Northumberland Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8SF, Tyne & Wear, England
"Vicious But Fair" UK tour opens — supported throughout by the Foster Brothers. Tour ad (Melody Maker) confirms all Feb/Mar dates below.
Liner notes of the "I'm Walking" box set confirm Vicious But Fair was released 21 January 1977 — local press coverage around 11 February likely referred to in-store availability or the tour kick-off, not the release date.
13
Sunday
Streetwalkers
Opera House, Manchester
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Quay Street, Manchester M3 3HP, Greater Manchester, England
+ Foster Brothers
Venue confirmed as Opera House (not Palace Theatre) per tour ad.
14
Monday
Streetwalkers
City Hall, Sheffield
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Barkers Pool, Sheffield S1 2JA, South Yorkshire, England
+ Foster Brothers
16
Wednesday
Streetwalkers
St. George's Hall, Bradford
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Bridge Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
+ Foster Brothers
18
Friday
Streetwalkers
Gaumont, Ipswich
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
St Helen's Street, Ipswich IP4 1HQ, Suffolk, England
+ Foster Brothers
New gig
19
Saturday
Streetwalkers
New Theatre, Oxford
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
George Street, Oxford OX1 2AG, Oxfordshire, England
+ Foster Brothers
New gig
20
Sunday
Streetwalkers
Capitol Theatre, Cardiff
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
+ Foster Brothers
116–118 Queen Street, Cardiff CF1 4EY, Wales — demolished 1983
22
Tuesday
Streetwalkers
Brighton Dome, Brighton
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UE, East Sussex, England
+ Foster Brothers
Tour ad confirms Brighton on 22 Feb and Portsmouth on 23 Feb — they were consecutive nights, not the same night as previously thought.
Concert ticket: 7:30pm start, £1.50 including VAT (Stalls Circle). Vicious But Fair tour.
23
Wednesday
Streetwalkers
The Guildhall, Portsmouth
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB, Hampshire, England
+ Foster Brothers
Setlist:
1. Walking On Waters
2. Crazy Charade
3. Me An' Me Horse An' Me Rum
4. Mama Was Mad
5. Chili Con Carne
6. My Friend The Sun
7. Dice Man
8. Toenail Draggin'
9. Run For Cover
10. Burlesque
11. Can't Get In
12. Downtown Flyers
Date shifted from 22 Feb to 23 Feb per tour ad. Setlist retained from previously logged source — confirm which night it corresponds to.
25
Friday
Streetwalkers
Rainbow Theatre, London
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
+ Foster Brothers
232–238 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, London N4, England — closed 1980
26
Saturday
Streetwalkers
De Montfort Hall, Leicester
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
Granville Road, Leicester LE1 7RU, Leicestershire, England
+ Foster Brothers
27
Sunday
Streetwalkers
Dacorum Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead
Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers
+ Foster Brothers
Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead HP1 1HA, Hertfordshire, England — closed 2002
WDR Studio-L, Annostraße, Köln, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
1. Toenail Draggin'
2. Mama Was Mad
3. Chili Con Carne
4. Me An' Me Horse An' Me Rum
5. Dice Man
6. Crazy Charade
7. Run For Cover
8. Burlesque
9. Can't Come In
Streetwalkers' final documented live performance. The band disbanded later that year (press announcement 17 December 1977).
Chapman crashes the Cliff Richard set at the EMI sales conference. Billboard (17 September 1977) reported the scene at the EMI label's trade showcase at the Skyline Hotel (Heathrow Airport): "Amazing scenes of enthusiasm for highly polished Cliff Richard set at EMI's Skyline Hotel sales conference — particularly from new signing Roger Chapman of Streetwalkers, who insisted that guests on adjoining tables sampled the air-bourne contents of a jug of orange squash…"
The 'new signing' was Chapman as a solo artist, not the band. Streetwalkers had effectively stopped performing after their 19 April 1977 Rockpalast date in Köln (the formal disbanding announcement ran in the music press on 17 December 1977). Streetwalkers Live, the posthumous live LP issued in September 1977, remained a Vertigo release on the band's existing deal. Billboard identified Chapman as "of Streetwalkers" as a familiar press-identity shorthand, but the EMI signing covered Chapman personally — the first step toward his solo career.
The EMI deal apparently didn't materialise. By the time Chapman's solo debut Chappo was released in 1979, the record was out via Acrobat Records (UK) / Arista Records (US) — not EMI. Whatever contract was signed at the Skyline Hotel in September 1977 had by then either lapsed, been bought out, or converted into a distribution / licensing relationship that didn't carry Chapman's name into an EMI-imprint release.
October 19771 event
Record Release
Jim Cregan
circa October 1977
Foot Loose & Fancy Free
Rod Stewart released Foot Loose & Fancy Free, the first Stewart album to feature Jim Cregan throughout as a member of his touring and recording band. Cregan played guitar and sang backing vocals, and co-wrote “Born Loose.”
On 19 April 1977, the Streetwalkers made their final live appearance on WDR's Rockpalast in Köln — a six-piece of Chapman, Whitney, Tench, Brian Johnston on keyboards, Mickey Feat on bass, and Dave Dowle on drums. By the end of the year, Streetwalkers were no more. Their break-up was carried in the music press on 17 December 1977, three years into a run that had produced four studio albums, one chart entry (Red Card), and a peerless live reputation they never quite converted into hits.
Interviewed at year's end, Chapman was sanguine. Within months he was back at Air Studios with a rotating band of session players — the cast that would eventually be named The Shortlist, after a Mickey Jupp song — recording what became Chappo (1979), his debut under his own name.
At their best, Streetwalkers combined hard-hitting rock with colourful imagery, topped by Chapman's unique voice — a combination that reflects well on the often overlooked, album-dominated mid-70s era.
“I can only repeat what I said when Family broke up — it's time to start working on something new, with different guys.”
— Roger Chapman, December 1977
