sh-Boom was their ticket out of the doldrums.…

While he showed little inclination towards music at school, Harry [Webb] threw himself into acting in the school productions. It was in one of these, Toad Of Toad Hall, that Harry’s character was expected to sing a song. He protested vehemently that he didn’t want to sing, but was threatened with losing the part by his teacher if he did not. So, he sang Ducks’ Ditty for three nights and found that he enjoyed singing and the attention it brought and, also, that he was quite good at it. By the age of 15, music was really beginning to grab him and in May 1956 one piece of music changed his life forever. Harry would still visit Waltham Cross on Saturdays to hang out with friends and on one of…

Based in the Gloucester and Bristol area, the original line-up of Crepes ‘N’ Drapes consisted of vocalist Paul Chappell, bass player Ken Pride, Ian Smith on lead guitar, Dennis Bland on rhythm guitar and drummer Tony Martin. Although he would eventually become a member of the band, Geoff Hunt’s introduction to the group came a little earlier, in 1974, when they borrowed his amp for a rehearsal and he briefly joined in on guitar. The band’s first line-up change happened around May 1976, when Crepes ‘N’ Drapes advertised for a guitarist and drummer, and this is where Geoff and John Jozwiak (soon to be christened Johnny Sticks) joined the story. “John and I were playing together in a band at the time which couldn’t get many gigs and we’d heard…

Famous for his work as guitarist with Booker T. And The M.G.’s and as an integral part of the Stax Records story, Steve Cropper started playing guitar at 14 years of age, inspired by Chet Atkins, Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry, Tal Farlow and Lowman Pauling of The 5 Royales. He formed his first band, the Royal Spades, while at high school, featuring Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass. Renamed the Mar-Keys, they scored their first hit in 1961 with the now ubiquitous Last Night, before becoming the house band at Stax. Cropper was a vital player in the formation of the Memphis soul sound. In his early days, he played on the Booker T. And The M.G.’s classic Green Onions, as well as co-writing and playing on Otis Redding’s iconic No.1…

Those in search of a rockin’ start to the new year will be thrilled at the news that rock’n’roll supergroup Starcat have announced an intimate six-date tour in February, that visits London’s iconic 100 Club (8 Feb), The Hope & Ruin in Brighton (10 Feb), Club Velocity/Reading Facebar in Reading (12 Feb), The Black Prince in Northampton (13 Feb), Thomas House in Dublin (14 Feb) and the Portland Arms in Cambridge (15 Feb). Made up of neo-rockabilly superstars, the Polecats’ Phil Bloomberg and the Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom, plus 80s new wavers Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Neal X, Starcat offer a heady mix of classic rock’n’roll and neo-rockabilly hits, a selection of their respective group’s own tunes, as well as plenty more surprises. Book your spot at seetickets.com…

After numerous superb biographies, including last year’s treasured tome Carl Perkins: The King Of Rockabilly, acclaimed biographer Jeff Apter returns this spring with Roy Orbison: King Of Hearts, an unmissable new book detailing the fascinating life and career of the Big “O”. Beginning with his upbringing in Vernon, Texas, Apter explores Orbison’s story in depth, covering everything from recording at Sun Records and Monument – where he recorded his big hits Only The Lonely, Crying and Oh, Pretty Woman – to the rockabilly revival, his supergroup the Traveling Wilburys and on. The book has already garnered excellent reviews, including kudos from Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom, who wrote, “Rockabilly Roy was as good as it gets… Jeff Apter has captured the various dimensions of his life with the utmost respect…

Since the age of 14, Jason Starday has been singing and playing guitar. One of the first songs he learned was Somewhere Over The Rainbow. His rockabilly career began when he first joined his father in a five-piece band called the Trailer Kings. Within three years, he’d honed his skills, gained invaluable insight from his dad, and grown more confident in front of an audience. When the coronavirus hit in 2020, Starday decided to go solo and two single releases soon followed. The Round Up Boys were used as his backing band for the EP Songs From Teen-ville, with one of its songs, Down The Road, requiring 23 painstaking live takes before it was perfected. More recently, Starday, accompanied by his own instrumentalists, got a release issued by Sleazy Records, an…

Little Richard was nothing if not unpredictable. More than 40 years since its publication, Charles White’s book The Life And Times Of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography remains the Bible of the Georgia Peach and is a must-read for any rock’n’roll fan. It was, though, a struggle to write. White, a retired chiropodist who lives in Scarborough, would visit Hollywood for days or weeks on end in the hope of audience with the Quasar Of Rock’n’roll. As he waited in a hotel on Sunset Boulevard, he’d receive phone calls from Richard, who would tell him: “The Lord has said, ‘Not today.’” The author recalls with a laugh: “Three weeks, I waited for the bugger. You had to be tenacious, because he was Looney Tunes.” For Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Richard’s latest biographer,…

Shortly after the release of 1996’s live album The Humbler, Gordon was approached to record music for the soundtrack to the independent film The Loveless, a story about a 50s biker gang written and co-directed by Kathryn Bigelow with Monty Montgomery, their first attempts as directors. Starring a young Willem Dafoe, The Loveless also featured Gordon in a supporting role as gang member Davis. Filmed in just 22 days, the film went on to gain cult status – and the soundtrack isn’t half bad either, featuring six compositions by Gordon. Bigelow would go on to direct Oscar-winning flicks, The Hurt Locker and Point Break.…

Orbison 1955-1965 2001 (BCD 16423 GL) This unique and scintillating seven-CD collection collates all of Orbison’s rock’n’roll material from his early days at Sun through RCA Victor to Monument Records. It justly garnered an Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. The Complete Recordings 1955-1964 Johnny Burnette 2004 (BCD 16438 IL) Memphis native Johnny Burnette and his trio recorded some of the fieriest rock’n’roll of his era. This nine-CD set gives us all of the trio’s work plus alternate takes, Hollywood recordings and demos Burnette made together with Eddie Cochran, Dorsey Burnette, and others. The Ultimate Collection – Somethin’ Else! Eddie Cochran 2009 (BCD 15989 HK) The pioneering rock’n’roll great gets the Bear Family treatment, including all Cochran’s solo work plus recordings…

Contrary to any idea the “washed-up” star made no decent records in the 1960s, the simplytitled Gene Vincent, released in Britain in 1967, is well worth checking out Bluejean Bop!, the harder rocking Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps and the mixed bag that was A Gene Vincent Record Date, were the best albums of Vincent’s peak years with the Blue Caps. Contrary to any idea that the “washed-up” star made no decent records in the 1960s, the simply titled Gene Vincent, released in Britain on London Records in 1967, is also well worth checking out. Comprising Hollywood recordings made in a bid to offer something in a more contemporary style, it’s a shame Vincent was no longer well enough to properly promote it. Zeitgeisty tracks like Born To Be…

What first made you decide to write the book – and why now? It felt like the perfect time to re-evaluate the life and career of Cliff with the dust having settled on his court case and this being the year in which he celebrated his 85th birthday. There had not been any books examining his legacy in light of the allegations against him and his subsequent successful court battle. We wanted to see if this had had any impact on his legacy, bearing in mind he was the torchbearer for pursuing injustice in such cases. What was the most interesting thing you uncovered while writing the book? There were many interesting things. For example, Cliff was one of the first artists to see the potential of digital downloads and…

In between all their live work, Chevrolet still had some time to record and release two singles, which are fondly remembered. “We decided fairly early on that we should record a single, which was Big Black Chevrolet and Who’s That Girl?” explains Geoff Hunt. “Both tracks were released on our own label Ricochet Records. This was just after the punk rock boom and it was relatively easy to get your own records produced, independent of record companies. The second single was Deep Down South written by Nick and I’m Comin’ In by Johnny and myself. We recorded these tracks at Toucan Studios in Cheltenham in April 1983 when Russell Ford was our vocalist.” Sing To Me Sweet, Run Rabbit Run and a ballad called All This Fussin’ were also captured…

01 THE DAY THE RAINS CAME JANE MORGAN (LONDON) Composed by Gilbert Bécaud with French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë, Le Jour Où La Pluie Viendra was translated into English by Carl Sigman. Initially a European hit for Dalida, Jane Morgan bumped Conway Twitty from the top spot eight weeks after entering the charts with her version. Including her French interpretation on the flip, this was Morgan’s first single to make an impact on the UK Top 40. Fascination, a Stateside success after it was featured in the Gary Cooper-Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy Love In The Afternoon, was one of her many attempts to break the hit parade but all missed the mark. After just one week at No.1, The Day The Rains Came slowly dripped out of the chart and the…

Brian Wilson  LIVE AT THE ROXY THEATRE OGLIO Following on from his passing, this handsome triple album box set marks the 25th anniversary of a legendary Brian Wilson performance and is also his first official posthumous release. This recording was captured over two shows at West Hollywood’s legendary The Roxy Theatre in spring 2000 and was Wilson’s first ever live solo album. Before we get to the music, the presentation is outstanding. The original, rather dull sleeve design has been replaced with bold 1960s-themed artwork and inside the box are a trio of albums, on red, white and blue vinyl (a splatter vinyl version is also available). The sounds are obviously the main attraction and the 28 tracks of the original release have been boosted to 35 songs here, which…

Dion THE ROCK‘N’ROLL PHILOSOPHER KTBA The seemingly unstoppable Dion DiMucci has tied this release in with his new publication of the same name. While the book takes a philosophical look back through his career and personal life, this 16-track collection also has a biographical feel as it combines new compositions with “reimagined” classics and more current material. It’s a rich stew indeed featuring contributions from Sonny Landreth, Joe Bonamassa, Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, but one of the most interesting collaborations is the anthemic In A Heartbeat Of Time which was written with New York punk legend Scott Kempner from The Dictators. Even before joining Keep The Blues Alive records in 2020, Dion’s sound has been moving in that direction. If you’ve been following his blues renaissance closely, then you…

A founding member of 70s rockabilly revival stars The Flying Saucers, Pete Pritchard has been about the scene for many years, including backing up many of the superstars of the 50s as well as co-founding Alligator Records. His mammoth CV lists far too many esteemed names to mention here, suffice to say he’s worked with the likes of Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana, James Burton, Billy Swan, Glen D Hardin, Boots Randolph, JM Van Eaton, Sonny Burgess, Gene Summers, Chris Isaak and Alvin Lee, to name but a few. Pete also enjoyed a stint with Chuck Berry on UK and European tours. To add to that, Pete was himself inducted into the International Rockabilly Hall Of Fame in 2011. His recently published memoir, Touching Bass, covers the whole journey – well…

Moving on from Sun, Elvis signed his $35,000 RCA contract in November 1955. Just two days after his 21st birthday, on 10 January 1956, he began his first RCA recording session at the label’s Nashville studio with the Blue Moon Boys in support, together with top guitarist Chet Atkins, pianist Floyd Cramer, the Jordanaires and drummer DJ Fontana. That day, the ensemble cut Ray Charles’ I Got A Woman, Jesse Stone’s Money Honey and Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden’s Heartbreak Hotel, the last of which would become Presley’s first RCA single. The next day he’d record I Was The One as its B-side. By the end of the month, Heartbreak Hotel had hit the stores and Elvis had made his US national TV debut on The Dorsey Brothers Stage…