The Polecats

Equally styled in quiff but distinguished by heavier cosmetics than their peers, the Polecats emerged among the stronger acts in Britain’s early-1980s rockabilly resurgence. While still pupils in the mid-1970s, Martin ‘Boz’ Boorer on guitar and Tim ‘Polecat’ Worman on guitar and vocals began playing together; Phil Bloomberg on double bass and Chris Hawkes on drums completed the first Polecats lineup, which debuted at a local church hall in September 1978. Bloomberg handled both bass and drums for the group’s initial recordings, yielding their debut release on the Nervous label, a company later known for documenting rockabilly from earlier eras as well as current acts. The track “Chicken Shack” drew Mercury Records’ interest, prompting the band—now featuring replacement drummer Neil Rooney—to work under producer Dave Edmunds. Their opening Mercury single, a reading of David Bowie’s “John I’m Only Dancing,” reached the UK Top 40 in early 1981 and was succeeded by a fresh version of “Rockabilly Guy,” originally the B-side of “Chicken Shack,” which also entered the Top 40. For their third Mercury outing the quartet tackled Marc Bolan’s “Jeepster,” assisted by the song’s original producer Tony Visconti. A committed Bolan follower, Boorer later assumed his idol’s role in reconstituted lineups of John’s Children, an endeavor he helped launch. The Polecats’ first album registered briefly on the charts, yet the rockabilly wave was receding; consequently the 1983 Dave Edmunds-produced mini-album Make A Circuit With Me and its title track, issued as a single, failed to chart. In 1984, with John Buck installed in Rooney’s place, the band returned to Nervous and issued Cult Heroes. Boorer, Worman, Bloomberg, and Buck reconvened in the late 1980s to cut a fresh album for the Vinyl Japan imprint. The same four musicians have since maintained regular activity, including tours of Japan and further studio recordings. Outside the Polecats, Boorer served through most of the 1990s as Morrissey’s chief musical partner following Johnny Marr, while Worman formed 13 Cats alongside Slim Jim Phantom, formerly of the Stray Cats.