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From 2004 -- that is, before Cherry Red scooped up the band's entire 45 rpm output for two volumes worth of Singles Collections -- Hey Rock & Roll is nevertheless a weighty offering. No less than 25 tracks round up every one of the U.K. hit singles the band enjoyed between 1974 (the title track) and 1982 ("Who Put the Bomp"), plus two further cuts -- "Woo Hoo" and "Always and Ever" -- to round things off. And, even with no sense of chronology, it's a remarkably consistent package, with the band's seamless (and, sometimes, even shameless) appropriation of the '50s rock & roll sound ensuring a solidity that few other acts could ever dream of attaining. It's very easy to mock Showaddywaddy, and write them off as simple revivalists. But how many other bands emerged during that same time span, to pursue a similar chain of musical thought? The Rubettes, Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, the Darts, even Mud took a potshot at the golden apple of the '50s, and not one of them lasted the pace. Showaddywaddy, on the other hand, went on forever. ~ Dave Thompson
