New to the UK charts : February 4, 1981

 

Stray Cats : Rock This Town

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In the first week of February 1981, three remarkable singles entered the UK singles chart that, at the time, was topped by John Lennon's "Woman". Coming in at #35 is "Rock This Town" by the American rockabilly band Stray Cats. The single would peak at UK#9 within three weeks. The Cats would open three dates for the Rolling Stones on their 1981 North American tour. 

Eventually "Rock This Town" would hit the Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at US #9 in September of 1982.

The Jam : That's Entertainment

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Released as a single in Germany, so many British fans bought The Jam's "That's Entertainment" b/w a live version of "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" as an import that it entered the chart at UK#47. It would peak at UK#21 by the end of the month and remains one of the bands most famous songs.

In an interview with Absolute Radio Paul Weller said: "I wrote it in 10 mins flat, whilst under the influence, I'd had a few but some songs just write themselves. It was easy to write, I drew on everything around me."

Talking Heads : Once In a Lifetime

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Entering the chart at UK#63, "Once In A Lifetime" would eventually peak at #14. Only the UK#6 "Road to Nowhere" is a bigger  hit for Talking Heads on that side of the pond. The song emerged from studio jams by the band influenced by funk and Fela Kuti. 

David Byrne's lyrics make more and more sense as we listeners age: 

You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile 

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife 

And you may ask yourself, "Well... how did I get here?"

Byrne gave his take on this song to NPR: 

“We’re largely unconscious. You know, we operate half awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else. We haven’t really stopped to ask ourselves, ‘How did I get here?’”

Stray Cats release Runaway Boys and ignite rockabilly revival

Stray Cats : Runaway Boys

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On November 1, 1980 Stray Cats ignited a rockabilly revival with the release of their UK#9 single  "Runaway Boys".  Earlier that year NME raved about an American band that had become "a hot property, their every move charted by a swarming posse of A+R men". The band was called The Stray Cats, a Long Island trio of teens from Jerry Seinfeld's hometown. They weren't catching on in New York City clubs so they packed up their bags, including Lee Rocker's six foot tall acoustic bass, and moved to England where they were called "pioneers of postmodern rockabilly and arguably the hottest band currently doing the rounds on an otherwise uninspiring London gig circuit." 

Word of their performances attracted both record execs and luminaries like Jerry Dammers, The Pretenders, members of The Clash, The Banshees and even Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Lane. The Stray Cats played Eddie Cochran covers, but they already had a strong set of originals like "Rumble In Brighton" and "Runaway Boys". 

 Arista Records signed The Stray Cats in September, sending Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Rocker directly into the studio to record their debut 45. From Smash Hits:

 

The Stray Cats bring the bop to Britain

The Stray Cats :  Runaway Boys

[Purchase]

On August 30, 1980 NME raved about an American band that had become "a hot property, their every move charted by a swarming posse of A+R men". The band was called The Stray Cats, a Long Island trio of teens from Jerry Seinfeld's hometown. They weren't catching on in New York City clubs so they packed up their bags, including Lee Rocker's six foot tall acoustic bass, and moved to England where they were called "pioneers of postmodern rockabilly and arguably the hottest band currently doing the rounds on an otherwise uninspiring London gig circuit."

Word of their performances attracted both record execs and luminaries like Jerry Dammers, The Pretenders, members of The Clash, The Banshees and even Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Lane. The Stray Cats played Eddie Cochran covers, but they already had a strong set of originals like "Rumble In Brighton" and "Runaway Boys". 

Arista Records signed The Stray Cats in September, sending Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Rocker directly into the studio to record their debut 45.