Streetwalkers played New York's Bottom Line on a double bill with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel — Chapman and Whitney thereby sharing a Manhattan stage with their former Family bassist Jim Cregan, who was now a full member of Harley's re-formed Cockney Rebel.
Cockney Rebel / Streetwalkers co-bill — Toby Goldstein review (US weekly, c. mid-December 1975, 'COCKNEY REBEL / STREETWALKERS — Bottom Line, New York'): "The one-night teaming of Cockney Rebel and Streetwalkers, both favorites of New York's Anglophile community, virtually guaranteed a sell-out. And Dec. 10 the club was indeed packed to capacity."
The Chapman / Cregan reunion angle: Goldstein flagged the ironic bill — Cockney Rebel's lead guitarist was Jim Cregan, who had played bass in Family's Mk VI / Mk VII lineups (1972-73): "Guitarist Jim Cregan (ironically a former colleague of Chapman) and keyboard player Duncan McKay were given every opportunity to express themselves in leadwork." On Chapman: "Roger Chapman is a guttural-voiced lead singer who has long had the reputation of being one of rock's 'madmen.' The image began with his legendary group Family and has held for Streetwalkers, a far less subtle, much more rock-oriented unit. Chapman sings loudly and robustly, sweating a great deal to prove his point. Backed by the stunning guitar work of Bob Tench on the slow blues of '
Crawfish' and the group's closing tune, which he dedicated to 'the rubbish in the streets of New York,' Chapman's voice met its match."
Goldstein's conclusion — a sharp observation about the Streetwalkers live balance: "If Streetwalkers is to progress past being a one-man freak show, Tench in particular must be allotted much more of a stage-center role." (See Press Archive: Cockney Rebel / Streetwalkers at The Bottom Line.)
