The Balham Alligators (band)

The Balham Alligators
Origin	London, England
Genres	Cajun, rock, blues
Years active	1983 – Present
Labels	Proper, Special Delivery

Members	Geraint Watkins Robin McKidd Paul Riley Bobby Irwin

Past members	Pete Dennis Kieran O'Connor (d. 1991) Arthur Kitchener Ron Kavana Gary Rickard (d. 2010)

Balham Alligators
Studio album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1987
Recorded	1987
Genre	Cajun, Blues, Rock
Label	Special Delivery
Producer	Ron Kavana

Life In The Bus-Lane
Studio album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1988
Genre	Cajun, blues, rock
Label	Special Delivery
Producer	The Balham Alligators David Kenny

Live Alligators
Live album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1990
Venue	Half Moon, Putney, London
Genre	Cajun, blues, rock
Label	Hound Dog

Gateway to the South

Studio album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1996
Genre	Cajun, Blues, Rock
Label	Proper Records
Producer	Paul Riley

Cajun Dance Party

Studio album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1997
Genre	Cajun, blues, rock
Label	Emporio
Producer	Paul Riley

A Po'-Boy 'n' Make It Snappy

Studio album by The Balham Alligators
Released	1999
Genre	Cajun, blues, rock
Label	Proper Records
Producer	Paul Riley

The Balham Alligators were a band from London that mixed rock 'n' roll, cajun, country and R&B. The band centred on singer and instrumentalist Geraint Watkins.

The band came together by chance at a London pub in 1983. The original line-up consisted of Geraint Watkins, Robin McKidd, Kieran O'Connor, Arthur Kitchener, and Gary Rickard. The Alligators played a hybrid blend of musical styles, including Rock 'n' Roll', Blues, R&B, Celtic Folk, Swamp-Pop, Country, Swing, Cajun & Zydeco.

The Balham Alligators performed in venues around Europe. Early albums included The Balham Alligators and Life In A Bus Lane. The pressure of constant touring began to take its toll with the continued ill-health and eventual death of Kieran O'Connor (d. 1991), the departure of Kitchener and Ron Kavana, and despite the recruitment of Pete Dennis to replace Kitchener convinced the remaining members it was time to call it a day.

The following years were spent pursuing individual projects with Watkins and Rickard working with Charlie Hart as, Rickard, Watkins & Hart, with Watkins eventually leading his own outfit, The Wobblers, in 1992. Robin McKidd formed The Companions of The Rosy Hours a western-swing band. Despite the four years since the original band's demise, McKidd was still receiving offers of work for the Alligators, persuading Watkins and Rickard to try out a few gigs with The Wobblers as a backing band, it became apparent that the Alligators were still a viable concern. Bolstered with morale and momentum they recruited session musician, Bobby Irwin on drums and ex-Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers' bass guitarist Paul Riley and by the latter half of 1995 they recorded Gateway To The South (1996) and followed by Cajun Dance Party (1997).

Guest musicians:

Production

Gator Aid

Production

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Wikipedia