Stray Cats
The Stray Cats are a rockabilly/psychobilly band first formed in 1979 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer (Bloodless Pharoahs/Brian Setzer Orchestra) with school friends Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker) and Slim Jim Phantom (born James McDonnell). The group, whose style was based upon the sounds of Sun Records artists from the 50's, had little initial success in the New York music scene, and had to move to England before they saw any success at all within the nascent rockabilly revival there. The group had several hit singles in the U.K. and the U.S. during the early 1980s.
After their first break-up in 1984, the band has reunited off-and-on ever since; most recently (in 2004) they released Rumble in Brixton an album of live versions of many of their early songs.
The Stray Cats are an 1980s rock band that led the rockabilly revival in the early part of the decade. They were led by Brian Setzer, along with Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker. They were unsuccessful in their native Long Island, and moved to London, where they released The Straycats and scored three hits off it, "Stray Cat Strut", "Rock This Town" and "Runaway Boys".
The follow-up was Gonna Ball, which received generally scathing reviews. After that, they moved back to the US and released Built for Speed, a combination of their earlier LPs. "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" hit the top of the American charts thanks to MTV airplay. The follow-up, Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats, was almost as successful.
However, personality conflicts were tearing the band apart, and they finally broke up in 1984 (1984 in music). Rocker and Phantom formed a duo called Phantom Rocker & Slick, while Setzer went on to a solo career, emerging at the forefront of the American swing revival of the mid-1990s.
Formation and rapid U.K. success
The Stray Cats was formed in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. Their retro 1950s sound didn't go over well, so in the summer of 1980, the group headed to England, where a rockabilly revival movement was beginning to emerge.
After a gig in London, the Stray Cats met producer Dave Edmunds, well known as a roots rock enthusiast for his work with Rockpile and as a solo artist. Edmunds offered to work with the group, and they entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album, released in England in 1981 on Arista Records. They were popular immediately, scoring three straight hits that year with "Runaway Boys," "Rock This Town," and "Stray Cat Strut." The follow-up, Gonna Ball, wasn't as well received, and stung by the negative reviews, Stray Cats decided to return to the States and make a go of it.
Return to the U.S.
The Stray Cats signed with EMI America and in the year 1982 released their U.S. debut, Built for Speed, compiled from their two British LPs.
Helped by extensive airplay on the newly-launched MTV, "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" both hit the American Top Ten, over a year after their British chart peaks. As a result, Built for Speed was a left-field smash, and the Stray Cats were seen as avatars of retro style. Their second American album, Rant n' Rave With the Stray Cats, appeared in 1983 and produced another Top Ten hit in "(She's) Sexy + 17," as well as a minor Top 40 entry in the doo wop-styled ballad "I Won't Stand in Your Way."
Break-up and subsequent reunions
Personality conflicts began to emerge in the ways the individual members handled their new-found success; Phantom married actress Britt Ekland, while Setzer made guest appearances with stars like Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks and became the concert guitarist for Robert Plant's Honeydrippers side project. In late 1984, Setzer broke up the band amid much bad blood.
In 1986, the Stray Cats got back together in Los Angeles, and recorded the covers-heavy Rock Therapy, which didn't sell that well.
The trio returned to their respective post-Stray Cats projects, which both released albums that performed disappointingly. In 1989, they reunited once again for the album Blast Off, which was accompanied by a tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan. No longer with EMI, the Cats entered the studio with Nile Rodgers for the lackluster Let's Go Faster, issued by Liberation in 1990. 1992's Dave Edmunds-produced Choo Choo Hot Fish also attracted little attention, and after another covers album, Original Cool, the group called it quits again.
Band members' follow-on careers
The Stray Cats have reunited periodically for live performances.
Setzer was part of the 1990s swing revival with his Brian Setzer Orchestra. Rocker and Phantom went on to form Swing Cats as well as releasing some solo material.
Discography
- Stray Cats (1981)
- Gonna Ball (1981)
- Built For Speed (1982)
- Rant N' Rave With The Stray Cats (1983)
- Rock Therapy (1986)
- Blast Off! (1989)
- Let's Go Faster! (1990)
- Choo Choo Hot Fish (1992)
- Original Cool (1993)
- Rumble in Brixton (2004)