Star Cat Bring Rockabilly Magic to a Fri 13 at The Black Prince

There’s something deliciously apt about a Friday the 13th show and Rockabilly veterans, Star Cat, made sure the superstition worked in their favour.

With upright bass thumping, Gretsch guitars twanging, and a lineage of rock’n’roll pedigree behind them, this was a night where legends rubbed shoulders with adrenaline-fuelled energy.

Support came from Hull’s own death rock trash rock ‘n’ roll band, The Snakerattlers. A husband-and-wife duo whose Rattle Rock is still turning heads since I first caught them at Joe Martin’s Tutti Fruity Rock’n’Roll nights at The Lab, back in 2019. With Naomi powering a stand-up drum kit like a one-person hurricane and her husband piercing stare and ominous guitar tones, they conjured a swampy, gothic groove that set a shadowy, electrifying tone for the night, leaving the crowd primed for the rockabilly legends to follow.

When Star Cat hit the stage, it was immediately clear that this wasn’t just a band playing songs, it was a celebration of Rockabilly’s rich history. With Phil Polecat (The Polecats), Neal X (Sigue Sigue Sputnik), and Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) at the helm, every note carried weight. Polecat’s upright bass prowled and pounced with the kind of swing that makes your toes tap before your brain has processed it, while Slim Jim’s drumming slapped and swung with a percussive heartbeat rooted in the genre’s wild, upright energy. Neal X added flourishes of rock’n’roll glamour, his guitar a glittering, razor-sharp thread weaving through the set.

The crowd, a mix of die-hard rockabilly fans and curious newcomers, lapped up every track from the classics to the originals. There was a tangible joy in the room, a sense that you were witnessing a band whose every move is informed by decades of experience but still revels in the sheer thrill of performing. Star Cat leaned into theatrics just enough to charm without overshadowing the music — upright bass slides, hair flips, and cheeky grins all part of the package.

By the final number, it felt like the room had been transported back to the 1970s. Star Cat didn’t just play Rockabilly, they embodied it. And with The Snakerattlers opening with heart and fire, it was a night that reminded everyone why these small venues and legendary bands matter so much to live music.