The Stargazers were an enormous success on the rock 'n' roll and jive circuit, but did not keep a major record company happy in terms of sales success. Nevertheless, they were one of only a handful of bands (which included The Jets and Matchbox) to have emerged from the rock 'n' r oll circuit to taste chart success. The Stargazers were an enormous success on the rock 'n' roll and jive circuit, but did not keep a major record company happy in terms of sales success. Nevertheless, they were one of only a handful of bands (which included The Jets and Matchbox) to have emerged from the rock 'n' r oll circuit to taste chart success. Tossin' 'n' Turnin' was engineered by Nicky Graham, and recorded in the Autumn of 1982, shortly after Pete had left the band. He was replaced by Mark Bremen on guitar, although the record sleeve illustrated here shows Pete on guitar. This photograph came from a session photographed by Pete Ashworth. The dust sheet on which it was staged should have been airbrushed out of the production artwork but never was.

The final CBS single release was There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, a cover version of the popular Louis Jordan number. This was a brilliant record which can still be heard on the rock 'n' roll dance circuit, but again, the band were not happy. Ricky was particularly annoyed that producer Nicky Graham had replaced him with synthesised drums, though a more objective assessment puts this track as one of the most danceable of the Stargazers' records. It got into the lower reaches of the top hundred, but could not break through. One story involves the record being discounted from the charts as rigging was suspected when one of the band's relatives bought a large batch from one of the "chart" shops.

Watch this Space was issued towards the end of the band's time with CBS, in 1983. By this time the band was not enjoying a great deal of CBS's promotional budget, and the album today is a valuable collectors' item. In fact, such is the demand for it that it has been issued as a pirate release in Europe. The band did split up completely after being dropped by Epic in early 1983 after the flop of their fourth single, 'There Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens'. The 'farewell' gig at the Nottingham rock'n'roll all-dayer that summer was the final gig of that era of the band.

Next Page
Previous Page
Stargazers Home Page