What A Shame

Well folks, the Zoo Crew has been laying down some of that pure rock and roll energy for all you Zoo Freaks out there, and right now the turntable is spinning What A Shame by The Strypes from their debut album Snapshot. Those four young lads out of Cavan in Ireland really captured something special with this one, a tight little blast of rhythm and blues that clocks in at just over two minutes and packs a punch like the old Yardbirds or Dr Feelgood used to do. It is the kind of track that makes you want to crank the volume and feel the guitars cut through the air while the harmonica wails and the drums drive it all home.

The song itself came out as a single in the summer of 2013, with the vinyl following a bit later, and it sits right there on Snapshot as one of the band's own originals mixed in with a handful of covers. Guitarist Josh McClorey once told NME that it is about the music industry and the way people get pushed around. He said they had already seen it happen, when record labels want to change the very thing that was the reason they signed the band in the first place. You can hear that frustration in the lyrics, talking about how they dig the shade of his mop and the way he speaks, then fly him out of the sticks and put him up in the smoke, only to start telling him to tone it down, color his hair black, and change a couple of lyrics so the kids will dig it more. It is a sharp little commentary from kids who were still teenagers when they wrote it, already wise to how the business can try to sand the edges off something real.

McClorey also mentioned that What A Shame was influenced by the Arctic Monkeys, which makes sense when you catch those crisp, interlocking guitar lines and the way the energy builds without wasting a single note. The whole album Snapshot was produced by the legendary Chris Thomas, the same guy who worked with the Beatles and the Sex Pistols, and the band recorded it in just fifteen days at Yellow Fish Studios. Drummer Evan Walsh said they had hoped to knock it out in a week, like the Beatles did with Please Please Me, but it took a little longer. The title itself came from their desire to bottle a snapshot of the live set that first got them noticed, keeping that raw, no-nonsense energy from the stage instead of polishing it all away in the studio. Pete O'Hanlon played keyboards on the track along with Walsh, adding another layer to the sound while Ross Farrelly handled the lead vocals and Josh laid down those cutting guitar parts.

One of the wilder stories around the song is when the band took it to American television and played it on the Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman, who could be a tough crowd for new acts, especially ones young enough that their folks might still be picking them up after the show, got completely fired up. He was yelling Yeah! How about that! and Money! as they finished, almost hyperventilating with excitement, and he had even promised them beforehand that if it went well he would take the whole bunch out for laser tag. The performance came while they were promoting the US release of Snapshot, and it left the host beaming as he went over to shake their hands. It is the kind of moment that shows how the song's punchy drive and youthful fire could win over even the most skeptical listeners in a single short burst.

The album itself did solid business, hitting number two on the Irish charts and number five in the UK, with singles like Blue Collar Jane, Hometown Girls, Mystery Man, and a cover of Willie Dixon's You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover sitting alongside What A Shame. Critics were mixed in some places, calling it retro in a third-hand way, but plenty of folks heard the genuine love for the blues and pub rock traditions running through it, and high-profile fans like Elton John, Dave Grohl, Paul Weller, Jeff Beck, and Noel Gallagher were already singing their praises long before the album dropped. Elton in particular said they had a knowledge of R and B and blues at sixteen years of age that he had only amassed in his sixty-five years, calling them a breath of fresh air.

That brings us to how The Strypes even got rolling in the first place. These four came together in Cavan as school friends and teenagers who shared a deep love for the old rhythm and blues. It all started with hanging around at Evan Walsh's house, where his dad's record collection was packed with the Stones, the Yardbirds, Rockpile, and Dr Feelgood. Josh McClorey, Pete O'Hanlon, and Evan were messing about musically for a while, and the original lineup even included a couple of other local kids before settling into the final four with Ross Farrelly coming in on vocals and harmonica. Their very first proper outing was at a primary school Christmas concert, and from there they began playing around Cavan and the surrounding areas, mixing originals with blues standards from Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, and the rest.

In November 2010 the then-unknown band got a big break by appearing on that year's Late Late Toy Show, which really launched their career in Ireland. Ross was shy at first and admitted his dad had promised him fifty quid to get up and sing, though he never collected on it. They quit school without finishing their exams, signed with Elton John's Rocket management, and landed on Virgin EMI. They spent months gigging furiously around Ireland and then further afield, building a reputation as a live act that could hold a room with pure energy even when the crowd did not know the songs yet. By the time Snapshot arrived they were supporting the Arctic Monkeys on tour and playing big festival slots, all while still in their mid-teens. Chris Difford from Squeeze even got a thanks on the liner notes as an early mentor who helped them think about storytelling in the lyrics.

The band kept that tight friendship and the focus on the music through three albums total before calling it a day in 2018, with the members heading off into other projects like Soft Launch, The Savage Hearts, and various solo or touring gigs. But for a stretch there they showed what happens when young players dig deep into the roots instead of chasing whatever the current trend happens to be. You can still feel that spirit every time What A Shame comes around, a reminder that rock and roll does not have an expiration date as long as somebody is willing to play it with heart. If you want to dig further into The Strypes, check out their Facebook, their Instagram, and their account over on X. And of course you can always catch more of this kind of thing right here on THE ZOO.