Stargazers review

The Stargazers
Carry On Jiving

The Stargazers
Half A Heart / Boo Hoo Hoo

Ruby Tone RT 45 001 [2014]

With this excellent double A-side, the masters of the Big Beat, the hidden sons of the Comets and the Jodimars return to what they do best, I mean R. O. C. K., ROCK!
Boo Hoo Hoo is a typical Davenport composition (think Bop a Doo, a Doo, Bop or Ooh Baby Ooh from his different solo releases) and Half a Heart penned by Danny is slightly mellower with doo wop backing vocals.
It’s a limited edition but try to grab it!

The Stargazers
Epic Rock’n’Roll

Rhythm Rock It [2012]
Groove Baby Groove – Jump Around – La Rock ‘n’ Roll – Red Light Green Light – Hey Marie – Scat The Riff – Go Go Honey – A Little Jump A Little Swing – Rocketship To The Moon – Tonight’s The Night – Pretty Senorita – Rockin’ Rollin’ Home – Walking The Chalk Line – Hey There You – Perdido – Caravan – True Love – Tossin’ and Turnin’ – Follow Your Heart – Spin That 45 – Swingin’ Aye – Marcelle Mania – Ain’t Nobody Here But us Chickens.
This album gathers the complete released recordings made by the Stargazers during the time they were under contract with CBS in the early 80’s, which for many is the golden age of the band. The line up was at that time Danny Brittain (lead vocals), John Wallace (saxophone), Anders Janes (double bass), Ricky Lee Brawn (drums), Peter Davenport and later Marc Breman (guitars)
The songs are listed chronologically. Thus you can see the evolution of the sound. The first twelve songs feature former member and lead guitarist Peter Davenport whose passion for Bill Haley was a main ingredient in the band’s sound at the time. Both “Groove Baby Groove” and “Go Go Honey” (listen to those steel guitar ricochets ala Bill Williamson!) could have easily been recorded by Haley on Decca. Likewise, “La Rock’n’Roll” with John Wallace playing accordion reminds strongly of the Comets’ “A Rockin’ Little Tune” Three unreleased songs also featuring Davenport and recorded for the debut album but rejected by the label are included here In August 1982, Davenport left the band and was replaced by Marc Breman a friend of Danny Brittain. With him on board the sound of the band changed and they started to experiment and play a more modern brand of Rock’n’roll. The production also changed to become less “authentic” and more radio friendly. Songs like Wallace’s “Marcelle mania” and Brittain’s “Follow Your Heart” which is not that far from what a neo-rockabilly band like Restless would later do are typical of that sound. But with the exception of Louis Jordan’s Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens which is wasted by the producer choosen by the label, this is top class Rock’n’roll.
In all you have 22 songs by one of the best and most influential rockin’ band of the early 80’s, packed in a superbly designed digipack (made by the same person who did their designs back in the days) with a poster and informative liner notes. If you don’t know this band, do yourself a favour and buy it right now, and if you only own the original singles and lp, buy this reissue cause the sound is just perfect. Let’s just hope that the label, owned by Anders the original bass player, wont stop here and will release live stuff, unreleased rehearsals or demos in the future. One can dream!
Buy it directly at www.rhythmrock-it.com (only £9!!!!)

The Stargazers
Go Go Honey – The Best Of

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ [19XX]
Go Go Honey – Hey Marie – Groove Baby Groove – Toosin’ And Turnin’ – Swingin’ Aye – La Rock ‘N’ Roll(Quelques Uns La Lune) – Rock That Boogie – Rock Lomond – Flying High – Just Go Wild Over Rock ‘N’ Roll – In A Little Spanish Town – Stop Beatin’ Around The Mulberry Bush – Lady Killer – Froffee Coffee – What’s The Matter With Music Now – A Song About A Train – L.O.V.E – Spitfire – Let’s Go Ockin’ ‘N’ Rollin’ – Give Me That Jive – Send Me A Letter Loretta – Ida(Sweet As Apple Cider) – My Blue Heaven – Go Go Honey (Ep Version)

The main interest of this compilation released by Vinyl Japan (which explains the absence of songs from Back In Orbit) is to feature the four songs of the Go Go Honey ep that were only available on vinyl.

The Stargazers
Groove, Baby Groove

BLUE LIGHT 3369 [2000]
Tossin’ And turnin’ / Hey Marie / Swingin’ Aye / Marcelle Mania / Walking That Chalk Line / Hey There You / Perdido – Caravan / Groove Baby Groove / Follow Your Heart / Pretty Senorita / Spin That 45 / True Love / Rocketship To The Moon / Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens / Junp Around / La Rock ‘n’ Roll (Quelques Uns La Lune) / Red Light Green Light / Scat The Riff / Go Go Honey

A best-of featuring all the issued sides made for Epic. Also contains an informative booklet written by Ricky Lee Brawn and Danny Brittain.

The Stargazers
Give Me That Jive

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ JRCD37 [1999]
L.O.V.E. / (Let Me Be) Your Dream Come True / Got To Tell You / Spitfire / Haunting Me / The Caress / Let’s Go Rockin’ ‘n’ Rollin’ / C.K. Rock / Love Alphabet / Wonderful You / Swingin’ On A Star / You Never Came To Call / Give Me That Jive

Actually recorded in 1994 this album was only issued in 1999. It was recorded after the band had fired former drummer Ricky Lee Brawn to go into a more jazz direction. So it’s not your typical Stargazers album yet it’s a good one. Saxman John Wallace wrote the 2/3 of it hence the strong jazz coloration, John always been a fan of Lester Young. It also leaves more room to Gardner’s piano and Davenport never sounded so close to Charlie Christian. More in their usual Rock’n’roll style Davenport penned a couple of Haley influenced tunes (L.O.V.E, Let’s Go Rockin’ n’ Rollin’) and Danny contributed Swingin’ On A Star a killer rockabilly number.

The Stargazers
Froffee Coffee

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ [1995]
Froffee Coffee – Fools Fall In Love – Swinging On A Star – Oh Baby Doll – County Line – Milkcrate Mania – What’s The Matter With Music Now – Just A Gigolo – Willow Weep – Where Would We Be Tonight – Mack The Knife – Song About A Train – Sugar And Spice

Produced by Ricky Lee Brawn, Froffee Coffee really differs from the band’s previous releases and even Watch This Space doesn’t show such a wide variety of style, featuring doo-wop, rock’n’roll, big beat, jazz, latin. With Jim Knowler of the Keytones replacing Peter on guitar it has a strong Keytones influence on songs like “Fools Fall In Love” or the doo wop cover of Chuck Berry’s Oh Baby Doll. Actually it almost sounds more like a Danny Brittain’s solo album than a typical Stargazers album.

The Stargazers
Go Go Honey

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ [1994]
Go Go Honey – Send Me A Letter Loretta – Ida (Sweet As Apple Cider)- My Blue Heaven

Highly popular in Japan, the Stargazers recorded this 10″ ep mainly for the Japanese market. It features a new recording of Go Go Honey, a Danny’s original Send Me A letter Loretta and two covers that finds the band in full Haley mode. The line-up on this ep was Danny Brittain, Peter Davenport on guitar, Tim Purkess on doublebass, Chris Gardner on piano and Simon Gilby on sax and Shaun O’Keefe on drums.

The Stargazers
Rock That Boogie

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ JRCD7 [1993]
Rock That Boogie – Big Bad Wolf – Hi Ho Silver – Teenage Party – Better Believe It – I Got A Baby – Move Over Baby – Caravan – Rockin’ Rollin Home – Tonight’s The Night – A Little Jump, A Little Swing – Rock Lomond – Caldonia – Fat Man – The Gleam In Your Eyes – Time Goes By – Flying High – Swingin’ Aye – Rebound – Bounce Me Brother

Released to coincide with a tour of Japan, Rock That Boogie contains 21 unissued songs from the early years of the band (1980-1983). It features several originals that never made it on album and tracks from the rejected first album that was one of the reason Peter left the band.

The Stargazers
The Speaking Clock Says Rock

Vinyl Japan – Jappin’ & Rockin’ JRCD04 [1992]
Lights Out – Rockin’ Robin – In a Little Spanish Town – See You Later, Alligator – Pete’s Beat – Stop Beatin’ around the Mulberry Bush – The Cat – Just Go Wild over Rock ‘n’ Roll – Lady Killer – Florida Twist – Shake, Rattle and Roll – Eat Your Heart Out, Annie

From its title to the songs, this album is more Haley-esque than ever. Out of the ten covers, seven had been played by Bill Haley and one by the Jodimars. The only two originals are two jazzy instrumentals written by Peter and John.
Despite this lack of original material it’s a good and very enjoyable album. The musicianship is top notch, especially on the two instrumentals that announce the jazz direction that the band would take in the future. Their cover of Just Go Wild over Rock’nRoll is also a rare occasion to hear more of Chris Gardner’s playing.
Marshall Lytle, now a friend of the band, even makes a guest appearance and sings Eat Your Heart Out Annie, a song he recorded for the first time in 1956 with the Jodimars.

The Stargazers
Back In Orbit

Ace CDCH [1991]
Crazy But True / Loretta / It’s Only A Paper Moon / Baby, Baby, Baby / Got That Beat / The Walking Beat / Sweet Georgia Brown / Dig That Rock’n’roll / The Stargazers’ Blues / Crazy, Man, Crazy / (Every Cloud Has A) Silver Lining / Feeling Happy

Back In Orbit hit the shelves in 1991 to great acclaim. It proved that, nearly ten years after their first album, they hadn’t lost their energy. For this album he band decided to focus mostly on Rock’n’Roll/Jive stuff. And Back In Orbit is loaded with hotter than dynamite songs, some sounding like Haley’s unissued songs from the vault of Decca. It burst with Crazy But True that quotes Haley’s Dim Dim The Light (the mambo passage) and Birth Of The Boogie (the sax riff). It’s Only A Paper Moon is a good opportunity to hear the new rhythm section formed by veteran Ricky Lee Brawn and newcomers Chris Gardner and Tim Purkess in action and it confirms that Tim was the right choice to replace Anders. Clive Osborne also guests on steel guitar. The instrumental version of Sweet Georgia Brown shows their jazzy side and leaves plenty of room for Peter and John to express their skills. All in all, a killer album.

The Stargazers
Ain’t Nobody Here But us Chickens

Epic [1982]
Ain’t Nobody Here But us Chickens – Rocketship To The Moon

The fourth (and last) single recorded at 10cc’s Strawberry studios in Stockport. A side is a cover of Louis Jordan’s Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chicken. This time the label chose the song and the producer (Peter Collins who worked with Shakin’ Stevens and Matchbox). It’s clear that CBS wanted a modern production, which now sounds horribly dated, to get that hit that wouldn’t come. The result is as far as possible from the good old rock’n’roll (even with modern aspects) the band used to play, using electronic drums instead of Ricky’s distinctive groove. At least the buyers could find comfort with Rocketship to the Moon on the b-side, a gentle jazzy ballad penned by Janes and dating from the Davenport era of the band.

The Stargazers
Watch This Space

EPIC EPC 25053 [1982]
Tossin’ And Turnin’ / Hey Marie / Swingin’ Aye / Marcelle Mania / Walking The Chalk Line / Hey There You / Perfido – Caravan / Groove Baby Groove / Follow Your Heart / Pretty Senorita / Spin That 45 / True Love / Rocketship To The Moon

The legendary debut album. See “Epic Rock’n’roll” for a detailed review.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Read our complete story about the Stargazers here.