WORDS BY JACK WATKINS
In 1980, the British rockabilly revival, which had been rumbling away at an underground level for several years, finally bubbled to the surface for some mainstream commercial exposure. The prime exponents, in chronological order of UK pop chart penetration, were Matchbox, whose Rockabilly Rebel had actually first entered the charts in November of the previous year, Shakin’ Stevens and the Stray Cats. Next came The Polecats (somewhat miffed to be dubbed Stray Cats copyists when they’d actually been at it longer than the New York arrivistes), The Jets and then, in early 1982, The Stargazers. The latter were the least successful in terms of scoring hits, but Groove Baby Groove, which never got further than No.56, was set for higher things until a postal strike left registered sale returns stuck in the sorting offices for a fortnight. A scheduled appearance on the all-important Tops Of The Pops was pulled and momentum was lost.
Looking back, what is striking is the great diversity of sounds these acts brought to the domestic scene, none more so than The Stargazers, who not only remain a popular draw on the rock’n’roll circuit today, but whose recent album Carry On Jiving reveals that they are still a creative force in the recording studio. It was nearly 40 years ago in 1980 that the band’s founders, guitarist Peter Davenport and drummer Ricky Lee Brawn, first got together in north London for an impromptu jam session. Their mutual ambition was to create a big beat combo that looked and sounded as if it had walked straight out of the 1950s. By the end of the year, sax man John Wallace, long-term Davenport associate Anders Janes on double bass, and vocalist Danny Brittain had been recruited and rehearsals were underway. Their first public gig was the following January at the Jubilee Hall, Maldon, Essex.