4. Stray CatsStray Cat Strut
Then we became rockabillys and got really into the Stray Cats, This was about 1982. It was my brother and his mates who started brushing their hair up, and me and Sice joined in. It felt like years at the time, but it was probably for 12 to 18 months we became rockabillys. We had our hair piled up, baggy trousers and crepe shoes. I still love the Stray Cats. They had this cartoon image – their hair was much bigger. I had such a crush on Brian Setzer, he’s a great singer. But the guitar playing is phenomenal. The B-side is called ‘Drink That Bottle Down’ – I think it’s live in Newcastle – and you’ve got the double bass player Lee Rocker shouting these blues. It really is a racket, but the guitar playing is unbelievable. The variety and dexterity and fluidity – the ferocity of his guitar playing is wonderful. I was into them for a couple of albums, but by the third album we kind of gave up. My brother got deeper into it – he started getting into psychobilly and all that, The Sharks, Tall Boys, The Meteors, The Milkshakes – all that Klub Foot stuff. And there was a psychedelic wave – The Purple Things and The Vibes – and it all got really strange. I was out of it by then. I think ‘Relax’ came out and I was back in the modern world.
