News

Tue 2nd Sept: See the new Facebook feature on our homepage. Become a fan on Facebook in order to get regular updates straight to your Facebook account.

Mon 1st Sept: August turned out to be a good month for the band. Following the disappointment of having to pull out of the Music on the Moor Festival, Ray was back on top form for the appearance in Scarborough. Following a very long drive the Roofraisers played a great set which went down well with the crowd on a sunny seaside afternoon in North Yorkshire. Building upon this The Roofraisers had a very successful appearance at The Aylesbury Festival where they headlined the Alternate Stage and had a large crowd of several hundred, of all ages, up on their feet dancing. Click on the link here to see the bands interview on Bucks TV. http://www.buckstv.co.uk/buckstv/music/roof_raisers_/roof_raisers_interview.html

The boys next appearance will be at Mablethorpe, Lincs where they will be playing at the UKs largest and best Elvis Week. Don't forget to leave a message on the Guestbook page when you visit this site. Your messages are always appreciated.

Fri 7th Aug: We are pleased to report that Ray is recovering well following his accident and will be fit enough to appear this Sunday at the gig in Scarborough. Thanks to all those who sent messages wishing Ray well. They cheered him up no end. Hope to see as many of you as possible in Scarborough on Sunday afternoon.

Due to Ray having an unfortunate accident The Roofraisers have regretfully had to pull out of the Music on the Moor festival on 12th July. We are obviously disappointed but Ray is simply in no fit state to play at the moment. The organisers were very understanding and we wish them luck with the event. Sorry to disappoint all our fans who were going to come along. We wish Ray a speedy recovery.

Sun 5th July: It's been a busy few months for The Roofraisers. Easter bank holiday saw a packed gig at The Wheatsheaf in Leighton Buzzard with standing room only and others listening from the crowded street outside. Unfortunately the Jive Jive Jive weekender was postponed but instead the band played a gig at Valley Road Rock'n'Roll Club in Erith arranged by Kav Kavanagh. Further successful gigs followed in Chesterfield and then a couple of weeks ago at the Kingsway in Luton with the band playing a momentous gig in front of there home fans. Next Sunday sees the boys in action at the Music on the Moor festival in Hemel Hempstead , Herts with a crowd of around 7,000 expected! This is a great opportunity to expose a mainstream crowd to some good old rock'n'roll.... and maybe sell a few CD's in the process. August will see the band playing at the Reelin' and Rockin' weekender in Scarborough followed by another festival in Aylesbury, Bucks on 23rd where the Roofraisers will be sharing the bill with none other than Kajagoogoo! As well as this the band have been working on a lot of new material ready for the next album release which is coming together nicely.

Mon 26th January: Last Saturday saw The Roofraisers play a packed house at Stewartby Working Mens Club. The event was organised by the Cruisers Motorcycle Club in memory of TC and over £800 was raised on the night for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Thank you to all those who came along and supported this event. Since the last news several more dates have been confirmed and added to the gig list so please check. Several more are still in the pipeline. Details will be posted once they are confirmed.

Tue 6th January: Several new dates have been added to the gig list for this year so be sure to take a look. A new video has also been added to the video page containing extracts from a performance in Dartford in April 2008. In addition to their Myspace page The Roofraisers now also have a fan page on Facebook so if you are a member of that site please have a look and join up. Work is starting on new material for the next album which will hopefully be released by the end of the year. Nick Dadd will be appearing at an Elvis event at the Kings Hall Stoke -On -Trent on Saturday January 10th where he will be hosting an interview session with Joe Esposito, Elvis Presleys road manager and friend. For details of this event contact the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain via their website. Finally the Roofraisers would like to wish all their fans a very happy 2009.

Sun 7th December: The boys were in action last night in Banstead, Surrey where they played two great sets to an enthusiastic crowd at the Jivin' At Rubys Christmas Ball. Thanks to all the staff at Surrey Jive for putting together a great night. The Roofraisers are having a rest now over Christmas and the New Year after which they are looking forward to playing at some prestigious venues. The gig list is being updated all the time so keep an eye out for The Roofraisers playing somewhere near you. Next year is looking good!

Fri 10th October: The band have been busy in rehearsals the last few weeks working on new songs for both the live set and the next album which will hopefully be out sometime next year. 2009 will see The Roofraisers at several prestigious events so be sure to start planning your gig diary for next year. Hope to see you all at the Kingsway in Luton on the 18th for what promises to be a great evening.

Sat 30th August: The Roofraisers are confirmed to appear at two weekenders in 2009. On May 24th they will play at the Jive Jive Jive in Reading and then on August 9th will appear at The Spa Esplanade at the Scarborough weekender. Further details TBA.

Tue 10th June: It's been a couple of busy months for all the boys in the band who have all been catching up on their own various stuff. The band are ready to line up the next round of gigs now though so keep an eye as new dates will be posted shortly. We hope to see some of you in Nottingham on Saturday night.

Thur 17th Apr: The last couple of months have seen the band travelling around the country with gigs as far apart as Chesterfield and Kent. As usual audiences were left raving about the performances. There is a short break in the gig schedule at the moment as the band want some time to work on a batch of new songs in preparation for the next album but there are some new dates in the pipeline which will be announced soon. Keep checking back!

Mon 28th Jan: Many additions to the gig list. See February for details of gigs in Kent, Chesterfield and Bedfordshire.

Sun 06th Jan: Hope you all had a great Christmas and we wish you a happy new year from the band. The Christmas message recorded by the boys has now been moved to the videos page for posterity. The band are working hard to get a variety of gigs out and about in different areas but as anyone who has ever tried to deal with promoters will know they tend to prefer same old same old and where blinkers. The band are all set to be featured on Radio Caroline at the end of the month and the following week on Feb 9th have a great gig lined up at Higham Rock'n'Roll Club in Kent. Hope to see some of you there!

Thur 13th Dec: The Roofraisers will be featuring on Radio Caroline on Tuesday 29th Jan. Dell Richardson will be doing some interviews and playing some of the tracks from the Wild At Heart album. The boys have recorded a special video christmas message for all their fans. See it on the home page of this site.

Mon 03rd Dec: Wild At Heart is now available to download from iTunes. Remember, these downloads count for chart positions so who knows what could happen. Download either the whole album or individual tracks. Click on this button to go to our page.

Thur 08th Nov: October was another great month finishing with the gig at The Griffin when The Roofraisers played to a packed house on a highly memorable night. People will be talking about Rays Dracula outfit for years to come! The album is selling well and is now available from many different outlets including Nervous, Raucous, Bim Bam, HMV plus websites in Japan, Norway and Czech Republic. By the end of the month it will be available worldwide for download from itunes and Napster. Great news for the American and Australian fans. Gig dates for 2008 are now coming in and will be posted shortly. With recording out of the way for now the boys aim to tour and put a few more gigs in than this year before they get down to working on the next album.

Tue 18th Sept: She's The One from the new CD played on Radio Caroline on Dell Richardsons show. First airplay for the band. Dell will be playing more tracks over the coming weeks so keep tuning in on the internet and sky box.

Sun 09th Sept: Tomorrow is a big day for the band as it sees the release of their first album 'Wild At Heart'. After months of hard work the finished product is something which all the band can be proud of. The CD is available worldwide from Nervous Records and postage and packing is free. Nervous are renowned for their excellent customer service and reliability. Payment can be made by credit card on their secure server, Paypal, cheque, postal order or cash. See the terms and conditions of payment on the Nervous website for full details.

The boys sincerely hope you will enjoy this album. Members of the band will be appearing on Dell Richardsons Good Rockin' Tonight programme on Radio Caroline early in December to talk about the release and play a few tracks. For further details click below:

and to listen to Dells show 6 til 9 every Tuesday click the link here and click on listen live.

We'll stop here because haven't you all got a certain CD you need to rush and buy?

Thur 26th July: The release date for the new album "Wild At Heart" is set for 10th September. Consisting of 16 tracks in total, the album represents a mixture of old favourites and Roofraisers originals. Track listing as follows. Original Roofraiser tracks appear in Yellow

Wild At Heart : Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll : Red Cadillac And A Black Moustache : Hot Shot Baby : Brand New Cadillac : Read All About It : Folsom Prison Blues :That Ain't Nothing But right : Long Blonde Hair : Baby Please Don't Go : Chatroom Baby : Leaving On A Train : Sure Like The Look In Your Eyes : Red Headed Woman : She's The One : Wild At Heart 78rpm Purist Version.

The CD will be available to buy both online and as a download. More details of this are to follow. Plenty to look forward to so keep checking back for updates.

Wed 4th July: Thanks to all those who came to see us at The Griffin. It was a great night and we hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. Another gig has been booked for the Griffin on 27th October and we hope to see you all back there. This Saturday (7th July) sees The Roofraisers playing at the Luton Rock'n'Roll Club at The Roman Way. (See gig guide). The tracks for the CD have now been mixed and we are really pleased with the results. A September release date is now 99% sure. The album is to be titled 'Wild At Heart' and the track listing and artwork will be posted on this site at the end of July with song previews appearing on our myspace page around the same time. Plenty to look forward to over the next few months.

Wed 31st May: Following a busy month the album has now been recorded and is at the mixing stage. The Roofraisers have cut 15 tracks, consisting of 8 covers, six original numbers and a cover of a modern song done rockabilly style that will blow you away when you hear it. It is likely the album will be titled Wild at Heart but this could change. The track listing is being kept under wraps at the moment but it promises to be a good variety of rockabilly and rock'n'roll songs done in the bands own unique style. A late summer, early autumn release looks to be on the cards. Keep visiting this website for updates as and when they are available. Due to the recording taking place gigs have been kept to a minimum but the band played a highly successful gig in Weymouth in May in the ballroom of The Riviera Hotel, billing alongside The Jets. There is a return gig at The Griffin in Toddington, Beds on June 23rd following the two sellout gigs the boys played there last year. Again this gig is pay on the door but arrive early to avoid disappointment. It is likely the boys will give an exclusive performance of some of the new tracks on the album that night so don't miss it. Thanks to those who have signed the guestbook and don't forget you can see the band in action on myspace.com and youtube.com. See you all at The Griffin!

Tue 17th April: Been a great month. As well as a record number of hits on this website over a thousand visits have been recorded on the new myspace page with the band picking up fans from all across the globe. We look forward to seeing you as we open The Lone Star Club on Saturday night. It's fairly certain that the Roofraisers will be in the studio at the end of May to record their first album so much to look forward to over the coming months. Check the gig guide for a new June date at The Griffin, Toddington.

Wed 7th Mar: The band now have there very own Myspace page. It is important to keep up with the times and this should give the boys exposure to people all over the world. Since the videos have appeared on youtube.com and the myspace.com page has opened it has already led to a large increase in visitors to this site. If watching a video on youtube or visiting the myspace page please be sure to leave a rating on those sites as this will help push the band into a more prominent position. The myspace page will shortly contain an exclusive video that won't be available on this site or youtube. Keep a check on there for when it appears. To visit the page now click on this link http://www.myspace.com/roofraisers You will also notice a guestbook page now available. Please feel free to leave a comment or just say hi if you wish. It is our aim to keep this site as interesting and useful as possible so if there is anything you would like added let us know.

Sun 25th Feb: Check out the great new videos page to see the band in action. More to be added so keep checking back. Unfortunately the Billing gig is now off due to the organisers having some unforeseen complications. The band are sorry for all those they know were looking forward to seeing them there again this year but something will now be arranged either for later this year or Spring next year. It really was beyond their control. Finally, coming shortly, the Roofraisers on Myspace.com. Watch this space for more details.

Wed 14th Feb: More exciting updates on the site with new pictures added to the gallery an biog pages and a brand new video page which will be gradually added to over the forthcoming weeks. Last Saturdays gig was a great success with almost £500 being raised on the night in aid of the British Heart Foundation. Thanks to all who turned out and supported us.

Sat 13th Jan: Welcome to 2007. Martins Biography is now complete and added to the Biog pages. Be sure to check it out. A links page will also soon be added and is currently under construction.

Sun 24th Dec: December was a busy month for the band. It started with a very successful return gig at The Griffin and then the rest of the month was spent working on material for the new CD. The boys already have an idea what the track listing is and promise a good mixture of brand new material and old favourites. The band took the opportunity to premiere a couple of their new songs at The Griffin and the audience reaction was fantastic. Most of the album exists now in demo form and the early part of next year will see a studio session. Plenty to look forward to! All that's left to say is the band would like to wish all there fans, supporters and followers alike a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Your continuing support is much appreciated.

Fri 17th Nov: The band have had their first review in a major rockin' publication. The October 2006 edition of Mad Rat Magazine (issue #14) features a review of the boys gig at the Zodiac Club in September. See page 14 under the headline 'Roof Raisers at the Zodiac'. What's more we're pleased to report the review was a good one! For online details of Mad Rat visit http://www.madratmag.co.uk

Sat 4th Nov: It's been a busy couple of months behind the scenes. Work on original material has begun in earnest and the band are well on course to go into the studio in the new year. It is planned that the first album will be split half and half between covers and original material and signs indicate that this will indeed be the case. The boys are very pleased with their own material and are looking forward to getting something down soon. Ray spent three weeks in the USA during October until the authorities caught up with him. He has been safely returned to his institution where staff say they are glad to have him back.

Check the gig guide as their are a few new dates announced including a weekender in Weymouth with The Jets.

Tue 12th Sept: The new biography section is up and running with just the pages for Martin and Ray to go.

A great night last Saturday at the Zodiac Club. Well done to Tony and Karen for putting it together and thanks to all the people who turned up to support both us and them. It's important to keep supporting our great local rock'n'roll clubs. They do a great job keeping the music alive and bringing it to new generations.

Tue 05th Sept: Its been a few weeks since our last update. August saw all the boys off on their holidays during the first half. Ben, Ray and Martin inflicted themselves on Hemsby, whilst Nick went off to Memphis to buy some new shirts from Lanskeys. The second half of the month saw the band working on new songs, mostly their own material in readiness for the album, but also a couple of new old favourites for the live set which will be premiered at the Zodiac Club on the 9th. Hope to see as many of you as possible there.

It was also a big month for our website which has now had over a 1000 hits, 338 of them in August so thank you all for keep coming back. As promised the first of the biography pages are now ready to view. Hope you enjoy.

Fri 21st July: Note some changes on the gig guide. This is because our good friends Tony and Karen from the Zodiac R & R Club recently had the misfortune of their venue at the Coop Club Houghton Regis burning down. The great news is they have a new venue at Flitton and Greenfield village hall in Bedfordshire and The Roof Raisers will be playing there on 9th September. See the gig guide for further details. Also just confirmed for December is a return to The Griffin in Toddington.

Fri 30th June: The website now has a new Gallery page. Be sure to check it out and see some photos from the highly successful Billing Aquadrome gig where the boys played to a crowd of around one thousand very enthusiastic people. July sees a couple of private gigs but don't forget the July 15th gig at the Lewsey Social Club is open to everyone with tickets available on the door. Look forward to seeing you all there.

Fri 28th May: May has been a busy month for the band. Nick and Ben have been busy working on arrangements for the album project. Ray has bought himself a new bass (working on the theory you can never have too many), and Martin... well who knows what drummers get up to in their spare time! With gigs at bigger venues coming in thick and fast the boys have also upgraded their entire PA system. For those of you interested in technical details it's gone from loud to very loud. In between all this Nick managed to squeeze in a visit with Paul Anka backstage at his Albert Hall gig (Pauls not Nicks). Nick was only too pleased to pass on some tips to assist Paul with his songwriting but had to agree that 'My Way' wasn't a bad little ditty.

Nick signs some of his sheet music for Paul Anka backstage at the Albert Hall. (c) Roofraisers 2006

Tues 25th April: Almost 200 people packed into The Griffin, Toddington to see The Roof Raisers last Saturday. The boys would like to thank you all for your continuing support.

Mon 17th April: The Roof Raisers have announced the commencement of their first album project. Set to consist almost entirely of original material several demos have already been cut and the band are working on arrangements before a stint in the recording studio this summer. Keep checking the news page for regular updates.

Tues 11th April: Roof Raisers confirmed to play at the American Auto Clubs Summer National meeting on June 16th. See gig guide for further details.

Sun 09th April: Today the Roof Raisers played two sets to an enthusiastic crowd at the Luton Rock'n'Roll Club. After performing two encores the boys had totalled almost two hours and ten minutes on stage!!

Sat 02nd April: A capacity crowd turned out last night to witness the boys in action at Luton's Royal Naval Club. It was the first performance in Luton by a Luton based rock'n'roll band in at least a decade. The reaction of those present suggests it definitely won't be the last.