They both played at the Fosseway pub in Leicester and soon discovered they liked each others music. After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently and Showaddywaddy was born.
During 1973, the band were asked if they wanted to be on TV - the show was "New Faces". They won one programme in the series and were runners-up in the "All Winners Final". This led to various record companies racing to sign them up. However they had already signed to Bell Records, (the Bay City Rollers and Gary Glitter were also signed to the signed to the same label).
The first single, Hey Rock And Roll was released on 19th April 1974 and reached number two in the UK charts. Showaddywaddy then hit the UK charts another 22 times until late 1982. These included 10 Top-Ten singles and one number one, racking up a total on 209 weeks in the singles chart - one of the most successful singles groups of all time.
The first few singles were all written by the band and these generally reached the top-20. Two cover versions, 'Three Steps To Heaven' and 'Heartbeat' were released in 1975. These both reached the top ten before Showaddywaddy reverted back to their own material. However, these again failed to reach the top-10, so they went back to cover-versions and entered the top-10 once more.
Romeo later quoted, "Dave and Trevor would approach the record company with a song. The would say, 'No we don't want that - you had a hit with a cover last time, you can do it again'". The cover versions were all pop versions of old '50s US rock 'n' roll songs, catchy tunes backed up by their colourful image, dance routines and numerous television appearances.
With this combination of instrument players - ie two of everything - Showaddywaddy had great flexibility on stage with four or five members playing the instruments and the others doing the dance routines. At their peak, they were doing 250 gigs a year. 2003 saw the band's 30th Anniversary, and they celebrated by completing a successful 40-date UK-wide tour along with The Rubettes and Sweet.
The line-up now consists of five of the original eight members: Dave, Trevor, Al, Rod and Romeo, along with Danny Willson on lead guitar.
|
08450 176 776