Pioneers of r’n’r provided promoter Ritchie Gee with packed
houses at the 19th Wildest Cats In Town weekender
WORDS BY JOHN HOWARD PHOTOS BY EMMA GRANT/JOHN HOWARD/RUTH ARCHER
WILDEST
DREAMS
N
ot just one, but two stars from
the 50s Memphis Sun studio
were present for this 19th
Wildest Cats In Town weekender at
Pakefi eld in Suffolk. Namely, veteran
vocalist Hayden Thompson, and the man
behind the beat on hits from the likes of
Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich and Warren
Smith, drummer Jimmy Van Eaton.
The third headliner from the United
States was Rip Masters, who played on
Gene Vincent’s fi nal recording when he
was a session man on Ronnie Weiser’s
Rollin’ Rock label, also backing Ray
Campi, Mac Curtis and the rest of the crew
who re-introduced America to its own
rockabilly heritage.
There were visitors from Australia,
France, Italy, Sweden, Germany and Spain...
and that was just the musicians. Fans came
from countries more diverse than that, keen
to see not only the US headliners, but alsosome exclusive reunions of much-respected
outfi ts like Bob And The Bearcats and The
Avengers. You won’t be seeing them in
Sydney or Saarbrücken any time soon.
The icing on the cake was supplied by
Crazy Cavan And The Rhythm Rockers,
who always work this event.
While “soul” festivals just up the coast
offer two live bands a night, Wildest
Cats has up to 10 bands a day playing on
three stages, and the weekender has now
stretched to four nights.
Add to that, jive lessons, contests, classic
cars from the 50s, dozens of vendors,burlesque dancers and specialist disc
jockies, plus a great atmosphere, it’s small
wonder the event sells out every time.
What was amazing was the turnout on
the Thursday night, with 1,000 fans packing
the site. As promoter Ritchie Gee remarked:
“You just don’t expect that on the fi rst night- it’s very pleasing.”
The accolade of “hardest working man in
showbusiness”, onstage at least, was Master
of Ceremonies Porky who not only whipped
up the enthusiasm for the live acts and DJs
from the fi rst to the last, winning encores
and applause, he also fronted his own band,
Hot Rockin’, for a well-received slot.
Hayden Thompson was perhaps the
biggest international name at the event,
and he had the top spot mid-evening
on Saturday night. The 81-year-old has
admitted his body has not stood up well to
ageing, but says his voice has weathered the
years undiminished.
He set out to prove it on this show. And,
boy, he proved it.
Not only does his voice retain its power,
its range is as great as it was when he
started out as a teenager in Booneville,
Mississippi, scant miles from Elvis
Presley’s base in Tupelo. Thus Hayden can
go Presley-high on That’s All Right, and
Johnny Cash-deep on Ring Of Fire.
Hayden is a big guy, and a black suit and
shirt underlined his authority as he was
given a hero’s welcome by the fans who
fi rst saw him on UK soil as early as 1973.
He has made the best part of 40 visits to
Europe, and has no plans to quit touring
and performing.
His best known numbers including
Blues Blues Blues, Fairlane Rock and Cheese
And Crackers sounded exactly as they did
when he recorded them for label boss Sam
Phillips in 1956.
WHAT WAS AMAZING
WAS THE TURNOUT
ON THURSDAY
WITH 1,000 FANS
PACKING THE SITEEmma GrantWildest Cats In TownA highlight of the weekend –
Remi fronts The Spunyboys