Showaddywaddy
This page was assembled at short notice at the personal request of the Boro Big Bopper (Martin Johnson), who last saw the band in Bolton in 2019, and wondered how many of the band he saw were originals. Read on to find out.....
What happens when two Leicester four-pieces join forces? You get Showaddywaddy, a Leicester eight-piece, with two of everything.
Formed in 1973 when The Golden Hammers and The Choise (sic), who had been playing alternate nights in a Leicester pub, and jamming occasionally, formalised their relationship. They made the re-working of classic rock 'n roll tracks their niche, having a string of UK Top Ten hits between 1974 and 1978, including "Three Steps To Heaven", "Heartbeat", and "Under The Moon Of Love".
Their last chart hit was in 1982, but the band, famous for their stage clothes that were a colourful re-interpretation of 50s Teddy Boy drapes and drainpipes, have been touring ever since, and remain popular, with what is effectively now a unique act of double-nostalgia (my wife saw them a decade ago in Bradford and thought they were brilliant).
The original eight-piece is now a sextet, with only one original left in it, drummer Romeo Challenger. Not quite Trigger's broom, but close.
The longevity data for the original line-up is shown below.
Key statistics
Average DOB: 29 February 1948
Current average age: 71 years 3 months