stray cats tour 1984

The Stray Cats: nine lives and still running wild

It’s four decades since the Stray Cats rebooted rockabilly with Runaway Boys. Now, Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom talk old times and fresh beginnings

It’s February 19, 1981. Early Thursday evening. You’ve just had your tea, and are now slumped in front of the TV to catch Top Of The Pops . This, by the way, is the now infamous week that Australian Joe Dolce and his mock Italian single S haddup You Face deny Ultravox’s Vienna the No.1 spot, and a pop-quiz staple was born. 

Also on the show that week were Rainbow ’s promo video for I Surrender (No.4), Motörhead and Girlschool with the old Johnny Kidd & The Pirates shanty Please Don’t Touch (No.15), and Toyah with her fingernails-down-a-blackboard screech It’s A Mystery (No.42). 

Next up, the camera pans around to three feral-looking louts called the Stray Cats . Guitar picker and frontman Brian Setzer, bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom are just kids. They wear heavy make-up and, frankly, look like they could do with a good meal. The song they play on the show is their second single, rockabilly masterpiece Rock This Town . 

To a British audience more accustomed to the end-of-the-pier rock’n’roll pastiche of Showaddywaddy, Mud and the like, the Stray Cats look genuinely menacing. Lest we forget, pop tribalism is at its peak in the early 80s. Skins. Mods. New Romantics. Each to their own. In the case of the rockers, birds of a feather – or more accurately, leather – gather together.

“Me and Lemmy were drinking whisky at the BBC bar afterwards,” Brian Setzer recalls. “The crazy rockabilly dude… and Lemmy. The New Romantics were in the other corner. Probably having a wine cooler.”

February ’81 wasn’t the first time the Stray Cats appeared on Top Of The Pops . They made their debut in November the year before, thanks to charting with their first Arista label single, Runaway Boys . 

Tommy Vance is the presenter that night. He’s wearing shades, natch, and a terrible jumper. He introduces the Cats as “one of the hottest properties in the record business at the moment…” 

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These kids look the absolute balls, the epitome of street punks. The kind of boys that nice girls don’t take home to meet mum and dad. What Tommy and the viewers, not to mention the kids dancing awkwardly to Runaway Boys in the TOTP studio, can’t have known is just how autobiographical the song is. 

Now, almost four decades on, with a triumphant reunion album to show off, Setzer, Rocker and Phantom take us back to their early days in London. Back when they were the runaway boys. Desperate, poor, often homeless, yet having an absolute ball.

Recorded in Nashville, their new album, 40, marks the anniversary of the Cats’ birth in Massapequa, New York back in 1979. The following year they made a decision that would seal their fate. 

“The first feeling for me when we got off the plane in London was the old movies we had seen,” says Setzer. “I remember wandering about Soho thinking it was like an old cloak-and-dagger movie – all the smoky alleys. I kept thinking Jack The Ripper could be up there.” 

“When we got to England we really did not have a plan,” says Rocker. “We were playing around New York City – CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, and some corner bar places. We’d heard about London, that there was a cool scene there, and that summer we said let’s go to England.” 

In hindsight, it was a brave move for a bunch of kids, even if they were used to life in New York City. 

“I think it was a combination of balls and stupidity,” Setzer says, laughing. “I wouldn’t give myself that much credit! Actually, ‘stupidity’ is a bit strong. ‘Naivety’ is a nicer way of putting it.” 

“Time has a way… well, you forget a lot of stuff,” says Rocker, picking up the story. “When we first got there I definitely remember not knowing how to use a pay phone, so I couldn’t call anyone back home. And I remember dragging the upright bass around, running out of money quickly, and knocking on doors to try to get a show and get us a break. We had a little live cassette, it wasn’t even really a demo.” 

“We always had that pitch: ‘We’re the best band in the world’,” says Slim Jim. “And we meant it. We had that confidence. We’d played New York five nights a week for a year and a half, so we knew we could do it.”

“We were sleeping in all-night movie theatres in Camden,” Rocker continues. “I particularly remember that. I think Friday was The Three Stooges night, which was fine for some shelter. Saturday night was porno, so that was a little more creepy, you know, trying to sleep in there.”

“It really turned for us at the first gig, at the Fulham Greyhound,” Setzer recalls. “We were really just about to turn around and go home. We’d run out of options. And money. “A band called the Fabulous Poodles let us open for them. Somehow everybody heard about it. I remember The Pretenders were in the audience. We just blew the roof off the joint. That was the turning point. June 1980. I became good friends with [late Pretenders bassist] Pete Farndon there. We started riding around London on the old Triumph motorcycles.

“That was the start of it. Me and Pete, God bless him. The Clash . Me and Joe Strummer became good friends. We used to go see Siouxsie And The Banshees . They were a great band. Charlie Harper and the UK Subs … You see, in the beginning the punks were a little more open to us. The whole rockabilly scene was so narrow and constricted.”

While the British rockabilly purists infamously didn’t take to the Stray Cats, there was no shortage of people willing to lend a hand. 

“People took mercy on us,” says Rocker. “Ronnie Lane, from the Faces, he met us at a pub and brought us home. His wife wasn’t too happy about that. We were there for a couple of days. 

“We were definitely hungry at times. We were young and it was awesome. In hindsight, or even back then, it did come together really quickly. We got to London in June 1980, and by September we were a little more situated. We had a studio apartment and it was us and our friend/manager. There was one bed in there, so we pulled the mattress off the box spring and the four of us could sleep if we needed to. Yes, we were that well organised!” 

“It did happen quite fast,” Phantom agrees, “but when you’re hungry and it’s raining and you need to find somewhere to sleep that night it can feel a lot longer.” 

By November that year the Stray Cats were signed and were enjoying their first hit record. “London was like wildfire,” says Phantom. “There were seven or eight really good music mags: Melody Maker, Sounds, Record Mirror, Flexi-Pop . They knew we had a good story: three homeless guys, Lemmy’s at their gig. There’s a story right there! It became very trendy to have us open your show. There was an established circuit of gigs in London back then. The Pretenders, Elvis Costello , us… Everybody played it.” 

The end of November 1980 saw them on the aforementioned Top Of The Pops episode, kicking off a run of hit singles including Runaway Boys, Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut .

The band’s self-titled album was produced by Dave Edmunds, of Love Sculpture and Rockpile fame, and released in February ’81. Gonna Ball followed in October that year. Their first US-released album, Built For Speed , in 1982 featured six tracks lifted from their Stray Cats debut. 

A year later they released Rant ‘N Rave With The Stray Cats . Then in 1984 the band split. Wikipedia has the details but, long story short, Setzer reinvented rockabilly, rebooted big-band swing, and put his beloved Gretsch guitars back on their feet. 

Lee Rocker formed Phantom, Rocker & Slick in 1983, with his old Cats sparring partner Slim Jim and Bowie guitarist Earl Slick; collaborated with rockabilly royalty Carl Perkins and Elvis sidemen guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer DJ Fontana; and released a slew of wellreceived solo albums, the latest of which is 2019’s The LOW Road . 

As well as forming Phantom, Rocker & Slick, Phantom played with Jerry Lee Lewis; joined ex- Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke in Col Parker and featured with Spear Of Destiny’s Kirk Brandon, The Alarm ’s Mike Peters and Captain Sensible of The Damned in Dead Men Walking . In 1999 Phantom and Danny B Harvey formed the Head Cat with Lemmy.

The Stray Cats have reunited and recorded albums many times since their ’84 break-up. That said, none of these peace summits carried quite the emotional weight of the latest release, 40 . 

They could have coughed up some by-numbers fur balls and shifted ’em as souvenirs for their upcoming world tour. What we actually get is an album with all the passion, balls and energy of their ’81 debut. 

There’s nothing quite as thrilling as a veteran band that still wants to show you who’s boss. 

“More time has passed between, say, Rock This Town to now, than there was between Heartbreak Hotel and Rock This Town ,” says Phantom. “We’re like the new oldies. I don’t want to say I was freaked out, I was just surprised when I figured out the math. I’m just happy that we started when we were young.” 

All the more reason, then, to make sure the energy was right when they convened in Nashville to make the new album. For Phantom that meant approaching the recording like a Wild West gunslinger: “I don’t know about the other two, but part of my inspiration is that I don’t want them to see that I’ve slipped. In a healthy competitive way, of course. I was gonna make sure I was on it. This record is a big deal.” 

“Everyone’s playing right up to the max,” says Setzer. “I wasn’t worried about that. The whole thing is writing the songs. That’s always the gold to me – where are we gonna get the songs? How am I gonna write them? When that faucet turns on, that’s the gift.” 

Turns out their sink doth runneth over. 40 also came together quicker than even they expected. “The first album we did in the UK took eleven days,” says Rocker. “This record was probably a couple of more days than that but not many.

“It’s a real record in the traditional sense,” he continues. “We set up in one room, the three of us, and played it like a concert – I mean at volume, with amplifiers, the whole thing. We really captured what it is that the band does, and what we sound like. And did it in an old-meets-new kind of way. 

"That’s always been our philosophy – vintage meets modern. And it’s the real deal. There’s no trickery, no smoke and mirrors here. And we had a blast doing it. It has that energy and excitement, and I think that’s very much like the first record. It feels new again after this much time.” 

Wouldn’t it have been cool to see original Cats producer Dave Edmunds brought to work with them again, for old time’s sake? 

“I almost got him!” Setzer exclaims. “He had a lot going on. [Nashville-based producer of 40] Peter Collins is every bit as good. He understands echo and twang and reverb. That’s the main thing.”

The blueprint for 40 , and every other Stray Cats record, is the band’s debut single Runaway Boys , produced by Edmunds. Rocker had it pegged as an obvious hit right from the moment he heard the first playback. 

“Yeah, I really did,” he recalls. “In hindsight, that is the kicker of this whole thing forty years later. Runaway Boys is us. That is really about the three of us. I think to this day it’s a song that absolutely stands up. I think it’s a really a good example of a song with all of the elements of rockabilly – upright bass, twangy guitar, tape delay on the vocals – but that’s a fortyfive that would never have been written or recorded in the 50s. But it’s got all those pieces put together in a different way. That’s something I’m certainly proud of.” 

“We liked all the sounds that were invented in the fifties,” says Setzer. “Reverb, tape delay, echo, twang, slap bass. But that didn’t mean we wanted to limit it to making an album sound like it was recorded in the fifties. We wanted those sounds and to use modern technology… and just be a band. That’s all it took. That’s what Dave Edmunds taught us.” 

“We knew we couldn’t sound like a dusty old record,” says Phantom. “Not that we don’t love those dusty old records. It had to be something bigger and louder. And Edmunds knew that.” 

“Runaway Boys couldn’t have been done in the fifties,” says Setzer. “We really made that a modern thing. When we cut it I thought: ‘This is it. This is what I’ve been trying to do.’ It wasn’t just a I, IV, V chord progression, this is a song. It’s just cut in a rockabilly style.”

The question that always arises when the Stray Cats reunite is: well, for how long? Is 40 the closing of a chapter or the entire book? Just how many of their nine lives do the Cats have left? 

“This record is not a device to sell tickets,” says Rocker. “A lot went into this. I really wouldn’t want to half-ass what we do at this point. If this bookends things and this turns out to be the last Cats record, I want it to be right. If it’s not, I’d also want it to be right.” 

And what about Mr Phantom’s view? 

“When we started out playing in Lee’s garage in Massapequa, we were just happy to have a job playing music,” he remembers. “Dressing up in clothes that we wanted to wear, and playing at night. That’s all we really wanted. The fact that it’s forty years later and everyone still seems to like it… that’s pretty gratifying.” 

How about some commitment to keep this reunion thing going? 

“I can’t really give you that,” says Setzer. “I’m just kinda floating with it. What I will say is that I really enjoyed making this record. I will always love this music. And the boys play it as sexy as you can.”

40 is out now via Mascot Records . 

Ed Mitchell was the Editor of The Blues Magazine from 2012-16, and a contributor to Classic Rock and Louder. He died in October 2022, aged 52. A one-time Reviews Editor on Total Guitar magazine from 2003, his guitar-modding column, Ed’s Shed, appeared in print on both sides of the Atlantic (in both Total Guitar and Guitar World magazines), and he wrote stories for Classic Rock and Guitarist. Between them, the websites Louder, MusicRadar and Guitar World host over 400 of his articles – among them interviews with Billy Gibbons, Paul Weller, Brian Setzer, profiles on Roy Buchanan, Duane Allman and Peter Green, a joint interview with Jimmy Page and Jack White, and dozens of guitar reviews – and that’s just the ones that made it online.

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30 Rockers Who Toured in 1984 and Are Touring Again in 2024

I t’s been a long time since rock and roll was a young person’s game. If you need proof check out this list of famous musicians who were on tour way back in 1984, and are still out there doing their thing 40 years later in 2024. In most cases we’ve also got live video footage from the 1984 shows.

Ready to feel inspired and also very very old? With tour statistics from SetList.fm , here’s 30 Rockers Who Toured in 1984 and Are Touring again in 2024.

Although they spent most of 1984 off the road, AC/DC joined the Monsters of Rock festival for 10 late summer dates in support of the previous year’s Flick of the Switch album. The tour was the first to feature Simon Wright on drums. 40 years later, the band will return to Europe for their first tour in eight years. Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Stevie Young will be joined by a brand-new rhythm section featuring Chris Chaney on bass and Matt Laug on drums.

Watch AC/DC Perform in 1984

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Five years after Joe Perry’s departure from the band, Aerosmith ‘s original lineup reunited for 1984’s Back in the Saddle tour. Although the group had floundered without Perry and fellow guitarist Brad Whitford (who left in 1981), their comeback tour was a rousing success and the first step in their remarkable Permanent Vacation / Pump rebirth. Nearly four decades later the band launched their Peace Out farewell tour in September 2023 but were forced off the road when Steven Tyler injured his vocal chords after just three shows. With their singer now recovered, the group aims to hit the road again this fall.

Watch Aerosmith Perform ‘Lightning Strikes’ in 1984

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys were embroiled in major interpersonal turmoil in the mid-’80s, with Brian Wilson largely living in exile to focus on his health and addiction issues, and his brother Dennis drowning after his own long substance abuse battle. But somehow the band still managed to perform over 130 shows in 1984. 40 years later the group’s touring lineup, led by Love and Bruce Johnston, has another busy tour scheduled planned for 2024.

Watch the Beach Boys Perform ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ in 1984

Blue Oyster Cult

While touring throughout 1984, Blue Oyster Cult were dealing with internal and external changes. Longtime drummer Albert Bouchard was fired before the recording of 1983’s The Revolution by Night , which found the band trying to keep up with MTV and the increasingly pop-friendly sound of rock music. The band kicked off 2024 by releasing their first new album in four years, Ghost Stories , and longtime members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom will lead the band out on the road for the 57th consecutive year in 2024.

Hear Blue Oyster Cult Perform Live in 1984

Cheap Trick

While supporting their 1983 album Next Position Please , Cheap Trick spent much of 1984 on the road, sharing bills with a diverse group of bands including Ratt, .38 Special and Til’ Tuesday. They’ll spend most of 2024 supporting a reunited Heart on the Royal Flush tour.

Watch Cheap Trick Perform ‘She’s Tight’ in 1984

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton had a relatively quiet touring year in 1984, finishing up the 11 dates of his tour in support of 1983’s Money and Cigarettes in February, then embarking on a tour of Australia in November. He spent part of 1984 recording Behind the Sun with help from Phil Collins. The following year the album and its hit single “Forever Man” would help revive Clapton’s commercial fortunes. Clapton has about two dozen shows planned for 2024, with a UK tour kicking off May 9. So far three American dates have been announced for November, in San Diego, Palm Desert and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl.

Watch Eric Clapton Perform ‘Layla’ in 1984

Elvis Costello

During his early 1984 U.S. tour, Elvis Costello treated fans to a preview of upcoming album Goodbye Cruel World by performing the song “The Only Flame in Town.” The studio version of the song featured harmony vocals by Hall and Oates star Daryl Hall . 40 years later, Hall and Costello are teaming up for a tour that kicks off June 2 in Troutdale, Oregon.

Watch Elvis Costello Perform Live in 1984

Deep Purple

Freshly reunited with the classic “Mark II” lineup of Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Deep Purple released the hit album Perfect Strangers in late 1984 and then launched a massive and highly successful tour with a 15-date tour of Australia and New Zealand. The tour continued to the United States, Europe and Japan in 1985. Paice, Glover and Gillan remain in the current lineup, which will release a new album named =1 in July and launch a North American tour with Yes in August.

Watch Deep Purple Perform ‘Highway Star’ in 1984

Def Leppard

After establishing themselves as superstars with 1983’s Pyromania , Def Leppard launched a massive 188-date world tour that concluded with seven 1984 dates in Japan, Australia and Thailand. In July 2024 they’ll launch a stadium tour alongside Journey , with support on select dates from Heart, Cheap Trick and the Steve Miller Band.

Watch Def Leppard Perform on the ‘Pyromania’ Tour

Bob Dylan spent the summer of 1984 touring Europe alongside Santana , with a band that featured ex- Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor (who had also played on 1983’s Infidels) and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan. Later that year, the live album Real Live documented the tour. He’s already played 24 dates so far this year, and will join Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour this summer along with John Mellencamp, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and others.

Watch Bob Dylan Perform ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ in 1984

Sammy Hagar

1984’s VOA and more specifically, the single “I Can’t Drive 55′ made Sammy Hagar a household name. He wisely capitalized with an 89-date headline tour that kicked off Sept. 1 in Portland. Soon after the tour’s completion he joined Van Halen , a decade-long era he will be celebrating with help from Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani this summer on the Best of All Worlds tour.

Hear Sammy Hagar Perform ‘I Can’t Drive 55′ in 1984

Heart entered the ’80s in turmoil and commercial decline, losing longtime members Steve Fossen and Michael Derosier after the release of 1982’s Private Audition , which was the group’s first album not to achieve gold sales status. Neither did 1983’s Passionworks , but the band launched a 75-date tour that stretched into June of 1984. The following year they teamed up with outside songwriters and switched to a keyboard-dominated sound for their five-times platinum self-titled comeback album. In late 2023 Ann and Nancy Wilson formed a new version of the band, who will spend the summer of 2024 on the Royal Flush tour with support from Cheap Trick.

Hear Heart Perform Live in 1984

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Neither 1983’s Album nor 1984’s Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth reached the same sales heights as Joan Jett ‘s 1981 smash I Love Rock ‘n Roll . But she remained a popular concert draw, performing 70 shows on a tour that was split almost equally between 1984 and 1985. In 2024 she will join Alanis Morissette and country singer Morgan Wade on the Triple Moon Tour , which kicks off June 9 in Phoenix.

Watch Joan Jett Perform Live in 1984

After 1982’s darkly themed Nylon Curtain proved to be a (very, very) relative commercial letdown for Billy Joel , he rebounded spectacularly with 1983’s An Innocent Man , a tribute to the ’50s and ’60s music of his youth. He performed 68 concerts on the tour in support of the seven-million platinum selling album in 1984, concluding with seven shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. In addition to concluding his record-breaking MSG residency, 2024 will find Joel sharing the bill at stadium shows across the country with fellow legends Stevie Nicks , Sting and Rod Stewart .

Watch Billy Joel Perform ‘Piano Man’ in 1984

Judas Priest

Barely two weeks into 1984, Judas Priest followed up 1982’s masterful Screaming for Vengeance with the almost-as-awesome Defenders of the Faith . They spent the next nine months on the Meal Conqueror tour, showcasing future classics such as “Freewheel Burning,” “Love Bites” and “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll.” 40 years later, the heavy metal legends are back with a new album named Invincible Shield and another headlining tour .

Watch Judas Priest Perform ‘Love Bites’ in 1984

Although 1983 ended with the exit of founding members Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope, and newly recruited singer and keyboardist John Elefante followed them out the door early the next year, Kansas managed to play a handful of shows in support of 1983’s Drastic Measures in 1984 before radically re-casting their lineup for 1986’s Power . Guitarist Rich Williams is the only member of the band’s classic ’70s lineups to remain in the touring version of the band in 2024, although drummer Phil Ehart, who is recovering from a recent heart attack, is still an official member of the group. The band has extended last year’s 50th anniversary tour well into 2024 , with dates that are currently set to conclude Dec. 11 in Pittsburgh.

Hear Kansas Perform Live in 1984

A year and two days after essentially rewriting the rules of metal with their 1983 debut Kill ‘Em All , Metallica displayed a stunning level of creative growth with 1984’s sophomore effort Ride the Lightning . Still striving to make a name for themselves, the group performed about two dozen shows both before and after the album’s June release date. 40 years later and firmly established as the kings of the genre, Metallica will launch the second year of their ambitious “two nights in every city” 72 Seasons tour on May 24th in Munich, Germany.

Watch Metallica Perform ‘Phantom Lord’ in 1984

Night Ranger

1984 marked the release of “ Sister Christian ,” Night Ranger ‘s career-defining smash from the previous year’s Midnight Madness album. The band performed 110 shows in support of the album that summer, and will spend much of 2024 on the road in an extended celebration of their 40th year as a band.

Watch Night Ranger Perform ‘Sister Christian’ on the Midnight Madness Tour

Robert Plant

Four years and two solo albums after the breakup of Led Zeppelin , in 1984 Robert Plant played the last 19 shows in support of 1983’s The Principle of Moments without performing a single song from his former band. It was a streak he wouldn’t break until 1987’s Non Stop Go tour. 44 years into one of the most restless and rewarding solo careers in the genre’s history, Plant will spend the summer of 2024 touring together with Alison Krauss, including a number of dates on Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival.

Hear Robert Plant Perform Live in 1984

After losing two of her founding bandmates to drug addiction, Chrissie Hynde led a reconfigured Pretenders to new heights with 1984’s Learning to Crawl . Empowered by new hit singles such as “Back on the Chain Gang,” “2000 Miles” and “Middle of the Road,” the band played 129 shows in 1984. They’ll spend much of 2024 touring in support of their latest album Relentless , both headlining as as the support act for the Foo Fighters .

Watch Pretenders Perform ‘Thumbelina’ in 1984

Reportedly angered by the negative reaction to their 1984 video “I Want to Break Free,” Queen decided not to tour America in support of their new album The Works . But they played nearly 50 shows in England, Europe, Australia and Japan in support of the album. Sadly, it would be singer Freddie Mercury’s second-to-last tour with the group. So far the band’s 2024 tour schedule is rather light, listing only a five-date tour of Japan with singer Adam Lambert, who has fronted the group since 2011.

Watch Queen Perform ‘I Want to Break Free’ in 1984

Red Hot Chili Peppers

By their own admission, the Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘ 1984 debut album didn’t do a great job of demonstrating the band’s abilities, but even with the temporary absence of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak, they proved themselves to be a dynamic live attraction, performing 73 dates across the country that year. Four decades later and firmly established as one of the biggest concert draws in the world, the band will kick off a summer 2024 tour on May 28 in Ridgefield, Washington.

Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers Perform Live in 1984

REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon released the double-platinum Wheels Are Turnin’ in November 1984. The gigantic success of the “ Can’t Fight This Feeling ” single propelled that band onto a 143-date tour, with the first two dozen dates taking place in the winter of 1984. The band will team up with Train for a summer 2024 tour that kicks off July 8 in Somerset, Wisconsin. The groups promoted the tour by performing a mash-up of their respective hits “Keep On Loving You” and “Drops of Jupiter” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this February.

Hear REO Speedwagon Perform Live in 1984

In addition to the above-mentioned summer European tour with Bob Dylan, Santana mounted a brief autumn run of U.S. dates in 1984. He’ll spend most of May performing at his long-running Las Vegas residency. On June 14, he’ll kick off a summer 2024 trek with the Counting Crows.

Watch Santana Perform ‘Touchdown Raiders’ in 1984

The Scorpions’ popularity got a big boost early in 1984 with the release of “ Rock You Like a Hurricane ” and their first multi-platinum album, Love at First Sting . They played 160 concerts all over the world in support of the album that year. In 2024 they are celebrating its 40th birthday with the Love at First Sting Las Vegas residency .

Watch Scorpions Perform ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ in 1984

Bruce Springsteen

1984 was a watershed moment for Bruce Springsteen , as his Born in the U.S.A. album became one of the year’s biggest hits, going on to eventually sell over 30 million copies. He celebrated with a 156-show tour that spread from June 1984 to October 1985. Nearly half of his 1986 five-album Live 1975-85 box set was recorded on this tour. After having to postpone his current tour with the E Street Band due to peptic ulcer disease, Springsteen is back on the road with dates scheduled through November 2024.

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Born to Run’ in 1984

Although 1983’s “(She’s) Sexy + 17″ was a Top 10 hit, frontman Brian Setzer had grown bored with the Stray Cats , and after performing 45 shows in 1984, the group broke up and began would be be a decades-long cycle of reunions and hiatuses. They’ll be back on the road in 2024 for the first time in five years, starting July 27 in Woodinville, Washington and concluding Aug. 17 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Hear Stray Cats Perform Live in 1984

George Thorogood

Although it miraculously somehow never cracked the singles charts, George Thorogood was still riding high off 1982’s “Bad to the Bone” in 1984. He spent part of the summer recording 1985’s Maverick – home to the classic “I Drink Alone” – but found time to perform a handful of shows with his longtime backing band the Delaware Destroyers. He’ll spend the summer of 2024 touring with John Fogerty on the Celebration tour.

Watch George Thorogood Perform ‘Who Do You Love’ in 1984

A newly reunited and reconfigured Yes entered 1984 on a big winning streak, as their pop-friendly late-1983 album 90125 became the band’s biggest-selling album thanks to the hit single “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” They capitalized on this success with a 138-date tour which was documented in the 1985 concert film 9012Live .

Currently led by guitarist and ’70s-era veteran Steve Howe, Yes willl join Deep Purple for a summer 2024 North American tour that kicks off Aug. 14 in Hollywood, Florida.

Watch Yes Perform Live in 1984

A year after becoming full-fledged superstars and unlikely MTV darlings with the previous year’s Eliminator , ZZ Top spent the last two months of 1984 completing a 151-date world tour in support of the 11-million copy-selling album. They’ll spend much of 2024 headlining their own Elevation tour or sharing the stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the perfectly-named Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour.

Watch ZZ Top Perform on the Eliminator Tour

Next: Top 50 Albums of 1984

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In 1979, guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, a Massapequa native, along with friends Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker) and Slim Jim Phantom (born James McDonnell), formed the Stray Cats. The group’s style was based on the sounds of the mighty Sun Records artists of the 1950s—Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash—with a nod to the late swing era style of Bill Haley & His Comets. The band struggled to get a break locally and moved to England, where it took off as part of a major rockabilly revival. The legendary Dave Edmunds discovered the young band and produced their self-titled English debut album in 1981. The hits came immediately: “Runaway Boys,” “Rock This Town,” and “Stray Cat Strut.” And then it was time to return home. The band signed with EMI America and, in 1982, released Built for Speed , a combination of their first two British albums. Soon, the Stray Cats were racking up number one singles on the Billboard charts (“Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut”) and bringing their exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos to the MTV generation. In 1983, “(She’s) Sexy + 17” and the doo wop-styled ballad “I Won’t Stand in Your Way” landed them back in the Top 40.

The Stray Cats’ first split came in 1984, but they have reformed periodically to record and tour.

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Stray Cats Playlist - The Long Island Music Hall of Fame

Other inductees, twisted sister, santo & johnny, gene simmons, barnaby bye, walter becker, pat benatar, blue oyster cult, gary u.s. bonds, joe butler & steve boone – the lovin’ spoonful, richie cannata, liberty devitto, the good rats, paul stanley, doug stegmeyer, vanilla fudge, leslie west, peter criss, russell javors, eddie money, artie kornfeld, jon “bowzer” bauman, elliott murphy, taking back sunday.

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Stray Cats, the band that put Rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early-’80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950’s style brought “up to date” with exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos, as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly’s original heyday. The music had a rhythm that was rock solid yet loose, the singer could croon or shout and the guitar playing demanded respect. It was elegant yet hard, jazzy yet completely rocking…

STRAY CATS ANNOUNCE 2024 SUMMER TOUR

Stray Cats original members Brian Setzer (guitar, vocals), Lee Rocker (upright bass, vocals) and Sli

Watch The “Three Time’s A Charm” Official Video!

Check out the new video for "Three Time's A Charm," off of the live album, Rocked This Town: Fro

Stray Cats New LIVE album is Available Everywhere!!

The STRAY CATS new live album - ROCKED THIS TOWN: FROM LA TO LONDON is out now!! This collection of

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Stray Cats – Tour Archive 1989

21 Jul – 12 Aug: opening act for Stevie Ray Vaughan

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Lee Rocker and The Stray Cats to Announce Reunion Tour

To help gear up for the 2024 reunion, Lee Rocker is set to embark on a tour of warm up dates this fall

Stray Cat bassist Lee Rocker  confirms that discussions are underway laying the groundwork for the rockabilly legends to Stray Cat Strut their way back onto stages in the USA next year. The 2024 dates will be the Stray Cats first shows since 2019.

“Well, now that the cats out of the bag, pun intended, I have to say it’s going to be a blast to get the Stray Cats back together to Rock This Town! See what I did there?”  said Rocker.  The Grammy nominated multi-platinum-selling trio, who were staples of the early days of MTV, are returning to share their unique brand of blistering rock and roll with their devoted fans.

“I can’t go into specifics since there are still a lot of details to work out, but one thing I can guarantee you is that when Setzer, Rocker and Phantom are on stage together, sparks are going to fly and that Stray Cats magic is undeniable.” 

To help gear up for the 2024 reunion, Lee Rocker is set to embark on a tour of warm up dates this fall, performing the biggest Stray Cats hits including ‘Rock This Town’, ’Stray Cat Strut’, and ‘(She’s) Sexy + 17’ as well as cuts from his most recent album ‘Gather Round’ and timeless rockabilly classics. In these concerts, Lee Rocker incorporates video screens and rare film footage as Lee goes behind the scene with audiences, telling stories of how these songs came together as well as sharing fascinating and sometimes hilarious moments from a 45 year career as an icon of American music.

Stray Cat Lee Rocker’s fall tour kicks off with shows in the following cities:

• Thursday, October 5 th : Wiens Family Cellars in Temecula, CA
• Saturday, October 14 th : Janet & Ray Scherr Forum Theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA
• Friday, November 10 th : Mainstage Theater in Grayslake, IL
• Saturday, November 11 th : Stroede Center for the Arts in Defiance, OH
• Sunday, November 12 th : Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland, OH
• Friday, November 17 th : McPherson Opera House in McPherson, KS
• Saturday, November 18 th : Bowlus Fine Arts Center, Iola, KS
• Saturday, December 2 nd : The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA
• Friday, December 8 th : Reynolds Performance Hall, Conway, AR

To purchase tickets, go to  www.leerocker.com/shows .  

“If you like the Stray Cats, you’ll love this show. I’ll be playing smaller, more intimate spots than the much bigger venues The Stray Cats will be in next year. It’ll be a great chance to get up close and personal in a way that just won’t be possible during next year’s reunion tour. It’s an absolute honor to fly the banner for the group as The Stray Cat Lee Rocker on these shows. Come see us!”

Along with his work with Stray Cats, legendary bassist and vocalist Lee Rocker has recorded and performed with many of the biggest names in popular music, including Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Keith Richards, Carl Perkins and more.  Rocker has released 15 solo albums. 

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• August 3, 1984 Setlist

Stray Cats Setlist at Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds, Columbus, OH, USA

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Ohio State Fair 1984 setlists

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On This Day in 1980 the Stray Cats Recorded "Stray Cat Strut"

Stray cats gig timeline.

• Aug 01 1984 Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia, PA, USA Add time Add time
• Aug 02 1984 Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson, NJ, USA Add time Add time
• Aug 03 1984 Ohio State Fair 1984 This Setlist Columbus, OH, USA Add time Add time
• Aug 04 1984 Outagamie County Fairgrounds Seymour, WI, USA Add time Add time
• Aug 06 1984 Park West Chicago, IL, USA Add time Add time

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