The Crawlin Kingsnakes opened up proceedings on Friday night with a barnstorming set
PHOTOGRAPHYBY TONY BRUCE
Last year’s Welsh Rockabilly Fair pre-party fell victim to gale force winds and horizontal rain lashing the windows of the Hi Tide in Porthcawl. This year, bright sunshine and clear skies were promised for the whole weekend. DJs Ian ‘Wobbly’ Webster from Bristol and the north-east’s Steve Fatcat kicked off Thursday’s pre-party, before El Camino – back by popular demand – were introduced to the stage by promoter and face-of-the-event Kevin ‘Red’ Ramsay.
Occasional mask-wearers El Camino delivered a brand of hard rock’n’roll that included everything from the impressive guitar picking and explosive rockabilly of Roll The Dice to instrumental stroller Trick Or Treat. Elsewhere came humour (Five Chin Freddie), heavy slap bass and tom toms (Two Faced Baby), the story of a crazy girl with voices in her head (Cuckoo) presented in a jazzy style with softer brush-effect drums and a walking bass, plus some enjoyable covers including Richard Berry’s Yama Yama Pretty Mama, Jimmy Wages’ Mad Man and the Killer’s High School Confidential.