LIVE: John Lewis, Boozinstoke

I had been seated at the bar for ten minutes nursing my glass of coke when the imposing figure of Tony West, head honcho at Boozinstoke, appears and bellows “hello Nick, how’re you doing?” and with that another pint of Coke is placed in my hand. Now that is some sort of welcome!

No sooner had I mouthed thank you to Tony than appeared the Welsh Wizard with outstretched hand. “You’re a glutton for punishment”, jokes Mr. Lewis, “I can’t remember when I saw you last, at Bedlam maybe?” In fact, it was at the Rockin’ Round Up. But John continues, “I enjoyed Bedlam”. His slight disbelief being predicated upon a mistaken belief that psychobillies would be negatively predisposed to sublime rockabilly. However, he really was pleasantly surprised by the experience and although choosing a setlist in order to appeal to the be-quiffed John reports being rather touched by the congratulatory remarks of many punters. He also mentions that he liked the fact of being on the same bill as Demented Are Go. I asked whether he stayed to see his neighbour from Penarth and ‘yes’ he did, remarking that he has always enjoyed Demented ever since he was a young whipper snapper. John is hopeful that he might be re-booked for Bedlam. That is certainly something that I would warmly endorse.

I enquired whether he was playing much and ‘yes’ came the reply, ‘Hastings tomorrow and Margate on Sunday’ before that he has been playing some local gigs. In reply to a question about a new record, John advertises the latest (and last?) Rimshots album that is going to be released on double vinyl alongside the band’s first album. John was very grateful to Tobe at Bedlam for ordering in ten copies of the album – a sure sign of support from the psychobilly community!

In terms of the trio John is also very enthusiastic and tells me of a new song that he is going to perform tonight, he says cryptically it’s a song that will upset a few people, ‘it will raise an eyebrow or two’. It’s called ‘the Botox Boogie’. Splendidly humourous and wonderfully charismatic John Lewis is the real deal.

The maestro kicks off tonight’s set with some slow blues and gradually cranks it up with his boot stomping on his homemade box. John, then enquires Boozinstoke, how ya doing y’alright? And then we’re off with some more blues, combining rhythm and lead work quite delightfully. In obvious admiration of Boozinstoke, John says ‘it’s great little pub, it’s a great little boozer, and the idiots that turn up are even better’. ‘Money Troubles’ is quite a dark original composition, written about a couple that were together forever, they were together at school, and got married, ‘then they bought a house and got a mortgage and that was the end of that. They still don’t know that the song was written about them’. An old country rockabilly song by Eddie Bond ‘Here Comes The Train’ which features splendid country-picking follows. ‘Tick-Tocking’ is in the same vein with wonderful picking rooted in the splendid rhythm dictated by John’s boot. We are then treated to an exemplary rendition of a Merle Travis instrumental which was quite mesmerising and elicits appropriately rapturous applause.

This year the Rimshots will have been going for ‘40 years and this is the first song that I sang for them, they actually got me in as a guitarist, but they didn’t realise that I was shit back then.’ Classic Mr. Lewis self-defecating, sorry that should be self-deprecating, humour. John then delivers a superb rendition of Tornado. Next, it’s something by the ‘grandaddy of punk’, Eddie Cochran, ‘Something Else’ with some lyrics altered! ‘Drinking and Thinking’ is a rather nice, bluesy country number. Hank Williams’ ‘I Don’t Care If Tomorrow Never Comes’ continues in a similar fashion and then it’s times for a personal favourite of mine ‘Please Don’t Let Me Love You’ which is performed with John’s unique vocal prowess. It’s then time for John’s tribute to Johnny Cash well a song that borrowed Cash’s riff anyway, ‘I Love the Way You Look At Me’. ‘Hard Travelling’ gets things rocking again. A blues bopper that he wrote in lockdown ‘I Knows Nothing’ follows. ‘Greed and Hate’ a reflection of the world around us, written by John in lockdown, but which has a timeless quality is next.

John then reveals the song that will ‘raise a few eyebrows and lift a few chins’. On the record there is a brass section, but in lieu of the brass section the audience sings the brass part to ‘Botox Boogie’. It is a wonderful song ‘I can’t tell if you you’re happy or sad, getting angry or really mad’. ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ is then given the John Lewis’ workout. John’s tribute to Cavan ‘Both Wheels Left the Ground’ gets a superb response from the assembled. From a classic rocker John then delivered a heart-wrenching ballad. Responding to a request from the crowd he performs an impromptu and very good rendition of Johny Horton’s ‘One Woman Man’, before returning to the valleys; we are treated to his extraordinary rendition of ‘Chills and Fever’, replete with four key changes, a song that was Tom Jones’ first hit. A glorious version of Tommy Sands’ ‘The Worrying Kind’, precedes a blues bopper ‘Boogie Chillun’. It’s then an old Rimshots’ classic, ‘Ramblin Man’, which he works up into a frenetic crescendo. ‘Long live Boozinstoke’ John exclaims. He politely declines the request to play ‘Tiger’ and instead opts for a tune off the first Rimshots’ LP to conclude his set, bringing things right back to the beginning of his wonderful 40 year-career.