They’re one of the most successful singles groups ever and have been entertaining people of all ages for more than 50 years. Showaddywaddy are evidence, if anyone needed it, that rock ‘n roll is king.
Romeo Challenger, one of the original members, can hardly believe he’s been drumming with the Leicester-based band for half a century.
“When you say 50 years, that seems a long time. But it seems just like yesterday, really. Time’s stood still for me. It’s been crazy. We’ve not stopped working at all. Basically what we’ve had is a 50-year tour.”
Few people could have predicted what would happen when two bands got together in 1973. Choise wrote and performed original material while Golden Hammers were a covers band.
Both had a regular gig at the Fosseway pub in Leicester. One evening they all got up on stage to play rock ‘n’ roll. It soon became apparent that the audience loved the combined sound more than that of the individual bands.
Choise and the Hammers were dissolved and Showaddywaddy became the sole act.
In total they’ve had 10 Top Ten singles including a number one, Under The Moon Of Love, in 1976 which sold nearly a million copies. They’ve also spent 209 weeks on the UK singles chart.
Romeo admits the band’s biggest break was going on the television show New Faces – and they were reluctant to do it.
“We didn’t want to be one of those bands who went on talent competitions. I wouldn’t say we were forced to do it but our management said it was something we really should do.
“When you think about it, in those days there were only three or four TV stations, so on a Saturday night you’d easily get 20 million people tuning in. So it was a no-brainer – we had to do it. And because of that we got lots of offers from record companies, songwriters, publishers and all sorts.”
Showaddywaddy won their New Faces heat and were runners-up in the all-winners show. Success has followed them ever since and they’re booking gigs well into 2028.
They started as an eight-piece band, with Romeo and Malcolm Allured both playing drums which gave Showaddywaddy a dynamic feel which others soon started to copy.
“It made us sound totally different and we looked totally different with our colourful clothing. It was quite remarkable at the time because after we started doing Top of the Pops you suddenly saw bands coming out with two drummers. I wouldn’t say we started it but we definitely popularised it.”
Romeo Alexander Challenger was born on 19 May 1950 in St John’s, Antigua in the Caribbean. Five years later he moved with his family to England.
He began learning the drums as a teenager and played in several groups including the progressive rock outfit Black Widow before joining Choise which became Showaddywaddy.
The band had top-ten hits with songs including Hey Rock And Roll, Three Steps To Heaven, Heartbeat and Under The Moon Of Love. In all Showaddywaddy have released more than 50 albums and CDs.
Now the band go out as a six-piece: vocalist Andy Pelos, saxophonist and guitarist David Graham, bass guitarist Tom Bull, guitarist Sam Holland, newest member Ed Handoll who sings and plays guitar, and Romeo.
Romeo who is affable, warm and good-humoured, is the only original member of the band. He still gets the same excitement from being on stage.
“That’s why I still do it. The only drawback for me is the travelling. In the early days there wasn’t as much traffic and it was an adventure. But now getting to a theatre can be quite a problematic experience.
“When I get on stage I realise it’s been worth it. That’s what I’m all about. As a professional musician, if you don’t like travelling you shouldn’t do it! Nothing’s perfect and I have to do what I have to do to get on stage.”
The job of the drummer is probably the most strenuous in a band and Romeo admits he’s changed over the years.
“When I was younger, as soon as I would get on stage I would thrash everything. But your performance has to be measured. It has to be 100% but you’ve got to make sure you’re going to last until the final number.”
Does Romeo have a favourite song he likes to perform? “You’ve Got What It Takes. It was originally a Tamla Motown song and I’ve always thought it was a great number for us.”
Although Romeo has had an outstanding career as a musician, he almost went in a different direction: football.
He played in the same Leicester boys’ team as one of our finest goalkeepers, Peter Shilton, and centre half Jeff Blockley who also played for England.
“I had two dreams,” says Romeo. “I was either going to be a professional footballer or a professional musician.
“I stayed with Leicester City on schoolboy forms and moved on to playing in the under 17s team. I played a few games for them but the bottom line was it didn’t really work out for me. Had I been a professional footballer I would have retired a very long time ago! I’m 75 and still playing and enjoying it. And playing well, if I say so myself. The bottom line is I did the right thing.”
So how does Romeo think people regard Showaddywaddy? “People just see us as a band that provides music to dance to. I’ve never heard anybody say ‘you’re up there with Led Zeppelin or Yes’. We’re not that kind of a band.
“People are surprised we’re still going. When you come and see Showaddywaddy you probably have a fixed idea of what it’s going to be like and at the end of the night it’s a different opinion because we don’t always do what it says on the tin. We play music that people can relate to because the backbone of anything you hear today, regardless of whether it’s rock or heavy metal, it comes from the sort of stuff we play.”
It’s not surprising that people of all ages go to Showaddywaddy gigs. People who were teenagers in the 1970s and have now got families take them to see the band – and everyone enjoys it.
“A lot of them have brought their children up on our music. When we do a concert we see the children mouthing some of the songs and you think: how do they know that? Obviously they’re songs their parents were playing day in and day out.
“We also get students and people in their thirties who’ve heard about us and just want to see what it’s all about.”
Romeo still lives in Leicestershire with his wife Dawn. They have three children: Ben Challenger who won a silver medal in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the high jump and is now head of physical education at a private school; Tamzin, a songwriter who also helps out with the Showaddywaddy merchandising business; and Mark who works in business development management.
Romeo believes Showaddywaddy have lasted so long because they tapped into what people wanted.
“There were bands who played great but they never put on a visual performance. It was just virtuoso playing but it goes over the heads of some people who just want to be entertained.
“We play music that people want to hear or in a lot of cases they’ve never heard before. We play music that people can listen to and dance to as opposed to heavy metal, punk and all the rest which has its place but so do we.”
Like most artists of his age, Romeo has only one ambition: “To keep doing it!”
Today Showaddywaddy are as popular as they’ve ever been and it’s pretty obvious they’ve still got what it takes.
Showaddywaddy will play the Winding Wheel, Chesterfield on Saturday 27 June and the Rock and Bike Festival on the Notts Derby Showground at Long Eaton on Saturday 11 July.
To book your tickets click here
