The Stray Cats have played late night television again, 36 years after the last time. The band turned up on Jimmy Fallon's show, Stereogum reported on 19 August 2026.
The trio that walked out was the band itself, not a version of it. Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom are still its three members.
The song that keeps the group in circulation is Stray Cat Strut, a hit in 1981, sung from the point of view of what Stereogum called a feline casanova, living in alleys and dealing with what comes with that.
The lyric is specific about the indignities: a shoe thrown by a mean old man, dinner out of a garbage can. Stereogum's Tom Breihan used the booking to wonder how old that mean old man was meant to be, given that Setzer is now 67.
What the trio played on the night, and whether the set went past the hit, has not been reported. The appearance puts a band that had been away from the format for 36 years back in front of a network audience, in a rock year that has also had Noel Gallagher hinting at Oasis playing again in 2027.
The facts
- It was the band's first late night television appearance in 36 years
- The performance was on Jimmy Fallon's show
- Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom are still the three members
- Stray Cat Strut was a hit in 1981
- Brian Setzer is 67
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