Johnny Kidd - So What?!: The Brits Are Rocking Vol. 7 (CD)

Release Date: 12/09/22

-Bear Family Records® continues its CD-series of recordings by benchmark British rockers with an album dedicated to Johnny Kidd & The Pirates.
-Johnny Kidd died in 1966, but along with his group The Pirates he is still considered one of the greats of British beat.
-Unlike some European counterparts, he avoided imitating Elvis and instead cultivated a natural style of his own.
-Also unusual for his time: alone or working with others, he wrote many original songs, including the epochal hit Shakin' All Over.
-Johnny Kidd and his band inspired a host of later British rock groups and artists.
-Expanded project compared to the insert CD of the 10inch vinyl LP dedicated to Johnny Kidd, 'Please, Don't Touch!' (BAF14021), including eleven early live BBC recordings.
-Extensive liner notes by Ashley Woods in the full-color illustrated booklet and carefully edited recordings.

Johnny Kidd passed away in 1966 but along with his group The Pirates he is still remembered as one of the all-time greats of British beat.
Singing in his natural accent rather than an Elvis-influenced drawl marked him out as something different among British rockers of the time but he also wrote or co-wrote many of his early sides including the stone-cold classic Shakin' All Over.

Wilko Johnson, The Who, The Hollies and Tom Jones have all cited Kidd and his Pirates as a musical influence, and was David Bowie's 1974 space pirate look a nod to one of his early musical heroes? Certainly, the band's theatrical stage act replete with 30 ft x 20 ft UV pirate galleon backdrop, pistols, cutlasses and pirate costumes would have appealed to the young David Jones on the several occasions he crossed paths with Kidd between 1963 and 1966. Of course the props and presentation would have been meaningless without quality music to back it up, and while they usually didn't see the chart action they deserved, Johnny Kidd and The Pirates released a series of powerful and interesting 45's between 1959 and 1966.