Darrel higham brian setzer biography

UK rockabilly scene linchpin Darrel Higham salutes his hero and reveals his Top Five Eddie Cochran tracks

Rockabilly hero Darrel Higham has been a fan of Eddie Cochran for a very long time, with his music a clear influence on his work with acclaimed bands such as The Enforcers. He even played with Cochran’s last band, The Kelly Four, in the early 90s for six months. We caught up with Darrel to find out more about his life-long fandom.

What first turned you on to Eddie?

Flicking through my Mum and Dad’s record collection when I was about five, there was this album called Singin’ To My Baby which had belonged to my Aunt Kyra, my Dad’s sister. She’d written all over the back cover with love hearts and “Kyra loves Eddie” and all this typical fan-girl gush! I thought that if this Eddie Cochran chap had made such a huge impression on Kyra, it was best I take this seriously. What struck me first was the front cover with the three shadowy photos of Eddie – two headshots and then the photo of Eddie holding his Gretsch 6120. That guitar affected me profoundly… the most beautiful guitar I’d ever seen. I still get very nostalgic whenever I pull that LP out and see that cover.

You’ve also spoken highly of the album’s content…

It’s a rare record where the music matches the image the cover projects. The songs have copious amounts of echo added; haunting ballads with beautiful backing vocals by The Johnny Mann Chorus; cool rockers like Am I Blue, Twenty Flight Rock, Stockings And Shoes, Mean When I’m Mad (one of my all-time favourite Cochran tracks). I consider the whole album to be a masterpiece. It may be maligned by rock critics these days but considering this was Eddie’s debut and that he was only 18 years old, it deserves a much better reputation.

Eddie and Gene Vincent have a special place in UK hearts, yet Eddie’s rep seems to be higher. Why do you think this is?

We live in an age where artists must be –

As the legendary drummer for the Stray Cats, Slim Jim Phantom, alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 80s. With a love for 50's Rock and Roll, the Stray Cats took inspiration from that bygone era and mixed with their youthful energy and aggression to produce the updated hard-edged rockabilly sound that saw them conquer London, Europe and later the U.S., gaining fans among the likes of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Robert Plant along the way.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jim grew up listening to his parents' jazz records and, by the age of ten, took up the drums. He immersed himself in the art of drumming and the world of music and took lessons with Mousie Alexander (who played with Benny Goodman), which included the study of jazz and working through books by Jim Chapin and Ted Reed.

By the late 70's Jim was playing in bands with his school friend and bassist Lee Rocker and then joined forces with guitarist Brian Setzer. The rest, as they say, is history. The Stray Cats had numerous hit singles in the early 1980s, their classic album Built for Speed went double platinum, and their song "Rock This Town" was cemented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll."

In the Summer of 2008, Jim and the Stray Cats reunited for an extensive tour of Europe. In February of 2009, the band headed to Australia and New Zealand for the first time in 18 years - a tour eagerly anticipated by Australasian fans.

In addition to the Stray Cats, Jim has worked with some of the world's top artists. He has played a part in many successful groups – notably Phantom, Rocker and Slick (featuring long time David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick) which produced two popular albums; and Dead Men Walking, an all-star affair which has boasted original members of The Sex Pistols, The Cult and Big Country among the rotating line-up. Jim also enjoyed a stint play