The Balham Alligators

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

Career

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.Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0236-4, p. 26Lawrence, Pete & Howard, Vicki (2004) Crossfade: a Big Chill Anthology, Serpent's Tail, ISBN 978-1852428754, p. 52

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 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...
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