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 And Roll
Showaddywaddy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey Rock And Roll by Showaddywaddy is a classic rock and roll song that talks about the energy and excitement that comes out of the popular music genre. The song's opening lines, "And you kids get on your feet now, And get ready and it's rock and roll," conveys the lively, interactive, and fun nature of rock and roll music. The lyrics then describe the world of rock and roll, where people dream about owning a limousine and dancing to the world's greatest rock and roll band.
The song describes the image of people standing on street corners, singing and dancing to the tunes of their favorite rock and roll bands. The lyrics also talk about some characters that are a part of this world, including Susie hand-jive, who is a rock and roll queen, Johnny, who sings a love song, and Mickey, who dances with the girl in blue. All these characters and images capture the spirit of rock and roll music, where everyone is welcome to let loose and have fun.
Overall, Hey Rock And Roll is a song about the power of music in bringing people together and creating an experience that is joyful, liberating, and full of life. Through its catchy tune and infectious lyrics, the song encourages people to let loose and celebrate the world of rock and roll.
Line by Line Meaning
And you kids get on your feet now
Get ready to dance and enjoy some rock and roll music!
And get ready and it's rock and roll
Get ready for some lively music that you can dance to!
Standing on the corner in my new blue jeans
I'm standing on the street corner, wearing my new blue jeans and hoping to find the girl of my dreams.
Dreamin' 'bout the girl in my limousine
I'm dreaming of the perfect girl, riding with me in my fancy limousine.
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout the world's greatest rock 'n roll band.
Everyone is talking about the most famous rock and roll band in the world.
News-boy on the corner says: Hold on kid what's the use of dreaming 'Bout a rich guy's greed?
The newspaper boy on the corner is telling me to stop dreaming of being rich and focus on something more important like enjoying some great rock and roll music.
Get yourself aboppin' with the world's greatest rock 'n roll band.
Start dancing and grooving to the world's most famous rock and roll band!
Hey rock and roll Bring it to town let's stroll
Hey, rock and roll music - come to our town and let's dance and enjoy some lively tunes together!
Hey rock and roll Let's go let's go let's go.
Hey, rock and roll music - let's get started, let's dance and party together!
Rockin' to the band in a rocket-machine
Dancing and grooving to the band's music in a car that's moving so fast it feels like a rocket!
Susie hand-jive she's a rock and roll queen
Susie is a talented dancer, performing the hand-jive dance move like a true rock and roll queen!
Johnny sings a love-song He sings it right from a-ha a-ha a-ha
Johnny is singing a beautiful love song, delivering it with real emotion and feeling.
Whenever Mickey's dancing with the girl in blue
Whenever Mickey is dancing with the girl wearing blue clothes,
Over to the band and a song for you
The band is playing a song to entertain and delight Mickey and the girl in blue, as well as everyone else present!
Everybody's shouting to the world's greatest rock 'n roll band.
Everyone is cheering and shouting loudly for the most famous rock and roll band in the world!
Hey rock and roll
Rock and roll music - let's dance and have some fun!
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RICK DERRINGER
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!!!