Let's Get Chopping

Occasionally, infrequently in fact, the best part of an interview can't be printed. Certainly that is how this interview with rockabilly rebels The Chop Tops' lead singer Sinner went down. The crowning moment was his impromptu jingle for Murray's Pomade, a moment which, if I'd had the sense to record it and immediately upload to YouTube, could have ruined his rocker credibility for years to come. For now, his sell-out secret is safe. But I'm getting way, way ahead of myself.

The Chop Tops have been around since 1995, formed with the idea of playing what Sinner describes as “old '50s rockabilly and teddy boy sounds. We wanted to incorporate different sounds. We're not purists, we're not trying to be a traditional rockabilly band. We mix these genres into a current sound.”

Although it was a part time concern, with the band working a variety of jobs including butcher and office manager between tours, The Chop Tops began to gain momentum in the late '90s and early 2000s on the back of the swing revival.

“At that time, a lot of 'billy bands were able to ride the momentum and and the coattails of swing. It all started with Eddie Nichols' Royal Crown Revue and the Brian Setzer Orchestra – the neo-swing revival really opened doors for us. We weren't traditional, but it seemed to work. Maybe with so many traditional bands on the scene, they liked the original twist we put on the sound.

“The whole band worked a lot of jobs for ten or 11 years of playing from '95 to 2006 – we went through quite a few jobs, homes, girlfriends.... and then finally everything went right. It's a funny story: I was working a corporate job for eight or nine years and had worked my way up to management. But I eventually got tired of corporate America – corporate anywhere, really. In maybe 2004 I asked the band whether they'd quit their jobs and see how the band could go full-time, but I met with a lot of resistance. A while later, after a tour, both of the guys were between jobs and came back to me saying 'hey, remember how you said...' By then I'd worked my way up to management and got called out when it was really not convenient for me, but I rose to the occasion and quit and we went for it. I said, 'let's try this for three months', thinking we were sure to fail. But after three months it totally took off and we've been doing it for a living for around seven years.”

While Sinner has abandoned the corporate ladder, the band isn't above a little endorsement deal – they are one of only two bands ever sponsored by Detroit's legendary hair grease, Murray's Pomade. Beloved by rockabilly bands since The Clash and the Stray Cats made it cool, Sinner staged a determined campaign to be endorsed by Murray's.

“Murray's and slicked hair are a symbol of rockabilly culture,” he emphasises, “ever since the '20s when Murray's started has become a national thing here, hotrodders greasing their hair back. Getting them to endorse us has been about persistence, writing emails over the years. Eventually they gave us a try and they like how we [our hair] show off the product!” he laughs. Would The Chop Tops sell out and do a Murray's Pomade jingle? Sinner responds, “Yes! That has to happen!” But at this stage, that jingle remains – to everyone but this hack – in the can.