Showaddywaddy

In the 1970s, Showaddywaddy ranked among the strongest rock & roll revival acts while also establishing themselves as one of the era's most commercially durable and longest-lasting groups. Conceived initially as a British counterpart to the American retro specialists Sha Na Na, the band was absorbed into the glam rock scene; at a moment when Mud, Wizzard, and the Rubettes likewise drew inspiration from the 1950s, Showaddywaddy advanced decisively without looking back. Their sequence of hit singles conveys an unadulterated, almost genuine quality, while their staying power is confirmed by continued live performances a full fifty years after the members first discovered the music that brought them recognition.

Showaddywaddy originated in 1973 in Leicester, England, through the merger of two local outfits, the Choice and the Hammers. Both ensembles appeared regularly at the Fosse Way pub, often sharing bills and finishing those nights with extended jam sessions. These combined performances proved immediately effective, revealing that the greatest impact occurred once the musicians united as a single eight-piece unit. Reflecting the period's tolerance for expanded rhythm sections, as exemplified by Gary Glitter's twin drummers, the new group featured two bassists (Al James and Rod Dees), two guitarists (Russ Field and Trevor Oakes), and two singers (Dave Bartram and Buddy Gask). The lineup was completed by drummers Malcolm Allured and Romeo Challenger, the latter a former member of Black Widow, with 1950s-style attire supplying the final visual element.

After winning television's New Faces talent contest in 1974, Showaddywaddy obtained a support position on David Cassidy's British tour and a recording agreement with Bell. Working with producer Mike Hurst, they secured their earliest chart entries that year through the Gary Glitter-inflected singles "Hey Rock'n'Roll" and "Rock'n'Roll Lady." They quickly asserted a separate character, however, as the 1974 Christmas release "Hey Mr. Christmas" and the subsequent "Sweet Music" led into a run of precisely executed 1950s covers, including Eddie Cochran's "Three Steps to Heaven," Buddy Holly's "Heartbeat," and Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang," alongside their own stylistically consistent originals.

Their commercial judgment was confirmed by the recording of "Under the Moon of Love," a track first cut by Mud yet passed over for single release. The song delivered Showaddywaddy's initial British number one in December 1976, at a time when most other glam acts considered a Top 40 placement a success. The band not only survived its original contemporaries but continued accumulating hits into the early 1980s, outlasting an entire later cohort of rock & roll revival groups; Darts and Rocky Sharpe & the Razors both competed for Showaddywaddy's position during the late 1970s. Their final chart single, a version of "Who Put the Bomp," reached number 32 in August 1982.

The group never ceased performing. Redirecting their efforts toward cabaret and nostalgia circuits, Showaddywaddy maintained an active touring schedule, with the 2001 lineup still containing five members of the original octet. Of those no longer involved, Allured and Gask, together with later recruit Ray Martinez, appear as the Teddys. The Sun Album appeared in 2008.