Carl Perkins & Friends Blue Suede Shows: A Rockabilly Session Review
Carl Perkins & Friends
Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session
Madfish
2026
Thanks to Madfish, we’re about to travel back in time to 1985, when everyone I loved was still alive and I was younger, wilder, hungrier and angrier than all of hell.
That year, legendary Rockabilly Sun Records artist Carl Perkins got together with some good pals and threw themselves a good ol’ fashioned Rockabilly hoedown! The show took place at Limehouse Studios in London, and among the guests were Dave Edmunds, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker, Rosanne Cash and plenty of other legends.
Of course, I wasn’t at the gig, but I got to watch it with my older brother on GPTV because stations like that still played cool stuff. I can’t honestly remember what year we first watched it, but I’m guessing around ’87. Naturally, my brother recorded it, and we watched that tape several times over the next 20 or so years until VCRs fell out of favor and YouTube became the thing. That’s how we learned to play a lot of stuff when we weren’t figuring it out by ear. Being able to actually see what the musicians were doing made a world of difference. Hell, that’s how I learned to play drums in the first place: watching Rolling Stones videotapes.
I typically don’t get this excited about an old reissue, but given my history with this performance, I can hardly contain myself. This is an incredible show, especially if you’re a fan of Carl Perkins. It’s a celebration of the man and his music, and a well-deserved one at that. Next to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins stands among the greatest artists to come out of Sun Records. I’ve got a ton of his records, CDs and everything in between. Rockabilly is my second-greatest love next to Metal, and I’ve chased it just as hard through the years. Yes, I’ve spent as much time playing Rockabilly as I have Metal. Surprise!
Perkins was on fire that night. He sounded great, looked even better, and his voice and playing were absolutely off the charts, even when he wasn’t handling the vocals. Ringo Starr takes the lead on “Honey Don’t,” and while it might not be the highlight of the evening, it gave me a newfound appreciation for his voice.
Perkins and Eric Clapton trade fiery guitar licks on “Mean Woman Blues,” and Clapton damn near steals the show. The man lights it up and burns that sombitch down while Perkins stands there grinning from ear to ear. You can practically feel the joy coming off that stage.
My favorite track of the entire show is Perkins’ performance of his long-lost ballad “Turn Around.” It was the first song he recorded at Sun Records, and while this version leans more toward a Honky-Tonk affair, it’s a fantastic rendition and easily my favorite version of the song I’ve ever heard. It’s got everything: piano, movement and a vibe that’s damn near impossible to describe. You’d have to have lived it to understand, or hell, just watch and listen. Brilliant.
Rosanne Cash joins Perkins for “Jackson,” and while it’s fun, she ain’t June and Perkins ain’t Johnny! Rosanne then tears into “What Kind of Girl,” and she holds her own just fine. Being the only woman on stage doesn’t seem to faze her one bit.
Next up, George Harrison steps in for “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” another of Perkins’ hits. Harrison’s performance falls a little flat for me. Maybe it’s just me, but he seems uninspired, or at least that’s how he’s always come across to my ears.
There are plenty of other bright spots to soak up here. “That’s Alright Mama” turns into a rousing medley featuring “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Night Train to Memphis.” Everyone on stage digs in and delivers, and Elvis would’ve been sincerely proud. Even after all these years, it’s inspiring to watch and listen to these musicians having such a good time with this music.
The encore, of course, is “Blue Suede Shoes,” Perkins’ biggest hit, and it’s another ear-blistering jam where every musician on stage digs in and lights the whole damn thing up. What a way to close out a show!
Given my history with this performance, it’s truly lovely to see Madfish bringing it back into circulation. This one deserves the reissue treatment. It’ll be available as a CD/DVD release as well as on vinyl, and I’ll be preordering the vinyl. The remastered sound makes revisiting this performance even sweeter.
If you’re into Carl Perkins, Rockabilly, early Rock ’n’ Roll or just a damned good show, this is a day-one purchase. I can’t tell a lie: this might very well be my favorite release of 2026. Sure, there’s a whole lot of history and some seriously great memories tied up in this one, but that doesn’t make the music any less incredible.
Carl Perkins was one of the most important musicians to come out of the Rockabilly scene, and I learned a hell of a lot from his music. Growing up watching his performances and seeing how he carried himself in public gave me a real appreciation for the man behind the music. That kind of thing sticks with you. Some records become part of your life, and some performances stay with you long after the tape wears out. This one has done both.
~Black Angel