The Meteors Explained

The Meteors
Background:group_or_band
Origin:London, England
Years Active:1980–present
Label:Mutant Rock Records
Current Members:P. Paul Fenech
Wolfgang Hordemann
Hennes

The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are one of the pioneers of the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style. "Starting in the neo-rockabilly scene, the Meteors were initially shunned for being too spooky and mean. Excuses for exclusion from rockabilly concerts varied from the band having too extreme of a sound to their drummer having green hair."[1] The Meteors blended elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and horror film themes in their music and are thought to be one of the first bands to use the label 'Psychobilly' after bands The Misfits and The Cramps distanced themselves from the genre label due to the genre's rising popularity.[2]

Biography

The Meteors were formed in 1980 by P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (upright bass/electric bass and vocals), and Mark Robertson (drums).[3] Fenech and Lewis had played in rockabilly bands before, but left their former band, Raw Deal, in order to experiment with a new sound that mixed horror and science fiction lyrics with a punk rock / rockabilly crossover.[3]

The band made their first TV appearance on Thames TV afternoon show White Light in late 1980. The Meteors made a short film in late 1980 with comedian Keith Allen called Meteor Madness. It was released as a double feature with 2 Tone ska film Dance Craze in March 1981. The movie featured four songs, which made it onto the band's first vinyl single first issued on Ace Records and later on Big Beat. The tracks were also issued as a rare 12" mini-album called The Meteors Meet Screaming Lord Sutch. Soon after that, they issued the double A-side anthems "Radioactive Kid" and "Graveyard Stomp". A session was recorded for the John Peel BBC radio show in June 1981. Again, to date, these tracks have never been officially released. In August 1981, the band were signed to Island Records and recorded their first full-length album, The Case Of The Meteors In Heaven,[3] and 7" single, "The Crazed". The Meteors have gone through many line-up changes since, with Fenech being the only original member to date. Fenech has also released solo albums and played in side projects including The Legendary Raw Deal (rockabilly), The Surfing Dead (instrumental), and The Murder Brothers. Fenech also helped the young Austrian band Sir Psyko & His Monsters by mixtaping their album "Reaperstale" as well as in recording one of the live shows in 2012 in Berlin called "Welcome to Our Hell".

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

Live albums

Compilations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Katz . Nate . February 2012 . The Dawn of Psychobilly . October 20, 2013 . Perfect Sound Forever.
  2. Web site: Psychobilly . About.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20160321191707/http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/Psychobilly.htm . March 21, 2016.
  3. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 2003. Third. 1-85227-969-9. 339/40.

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