''COME ON BABY DO THE JUKE BOX JIVE
JUST LIKE THEY DID IN 1955''
If you strip away the pomp and excess of 70's GLAM ROCK the basic chassis of the vehicle is often revealed to be 1950's ROCK 'N' ROLL.Take the guitar riff MARC BOLAN utilised for ''RIDE A WHITE SWAN''.It wouldn't sound out of place on an EDDIE CHOCRAN 45 and once that record kicked things off in 1970 acts like ALVIN STARDUST and MUD followed on with music that made the connection even more explicit.As the ears of 70's POP KIDS became more attuned to this influence full on revivalism also had a place in the pop charts.SHOWADDYWADDY hit big in 74' after winning the TV Talent Show NEW FACES.The groups early singles were in tune with glam,but they wore TEDDY BOY drapes and their act drew heavily on the 50's songbook.Revival bands such as THE WILD ANGELS,THE HOUSESHAKERS and CRAZY CAVAN were also packing them in on the live circuit.Then in 1975 a group called THE DALSTON DIAMONDS pitched up:
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''KAMIKAZI KRAZY'' wasn't a big hit,but second hand copies are easy to come by,so it must have shifted a few copies back in the day.It's inclusion on the compliation LP ''DISCO EXPLOSION VOL.2'' {PICWICK RECORDS} a year later indicates that it also picked up some interest in the clubs.The record is a wonderful example of 'GLAMABILLY' that sits between the rock 'n' rollers from outer space and the revivalists.How could this perfect synthesis of ''TIGER FEET'' by MUD and ''AT THE HOP'' by DANNY AND THE JUNIORS fail to get you moving?The mix was Explosive and perfect for the 70's dancefloor,hence the DISCOTHEQUE SPECIAL logo on the records French picture sleeve
Despite the GLAM stylings,there is evidence that DALSTON DIAMONDS were actually part of the ROCK RVIVAL scene at the time.The records instrumental B-SIDE ''KAMIKAZI BOOGIE'' featured a wild JERRY LEE LEWIS style BOOGIE WOOGIE piano solo and was spun in 'rocking' dances.The bands follow up 45 ''TEDDY BOYS {ARE BACK IN THE NEWS}'' also points towards this connection.If anyone has further info on the band,please get in touch!
