FRIDAY MUSIC: Showaddywaddy, by JD

Couple of weeks ago I was In Morrison’s wandering up and down the aisles and their background music was “Under the moon of love” by Showaddywaddy. And there seemed to be a lot of shoppers singing along with the record (including me!)

So here they are providing a cheerful antidote to the mad world outside!

Showaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.

The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, The Choice and The Hammers. This led to an eight member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, a couple of drummers and two bassists. Their first single, “Hey Rock and Roll” (written by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Showaddywaddy then went on to have a further 22 UK hits (23 if Hey Rock ‘n’ Roll is included) from this point until late 1982.

They had most of their biggest hits with covers of songs from the 1950s and the early 1960s. These cover versions included “Three Steps to Heaven” (originally by Eddie Cochran in 1960), “Heartbeat” (originally written and recorded by Buddy Holly), “Under the Moon of Love” (originally a U.S. hit for Curtis Lee in 1961 and co-written by Tommy Boyce), “When” (originally by the Kalin Twins), “You Got What It Takes” (originally by Marv Johnson) and “Dancin’ Party” (originally by Chubby Checker). The above six singles were all produced by Mike Hurst (a former member of The Springfields, who had also previously produced Cat Stevens).

https://www.showaddywaddy.net/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showaddywaddy

Showaddywaddy – Blue Moon 1980

Showaddywaddy – I Wonder Why, TOTP 25/12/1978

Showaddywaddy – Under The Moon Of Love • TopPop

Showaddywaddy – Remember Then (Top of the Pops, 29/03/1979) [TOTP HD]

Showaddywaddy – Dancin’ Party/I Wonder Why/Hey Rock n Roll on The Knees Up plus play-out