Medway scene explained

The Medway scene consists of the bands and related cultural activities of the Medway Towns, north Kent, England. Main towns involved (from West to East) are Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham. The Medway scene is typically dated from the punk era of the late 1970s, when the presence of the Medway College of Design (later Kent Institute of Art & Design and now UCA Rochester) influenced a "vibrant art, poetry and music scene."[1]

History

Of Medway musicians, the best known is Billy Childish[2] (from Chatham) who formed punk band The Pop Rivets in the late 1970s, and later formed Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Headcoats, The Buff Medways, The Musicians of the British Empire and The Chatham Singers, among others. His inspiration has led to many other bands forming who now have a worldwide cult following.[3] Other notable bands include The Prisoners, The Dentists, The Claim and Thee Headcoatees. The music often draws heavily on the tradition of garage/punk/rock'n roll/raw-blues music from the 1950s and 1960s, hence references to the "Medway Delta".[4] Records have been released on Big Beat, Media Burn and other small indie labels, as well as Childish's own Hangman Records and Hangman's Daughter, and latterly Damaged Goods Records.[5] There has also been an accompanying, though not so well known, poetry scene, started by The Medway Poets in the late 1970s; Childish was a member of this group. There is also a crossover into art with the Stuckists art group.

The music scene in Medway continued to thrive beyond the turn of the Millennium, with many bands (see below) based in the Towns. A large selection of recordings from this period is available to enjoy via The Medway Scene (Post 2000) project hosted at Internet Archive.

Bands

This list is incomplete

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Medway Music Archived

The Medway Scene (Post 2000)

Selected discography

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Holling, Saskia Girlsville. Spinout Publications, 2021, p20
  2. Web site: Billy Childish and the Medway Scene. Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 7 January 2021.
  3. Web site: Going underground. Medway1.com. 7 January 2021.
  4. Web site: Album Review: The Singing Loins - Stuff. DrownedInSound.com. 7 January 2021.
  5. Web site: Music scene in the Medway towns. 29 September 2009. 7 January 2021. News.bbc.co.uk.
  6. Web site: Armitage Shanks (Chatham, Kent, England, UK) - Discography. Punkygibbon.co.uk. 7 January 2021.
  7. Web site: The Accursed - Discography. Punkygibbon.co.uk. 7 January 2021.
  8. Web site: Better Weather. Betterweathermusic.bandcamp.com. 7 January 2021.
  9. Web site: BLACK.LIGHT.BRIGADE. 8 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140408212358/http://www.blacklightbrigade.com/. 7 January 2021. 8 April 2014.
  10. Web site: DETOUR RECORDS. Shop.detourrecords.co.uk. 7 January 2021.
  11. Web site: Vinyl Album: Various Artists - Medway Powerhouse Vol 1 (1987). 7 January 2021. 45worlds.com.
  12. Web site: The Discords - Appearances - Vinyl Albums. 45worlds.com. 7 January 2021.
  13. Web site: Wedding Day Anti-Blues - Single, by Hypnotic Eye. Hypnotici.bandcamp.com. 7 January 2021.
  14. Web site: Jack Ketch And The Crowmen - Appearances - Vinyl Albums. 45worlds.com. 7 January 2021.
  15. Web site: The Long Weekend. 2021-04-14. Spotify. en.
  16. Web site: Rocking Richard And Whistling Vic Templar - Appearances - Vinyl Albums. 45worlds.com. 7 January 2021.
  17. Web site: Vinyl Album: Various Artists - Medway Powerhouse Vol 4 (1989). 7 January 2021. 45worlds.com.

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