The post-
Family band formed by
Family masterminds
Roger Chapman and
Charlie Whitney. Where their former band balanced art-rock and blues-rock,
the Streetwalkers were a throwback, a blues-rock band that put
Chapman's extraordinary voice front and center. Unlike
Family, however,
the Streetwalkers, who were a good but not great band, sounded too calculated, as if they wanted to cash in on some of the pre-punk hard rock notoriety that bands like
Bad Company and
Thin Lizzy were getting. Where they remained consistent with their former aggregation was that
the Streetwalkers, though popular in England, were virtually ignored in America. A solid, at times excellent live band,
the Streetwalkers split up in the early '80s after the release of a (surprisingly) desultory live LP that had contractual obligation written all over it. As blues-based rock bands go,
the Streetwalkers had their moments and did release one certifiably terrific record (
Red Card), but unlike
Family, their material was too inconsistent;
Whitney's guitar playing started to sound too much like
Jeff Beck, and
Chapman's lyrics were egregiously sexist, the kind of dross you'd imagine from a bald, overweight, middle-aged man who thinks that being in a rock band means he's still big with (much younger) chicks.
–
John Dougan, Rovi