Old Enough to Forget

Dave had been doing pretty well sitting in the producer's chair in the early '80s, his work with The Stray Cats was so good. However he was first and foremost an artist in his own right. For over a decade his solo career had chugged along at a steady clip but in terms of commercial success Dave seemed to bubble just below the surface. Most people if they know his name will generally site his 1972 hit "I Hear You Knocking" and that's about as far as it goes. For me that's how it started too. Over the years his name had appeared on enough recordings, including the band Rockpile, that when I found Information I snapped it up. The back cover listed Jeff Lynne on bass and synthesizer, and Richard Tandy on synthesizer, both from ELO. Jeff also produced a couple of the tracks which was a bonus as far as I was concerned. I've always loved this kind of straight ahead rock and roll. It's more varied than simply labelling it rockabilly ... it's just good old ...

I had no idea what rockabilly or roots rocks was back in 1980. That's not necessarily accurate, as I really liked Dave Edmunds classic "I Hear You Knocking" from his 1972 album coincidentally titled Rockpile . Nick Lowe had some success with his '79 album Labour of Lust both of those guys would mine old time rock and roll and put a little twist on things. With Rockpile Nick and Dave were joined by Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams (who would later sit behind the kit with Dire Straits) and the band would release one album Seconds of Pleasure that yielded a minor hit "Teacher Teacher" that felt fresh and classic at the same time. There was a buzz about the album and I remember my buddy Gord who knew such things said this was a killer album. I never bought it, and never heard more than the one single, and then the album drifted into the abyss and would be one of those things I knew about but nothing about at the same time. Here I am sitting and grooving...