A rapidly filling Hammersmith Apollo greets the Aussie trio The Living End who do an exceptional job of entertaining, engaging and rocking the Cats faithful. Their forty-ish minute set whizzes by as Chris Cheney & Co go flat out to squeeze in as many cuts in as possible. ‘Death Of The American Dream’, ‘End Of The World’, ‘West End Riot’ and an explosive ‘Prisoner Of Society’ round off a strictly non-support set. The Stray Cats arrive with little or no fuss to a backing tape of Eddie Cochran’s ‘C’mon Everybody’ as their cartoon cat logo drops with fresh new a neon makeover. The legendary trio roll back the decades and keeps the slicked back faithful jiving in the aisles. A Stray Cats gig is more of an event than just another gig, it’s a fifties themed party where the attendees are as much a part of the spectacle as the band themselves. Front and centre Brian Setzler just oozes RNR class and the iconic frontman’s understated guitar playing style draws huge whoops and cheers throughout this memorable evening.
Slim Jim Phantom remains disgracefully thin and youthful while imperiously keeping the beat beating. Bassist Lee Rocker went full-on 1970’s Vegas with huge shades, a Golden Girls shirt and a blonde quiff which all compliment his uber tight Double bass plus some A1 lead vocals. Opener ‘Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me)’ is eclipsed by a very early ‘Runaway Boys’ which acts a live defibrillator, shocking the already buzzing sold-out crowd into an early heartfelt and lovingly nostalgic sing-a-long. ‘Stray Cat Strut’ remains an absolute tail in the air classic while ‘Gene And Eddie’ get’s the fists pumping and bowling shirts swaying. Watching Brian Setzler perform live is an enthralling experience his guitar style is devastatingly intricate and at times utterly spellbinding. Lee Rocker takes over singing duties for ‘Bring Back It Again’ before ‘Fishnet Stockings’ and a quiff melting ‘Rock This Town’ send the trio stage left and me rushing for the tube. Messers Setzler, Phantom and Rocker continue to prove that cats age way better than dogs and like their old mate Lemmy once said “If you think you’re too old to Rock ‘N’ Roll you probably are”, amen to that.