The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise and The Golden Hammers. This led to an eight member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, two drummers, two bassists and two guitarists. Their first single, Hey Rock 'n' 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 from this point until late 1982. The first few singles were all written by the band and these generally reached the top-20. However they had most of their biggest hits with pop versions of old '50s US rock 'n' roll songs, catchy tunes backed up by their colourful image, dance routines and numerous television appearances. Some of their best known covers are Three Steps To Heaven, Heartbeat, Under The Moon Of Love, You Got What It Takes, Blue Moon (based on the Marcels' interpretation), and I Wonder Why.
In total they had ten Top Ten singles, a Number One, and spent 209 weeks in the UK singles chart. At the peak of their popularity, this tally included having seven successive Top Five entries. Their biggest selling single was the aforementioned "Under The Moon Of Love", which sold 985,000 copies and gave the group its only UK Number One.
Band members
Current members
Romeo Challenger (born 19 May 1950, St John's, Antigua, West Indies) — drums (1973–present)
Rod Deas (born 13 February 1948, Scarborough) — bass (1973–present)
Ray Hatfield — guitars / vocals / (2017–present)
Rob Hewins — drums / guitars / vocals (2012–present)
Dean Loach — keyboards/ guitar / backing vocals (2012–present)
Andy Pelos — vocals / guitar (2012–present)
Billy Norman — bass guitar/ backing vocals (2018–present)
Former members
Paul Dixon — guitars / vocals / (2008–2017)
Dave Bartram (born 23 March 1952, Leicester) — vocals (1973–2011)
Trevor Oakes (born Trevor Leslie Oakes, 9 September 1946, Leicester) — guitars (1973–2008)
Al James (born Geoffrey Betts, 13 January 1946, Leicester - 16 November 2018) — bass (1973–2008)
Buddy Gask (born William George Gask, 18 December 1945, Leicester – 7 June 2011, Spain) — vocals (1973–1987)
Russ Field (born James Lewis Russell Field, 1 September 1949, Berwick-upon-Tweed) — guitars (1973–1985)
Malcolm "Duke" Allured (born 27 August 1945, Leicester) — drums (1973–1984)
Ray Martinez — guitars (1985–1995)
Danny Willson — guitars (1995–2009)
David Graham — saxophone (2009–2011)
Hey Rock 'N' Roll
Showaddywaddy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now move your bodies,
Let's rock 'n' roll, Showaddywaddy!
Standing on the corner in my new blue jeans,
Dreaming 'bout the girl in my limousine
Everybody's talking 'bout the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
Newsman on the corner said 'hold on kid',
Get yourself a-boppin' to the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
[Chorus]
Hey rock 'n' roll, bring it to town let's stroll,
Hey rock 'n' roll, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Hey rock 'n' roll, bring it to town let's stroll,
Hey rock 'n' roll, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Rocking to the band and a record machine,
Susie hand jives, she's a rock 'n' roll queen,
Johnny sings a love song, he sings it right from the ha, ha, heart.
Little Nicky's dancing with the girl in blue,
Over to the band and a song for you,
Everybody's shouting for the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
[Chorus: Repeats]
The lyrics of Showaddywaddy's "Hey Rock 'N' Roll" express the excitement and joy that comes with listening to and dancing along with rock and roll music. The song begins with an energetic call to action, urging everyone to get up and move their bodies to the beat. The singer himself is standing on a street corner, wearing new blue jeans and daydreaming about riding in a limousine with a girl. However, he quickly realizes that the real thrill comes from listening to and dancing to the "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band."
The chorus serves to reinforce this message, repeating the call to "bring it to town" and encouraging everyone to "stroll" and "go" along with the music. The second verse introduces some of the specific characters who are part of this rock and roll scene, including Susie the "rock 'n' roll queen" who hand jives with abandon and Johnny who sings straight from the heart. Little Nicky is also mentioned, dancing with a girl in blue and adding to the festive atmosphere.
Overall, the lyrics of "Hey Rock 'N' Roll" celebrate the power and joy of rock and roll as a genre and as a culture. They encourage participation and engagement with the music, and suggest that this is where true happiness lies.
Line by Line Meaning
All you kids get on your feet now,
Everyone needs to stand up and get ready to dance
Now move your bodies,
Start moving and dancing along to the music
Let's rock 'n' roll, Showaddywaddy!
Let's dance to the rock 'n' roll music performed by Showaddywaddy
Standing on the corner in my new blue jeans,
I am standing on the street corner wearing my new blue jeans
Dreaming 'bout the girl in my limousine
I am daydreaming about a girl who could potentially be with me in my fancy limousine
Everybody's talking 'bout the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
Everyone is discussing and admiring the best rock 'n' roll band in the world
Newsman on the corner said 'hold on kid',
A news reporter on the street corner interrupts me
What's the use of dreaming 'bout a rich guys grid,
He questions the point of dreaming about being wealthy
Get yourself a-boppin' to the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
Instead, enjoy yourself by dancing to the world's best rock 'n' roll band
Hey rock 'n' roll, bring it to town let's stroll,
Hey rock 'n' roll music, let's bring it into town and dance to it
Hey rock 'n' roll, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Let's go and dance to the rock 'n' roll music
Rocking to the band and a record machine,
We are dancing to the music being played by the live band and record machine
Susie hand jives, she's a rock 'n' roll queen,
Susie is doing the hand jive dance and is considered the queen of rock 'n' roll dancing
Johnny sings a love song, he sings it right from the ha, ha, heart.
Johnny is singing a love song straight from the heart
Little Nicky's dancing with the girl in blue,
Little Nicky is dancing with a girl wearing blue
Over to the band and a song for you,
Moving over to the band, a song is played for the audience's enjoyment
Everybody's shouting for the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band.
Everyone is cheering for the best rock 'n' roll band in the world
Hey rock 'n' roll, bring it to town let's stroll,
Again, let's bring rock 'n' roll music into town and dance to it
Hey rock 'n' roll, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Let's go and dance to the rock 'n' roll music
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: AL. JAMES, DAVID FREDERICK BARTRAM, JAMES LEWIS RUSSELL FIELD, MALCOLM JAMES ALLURED, RODERICK SINCLAIR DEAS, ROMEO ALEXANDER CHALLENGER, TREVOR LESLIE OAKES, WILLIAM GEORGE GASK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@StanObirek
I was 13 year old then and there were no girl that would refuse to dance to this. I am so glad I found it. Thanks. 🙏
@Haurko01
Thumbs up if International or Original British Gladiators brought you here.
@nathanbyberg
International gladiators originally, but I’ve watched most of UK gladiators on YouTube. This song rocked!
@philipnorris6542
They didn't.
@whovianhistorybuff
Jet doing air guitar with her leg😍
@colinbradley9551
Bought this when it came out (10 years old) played it constantly on my parents record player, great days , fab song🤣
@mariasioux
best band ever glam rock for ever the 70s great times
@samanthamarshall2750
Exc. Mate I am now 58 brought up with musical culture. Keep rocking Mike ant coote xx
@williamewing5509
I used to watch a TV series called
New Faces the host was
Derek Hobson as this band won
the whole contest with the song
Hey Rock And Roll as I am dedicating this TV series and the song to my old school friends who are both sisters as I hope to see them both again very soon to Chris and Hester Brand from Billyxxx
@maskutchitamagotchiworld1911
My heart is dedicated to 70s music. I god damn love it!!!