Stray Cats Tour With Pretenders and ZZ Top

Los Angeles, CA: Stray Cats announced that they will soon be on the road beginning a U.S. Summer tour in support of their upcoming live CD and DVD “Best Of The Stray Cats Live,” “Rumble In Brixton.” Release date is set for this fall and will feature one new track from the legendary Rockabilly band.

Stray Cats, the band that put Rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early-’80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950Â’s style brought “up to date” with over-the-top pompadours and colorful tattoos, as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly’s original heyday. The music had a rhythm that was rock solid yet loose, the singer could croon or shout and the guitar playing demanded respect. It was elegant yet hard, jazzy yet completely rocking. Their music and style were like nothing happening in pop culture at that time. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for Rockabilly music and after banging around New York and Philadelphia for a few months, in the summer of 1980, they were persuaded by a mutual friend to hop a plane to London where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge.

They were popular right out of the box with the release of their self-titled album in 1981 that scored three straight hits with “Runaway Boys,” “Rock This Town,” and “Stray Cat Strut.” Deciding to test their luck in America, they signed with EMI America and in 1982 released their U.S. debut, Built for Speed, which compiled the highlights from their two British LPs. Helped by extensive airplay on MTV at the height of the anything-goes new wave era, “Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut” both hit the American Top Ten, over a year after their British chart peaks. As a result, Built for Speed was a smash, and the Stray Cats were seen as avatars of retro style. Their second American album, Rant n’ Rave With the Stray Cats, appeared in 1983 and produced another Top Ten hit in “(She’s) Sexy + 17,” as well as a Top 40 entry in the doo wop-styled ballad “I Won’t Stand in Your Way.”

The Cats had clawed their way all over the globe from 1981 to 1984 when they decided to go their separate ways for a while. In mid-1988, the three felt the time was right to bring it back again and reunited until 1992 when they split a second time. A one-off reunion show in California in 2003 created such a good vibe between the three guys that they decided to mount a month-long summer tour of Europe to celebrate both the Rockabilly trioÂ’s 25 year career and the 50^th birthday of rock and roll in the cities where it all started for them. So much excitement was generated with the 17 show sold-out tour that is was decided that one performance would be documented and released as a live DVD and album. Rumble In Brixton was recorded at the sold out show in London at the legendary Brixton Academy where the atmosphere was electric, and the energy was vibrant, almost dangerous.

Now for the first time in 15 years, Stray Cats are coming together one more time for a full-scale U.S. tour with ZZ Top and The Pretenders. Tour dates are listed below, for further information regarding the dates and advance interviews with Slim Jim Phantom please contact Deborah Radel or Heather Lindner at DRPR, 310.360.3997 or email [email protected]

Thursday, July 19^th Toyota Park Chicago, IL

Saturday, July 21^st 1^st Mariner Arena Baltimore, MD

Sunday, July 22^nd Jones Beach New York, NY

Monday, July 23^rd Borgata Event Center Atlantic City, NJ

Wednesday, July 25^th Freedom Hill Detroit, MI

Thursday, July 26^th Deer Valley Indianapolis, IN

Friday, July 27^th Oneida Casino Green Bay, WI

Saturday, July 28^th XCEL Energy Center Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 29^th Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO

Tuesday, July 31^st Uptown Theatre Kansas City, MO

Wednesday, August 1^st Arena Nashville, TN

Friday, August 3^rd Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City, OK

Saturday, August 4^th Nokia Amphitheatre Dallas, TX

Sunday, August 5^th AT&T Center San Antonio, TX

Tuesday, August 7^th Camel Rock Casino Santa Fe, NM

Wednesday, August 8^th Jobing.com Arena Phoenix, AZ

Friday, August 10^th County Bowl Santa Barbara, CA

Saturday, August 11^th Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV

Monday, August 13^th Red Rocks Denver, CO

Wednesday, August 15^th USANA Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, UT

Thursday, August 16^th Grand Sierra Casino Reno, NV

Friday, August 17^th Save Mart Center Fresno, CA

Saturday, August 18^th Verizon Amphitheatre Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, August 19^th Coors Amphitheatre San Diego, CA

Tuesday, August 21^st ARCO Arena Sacramento, CA

Thursday, August 23^rd General Motors Place Vancouver, ON

Saturday, August 25^th Puyallup Fairgrounds Seattle, WA

Sunday, August 26^th Clark County Amphitheatre Portland, OR

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