Polecats, Cult Heroes of 80s Rockabilly
The Polecats were part of the early-'80s British rockabilly revival scene, sporting the clothing, hairstyles, and even makeup to play the part to the hilt. The band was originally called "The Cult Heroes" but couldn't get any gigs at rockabilly clubs with a name that sounded "punk", so the original drummer Chris Hawkes came up with the name Polecats. Tim Polecat and Boz Boorer started playing together in 1976, they hooked up with Phil Bloomberg at the end of 1977. The Polecats, heavily influenced by punk and 70s glamour rock (amongst other things), scored three British Top 40 singles with "John, I'm Only Dancing" (the David Bowie song), "Rockabilly Guy" (the former B-side of their independent single "Chicken Shack"), and a cover of the T-Rex (Marc Bolan) song "Jeepster". Their 1981 debut LP "Polecats Are Go!" (produced by dave Edmunds) is surely the best they ever did. If you ever see "Polecats Are Go!" on sale buy it. It's awesome! "John, I'm Only Dancing" was in the charts in England the same time as the Stray Cats second single "Rock This Town". "Make A Circuit" was a final stab at making a hit. It was a real pop song, a dissapointing direction for a great band. They lost there record deal after that, although they released a few albums for independent labels which where nothing compared to "Polecats Are Go!". There is a album available called "Cult Heroes" which is a collection of demos from there early years. Boz Boorer broke up the group to work with "Morrissey", but led a Polecats reunion in 1989, which produced a live album and a new studio set. Tim Polecat moved to LA and is playing with Slim Jim (Stray Cats) in a band named "Lucky 13". Raucous Records released a compilation of Boz Boorer's work titled Between The Polecats early 2001. Line-up: Boz Boorer Website: 13 Cats Homepage: Make a Circuit (Fansite): Check out the Yahoo! Polecats Club: |
