Darrel Higham (born 5 January 1970) is an English

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

guitarist who performs with

Kat Men Kat Men is an American/British rockabilly band, formed in 2006 by former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and Darrel Higham. The duo released its debut album, ''Kat Men'' in 2006, with a follow-up, ''The Kat Men Cometh'', released in 2013. I ...

. He was previously married to

Imelda May Imelda Mary Higham (born Imelda Mary Clabby, 10 July 1974), professionally known as Imelda May, is an Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Known primarily as a singer, she also plays the bodhrán, guitar, bass guitar and tambouri ...

and performed in her band.

Biography

Music career

Higham started playing lead

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

with British

bands in the late 1980s. By the mid-1990s, he and the bass player Mick Wigfall had created the band that would become his main gigging and recording project: Darrel Higham & The Enforcers. Higham's solo projects include session work as guitarist with

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Rocky Burnette Rocky Burnette (born Jonathan Burnette, June 12, 1953) is an American singer and musician and the son to the rockabilly and pop singer Johnny Burnette. Rocky is best known for his 1980 hit single "Tired of Toein' the Line" which he co-wrote with ...

Billy Lee Riley Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll"Variously spelled as "...Rock & Roll ...

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

(on the 1999 UK tour).

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

's last road band – The Kelly Four – employed Higham as their front man for a six-month period in 1992 for gigs and recordings in the US. In 1996, he also appeared in London's

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

playing the role of

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic D ...

and Eddie Cochran for 8 months in a revival of Jack Good's ''Elvis: The Musical''. This would lead to further roles as Eddie Cochran in touring theatre shows around the UK for a couple of years afterwards. In 2006, Darrel found himself in California touring in support of WILD Records. After providing lead guitar on various WILD band recordings, he and Reb Kennedy (WILD Records founder) decided to record an album of Darrel's favourite rockabilly songs. The tracks were lost for some time, but recently resurfaced and the resulting 12-track album, "Wild in Hollywood" was finally released in March 2013. In 2007, Higham formed

with former

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...

drummer

Slim Jim Phantom James McDonnell (born March 21, 1961), known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s. Phantom currently ...

. The duo recorded its debut album, ''Kat Men'', with former

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

guitarist

Gilby Clarke Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour ...

. From 2008 onwards he has also found success as lead guitarist in the

band, whose albums ''

Love Tattoo ''Love Tattoo'' is the second studio album by the Irish rockabilly musician Imelda May, released on 20 October 2008 on Universal Music. Track listing Personnel All personnel credits adapted from ''Love Tattoo''s liner notes. ;Performers ...

'' and ''

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

'' reached number one in Ireland, as well as having toured the US as support acts to

and

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

. In 2011 he shared the lead vocal duties with May on the Jeff Beck DVD, ''A Rock 'n' Roll Party'', and reunited

Embassy Studios

Higham co-owns Embassy Studios, a sixteen-track analogue recording studio near

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

, with Foot Tapping Records boss, Clive Duffin. They also run a small recording label, Ambassador Records. Higham is endorsed by Peavey and plays their amplifiers exclusively. He also helped design the company's first semi acoustic guitar – The Rockingham. He is endorsed by

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

Guitars and performs using a variety of their guitars, including a

Gretsch 6120 The Gretsch 6120 is a hollow body electric guitar with f-holes, manufactured by Gretsch and first appearing in the mid-1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artists Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and later b ...

, his own custom shop version of a 6120, a

Gretsch White Falcon The Gretsch White Falcon is an electric hollow-body guitar introduced in 1954 by Gretsch. This guitar was created as a "showpiece" to exhibit the craft of Gretsch's luthiers, sales, and demonstration representative, Jimmie Webster, who created i ...

and a Gretsch Duo Jet.

Personal life

In 2002 Higham was married to singer

, they have one daughter together. In 2015, May announced their decision to separate after 13 years of marriage. After the separation, Higham also decided to leave May's band to focus on his solo career. Higham is a fan of

Sunderland AFC Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

, a football team in the

EFL League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

Published works

*''Don't Forget Me – The Eddie Cochran Story'' (with

Julie Mundy Julie Mundy is a British writer who focuses on 20th century history and pop culture, most notably Elvis Presley. She also runs Elvis Presley fansite Elvis fan club website, elvis.co.uk, "one of the main Elvis websites" in the UK, and acts as a ...

; Mainstream Publications, 2000)

Discography

*''Mobile Corrosion'' (Nervous, 1995) *''Hal Weston & the Offbeats'' (Pink & Black, 1996) *''Darrel Higham & the Barnshakers'' EP (Goofin' 1997) *''The Cochran Connection, Volume 1'' (Rockstar, 1997) *''Howlin' at My Baby'' (Vampirella, 1998) *''High Class Baby'' (Goofin', 1998) *''Leather Heart'' EP (Vampirella, 2000) *''How to Dance the Bop'' (Spindrift, 2000) *''Ghost of Love'' (Hunka Burnin', 2001) *''The Sweet Georgia Brown Sessions'' (Foot Tapping, 2002) *''The Cochran Connection, Volume 2'' (Rockstar, 2004) *''Believe What You Hear – A Tribute to Ricky Nelson'' (Foot Tapping, 2004) *''Midnight Commotion'' (Foot Tapping, 2004) *''Kat Men'' with

(Kat Fight, 2006) *''Crazy with Love'' (Foot Tapping, 2006) *''Wild in Hollywood'' (WILD, 2013)

As Darrel Higham & The Enforcers

*''Let's Rock Tonight'' (Fury, 1996) *''Rockin' at the Coconut Top'' (Crazy Love, 1996) *''For EP Fans Only'' (16/8 Records, 1997) *''Unleashed'' (Vampirella, 1999) *''Hip Shakin Baby: A Tribute to Johnny & Dorsey Burnette'', with

(2002?) *''Urban Jamboree'' (Foot Tapping, 2003) *''Live at the Thunderbird Club'' (Rockstar, 2004) *''A Monochrome Dream'' (Foot Tapping, 2008)

As Bob & The Bearcats

*''Hold on Tight'' (Pollytone, 1994) *''On the Rampage'' (Pollytone, 1995) *''High Heels & Homicide'' (Pollytone, 1996) *''Rollin' to the Jukebox Rock'' (Vampirella, year unlisted)

References

External links

Darrel Higham & The Enforcers
* http://www.myspace.com/darrelhighamandenforcers1
Beck – Rock n Roll Party Honoring Les Paul 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higham, Darrel 1970 births English record producers English rock guitarists British rockabilly musicians Living people 21st-century British guitarists