Roogalator was a pub rock band formed in London in 1972, by the US-born guitarist

Danny Adler Danny Adler (born 1949) is an American blues-rock guitarist. Adler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. After playing with leading Cincinnati musicians, such as Bootsy Collins, Slim Harpo, H-Bomb Ferguson and Albert Washington, in the ea ...

. Earlier that year, Adler recorded demos with

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. Prior to Roogalator, Adler had also played with Smooth Loser, a band formed with Jeff Pasternak, the brother of BBC disc-jockey

Emperor Rosko Michael Joseph Pasternak (born 26 December 1942), known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s. ...

. Bass guitarist Tony Lester, guitarist Chris Gibbons and drummer Malcolm Mortimer ( G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars), were members for a time. Mortimer returned to Adler for an early incarnation of Roogalator before leaving to join

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

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History

Roogalator played their first live show in November 1972, at a talent night staged at the

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to muted response. Adler, killing time between the Irish Country and Western circuit and jam sessions with

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's African drummers, spent time in Paris studying

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. He returned to London to form the second line-up of Roogalator with drummer

Bobby Irwin Bobby Irwin (23 March 1953 – 8 May 2015) was an English drummer, record producer and songwriter. He is known for working in close collaboration with Nick Lowe as co-songwriter and drummer and as a member of Lowe's band the Cowboy Outfit, as w ...

, pianist

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and keyboardist Nick Plytas. The band recorded a demo which resulted in a booking agency deal. Neither Beresford nor Irwin wanted to proceed. With their first live shows ahead, Adler and Plytas rebuilt the line-up. Drummer Dave Solomon, a bandmate of both Plytas and Beresford in a

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cover band, replaced Irwin. Irwin, noting the band was still minus a bassist, gave a copy of the demo to Paul Riley, a member of the successful pub-scene band

Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers were one of the main British pub rock groups of the early 1970s. Later managed by Jake Riviera, who first worked for the band as a roadie, they reached their peak as part of the "Naughty Rhythms Tour" of ...

. Riley joined Roogalator just before their September 1975 debut, and for a time it was his fame that attracted the band's first press notices. They became one of the fixtures on the mid-1970s London pub rock scene, establishing themselves as unique on the pub circuit. Drawing from Adler's experience on the

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club circuit of the late 1960s, Roogalator offered an angular, minimalist funk sound which was at odds with the standard country, blues, and early rock sounds and created a distinctive blueprint for what would become the

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explosion of the early 1980s. In November 1975, the band recorded demos for

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and met Robin Scott, who would become their manager, producer and record label chief. In January 1976 they supported Dr. Feelgood at the

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. The show was by their own consensus a disaster and marked the end of the classic line-up. Within weeks, Solomon quit, to be replaced by the returning Bobby Irwin. Riley also departed. Adding bassist Jeff Watts, Roogalator recorded a

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session on 13 May 1976 and embarked on a European tour. The tour was marred by the theft of all their possessions from their van. Watts and Irwin departed to reunite with Riley in

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, which he was now managing. Encouraged by Scott, Adler recruited a new rhythm section; bass guitarist Julian Scott (brother of Robin) and drummer Justin Hildreth. In early summer 1976, Roogalator signed a one-off single deal with

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and released "All Aboard"/"Cincinnati Fatback". The band continued gigging returning to the BBC for a second

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on 28 October 1976. In 1977, the band released another one-off single, "Love And The Single Girl", on

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. They declined a recording contract with Virgin, who had insisted that they also sign a publishing contract in addition to a recording contract. The band returned to the BBC for a third and final session with Peel on 16 August 1977. The band released their debut album, ''Play It by Ear'', in 1977 on manager's Scott's Do It Records label, essentially an opportunity to preserve the band's repertoire on vinyl. The album was well-received but sold poorly. The band played at ‘Front Row Festival’, a three-week event at the

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, in late November and early December 1977. This resulted in the band's inclusion, alongside

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, the Saints,

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, and

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, on a hit

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of recordings from the festival. The ''

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'' compilation LP (March 1978) reached number 28 in the

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. When Plytas left, the band opted not to replace him and continued to gig as a trio, releasing in 1978, one more single, "Zero Hero" and demoing a second album. Hildreth was next to quit to be replaced by Nick Monnas (from

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band). Adler, discouraged by the constant changes in the line-up and with feelings that the band had run its course, disbanded Roogalator in July 1978, with many of the songs intended for their second album being reworked for his solo debut, ''The Danny Adler Story''. Roogalator's repertoire was later re-issued on the ''Cincinnati Fatback'' compilation album.

Discography

Albums

LP - ''Play It by Ear'' ( Do It Records - 1977)
CD - ''Cincinnati Fatback'' (Compilation) (Proper Records - 1999)

Singles

7" - "All Aboard" b/w "Cincinnati Fatback" (

, 1976)
7" - "Love and the Single Girl" b/w "I Feel Good (I Got You)" (

, 1977)
7" - "Zero Hero" b/w "Sweet Mama Kundalini" ( Do It Records, 1978)

References

External links

allmusic.com: Roogalator
nbsp;– History of band * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roogalator English rock music groups Musical groups from London British pub rock music groups English funk musical groups British rhythm and blues musical groups English blues musical groups English new wave musical groups