Nervous Records

Polecats

The Polecats' earliest recordings, with the original versions of 'Rockabilly guy' and 'Marie Celeste' (1979). Tracks four and five were recorded with Robin Scott (who later managed Restless) under the name of 'Scotty Robbins & The Psychobillies' in 1980. The title 'Cult heroes' refers to an earlier name that the group was known by. These are the earliest studio recordings made by The Polecats, with the first three being their original demo as handed to me when they were trying to get a gig at The Royalty Ballroom in North London where I was the DJ on the rockin' nights. This was 1979. Track six was recorded for an Alligator Records compilation entitled 'Home Grown Rockabilly', which we have released on Nervous. Tracks seven to eleven were recorded at the infamous Pathway Studios in 1980, and track twelve was a later recording. Just after all this The Stray Cats hit the charts here, and The Polecats were signed up by Polygram. Their album 'Polecats are go' was recorded for Polygram and produced by Dave Edmunds. The Polecats charted in the UK, but just as their first year with Polygram was coming to an end, the label decided to drop them. As they made this decision, 'Make a circuit with me' was beginning to get a lot of airplay stateside. With continued record company support, it would have been a hit, and The Polecats story would have continued to greater things. Tim Polecat went on to become a video producer in L.A., and Boz Boorer went on to fame and fortune with the likes of Morrisey. Phil went into band management, and for a while was Bananarama's manager (also The Bluecats). The original drummer, Chris, lives in obscurity on the south coast, and Neil Rooney (his replacement, who was originally in The Rhythm Cats) has vanished from the face of the earth. It could, and should, have all been so different......
 
Very early recordings of The Polecats. This is a definite piece for die-hard fans or collectors. A lot of the songs seem under-produced. Highlights are 'Rockabilly Guy' and their cover like no other of 'Big Green Car'. If you haven't heard this band before, I'd suggest starting out with another album as a lot of these songs suffer from low-fi recording. If you want to hear the captured sound of early Polecats I'd suggest getting this piece of history from Nervous immediately! Reviewed By The Psycho Avenger
 
The Polecats"Equally bequiffed but more heavily made-up than their contemporaries, The Polecats were one of the more successful bands involved in the early 80s UK rockabilly revival. Martin 'Boz' Boorer (guitar) and Tim 'Polecat' Worman (guitar, vocals) first played together while still at school in the mid-70s. They were joined in the earliest Polecats line-up by Phil Bloomberg (double bass) and Chris Hawkes (drums), performing at their local church hall in September 1978. Bloomberg played bass and drums on their earliest recordings, which led to the first release on the Nervous label which would later release more rockabilly both past and present. 'Chicken Shack' proved strong enough to attract the attention of Mercury Records who put the band, now with new drummer Neil Rooney, under the production auspices of Dave Edmunds. The first single for the label was a cover version of David Bowie's 'John I'm Only Dancing' which made the UK Top 40 in early 1981 and was followed up with a re-recording of 'Rockabilly Guy', which was also a Top 40 hit. For their third Mercury single they covered Marc Bolan's 'Jeepster', helped out by the song's original producer Tony Visconti. Boorer was a Bolan devotee, taking his hero's place in later re-formations of John's Children which he helped instigate. The Polecats' debut album also charted briefly but the rockabilly surge was fading and neither the 1983 Edward's produced mini-album Make A Circuit With Me, nor its title track, lifted as a single, made the charts. Boorer, Worman, Bloomberg and Buck reunited in the late 80s to record a new album for the Vinyl Japan label. The quartet continues to work together on a regular basis, touring Japan and recording new studio albums. Away from The Polecats, Boorer spent most of the 90s as Morrissey's post-Johnny Marr musical collaborator, while Worman formed 13 Cats with Slim Jim Phantom (ex-Stray Cats)." The Iceberg

Rockabilly guy (Bloomberg) * High-rise rockabilly (Boorer) *
Chicken shack (Boorer) * Rock it up baby (Scott) *
Red hot rock (Scott) * Rockin' all nite (Bloomberg) BTW Music
Marie Celeste (Boorer/Bloomberg/Worman/Rooney) * My baby said #1 (Boorer) *
Left, right and centre (Boorer) * Bite the dust (Boorer) *
My baby said #2 (Boorer) * Big green car (Allen/Boladian/Howard) Peer International