Recently Alan Wilson (of Western Star and the Sharks fame) found a box full of tapes recorded at the Klub Foot, the mecca of Psychobilly and Neo-rockabilly in the mid-80’s. These tapes needed to be restored and cleaned, a very costly process and two of these shows (Batmobile and Sting Rays) were released on Anagram/Cherry Red Records. Sadly the sales weren’t enough for the label and they called it quit. Knowing he had history in his hands, Wilson created a sub-label to his own Western Star to keep on releasing this stuff.
The second release in the serie concerns another well established name on the scene: Restless. I don’t think it’s possible to find someone who doesn’t like “Why Don’t You Just Rock?” or “Do You Feel Restless?” They made a name on both rockabilly and psychobilly scenes. When this gig was recorded in September 1984 they were at their finest, the line-up being original members Mark Harman on guitar and Ben Cooper on drums plus bassist Jeff Baily and, freshly recruited, Mick Malone on second guitar. The quartet plays killer tunes one after another (with the exception of the Phantom’s Love Me which doesn’t fit them well - sorry Mark you’re not a wildman). This set even features an original that never appeared on a studio album and written by Malone.
Buy it at Western Star

Fred "Virgil" Turgis

Shortly after the release of Do You Feel Restless, the band's second album, their bassist Paul Harman left to be replaced by Jeff Bayly. Around the same time they added Mick Malone on second guitar.
In 1985 the ep Vanish Without A Trace announced a slight change in the band's sound, slowly moving from neo-rockabilly to modern-rockabilly, sometimes bordering on psychobilly but their fans couldn't imagine that their sound would change so drastically. "After Midnight" took everybody by surprise with its radio friendly production, synthethic drums sound, keyboards and horns. In trying to gain a wider audience, which they never really did, Restless had lost its personnality. The rockabillies ignored the album and so did Top Of The Pops, a typical case of everybody looses. "After Midnight" was a total waste of talent comparable to Frenzy's Sally's Pink Bedroom.

Fred "Virgil" Turgis