“We have about forty two gigs a year now,” vocalist Julie Bedwell says matter-of-factly. She’s ‘nearly sixty’, and her band, Bedrock Bullets, have been spreading trashy rock n roll across the West Midlands for a decade, putting their own spin on classics and reinventing unlikely hits as rock n roll. How does she keep going at this rate of shows, which would exhaust many other performers? “ I drink plenty of water,” she laughs, before telling us the story of probably the hardest working band out there. 

“I’ve always been an entertainer: I used to do like tap and ballet lessons when I was young. When I got to the age of about seventeen,  I was in the alternative cabaret scene, if you want to call it that. I used to be in a dance group called Gay John and the Doggers. We were quite well known on the circuit. We used to have write-ups in the NME and stuff like that. Later on, I had my child –  my son’s twenty eight now –  and when I was pregnant with him, I started singing, doing some dance music. I used to be called a band called Steam Room and I used to do a lot of session singing for little bands and stuff, going to their studios and doing backing vocals and all that, then I had a rest for a bit because I was a mum, you know what I mean? I started going to Hare and Hounds a lot and a really good friend said, ‘well, you ought to do something again!’ I thought, ‘right, I’m gonna do it myself so I started this little band called Bedrock Bullets. My ex-husband did my logo, and then ten years on we have about forty two gigs a year now… I didn’t really want it to be that many but when you do it, you love it!

We’re more trashy rock and roll [than rockabilly], we’re more fun. Okay, we’re a cover band but we do a few obscure tunes that people think [we’ve made] our own. We do like T-Rex and we do Billy Idol and Blondie and a bit of Wanda Jackson. We don’t take it too seriously we don’t rehearse a lot, [but] we don’t need to cause we’re always gigging. When some bands are together, they’re made for rehearsal or they’re made for a gig. We’re like a little family. We’re a bit diverse. We don’t do too many posh things. We’ll go posh if we want to, but we’re a bit rough around the edges.

Not everybody takes you that seriously sometimes when you’re a cover band. Yeah, I’ve written quite a few of my own songs, but my ex-boyfriend didn’t like them and he didn’t want to do them. So my aim is to bring the songs: I’ve got about six, seven songs I wrote myself, so I’m hoping to bring them back because I think you get a little bit more respect when you do your own stuff. If you’ve written it yourself like it’s your love that’s gone into it as well. 

[My advice for anyone starting out is to] choose your band members wisely. Make sure you’re singing all off the same hymn sheet. Makes sure that you actually like each other and you’re gonna be quite loyal to each other and listen to each other, you know, [with] what each other wants to do. Even if it’s not quite what you want to do, go with it and try it at your rehearsal. If it don’t work out, just don’t do it. If it’s great, it’s great, but get your own little band together and work it from the bottom up, from the beginning together. 

Just keep going even if you’re older like me. [It] doesn’t matter when you start something, if your heart’s in it and you’re good at it –  hope I am and think I am –  just gonna keep doing it. Anyway, what else would I be doing? What else would be doing with myself? It’s not all about the money. It’s about doing it. You gotta love playing because [as a ] musician, you’re not gonna be rich. Just do it for the love of it or why are you doing it?”

Kate Allvey

Bedrock Bullets are:
Julie Dillon – vocals
Pete Marsh – lead guitar
James Jenkinson – bass
Bob Watkeys – drums

Follow Bedrock Bullets on Facebook for their latest gig updates!