A sensational night of the best rock n roll spanning the past 80 years!
Forty years ago, Neal X played a notorious gig at Reading University with the then ‘future of rock n roll’, Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The band were goaded from the start and drummer Ray Mayhew ended up in court for assault (he was later acquitted). Despite the pvc and fishnets crossed with Mad Max look, they weren’t the future, but the band did leave us with a couple of enjoyable albums which have weathered the winds of time rather well. Nowadays Neal is normally found playing with the likes of Marc Almond and Glen Matlock.
There’s little chance of a riot tonight. Neal is accompanied by the legendary Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and Phil from The Polecats as STARCAT, for a night of old school rock n roll, and the Facebar’s audience is in a more appreciative mood.
Opening tonight are the ever-reliable local gothabilly punks The Go Go Cult. I never get tired of watching this band and have seen them going from strength to strength in recent years gaining more fans each time they play. Latest album ‘Black is the Colour of My Love’ saw the band moving more into goth territory whilst keeping their psychobilly roots.
You know it’s going to a be a good set when the band starts with the ‘Town Called Sorrow’ as the ominous bass line is followed by a frantic rockabilly beat. ‘Black is the Colour of My Love’ with its crashing drums keeps up the pace whilst singer Nigel channels his inner Carl McCoy. ‘I Melted My Mind’ takes us into trashy rock n roll territory leading us onto the band’s ‘hit’ song, ‘Bring Out Your Dead’, an epic spaghetti western tale that never slows right up to Nigel’s frenetic yelps.
‘When the Food Runs Out (We Still Have Each Other)’ sees Matt’s guitar going full Death Cult on us, before ‘Wake Up’ channels the relentless mind-drilling beat of Suicide. The Go Go Cult finish with a cracking ‘It’s A Car Crash’ as its tumbling drums take centre stage before building up to the song’s frenzied ending. Brilliant stuff.
The guitar slinging Neal X enters the stage displaying the sort of cool reserved for the Man with No Name, his quiff still remarkably intact after all these years. Likewise, Slim Jim may be under the weather today, but stood behind his minimalistic drum kit, he flaunts his rockabilly heritage with a wry smile. Meanwhile Phil Polecat has a permanent grin on his face throughout the set as he pounds the strings of his double bass, clearly having fun playing with Neal and Slim.
We may be in Reading, but according to the band there’s a ‘Rumble in Brighton’ tonight as they open with one of the Stray Cats’ signature tunes. Immediately the unmistakable bass kicks in, the crowd starts bouncing around in time with Slim Jim’s rhythmic movements as he beats his drums. The Neal X-penned ‘Born to Rock n Roll’ follows with its Eddie Cochrane echoing guitar riff. Next up, Phil takes the mic for an energetic run through The Polecats ‘Rockabilly Guy’.
Jack Scott’s ‘The Way I Walk’ has been covered numerous times, most notably by The Cramps. STARCAT’s version starts in familiar fashion before turning into a welcome extended jam. From one of rockabilly’s most iconic songs to the Stray Cats equally iconic ‘Stray Cat Strut’, all West Side Story swagger with added leather. There’s a new tune next with ‘California Beach House’ which more than holds up to the rest of tonight’s set.
Going back into rock n roll’s rich heritage, the Rolling Stones’ ‘Off the Hook’ gets the Slim Jim treatment whilst Neal adds some suitably scuzzy guitar. Even further back in time, Arthur Big Boy Crudup recorded ‘That’s Alright Mama’ almost a decade before a 19-year-old Elvis got his mitts onto it. The band’s version is closer in tone to the latter, but still sounds good after all these years as does Billy Fury’s ‘Wondrous Place’.
At the time, Sigue Sigue Sputnik were promoted as the fifth generation of rock n roll. In reality they were a well promoted old school rockabilly band with a strong image augmented by keyboards, electronic trickery and designer violence visuals. No more so than with ‘Hey Jayne Mansfield Superstar!’ where the drums already had a distinct rockabilly beat to them. The lyrics may be little more than a series of slogans but STARCAT make it sound like a lost rock n roll classic.
It’s back to Phil for a highly enjoyable version of the Polecats’ ‘Make a Circuit with Me’. Two days earlier, Kavus Torabi (Gong, Cardiacs) had been on this same stage, regaling us with the anecdote that seeing the Stray Cats performing ‘Runaway Boys’ on Top of the Pops was the event that started his own musical adventure. He would have been overjoyed to see STARCAT performing it with as much gusto as the original.
‘Love Missile F1-11’ sounded like nothing else when it originally came out and was especially thrilling to this then-15-year-old. Stripped down, it still sounds good, especially when the band include a segment of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ in the mid-section. Once more into the Stray Cats back catalogue with the immortal ‘Rock This Town’ as a clearly exhausted Slim Jim gives a last hurrah. Last year STARCAT recorded a version of Mud’s ‘Tiger Feet’ and tonight it ends the set in joyous fashion! Slim Jim has been a trooper all night but one more song is proving to be too much so the band forgo the encore.
Covering almost 80 years worth of rock n roll history, this could be an early contender for gig of the year. Yes, there were the occasional slip-ups, but that doesn’t matter when the material is so more fun. Just watching the physicality of Slim Jim’s performance would keep many a Stray Cats fan happy. Credit to Sid and Nigel at Future Transmissions for continuing to bring high quality music to the Facebar – long may they continue to do so!
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: IAN LADLOW
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