On This Day 03/03/1981 Stray Cats

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On this day, 3 March 1981, American rockabilly band The Stray Cats played Cardiff’s Top Rank with support provided by the Barracudas.

Formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia, Canada, and the U.S.

After a gig in London, Stray Cats met Welsh musician and producer Dave Edmunds, well known as a roots rock enthusiast for his work with Rockpile and as a solo artist. Edmunds offered to work with the group, and they entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album, Stray Cats, released in Britain in 1981 on Arista Records.

In addition to having three hits that year with "Runaway Boys", "Rock This Town", and "Stray Cat Strut", they would also perform on the eighth day of the Montreux Jazz Festival.

The UK follow-up to Stray Cats, Gonna Ball, was not as well-received, providing no hits. Yet the combined sales of their first two albums were enough to convince EMI America to compile the best tracks from the two UK albums and issue an album (Built for Speed) in the U.S. in 1982. The record went on to sell a million copies (Platinum) in the US and Canada and was the no. 2 record on the Billboard album charts for 15 weeks.

On this day 26/11/1980 Stray Cats

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On this day, 26 November 1980, American rockabilly band Stray Cats, played Cardiff’s Casablanca Club.

The group, whose style was based upon the sounds of Sun Records artists and other artists from the 1950s, were heavily influenced by Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, and Bill Haley & His Comets.

The band first appeared in the middle of 1979 performing under a number of names including the Tomcats, the Teds, and Bryan and the Tom Cats. According to Brian Setzer, the band changed names to fool club owners (who would not hire the same band for consecutive nights), but kept the "Cats" moniker in their various names so the audience would know they were the same band. Setzer joined up with Phantom, and they soon added Phantom's schoolmate and friend, Lee Rocker.

In the middle of 1980, the Cats found themselves being courted by record labels including Virgin Records, Stiff Records, and Arista Records. Word quickly spread and soon members of The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zeppelin were at their shows.

After a gig in London, Stray Cats met Cardiff-born musician and producer Dave Edmunds, well known as a roots rock enthusiast for his work with Rockpile and as a solo artist.

Edmunds offered to work with the group, and they entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album, Stray Cats, released in Britain in 1981 on Arista Records.