He’s written songs for fi lm and TV, including
one for Val Kilmer in Top Secret, and the hit
French movie, La Boum. He’s also worked
with Rocky Sharpe & The Replays and the
legendary producer, Mike Vernon.”
Duffi n’s proudest moments? “There are
a few,” he muses. “Naturally, FT001 as it
was the fi rst release! Darrel’s Sweet Georgia
Brown Sessions, as it has one of my favourite
songs on it, Baby Moon. That album alsofeatures Imelda singing Stop Whistlin’ Wolf
and it was recorded before she was well
known. Also, Darrel’s Crazy With Love, as
I got involved helping to record the drums.”
Foot Tapping has built a glowing rep for
delivering the fi nest modern-rockin’ sounds,
respectful of rockabilly’s past yet driving
things forward. So what does rockabilly
mean in 2021?
“Everybody has their own thoughts, so
I don’t want to get slated for my opinions!”
chuckles Duffi n. “But here we go... I think
rockabilly has a sound that you can just
stand and listen to, or tap your feet. If you
want to have a jive, stroll or bop, feel free.
As long as you like it, that’s all that matters.”
The feet started tapping two decades
ago and continue to sound out a delectable
rhythm. Take some time with their
catalogue, a truckful of treats await you. 9Other new arrivals include The
Timebomb Allstars, Rebel Dean & The
Star Cats, Higham’s festive collection
A Christmas Bop, plus Paul Hudson.
“Paul started out playing in The
Hellraisers and The Cruisers during the
revival of the 70s and 80s,” says Duffi n. “He’s
played tours supporting Bill Haley, Chuck
Berry, Jack Scott, Charlie Gracie and Marty
Wilde on the revival of the Oh Boy! TV show.
EMBASSY OF ROCK
Until 2005, the lion’s share of Foot Tapping’s
recording took place at Sweet Georgia Browns
in London, where a young Darrel Higham cut
The Sweet Georgia Brown Sessions, his fi rst for
the label, but a new enterprise took their
output to a new level. Built in a cow barn,
Embassy Studios was to become ground zero
for the Foot Tappers and everything since has
begun life from within those walls. Much
elbow grease was required, but with the help
of family and friends, Duffi n and Higham got
Embassy up and running. It seems the best
things happen while shoeing horses...DUFFIN: We had a smaller studio in Kingsclere,
near Basingstoke, part of Colin’s antique repair
workshop, but the label was growing and we
needed a bigger one. I got chatting to one of
my customers whilst shoeing her horse and
she said that they had a barn if we wanted it.So off I went every Sunday for a month,
cleaning out the barn with a wheelbarrow and
shovel, then got a mate of mine to brick up all
the open spaces. We then had a shell ready to
build our own studio. What a job that was,
as you have to build a complete building inside
a building. Myself, Colin and my son, Rockin’
Billy, set about putting up the structure with
the help of my apprentices – Darrel and some
of his mates – and we got the building
converted. They all got well fed, and could
they eat?! It cost me a fortune for food at
dinner times!HIGHAM: We made sure we had all the proper
soundproofi ng and also built a live room that
we hoped would give us a great sound, which
is exactly what happened! It took about eight
months from start to fi nish and we all worked
really hard to make it the place it is today. Cliveinvested a lot of money, and initially we were
recording onto tape. When it came time to
record Imelda’s Love Tattoo, we felt the studio
needed an upgrade to a digital format in order
to off er that to customers as well as analogue
recording, and so Clive bought a whole load of
new equipment, upgrading the recording desk
and even buying an excellent upright piano,
solely to give that album as much help as
possible. It was a very wise investment and
the resulting album was pivotal in giving
Imelda’s career the springboard it needed.More recently, Foot Tapping fans were supplied
a front-row seat for some excellent live
lockdown sessions beamed out from the studio
and onto the internet – a welcome taste of the
good stuff to lift the spirits.
For further information, visit the website at:
http://www.embassystudios.co.ukLabel Story: Foot Tapping Records