Tom Allalone & The 78s
Hailing from Cold Harbour in Gravesend, Kent, and signed to the Nettwerk label in early 2008, TOM ALLALONE & THE 78s released their debut single ‘Hell Hath No Fury’ in November 2008, attracting many rave reviews:
”This impeccably dressed troupe plays blisteringly energetic and classic rock’n’roll (think Elvis Costello and The Attractions covering Billy Fury by way of The Godfathers), and does it very well indeed too.” THE TIMES 1
”This check-shirted Gravesend chappie and his backing band have filled our heads with dreams of the Happy Days diner and thousands of unjustly unloved Vincent Vincent albums. Ace.” THE FLY
“Delightfully sleazy, raucous rockabilly with a fresh contemporary feel.” MUSIC WEEK
The band started out in 2006 with the line up of Tom Allalone, Richard Clarke, Tom Connor on bass guitar and Alex Nelson on drums. Due to other commitments Connor and Nelson were replaced with SI Fawcett and Matt "Pants" Evans. Early shows were always approached with creativity and fun, with Allalone often schoomzing with the audience during the show, handing out sweets like a dapper child catcher. The band chose a different name for every show. Some memorable names were Tom Allalone & the Cars That Ate Paris (first ever gig), Tom Allalone & the Flick Knives, Tom Allalone & the Winter Wonderband and Tom Allalone & the Winchester Geese. Early shows included versions of Hell Hath No Fury, Ten Little Cuts and Casillero Del Diablo that all later made the debut album "Major Sins pt1", but some other early songs that didn't stand the test of time were "Throw Him In The River", "Is it Safe?" and "Give Blood". Cover versions have occasionally been pulled out such as "Spooky" by Dusty Springfield, "Little Miss Prissy" by Stray Cats, Tom Waits' "Ice Cream Man" and "Miss Chatelaine" by K.D Lang. These shows were mainly in London and the South East with the occasional trip up north.
Finally, after getting signed under the name Tom Allalone & the Great Expectations the name was changed to Tom Allalone & the 78s. In the interim they have warmed up audiences for the likes of Jack Penate, Adele, Imelda May and played 3 sold out shows with the Stereophonics.
A new single entitled ‘Crashland’ was released in April 2009, followed by the album ‘Major Sins Pt 1’ in May. Produced by Gareth Parton (Foals, Pipettes, Pete & The Pirates, The Go! Team) and Neil Luckett, its contents will make you want to leave home in the middle of the night, maybe to go join a flophouse jazz band or an undead circus troupe…it’s a hard-boiled, liquor-soaked, fairytale world. Live favourites included on the album include ‘Casillero Del Diablo’, an open invite to a (quite literal) hellfire club, full of mariachi horns and Texan harmonies, ‘I’m Just The DJ’, which sees Allalone transform into Costello at his ‘78 peak, full of adolescent lust and smart, angular noise, and ‘Crashland’, a swinging stomping tale about the pitfalls and perfection of alcoholic abandon.
However, on an album packed with highlights, the best songs on offer might just be the mid-paced lovelorn ballad ‘Wounded’, the rousing ‘This Teenage Crush’, which drags the Everly Brothers into a blender and spits out a thoroughly modern sounding West Side Story-ish anthem for unrequited love, or the slow burning ‘Dogshit Street’, which, like several other songs on the record, contains lyrical observations about the band’s home town and its inhabitants.
Live shows are notorious for being grinning, sweaty, grimy hops. Leading from the front, Allalone is equal parts teen idol, rebel and vaudevillian in performance; Eddie Cochran and Joe Strummer rub shoulders with Buster Keaton to create an embodiment of the lovelorn childish bravado that runs throughout the band’s music.
Band members
Tom Allalone - Vocals/Guitar
Richard Clarke - Guitar
Si Fawcett - Bass
Matt Evans - Drums
The Brass Section:
Andy Stephens - Trumpet
Ralph - Saxamaphone
Rhythmic Jim - Trombone
Discography
Date of Release |
Title |
Label |
|---|---|---|
Nov 2008 |
Hell Hath No Fury |
Nettwerk |
April 2009 |
Crashland |
Nettwerk |
May 2009 |
Major Sins Pt. 1 |
Nettwerk |