THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

542-Showaddywaddy-Hey Rock and Roll.

1974-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.25. I remember playing my 7 inch vinyl records at parties in the 1970’s, and 1980’s, and on a bouncy floor the needle would skip across the record. When playing the chorus of this song, the crowd would stomp their feet, and possibly damage my needle.

First of all, what a wonderful name for a ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ band ‘Showaddywaddy’ is, it just rolls off the tongue. Showaddywaddy were formed in Leicester, England, in 1973, by the coming together of two local bands, ‘Choice,’ who performed original material, and were made up of Dave Bartram, Trevor Oakes, Al James, (1945-2018) and Romeo Challenger, and the ‘Golden Hammers,’ who were a covers band, and were made up of Buddy Gask, (1945-2011) Russ Field, Rod Deas, and Malcolm Allured. This led to an eight member group, meaning two vocalists, two guitarists, two drummers, and two bass players. In total there have been 21 different members come and go, with Romeo Challenger being the bands one constant, although ex lead singer Dave Bartram has been the bands manager since 1984. Showaddywaddy continue to perform live around Europe, approximately 100 times a year at the time of writing.

Showaddywaddy first came to the public’s attention when winning a heat of the British ‘Anglia Television’ talent show ‘New Faces’ in 1973, and then going on to finish runners up in the ‘All Winners Final,’ broadcast on December 28th, 1973. They were then signed to ‘Bell’ records, and released their debut single ‘Hey Rock and Roll’ in 1974. The discography of Showaddywaddy includes 14 studio Albums released between 1974-2016, and 34 singles released between 1974-2006, there are also 22 official compilation Albums, and one live Album available. In the UK, five of their studio Albums have made the top 40, with their second release ‘Step Two,’ from 1975, peaking the highest at Number 7, while their 1978 compilation Album ‘Greatest Hits 1976-1978,’ made Number 1. On the UK singles chart, 23 of their singles have made the top 40, with their cover of the Tommy Boyce, (1939-1994) and Curtis Lee (1939-2015) song ‘Under the Moon of Love,’ reaching Number 1 in 1976. All of Showaddywaddy’s first four singles, which were all top 20 UK hits were original compositions, but after that they turned to covers of 1950’s and 1960’s ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ songs, including hit cover versions of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Three Steps to Heaven,’ (UK-Number 2-1975) Buddy Holly’s ‘Heartbeat,’ (UK-Number 7-1975) and Chubby Checker’s ‘Dancin’ Party,’ (UK-Number 4-1977.)

‘Hey Rock and Roll’ was the debut single release from Showaddywaddy, from May 1974, and was the first of two singles released from their self titled debut studio Album from November 1974. The songwriting credits for ‘Hey Rock and Roll’ are given to all eight band members at that time, although the song was originally written by Dave Bartram and Trevor Oakes. The lead vocals were provided by Buddy Gask, with Dave Bartram doing the songs spoken intro.

‘Hey Rock and Roll’ was produced by Mike Hurst, who was born Michael John Longhurst Pickworth, on September 19th, 1942, in Kilburn, London, England. Mike Hurst first found success in music as a member of ‘The Springfields,’ alongside Dusty Springfield, (1939-1999) and Tom Springfield, (1934-2022) the ‘Folk/Pop’ trio achieved five UK top 40 hit singles between 1961-1963. By 1965 Hurst had moved in to music production, overseeing Marc Bolan’s first recording session, at ‘Decca,’ when he recorded ‘The Wizard.’ Also in 1965, Hurst discovered the singer/songwriter Cat Stevens, and produced his first five singles, including ‘Matthew and Son’ (see also best songs 384.) Hurst would go on to produce for many top artists, including producing ‘Mighty Quinn’ for Manfred Mann (1968-UK Number 1 & Billboard Number 10.) Following his success with Showaddywaddy, he produced ‘Hot Dog,’ in 1980, (UK-Number 24) the first hit single for the Welsh singer Shakin’ Stevens, whom he also managed at that time.

‘Alright all you kids get on your feet now, now go get ready and it’s rock and roll, Showaddywaddy (Showaddywaddy.) Ooh, ba-ba-ba, ooh, ba-ba-ba, ooh, ba-ba-ba, ooh, Showaddywaddy.’