The Beatstalkers Explained

The Beatstalkers are a Glasgow beat group that formed in 1962. They were sometimes billed as "the Scottish Beatles",^{[1] [2]} because of the hordes of screaming girls attending their concerts, and like other Scottish beat groups The Poets, The Athenians and The Pathfinders, specialised in covers of US hits.^[3]

History

In 1962, Alan Mair and Eddie Campbell formed the Glasgow band with a lineup including Davie Lennox on vocals, Eddie Campbell on guitar, Alan Mair on bass and ‘Tudge’ Williamson on drums (replaced by Jeff Allen). Later Ronnie Smith joined the group on rhythm guitar.^[4] Under the management of Joe Gaffney, the band went on to become Scotland's "top group" at the time. Their roadie was Joe's oldest son, William.

The group came to the attention of Decca Records in London after their riotous concert in George Square, Glasgow.^[5] However the band were unable to translate the same success they had in Scotland into success in England.^{[6] [7]} They decided to split in 1969 after their van was stolen with all their equipment in it.

Alan Mair went on to play with the Only Ones and drummer Jeff Allen played with East of Eden.^[8] The Beatstalkers played a reunion concert on 23 December 2005 in Glasgow.^[9]

UK singles discography

• "Ev'rybody's Talking 'bout My Baby" / "Mr. Disappointed" Decca 1965
• "Left Right Left" / "You'd Better Get a Better Hold On", both written by Tommy Scott. Decca 1966
• "A Love Like Yours" / "Base Line" Decca 1966
• "My One Chance to Make It" / "Ain't No Soul (Left in These Ole Shoes)" (as Beatstalkers) CBS 1967
• "Silver Tree Top School for Boys" (with writer David Bowie on backing vocals) / "Sugar Chocolate Machine" CBS 1967
• "Rain Coloured Roses" / "Everything Is You" CBS 1968
• "Little Boy" / "When I'm Five" CBS 1969

Notes and References

1. Mike Read Major to Minor: The Rise and Fall of the Songwriter 2000- Page 181 "Bill knew most people on the thriving group scene in Scotland, including Glasgow outfit The Beatstalkers (who were usually billed as "the Scottish Beatles") and fellow Glaswegian Tommy Scott (born Tommy Kilpatrick in 1940), who was ..."
2. Simon Berry, Hamish Whyte Glasgow Observed - 0859761894, 1987, p. 250, Beatstalkers
3. Paul H. Scott - Scotland: A Concise Cultural History -1993 Page 192 Scottish beat groups like The Poets, The Beatstalkers, The Athenians and The Pathfinders, specialised in covers of US ..."
4. Web site: The Beatstalkers. Tartanrockers.blogspot.com. 26 August 2015.
5. Geoff Holder The Little Book of Glasgow 2011 0750953950 "In 1965 The Beatstalkers, performing a free show in George Square, were overwhelmed by the crowd numbers and two of ..."
6. Hamilton Harvey Franz Ferdinand: And the Pop Renaissance 2005 Page 60 1905287003 - "The following day, the Beatstalkers were all over the papers and the near disaster turned into a publicity triumph. Signed to Decca, the band now faced the same challenge as so many other Glasgow bands, trying to translate local acclaim into ..."
7. Martin Kielty SAHB Story: The Tale of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band 1906476764 Page 21 "Whereas the Beatstalkers, who were arguably more popular in Glasgow, couldn't make it at all down south."
8. Nicholas Rombes A Cultural Dictionary of Punk: 1974-1982 1441105050 2010 Perrett had been in a group called England's Glory (the great song “Peter and the Pets” is from that era), and bassist Alan Mair, from Glasgow, had been in the Beatstalkers. Mike Kellie was in Spooky Tooth, while John Perry played in the Rats.
9. Web site: The Beatstalkers. Rockingscots.co.uk. 26 August 2015.