1986. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Rock’n’roll, which punk bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols had helped regenerate a decade ago, was struggling against a tide of high gloss. The high-gloss was rising thanks to new-fangled studio technology (and live sound tech too – remember how all you could hear at gigs back in the '70s was often the gated snare sound and kick?!) and the rise of MTV. And the average rock band was spending way too much time at the hairdressers. A roots-rock revival that came out of punk, in opposition to a rock-hating stream of post-punk that had taken hold, kept things alive on the underground scene. And a few things had broken through, like the Hoodoo Gurus here in Australia, but your chances of hearing of hard-rocking record on the radio were pretty slim. Then one day, out of nowhere, came "Keep Your Hands To Yourself."

With twanging over-amped guitars at the forefront, in a way that hadn't been heard since Status Quo's cover of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over The World," and a sly/funny lyric highlighted by a "No Huggy, No Kissy" refrain and capped off, in the video at least, by the singer's gap-toothed grin, the Georgia Satellites' record sounded like nothing else on the radio in 1986. People around the world went nuts for it. It went to #2 in the US – kept off the top spot by Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer". You could blame that on the hairspray maybe.

It was a remarkable story. Here was a Southern bar band who had actually broken up before their manager, who was English, got a small indie roots-rock label in the UK to release their demos as an EP, thus starting a chain of interesting events that led to them reforming. Here was a band who, when they were a band again and signed to Elektra, basically went into a studio with the same guy who'd recorded their demo and bashed out a record that sounded as instant as any early Ramones record. And here they were, at #2.  

It should have been the beginning of something big. Their next single, "Battleship Chains" was even catchier, although I guess people couldn't get a grip on what they were singing about, and the album from which both tracks were taken from was absolutely stellar and full of great tunes. But it never happened. Two albums later – two great albums of heart-felt and gut-wrenching classic rock’n’roll later – with a throw-away cover of the old Swinging Blue Jeans hit "Hippy Hippy Shake" recorded for the film Cocktail in there for good measure, the band was cut loose and that gap-toothed singer Dan Baird – one half of the band's front line, alongside fellow singer/songwriter/guitarist Rick Richards – went off and got himself a solo career.

The Swinging Blue Jeans cover wasn't a hit, but maybe it provided a clue as to the band's appeal. Unlike a lot of Southern Bar bands, the Georgia Satellites loved British bands. They loved what the Brit's had done with American rock'n'roll. Their first album included an incredible cover of Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells A Story"; their second a cover of Ringo's White Album highlight, "Don't Pass Me By." You can bet they loved AC/DC too, and you can tell by listening that they loved some more of the recent American bands who were keeping '60s British sounds alive, namely Cheap Trick and the Ramones. Where so many of their Southern contemporaries were doing the jammy Southern Rock thing, the Georgia Satellites were song-driven – musically and lyrically these guys could really write - and as tight and focused as if they were having their first shot at playing the Marquee club in London or something. I'm guessing that the guy who signed them to Elektra, an English guy named Howard Thompson who'd signed Eddie & The Hot Rods, Motörhead and the Psychedelic Furs before moving to the US, knew exactly where they were coming from. These days Dan Baird is the proud owner of a guitar that Steve Marriot played in both the Small Faces and Humble Pie, so it's pretty clear.

Dan Baird went onto make some tremendous solo records for Rick Rubin at American Recordings, and have another one-shot hit as a solo artist: the catchy “I Love You Period”, which had the same sort of cheeky appeal as “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” He formed a band called the Yayhoos with Eric Ambel from the Del-Lords – they cut a seriously rocking version of “Dancing Queen” of all things - but then Ambel went and joined Steve Earle’s band the Dukes. These days Dan fronts Dan Baird & Homemade Sin, which features his old band's drummer Mauro Magellan, and for a while included the Satellites’ bass player Keith Christopher as well. On lead guitar, Dan has the great Warner Hodges, of Jason & The Scorchers, who were sort of like the Georgia Satellites’ comrades in arms for a while there in the '80s. Dan & the band were here for some shows last year, but it was a well-kept secret, unfortunately. Rick Richards continues to front a line-up of the Georgia Satellites, but it's pretty low level.

Interestingly, there is a theory out there that "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" changed the course of country music by encouraging everyone down South to turn the guitars up. Indeed, the likes of Hank Williams Jr, Charlie Daniels and even Garth Brooks have covered the song, so maybe there's something too it. I'd bet that Keith Urban can play the lick. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers played the song on their 1989 tour, and Petty has had a strong influence on country music; it makes sense.  

We remember the mighty Georgia Satellites with a handful of their greatest tunes, including "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" of course, as well as that lone Dan Baird solo hit. Crank it up LOUD!  

“Keep Your Hands to Yourself”  

“Battleship Chains”  

“Myth of Love”    

“Nights of Mystery” 

“Sheila” 

“Don’t Pass Me By” 

“All Over But The Cryin’” 

“I Love You Period”