For many fans, the Stray Cats were their first taste of not only rockabilly music, but also the subculture around it: the cars, the dances, the fashion, and the style of original teenage rebellion.

When the Stray Cats rolled into Montreux, six months after the release of their self-titled debut album, they were coming off no less than three hit singles ("Rock This Town," "Stray Cat Strut," and "Runaway Boys"), a UK Top 10 album, and a string of headlining concerts. Relocating from New York City to London in 1980, just a year after their formation, with a tantalizing combination of covers and originals, performed with punk enthusiasm yet true to the genre's roots, they were an instant smash, garnering such high profile fans as Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, and members of the Rolling Stones. The crowd in Montreux reacted with near-hysterical excitement (inciting three encores); something rarely seen in what is usually a polite and reserved audience.