When I first heard the tune “Blue Collar Jane” by The Strypes on Handsome Dick Manitoba’s radio show I had no idea how old they were. I was impressed by the song and the band’s sound, a kind of throwback to groups like Them and The Animals. The band’s nitty gritty vibe felt authentic, lived in. They were from Ireland and I figured they were a bunch of guys in their 40s who’d been playing pubs for a couple of decades. My mind was seriously blown when I found out the average age of the band members is 15 years old. Then I remembered that cats like Eric Burdon and Van Morrison started out in their teens…but not 15! The only other rocker I could think of that started out this young playing blues-based rock was Stevie Winwood.
This is pretty impressive. The Strypes on Irish TV. They are Ross Farrelly, Josh McClorey, Peter O’Hanlon, Evan Walsh.
I do hear a second guitar track during the solo. Wonder if there’s someone offstage or on tape. There was, I think, a former fifth member playing guitar at one time, which might explain cheating a little.
And by the way, these little pricks also wrote the song. Fuck, I feel ancient.