Stray Cats (album)

For the Rolling Stones album, see The Rolling Stones in Mono.

1981 studio album by Stray Cats

Stray Cats

Studio album by

Stray Cats

Released| February 1981
Recorded| 1980–1981
Studio| Eden Studios, Chiswick, London; Jam Studios, London N4
Genre|

* Rockabilly
* rock and roll

Length| 37:11
Label| Arista
Producer|

* Dave Edmunds
* Brian Setzer
* Stray Cats

Stray Cats chronology
|  | Stray Cats
(1981)  | Gonna Ball
(1981)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Record Mirror| [2]

Stray Cats is the first studio album by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, first released in the United Kingdom by Arista Records in February 1981. It was produced by the band and Dave Edmunds.

The album was successful in Britain, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and produced the UK Singles Chart top 40 hits "Runaway Boys" (No. 9), "Rock This Town" (No. 9) and "Stray Cat Strut" (No. 11).[3] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later listed "Rock This Town" as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[4][5]

The fifth track on the album, "Storm the Embassy" was based on the song "Boys Having Babies" recorded in 1979 by Brian Setzer's previous band The Bloodless Pharaohs. The lyrics were subsequently rewritten about the Iran hostage crisis of 1979–80.

The album was only issued in the United States after the success of the band's first American album, 1982's Built for Speed. However, six of the songs from Stray Cats ("Rock This Town", "Stray Cat Strut", "Rumble in Brighton", "Runaway Boys", "Double Talkin' Baby" and "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie") were already included on Built for Speed.

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Runaway Boys"|

* Brian Setzer
* James McDonnell

| Dave Edmunds| 3:03
2.| "Fishnet Stockings"| Setzer|

* Setzer
* Stray Cats

| 2:25
3.| "Ubangi Stomp"| Charles Underwood|

* Setzer
* Stray Cats

| 3:14
4.| "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie"|

* George Motola
* Ricky Page

| Edmunds| 2:21
5.| "Storm the Embassy"|

* Setzer
* Phantom

* Setzer
* Stray Cats

| 4:08
6.| "Rock This Town"| Setzer| Edmunds| 3:28
7.| "Rumble in Brighton"|

* Setzer
* Phantom

* Setzer
* Stray Cats

| 3:16
8.| "Stray Cat Strut"| Setzer| Edmunds| 3:16
9.| "Crawl Up and Die"|

* Brian Feli
* Jim Feli

| Edmunds| 3:13
10.| "Double Talkin' Baby"| Danny Wolfe| Edmunds| 3:05
11.| "My One Desire"| Dorsey Burnette| Edmunds| 2:57
12.| "Wild Saxophone"|

* Roy Montrell
* John Marascalco
* Robert Blackwell

* Setzer
* Stray Cats

| 3:01

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Stray Cats

* Brian Setzer – guitar, vocals
* Slim Jim Phantom – drums
* Lee Rocker – bass

Additional musicians

* Gary Barnacle – saxophone

Production

* Aldo Bocca – engineering
* Dave Edmunds – production
* Hein Hoven – engineering
* Neil – tape operation
* Nick – tape operation
* Brian Setzer – production
* Stray Cats – production

Design

* Gavin Cochrane – photography
* Chalkie Davies – photography
* Alain de la Mata – photography
* Chris Gabrin – photography
* Malcolm Garrett – sleeve design
* Toshi Yajima – photography

|

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1981)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] | 41
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] | 4
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[9] | 1
French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] | 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] | 24
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 3
UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 6

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1981)  | Position

|

Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 12

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

New Zealand (RMNZ)[17] | Platinum  | 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] | Gold  | 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mawer, Sharon. "Stray Cats – Stray Cats". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
2. ^ Nicholls, Mike (February 21, 1981). "Triff Quiffs". Record Mirror. London. p. 16.
3. ^ "Stray Cats". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
4. ^ "Brian Setzer's Stray Cats to reunite for first show in 10 years". 4 January 2018.
5. ^ "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
6. ^ Stray Cats (liner notes). Stray Cats. Arista Records. 1981. STRAY 1.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 297\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Stray Cats – Stray Cats" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
9. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
10. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved January 18, 2025. Select Stray Cats from the menu, then press OK.
11. ^ "Charts.nz – Stray Cats – Stray Cats". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
12. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Stray Cats – Stray Cats". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
13. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Stray Cats – Stray Cats". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
15. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1981". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
16. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
17. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Stray Cats – Stray Cats". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
18. ^ "British album certifications – Stray Cats – Stray Cats". British Phonographic Industry.

* v
* t
* e

Stray Cats

* Brian Setzer
* Lee Rocker
* Slim Jim Phantom

Albums|

* Stray Cats
* Gonna Ball
* Built for Speed
* Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats
* Rock Therapy
* Choo Choo Hot Fish
* 40

Singles|

* "Runaway Boys"
* "Rock This Town"
* "Stray Cat Strut"
* "(She's) Sexy + 17"

Related topics|

* Phantom, Rocker & Slick
* Kat Men

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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