Hi Voltage, A short concise and almost chronological history.

I recently read somewhere that Hi-Voltage are now one of the top "5" rockin' bands in Britain.

A high accolade indeed when you consider the vast number of bands on the rockin' scene in this country. The author of the article didn't say who the other bands might be, nor did they give us a numerical position in this top "5" elite.

No matter, its enough to know that people who rock give Hi-Voltage this much credit and that's what we are as a band thrive on. We do it for the love of our musical genre ! not for the money that's for sure ! None of us will ever get rich playing rockabilly.

Hi-Voltage are based in Edinburgh the capital city of Scotland. The band originated in mid "99" though back then the line up was a little different as with all bands,  members come and members go.

The original line up consisted of little Jimmy Anderson on rhythm guitar, with his choppy Luther Perkins style and even littler Ian (Mr) Morris on drums - noisy on the kit and noisy off of it.

Of course we needed some lead vocals and in our neck of the woods back then you would have known just as Jim and no one could out rock the mighty voice of Keith (Vince) Turner, so he was inducted.

Bass player Gordon Fraser was an acquaintance of all "3" of us, who even now will step in to help us out at a moments notice and still get's it 'slap' bang on. Just as he did back then.

Lead guitar came in the shape of one Paul Paterson and his cherished "G" brand Gretsch. Christ what a guitarist, an ex-member of psychobilly greats "The Radium Cats" for which he is fondly remembered by old school psycho's at every gig we play.

He made jaws drop back then, well they drop quicker now, but they're accompanied by popping eyes and steaming ear's as well.

We Had to start our quest for world domination somewhere, so the pub's and club's of Edinburgh were our first port of call. And we were no strangers to them either. We had all played in them for year's in various local band's. Anybody out there remember Slap Happy or The Blue Moon Boy's, The Uranium Rocker's or how about Memphis Detour, to mention but a few playing Rock n Roll, Blues, Country and even Skiffle !.

But this band was gonna be different Hi-Voltage would play authentic Rockabilly and proper "50s" style rockin' music.

Well we must have been doing something right because we worked constantly firstly all over our local area, then Scotland and before long all over the British Isles, building a fan base and a reputation for serious rockin' that could not be denied.

We recorded our first CD "Danger Hi-Voltage" in early 2000 for Nervous Records. A "14" track affair - 7 covers and 7 originals, Giving Vince, Paul and Ian a chance to hone their songwriting skills.

In retrospect it could have been a better album, but hey it was our first attempt and we were delighted to have made an album at all.

It did occupy the No. 1 spot on the rockabilly chart's for a while, and it gave birth to our most requested bopper - Used to be, so it did have its high points.

Time rolls on and in Nov 2001 little Jimmy leaves the band ! We soldier on as a four piece with Vince playing rhythm guitar in Jimmy's absence, up until then Vinny's guitar was just a 'prop' now it was a necessity.

As our reputation grew so did the distance we would have to travel to play our gigs. We were in demand as far south as you could go without getting your feet wet, playing all the major venue's, club's and weekenders - Hemsby, The Rockabilly Rave, The Americana and in every city in Britain.

Then out of the blue we get an invitation to come and play Tom Ingrams Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender.

Well we needed time to consider this one, The travel, the upheaval, the sheer hard work it would take to get ready for such a gig...........................it took about "2" seconds to decide and we were on our way, it also led to Hi-Voltage performing in Nashville and in Memphis Tennessee - how about that.

So suddenly Hi-Voltage had become International but home its 'biz' as usual and we travel the length and breadth of the country to meet our gigging demands.

We are now one of the most traveled band's on the scene, though admittedly we have missed the odd gig here or there, but never maliciously, but hey......hasn't every band !     shit happens.

Now round about Dec 02, bass man Gordon is ready to quit, but he'd given us plenty of warning. six months notice in fact. He was off to marry his babe Deborah and was moving to Manchester to be with her.

We wished them love and luck and parted on the best of terms. Thanks for all the hard work you put in Goggs.

Gordon's replacement came along pretty soon after when Vince introduced us to Tony Totten so with a brand new bass man on board Hi-Voltage were back on the road in Mar of "03".

And now the road lead's to Europe - Germany, Sweden, Holland, Finland, Spain and so on.......

April "04" see's the release of our second CD. "The Hot Rod Man" this time for Perry Williams of Pink n Black records. Band wise this was a much more rewarding album featuring "13" tracks - "4" of which are self penned.

Paul's songwriting goes from strength to strength with the fabulous 'Foolish Heart' and the very authentic 'Bop Billie Baby'. The title track gives Vince and Ian a chance to shine as well and we are all happy with the result.

And we are back on the road again. Hemsby once more, The Americana for the lovely Chris and Bev Jackson, off to Sweden and the Jack Baymoors "A" Bombers weekend, In fact all over the bloody place working with, supporting and playing for major artists old and new - Mr. Baymoore, Paul Ansell, Ray Campi, James Burton, Sonny Burgess, Ronnie Tutt. Check out the photo gallery and see for yourself.

Right now Hi-Voltage are headlining most of their gig's and those that they don't headline, well they steel the show anyway.

The addition of sax has given the band a new dimension and a new member ! well newish. Kenny Tomlinson. Kenny has guested with the band for a while now but he's a permanent fixture these days. His credentials speak for themselves, he's worked with Mud, Robert Cray, Edwin Star, Joe Calais, KT Tunstall and more not rockin as we know it, but impressive none the less.

He features on our latest CD "Rockin Dance Floor Hits" released by the superbly supportive Steve and Kim Willis of  Rollin Records in March "06". Our best work so far, the collaboration of both Paul and Kenny who certainly know their way around a recording studio has paid dividends on this "14" track disc.

In our own humble opinion there's some blistering covers and equally hot originals and they are all danceable from the opening stroller "when the big cats walk", through "I would love to love you", the blues riff of "Rock no more", or the haunting "Gasoline".

Rollin Records have been incredibly supportive of Hi-Voltage and we are deeply appreciate all they have done for us.

One more shuffle in the line up should almost bring us up to date. Tony leaves and we welcome Mr. Mat Curtis into the fold, very cool and well adjusted with a wry sense of humor and a superb mastery of upright bass, adding his own personal touch to established bass lines. We look forward to him being around for a long time.

As a tailender to this short-ish history of Hi-Voltage we the band would like messrs Chris Semmons and big Al McCubbin for helping us out when it counted, sterling stuff lads, Thank you both.

And with that Ladies and Gentlemen, Kat's n Kittens, I give you Hi-Voltage.

Ian (Mr) Morris

02-07-2006