Satan\u2019s Cats, a collaboration between UK punk band Satan\u2019s Rats and singer Puss Johnson of Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons, have announced plans for a self-titled debut EP to be released November 4 by Salamander Records. Available on CD and download, the EP will feature five songs, including four reworkings of vintage Satan\u2019s Rats tracks and a cover of Thin Lizzy\u2019s \u201cThe Rocker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pre-order at\u00a0Bandcamp<\/a>
Pre-order at\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/strong>
Satan\u2019s Cats includes three members of\u00a0Satan\u2019s Rats<\/a>: guitarist Steve Eagles (founding member in 1977), drummer Olly Harrison, and bassist Dave Sparrow. When the Rats dissolved in 1978, the trio invited Wendy Wu to sing and rebranded themselves as\u00a0The Photos<\/a>. Following much media attention and a record company bidding war, they signed with Epic Records. The Photos\u2019 debut album reached #4 in the UK charts.
For this 2022 EP, the three Rats have collaborated with vocalist Puss Johnson, from the incendiary rock band\u00a0Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons<\/a>. PATDJs released their fourth studio album through Hound Gawd! Records in 2020.
\u201cDuring Covid lockdown, Olly suggested that we should reform the Rats with Puss,\u201d said Eagles. \u201cWhen I reacquainted myself with the songs, I was instantly excited and wrote Olly back to say, \u2018Yeah, let\u2019s go!\u2019 The band had one rehearsal with Puss to just sort out which key each song would be in. Puss has a strong presence, and she sounds great on these tracks.\u201d
The EP features four classics from the Rats\u2019 repertoire \u2014 \u201cYou Make Me Sick,\u201d \u201cFacade,\u201d \u201cSex Object,\u201d and \u201cYear of the Rats\u201d \u2014 chosen mainly by Johnson and Harrison. It was discussed whether Johnson liked the song, whether it was suitable for her kind of delivery, and whether the lyrics needed to be updated. \u201cSex Object\u201d received the biggest overhaul. \u201cWe tried out seven or eight old Satan\u2019s Rats songs and the four that sounded the most immediate made the cut for recording,\u201d said Eagles. \u201cAs for the cover of Thin Lizzy\u2019s\u00a0\u2018The Rocker,\u2019<\/a>\u00a0Olly saw something in it that would suit Puss\u2019 voice and attitude.\u201d
In 1978, \u201cYou Make Me Sick\u201d and \u201cYear of the Rats\u201d were the band\u2019s second and third singles for\u00a0DJM Records<\/a>, a company named after the music business veteran (Dick James Music) who had originally signed Elton John. During their brief existence, the Rats played many of the famous punk clubs of the day \u2014The Roxy in London, Barbarella\u2019s in Birmingham \u2014\u00a0and shared bills with Slaughter and the Dogs, XTC, the Killjoys, Suburban Studs, The Drones, and many others.
Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of their career happened December 21, 1977, when they opened for The Sex Pistols at Club Lafayette in Wolverhampton (UK). The Rats were called back for an encore.
After Satan\u2019s Rats and The Photos, Eagles spent time as guitarist with the post-punk\/no wave jazz band, Blurt, and in the 1990s, Bang Bang Machine. The latter group\u2019s \u201cGeek Love\u201d single (Parallel Records) was voted number one on John Peel\u2019s \u201cFestive Fifty\u201d list for 1992. Harrison went on to become a filmmaker having his work shown at Cannes and the British Film Institute. Dave, alongside his charity work, is now a luthier and a member of the band The Pleasuredome.
As for the future, Eagles says \u201cSatan\u2019s Cats is all about having some fun. If there\u2019s enough interest in the EP, I could see it leading to an album.\u201d
SATAN\u2019S CATS<\/u><\/em>\u00a0EP (Salamander Records, 2022)<\/strong>
Tracklist: 1. You Make Me Sick | 2. Facade | 3. Sex Object | 4. Year of the Rats | 5. The Rocker
All songs written by Satan\u2019s Rats except “The Rocker” by Phil Lynott, Brian Downey & Eric Bell.
Recorded and mixed by Dave Draper at the Old Cider Press Studio, Pershore, UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n