…Would Jim Wilson’s ‘Big Fat Mama’ stand any chance nowadays to be hit potential in our size zero obsessed culture? Here is a very fast rock n roll number (once again Roy’s own composition) dedicated to a very special lady in the musician’s life – his mum!

As for the three bonus tracks from Hamburg’s Star Club: we’re talking rock ‘n’ roll pure here, with ‘Keep A Knocking’, ‘Margie’ and the ultimate ballroom blitzer ‘Rip It Up’.

This is a wonderful trip down memory lane and proof that rock ‘n’ roll will never die!

music-news.com (May 2012)

An interesting archive anthology from the ever-dependable Angel Air, chronicling the vinyl output of one of the forgotten heroes of British rock ‘n’ roll. Roy Young’s penchant for homespun boogie-woogie spawned some excellent singles in the years before The Beatles came along and re-shaped the face of popular music forever, including an excellent re-vamp of Little Richard’s ‘Slippin’ and Slidin’…

Kevin Bryan

For all the jive of bonuses such as “Keep A-Knockin’” or the artist’s own yelper “Big Fat Mama”, the most infectious romps on offer arguably are “You Were Meant For Me” and “Gilee” which make it clear why Brian Epstein thought Young could blend in with his contract-searching moptop charges. Roy Young preferred to plough his individual furrow, and the history unjustly forgot the man who’s still at it. Time to put him up there with the best of ‘em. ****

DME Music Site

British boogie legend and later Bowie collaborator Roy Young’s early work. Polite in places, these 18 tracks offer a snapshot of pre-Beatles UK rock ‘n’ roll.

MOJO