Al James was one of Showaddywaddy's founder members, being with the band since its inception in 1973. He was a member of Choise, one of the bands that merged with the Golden Hammers to form Showaddywaddy.
He took on the stage name Al James shortly after Showaddywaddy’s formation - in fact some early SWW releases are credited to Allured, Bartram, Betts, Deas, Field, Gask, Oakes.
A bass player by trade, sharing duties with the band’s other bass player Rod Deas, he played on many Showaddywaddy songs, including the debut single “Hey Rock And Roll” (1974), as well as other singles, “Sweet Music” (1975), “Three Steps To Heaven” (1975), “Trocadero” (1976) and “Sweet Little Rock ’n’ Roller” (1979), not to mention numerous other tracks in the band’s career which included over 30 singles and almost 20 albums during his time in the band. Al played bass with a pick, versus Rod's preferred technique of fingers.
Furthermore, Al wrote and performed lead vocals on a number of songs including “King Of The Jive” (1974), “Rocker Boots” (1975), “Record Machine” (1976), “Superstar” (1977), “Feelin’” (1977), “Teen Canteen” (1980) and “Do It Again” (1982), and also performed lead vocals on Showaddywaddy’s cover of “Say Mama” (1976).
Choise released a single in 1969 to which Geoff wrote the b-side, "She's A Man". He also wrote a number of other songs that Choise performed live in the pre-Showaddywaddy period.
One of the most enduring songs of Showaddywaddy's career has been "Jailhouse Rock", with lead vocals by Al, and performed by the band since 1973 to the present day.
Al also took an active part in the band's stage routines during their energetic shows of the '70s and '80s.
Right: Al performing at the Swap Shop Rock Garden Party, Jubilee Gardens in London, Spring Bank Holiday 29th May 1978. Picture copyright of Peter Lane and courtesy of www.saturdaymornings.co.uk
Al decided to call it a day and retire, just short of his 63rd birthday, and performed his last gig with the band at the Cheese & Grain in Frome, Somerset, on Saturday 20th December 2008, where the band announced his retirement during the show.
This also marked the end of Choise, whose line-up was still in tact since Romeo Challenger joined in 1971.
Catch Up with Al - January 2018
Geoff played bass in the band, an instrument he first took up aged 13 having initially played guitar - his favoured models of bass to play being a Fender Jazz and Danelectro Longhorn Bass.
As well as playing bass, he wrote and performed lead vocals on a number of songs such as “King Of The Jive” (1974), “Rocker Boots” (1975) - a track he still listens to today - and “Record Machine” (1976). He also wrote a number of songs in his pre-Showaddywaddy ‘Choise’ days, including, “Think Of Me”, “Butterfly”, and “She’s A Man”, the latter being a B-side to the one and only Choise single, “Cecilia”, released in 1969. Geoff says “She’s A Man” was influenced by The Beatles’ “Get Back”. The 1969 version was released before Dave Bartram and Romeo Challenger joined Choise, and is not as heavy as later live versions. During his time in Choise, he also wrote “Feelin’” which was to later be recorded by Showaddywaddy and included on the 1977 album ‘Red Star’.
During 1973, Choise played in the same Leicester pub (The Fosse Way) as another local band The Golden Hammers, and the two bands joined permanently to form Showaddywaddy later that year. There were no reservations from Geoff about leaving Choise behind - “It organically took over”. He continued to play bass in Showaddywaddy, a role shared with the band’s other bass player Rod Deas. It was straightforward for Geoff and Rod to decide who played bass on particular songs, they knew between them who would be best suited to a particular track. He didn’t play anything other than bass on any SWW recordings.
Geoff continued to contribute further songs for Showaddywaddy “Superstar” (1977), “Teen Canteen” (1980), “Tribute” (1981) and “Do It Again” (1982). “Do It Again” is a particularly strong track and although it wasn’t included on the “Living Legends” album, but he wasn’t particularly disappointed that it wasn’t included on the LP. No lyrics were contributed to any other songs, the rest of Showaddywaddy’s original material being written by Dave Bartram and Trevor Oakes.
Unusually for an album track, “Teen Canteen” was performed on the band’s own BBC special, “Showaddywaddyshow’ in 1980, and Geoff also sang lead vocals on a cover version of “Say Mama” which was also performed on TV a couple of times, and was a song also recorded for the ‘Trocadero’ LP (1976). “Say Mama” was a regular in the band’s live set for a number of years, as well as “Jailhouse Rock”, which was sang by Geoff throughout his whole time in the band (1973 to 2008). Geoff wasn’t too disappointed that he didn’t get the opportunity play some of his recorded songs in the band’s live set, but I don’t suppose you can play them all.
“Tribute”, which was written as a tribute to John Lennon, remains a favourite of Geoff’s to this day. (One of his regrets is that he never had the opportunity to meet John Lennon, Elvis or Jimi Hendrix). His favourite SWW single is “Three Steps To Heaven”, a song which he still listens back to, his least favourite single being “I Wonder Why”. As far as albums go, he is most proud of “Red Star” and least proud of “Living Legends”, an album which also contains his least favourite track, “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me”.
Geoff’s fondest SWW TV memory was playing behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ in East Berlin in 1978, which was reputedly broadcast to 300 million people. His favourite live venue to play at on UK soil being the Glasgow Apollo.
Into the 1980s, the band’s original line up started to disintegrate, with Malcolm Allured, Russ Field and Bill Gask leaving in 1984, 1985 and 1987 respectively. Geoff says whilst it was sad that they left, he never felt tempted to leave around that time himself, he just wanted to carry on playing in the band. When he finally decided to hang up his bass in 2008, it just felt like it was the right time to call it a day.
He is proud of his time with Showaddywaddy and has many happy memories. Since leaving the band, he has enjoyed reading and gardening at his home in Market Harborough, where he has lived for many years.
Geoff Betts, better known to Showaddywaddy fans as Al James, passed away on 16th November 2018.
"It is with enormous sadness that we say goodbye to my close friend and band-mate of more than 40 years, Geoff Betts, who sadly passed away in hospital on Friday 16th November following a recent fall at his Leicestershire home. Geoff was born to a career in rock ’n’ roll, being both a talented bass player, vocalist and songwriter whose contribution to SWW during his 35 years in the band was nothing less than invaluable. I will remember the countless experiences we shared together throughout a 50+ year friendship, made all the more special by his mischievous sense of humour and trademark wicked grin. My deepest sympathies go out to his children Joanne, James and Natalie. I will miss you my dear friend!” (Dave Bartram, 17th November 2018)
“He was one of the funniest people I have ever met - his anecdotes were hilarious - he was generous to a fault, and we all loved him”. (Romeo Challenger, 17th November 2018)
“A sad day indeed. Geoff, along with Bill and Malc, were the real rock ’n’ roll stalwarts in the band, and his infectious sense of humour and upbeat character were a mainstay in the development of SWW’s early days on the road. We will all miss him terribly. RIP my friend”. (Russ Field, 18th November 2018)