1958 Lord Rockingham's XI: Hoots Mon

One of the common criticisms of British acts of the rock and roll era was that, with a few notable exceptions notwithstanding, they were by and large pale imitations of their American counterparts (certainly as far as the commercial market went in any case). We've seen this effect already with Tommy Steele's take on 'Singing The Blues', but that's not to single him out for the bumps - for every 'Shaking All Over' or 'Move It', there were skiploads of half hearted filler from Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Adam Faith et al that tried and tried but missed every point.

Lord Rockingham's XI was the shop front name for a bunch of session musicians, led by Harry Robinson, brought together to play as the house band on TV's 'Oh Boy!" Not an auspicious beginning and one that doesn't promise much, so it's all the more surprising to find a definite greasy vibe about 'Hoots Mon', a Church Street Five/Johnny & The Hurricanes saxophone drenched instrumental workout of gusto and energy. Basically a revved up jazz/rock re-write of the traditional 'A Hundred Pipers', Robinson teases out the central line of melody and floors it to the max in much the same way as Johnny Paris (of The Hurricanes) did with 'Red River Valley' and 'Blue Tail Fly'.

Which isn't to say that it's some carbon copy knock off - the interjection of the stereotypical Scottish colloquialisms may irritate some but it only adds to the fun. I love the way they defiantly stamp 'Hoots Mon' with a Made In Britain watermark; 'there's a moose loose aboot this hoose' - unless you're in the know then the enigma machine itself won't crack the meaning of that one. And that in turn links to my opening point - the comedic touch shows that Harry Robinson and his band weren't trying to imitate rock and roll so much as say 'pffft, is that all there is to it'?

The sense of joie de vivre about 'Hoots Mon' is palpable. The key changes at the end of each round of bars link with the handclaps and a funky organ to whip it ever faster like a top until you honestly believe it was only the space restraints of seven inch vinyl that made them break off where they did, but that they kept on playing afterwards anyway. Maybe they're still playing now, either in this world or the next, it would explain why they never got round to recording much else anyway. Which is both a shame and a great 'what if', because 'Hoots Mon' captures the good time kinetic riot of rock and roll as well as just about anything did, and a damned sight better than most.