Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly.^[1] Psychobilly is often characterized by lyrical references to science fiction, horror and exploitation films, violence, lurid sexuality, and other topics generally considered taboo, though often presented in a comedic or tongue-in-cheek fashion. It is often played with an upright double bass instead of the electric bass more common in modern rock music. Psychobilly gained underground popularity in Europe beginning in the early 1980s, but remained largely unknown in the United States until the late 1990s.^[2][3] Since then the advent of several notable psychobilly bands has led to its mainstream popularity and attracted international attention to the genre.

History[link]

The evolution of psychobilly as a genre is often described as having occurred in waves. The first wave occurred in Britain in the early 1980s, the second wave took place at the end of that decade and spread through the rest of Europe, and the third crested in the late 1990s with the genre finding international popularity.^[4]

Origins[link]

The Cramps are considered progenitors of psychobilly.

In the mid- to late 1970s, as punk rock became popular, several rockabilly and garage rock bands appeared who would influence the development of psychobilly.^[4] The term "psychobilly" was first used in the lyrics to the country song "One Piece at a Time", written by Wayne Kemp for Johnny Cash, which was a Top 10 hit in the United States in 1976. The lyrics describe the construction of a "psychobilly Cadillac."^[6] The rock band The Cramps, who formed in Sacramento, California in 1972 and relocated to New York in 1975 where they became part of the city's thriving punk movement, appropriated the term from the Cash song and described their music as "psychobilly" and "rockabilly voodoo" on flyers advertising their concerts.^[6] The Cramps have since rejected the idea of being a part of a psychobilly subculture, noting that "We weren't even describing the music when we put 'psychobilly' on our old fliers; we were just using carny terms to drum up business. It wasn't meant as a style of music."^[6] Nevertheless, The Cramps, along with artists such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, are considered important precursors to psychobilly.^[4][6] The Cramps' music was heavily informed by the sound and attitude of 1950s American rockabilly, and they recorded numerous covers of songs from the Sun Records catalog. Their 1979 album Songs the Lord Taught Us is considered influential to the formation of the psychobilly genre.^[7]

First wave in Britain[link]

The Meteors are considered the first verifiable psychobilly band.

The Meteors, formed in South London in 1980, are considered the first verifiable psychobilly band.^[8] Their albums In Heaven (1981) and Wreckin' Crew (1983) are recognized as landmarks of the early years of the genre.^[4][7] The Meteors blended elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and horror film themes in their music. They also articulated psychobilly's apolitical stance, a reaction to the right- and left-wing political attitudes which divided British youth cultures.^[4] Fans of The Meteors, known as "the Crazies", are often attributed with inventing the style of slam dancing known as "wrecking", which became synonymous with the psychobilly movement.^[6] The short-lived Sharks, formed in Bristol in 1980, followed closely behind The Meteors with their influential album Phantom Rockers.^[4][9] Another significant British band were the Guana Batz, formed in Feltham, Middlesex in 1983.^[9] Their first album, 1985's Held Down to Vinyl at Last, has been described by Tiger Army frontman Nick 13 as "the most important release since the Meteors' first two albums."^[4]

The Klub Foot nightclub, opened in 1982 at the Clarendon Hotel in Hammersmith, served as a center for Britain's emerging psychobilly movement and hosted many bands associated with the style. Johnny Bowler of the Guana Batz describes the club as "the focal point for the whole psychobilly scene. You'd get people from all over at those gigs. It built the scene. Record labels like Nervous were there, signing bands all the time."^[4] A live compilation album entitled Stomping at the Klub Foot was released in 1984, documenting the club's scene and the bands who played there.^[4][7] At the same time psychobilly bands were forming elsewhere in Europe, such as Batmobile who emerged in the Netherlands in 1983, released their debut album in 1985, and soon began headlining at psychobilly festivals and at the Klub Foot.^[10]

Second wave in Europe[link]

The second wave of psychobilly is noted as having begun with the 1986 release of British band Demented Are Go's debut album In Sickness & In Health.^[6] The genre soon spread throughout Europe, inspiring a number of new acts such as Mad Sin (formed in Germany in 1987) and the Nekromantix (formed in Denmark in 1989), who released the album Curse of the Coffin in 1991.^[7] The Quakes formed in Buffalo, New York in 1986, but had such difficulty building a following in their hometown that they moved to London the following year, where they released the album Voice of America in 1990.^[4][6][7][9] Another significant release of this era was the compilation album Rockabilly Psychosis and the Garage Disease, which acknowledged the genre's roots in rockabilly and garage rock.^[7]

The second-wave bands broadened the music's scope, with the introduction of new and diverse musical influences into the sound.^[6] Record labels such as Nervous and Crazy Love helped the genre to expand, although it still remained largely unnoticed in the United States, where the albums were poorly distributed and most psychobilly bands preferred to play weekenders than to tour.^[6] Nick 13 states that while other British youth trends such as scooter riding, the skinhead subculture, and 2 Tone ska crossed over to the United States during the 1980s, psychobilly did not.^[6] However, one American act that emulated the style was The Reverend Horton Heat, formed in Dallas, Texas in 1985. Their 1990 single "Psychobilly Freakout" helped introduce American audiences to the genre.^{[citation needed]} The band was heavily inspired by The Cramps, and original Cramps members Lux Interior and Poison Ivy have both identified The Reverend Horton Heat as the latter-day rockabilly/psychobilly band most closely resembling the style and tone of The Cramps.^[11]

Third wave internationally[link]

Tiger Army, shown here performing on the 2007 Warped Tour, are one of the most significant American psychobilly acts.

The third wave of psychobilly began in the mid-1990s, with many acts incorporating influences from genres such as: hardcore punk, indie rock, heavy metal, new wave, goth rock, surf rock, country, and ska.^[6] Psychobilly became popular in the United States, particularly in southern California, where punk rock had thrived and remained popular since the 1970s. The area's large Latino community, which revered early rock and roll icons, also played a part, as did the popularity of bands like the horror-influenced Misfits and country/rockabilly-inspired Social Distortion, as well as a celebration of hot rod and motorcycle culture.^[6]

Tiger Army, formed in San Francisco in 1995, became the dominant American psychobilly act following the release of their 1999 self-titled debut.^[6][7] Their touring in support of the album helped to establish a foothold for psychobilly across the United States.^[4] Los Angeles-based Hellcat Records, run by Rancid's Tim Armstrong, became home to many psychobilly acts, including Tiger Army, Devil's Brigade and the Danish groups Nekromantix and HorrorPops, both of whom relocated to southern California in the early 2000s.^[6] Guana Batz members Pip Hancox and Johnny Bowler relocated there as well, moving to San Diego where they sometimes perform with Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats under the name Guana Cats.^[9] Another notable California psychobilly band formed in the 1990s was The Chop Tops.

The Living End share many of psychobilly's characteristics and have experienced international success.

The genre remained vital in Europe, where new acts continued to appear. Asmodeus formed in Amsterdam in 1992, the same year the Kryptonix emerged in France, and the Godless Wicked Creeps formed in Denmark the following year.^[6][12] The Sharks re-formed in Britain, releasing the album Recreational Killer.^[9]

Battle of Ninjamanz formed in Japan in 1994 and Os Catalepticos formed in Brazil in 1996.^[12] Australian act The Living End formed in 1994 and scored a hit with the double single "Second Solution"/"Prisoner of Society" in 1998. It peaked for several weeks at #4 on the Australian charts and became the country's highest selling single of the decade. The Living End generally describe their style as "punkabilly" rather than psychobilly because they do not share the genre's fascination with horror imagery, though they do blend punk rock and rockabilly at fast tempos, use a double bass and share much the same fanbase as psychobilly.

Musical style[link]

"Zombie Dance" by The Cramps noicon The Cramps combined rockabilly and punk rock with horror film lyrical imagery, laying the framework for psychobilly as this song demonstrates. From the album Songs the Lord Taught Us (1979). "Take a Razor to Your Head" by The Sharks noicon In this song, The Sharks advised their fans to cut their hair as a rebellion against the Teddy Boy movement, informing aspects of psychobilly fashion.[4] From the album Phantom Rockers (1980). "Wreckin' Crew" by The Meteors noicon This Meteors song inspired the psychobilly style of slam dancing known as "wrecking".[6] From the album Wreckin' Crew (1983). "Psychobilly Freakout" by The Reverend Horton Heat noicon "Psychobilly Freakout" by The Reverend Horton Heat illustrates the fast tempos and double bass playing common to psychobilly. From the album Smoke 'em if You Got 'em (1990). "Curse of the Coffin" by the Nekromantix noicon This song by the Nekromantix demonstrates the genre's "slap" style of bass playing and horror lyrical imagery. From the album Curse of the Coffin (1991).

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"Prisoner of Society" by The Living End noicon The Living End often describe their style as "punkabilly". As this song demonstrates, they do not use the horror imagery that many psychobilly bands do. "Prisoner of Society" was the highest-selling Australian single of the 1990s, from the album The Living End (1999). "Ghostfire" by Tiger Army noicon This song by Tiger Army illustrates the influence of blues and country music on later generations of psychobilly. From the album III: Ghost Tigers Rise (2004). "MissFit" by the HorrorPops noicon The HorrorPops blend elements of 1980s new wave, pop, and goth to their style. They are also notable for being a female-fronted act, a rarity in psychobilly which the lyrics of "MissFit" partially address.[13] From the album Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (2008).

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Musically, psychobilly is rooted primarily in two genres: late 1970s punk rock and 1950s American rockabilly. Tiger Army frontman Nick 13 explains: "The number-one misconception people have is that psychobilly is the same thing as rockabilly. Rockabilly is on the family tree, but it's a totally different sound and attitude."^[4] Psychobilly progenitors The Cramps acknowledge their music's deep roots in American blues, rhythm and blues, and traditional rock and roll.^[6][11] Alternative Press writer Ryan Downey notes that contemporary psychobilly also draws from other rock genres and subgenres: "Driven by the rhythmic pounding of a stand-up bass, the music swings with the snarl of punk rock while sometimes thrashing alongside speed metal or crashing headlong into country icon Hank Williams."^[4] Downey acknowledges that contemporary psychobilly's roots extend into 2 Tone ska, garage rock, hardcore punk, street punk and Oi!.^[4][6][12] Hilary Okun, publicist for Epitaph and Hellcat Records, notes: "The music appeals to fans of punk, indie, metal, new wave, goth, rockabilly, surf, [and] country."^[6] The influence of heavy metal on the psychobilly style resulted in the Nekromantix's 1994 album Brought Back to Life being nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Heavy Metal Album."^[14]

Psychobilly is commonly played with a simple guitar/bass/drum/vocal arrangement, with many bands consisting of only three members. Often the guitarist or bassist will be the lead vocalist, with few acts having a dedicated singer. An upright double bass is often used instead of the electric bass found in most rock bands. The use of the upright bass is influenced by 1950s rockabilly and rock and roll musicians. The bass is often played in the slap style, in which the player snaps the string by pulling it until it hits the fingerboard, or hits the strings against the fingerboard, which adds a high-pitched percussive "clack" or "slap" sound to the low-pitched notes.

HorrorPops frontwoman Patricia Day plays an elaborately decorated double bass, a common instrument in psychobilly.

Some acts have made their upright bass the centerpiece of their stage shows; some psychobilly musicians elaborately decorate their upright bass, such as Nekromantix frontman Kim Nekroman, whose "coffinbass" is in the shape of a coffin, with a headstock in the shape of a cross. Nekroman created his original "coffinbass" from an actual child-sized coffin, and has since designed new models to achieve better acoustics, as well as collapsibility for easier transportation.^[15] Another notable act to use a coffin-shaped bass is the Brazilian psychobilly band Os Catalepticos.^[12] HorrorPops frontwoman Patricia Day also uses an elaborately painted and decorated double bass.

The Cramps performed without a bass player in their early career, using two guitars instead. They did not add a bass guitar to their arrangement until 1986, and have used an electric bass since that time. Cramps guitarist/bassist Poison Ivy sees this as one of the distinctions that separate the band from the psychobilly movement: "I think psychobilly has evolved into a gamut of things... It seems to involve upright bass and playing songs extremely fast. That's certainly not what we do."^[6]

Lyrical style[link]

Lyrically, psychobilly bands tend to favor topics and imagery drawn from horror, science fiction and exploitation films, violence, lurid sexuality, and other taboo topics, usually presented in a comedic or tongue-in-cheek fashion reminiscent of the camp aesthetic. Most acts avoid "serious" subjects such as politics. Original psychobilly act The Meteors articulated a very apolitical stance to the scene, a reaction to the right- and left-wing political attitudes dividing British youth cultures of the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[4] This attitude has carried through later generations of psychobilly. Nekromantix frontman Kim Nekroman describes: "We are all different people and have different political views. Psychobilly is all about having fun. Politics is not fun and therefore has nothing to do with psychobilly!"^[6]

Fashion[link]

Psychobilly musicians and fans often dress in styles that borrow from 1950s rockabilly and rock and roll, as well as 1970s punk fashions. Other aesthetic influences include the scooterboy and skinhead subcultures, although not all performers or fans choose to dress in these styles.^[4] Men often wear brothel creepers or Dr. Martens boots and shave their heads into high wedge-shaped pompadours or quiffs, military-style crops, or mohawks.^[4] The Sharks song "Take a Razor to Your Head" articulated the early psychobilly scene's code of dress, which was a reaction to the earlier British Teddy Boy movement:^[4] "When your Mom says you look really nice / When you're dressed up like a Ted / It's time to follow this cat's advice / Take a razor to your head".^[16] Women of the psychobilly subculture frequently model their fashions after B-grade horror films and hot rod culture.^[4] Tattoos are common among both sexes.^[4]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Psychobilly

• Hasil Adkins
• Timeline of alternative rock
• List of psychobilly bands

References[link]

• Downey, Ryan J. "Psyched to Be Here." Alternative Press, November 2004, 76-82.

Footnotes[link]

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The Meteors
The Meteors performing in Pordenone, Italy in 2006.
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Psychobilly
Years active	1980–present
Labels	People Like You
Associated acts	The Legendary Raw Deal, P.Paul Fenech (solo), The Surfin Dead, Cherry and the Devil, The Outsiders, The Escalators, The Tallboys
Website	Kingsofpsychobilly.com
Members
P. Paul Fenech Simon Linden Wolfgang Hordemann

The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre—which fuses punk rock with rockabilly—its distinctive sound and style. Though the origins of psychobilly are debated, The Meteors are the first band to self-identify as psychobilly, and are often credited with the distinction of being the only "pure" psychobilly band among fans of the subgenre.

Fans of the band (known as the Wrecking Crew) are known to use the slogan, "Only The Meteors are Pure Psychobilly," (often shortened to "OTMAPP")

Biography[link]

The Meteors were started in 1980 by P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (upright bass/electric bass) and vocals), and Mark Robertson (drums). This is considered as the definitive line-up by some fans. 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 (as distinct from the slower, psychedelic rockabilly sound of the Cramps . This sound would later be called psychobilly. What made them unique was that Fenech & Lewis each sang lead vocals on their own tracks. Their vocals were so different it was like having two bands in one.

The Meteors played their first show during Rockabilly Night at The Sparrow Hawk in north London, but after being heckled due to their cross between rockabilly and punk attitudes, decided to begin playing shows beyond just rockabilly clubs. They developed a loyal following known as "the Crazies, or Zorchmen" who invented their own dance style then called "going mental," a cross between fighting, dancing and moshing. This would later be renamed "wrecking," and is still a staple of the psychobilly scene. This coupled with Fenech's ritual of spitting (chicken) blood during performances led many clubs into believing the band was dangerous and refusiung to book them. The band began playing at punk rock clubs alongside UK punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned and later Anti-Nowhere League and the UK Subs. However, unlike many punk bands, The Meteors would (and still very much do) insist that their shows be "a politics and religion free zone" in order to focus on having a good time instead of allowing disputes between fans to break out.

The band made their first TV appearance on Thames TV afternoon show White Light in late 1980. Due to their large cult following, The Meteors made a short film in late 1980 with comedian Keith Allen called Meteor Madness. It was released as a double feature with two-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 & later on Big Beat. To date the film Meteor Madness has never been released on video or DVD although over the last few years poor quality copies have appeared on youtube. 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 & Graveyard Stomp. A Session was recorded for the late 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 and 7" single The Crazed. The original line-up also recorded an EP although due to contract restraints it was issued under the pseudonym of Clapham-South Escalators which featured 2 vocal tracks by Lewis Get Me To The World On Time & Carboard Cutouts plus one by Fenech Leave Me Alone. Not long after this Mark Robertson left the band after an invitation to join Theatre Of Hate (although this never materialised). He was replaced by long time Meteors fan/roadie Woodie. This line-up also recorded a single in early 1982 under another pseudonym name,this time The Tall Boys was used. The single featured two vocal tracks from Lewis Another Half Hour Till Sunrise & Island Of Lost Souls. A rare live television appearance in Paris, France featuring three Nigel Lewis tracks has recently surfaced on YouTube. This was to be the last ever recording featuring Fenech and Lewis together as both Nigel & Woodie left soon after.

Lewis would later take part on The Escalators, The Tall Boys, The Johnson Family and the Zorchmen - see performance clip in "Trash on The Tube" feature on Youtube.

The Meteors have gone through many line-up changes since, with Fenech being the only original member today. The current line-up includes Simon Linden on bass and Wolfgang Hordemann (who, though not from the original line up, is the longest serving member by far after Fenech) on drums. They have 25 official albums, countless singles, and numerous re-issues and compilation appearances. They continue to record using their own In Heaven recording studios, based in an old church—Fenech is a fully qualified sound engineer and producer—and also Maddog Studios (a 58 metre high tower in Germany), both professional studios used by many bands from around the world. The Meteors have extensively toured Japan, Europe and Scandinavia, South America, and the Middle East. At the time of writing, they have completed well over 5500 live shows (occasionally two per night).

P. Paul Fenech has also released six highly regarded solo albums and plays in many side projects including, the Legendary Raw Deal (rockabilly), The Surfing Dead (instrumental), Cherry and The Devil (rockabilly), The Outsiders (rockabilly). He is also a prolific and successful writer of horror film music and has written extensively for television and many other films (using a pseudonym). He is also a keen gardener and writes a weekly column under the pseudonym Helmut Fungus. Nigel Lewis and Mark Robertson went on to play together in the Escalators with Woodie (drums/Guitar) and Bart Coles (vocals/bass), a psychedelic rock band (although with a similar sound to Nigels Meteors vocal tracks) and released a couple of singles and an album which is widely regarded as one of the very best on the Big Beat record label. However a serious back injury to Nigel stopped the band in their tracks. Several months later Nigel & Mark were to reamerge as the Tall Boys, a band best known for recording the song "Take a Walk" for the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack.

Discography[link]

This section may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (March 2011) Click [show] on right for more details. No reason has been cited for the Wikify tag on this article.You can insert a reason using the |reason= parameter, like this: {{Wikify|reason=Your reason here}} Please replace HTML markup with wiki markup where appropriate. Add wikilinks. Where appropriate, make links to other articles by putting "[[" and "]]" on either side of relevant words (see WP:LINK for more information) and check that your links work as expected. Please do not link terms that most readers are familiar with, such as common occupations, well-known geographical terms, and everyday items. Format the lead. Create or improve the lead paragraph. Arrange section headers as described at Wikipedia:Guide to layout. Add an infobox if it is appropriate for the article. Clean up / format the references and footnotes, using citation templates when appropriate. Remove this tag.

Chart placings shown, unless stated otherwise, are from the UK Indie Chart.^[1]

• 1981 Meteor Madness
• 1981 Radioactive Kid
• 1981 The Crazed
• 1981 Get Me To The World On Time (Clapham South Escalators)
• 1982 Island Of Lost Souls (Tall Boys)
• 1982 Mutant Rock (#4)
• 1982 Punky Party E.P. (Flexipop 25)
• 1983 Johnny Remember Me (UK Indie #2, UK Singles Chart #66)^[2]
• 1984 I’m Just A Dog (#3)
• 1985 Fire, Fire (#7)
• 1985 Bad Moon Rising (#6)
• 1986 Surf City (#8)
• 1987 Go Buddy Go (#15)
• 1987 Don’t Touch The Bang Bang Fruit (#31)
• 1988 Rawhide
• 1990 Somebody Put Something In My Drink
• 1991 Chainsaw Boogie (MCD)
• 1992 Who Do You Love? (MCD)
• 1994 Chainsaw Boogie
• 1994 Hell Ain’t Hot Enough (MCD)
• 1997 Slow Down You Grave Robbing Bastard (7" & Pic7")
• 2005 25 Years Anniversary (Picture Disc)
• 2007 Hymns for Hellbound
• 2009 Hell Train Rollin

10"[link]

• 1981 Meteor Madness (White Label)

12"[link]

• 1981 The Meteors Meet Screaming Lord Sutch
• 1984 I’m Just A Dog
• 1985 Stampede
• 1985 Hogs & Cuties
• 1986 Wrecking Crew (Archive 4)
• 1986 Mutant Rock (#19)
• 1986 Surf City
• 1987 Go Buddy Go
• 1987 Don’t Touch The Bang Bang Fruit
• 1988 Somebody Put Something In My Drink
• 1988 Surfin’ On The Planet Zorch
• 1989 Please Don’t Touch
• 1991 Chainsaw Boogie

LP[link]

• 1981 In Heaven
• 1983 Wreckin’ Crew (#1)
• 1984 Stampede (#6)
• 1985 The Curse Of The Mutants (#5)
• 1985 Monkey’s Breath (#4)
• 1986 Horrible Music For Horrible People by This Horrible Band (#5)
• 1986 Teenagers From Outer Space (#6)
• 1986 Sewertime Blues (#9)
• 1987 Don’t Touch The Bang Bang Fruit (#8)
• 1988 Only The Meteors Are Pure Psychobilly (#9)
• 1988 The Mutant Monkey And The Surfers From Zorch
• 1989 Undead, Unfriendly And Unstoppable
• 1991 Bad Moon Rising
• 1991 Madman Roll
• 1992 Demonopoly
• 1994 No Surrender (CD)
• 1995 Mental Instrumentals (CD)
• 1997 Bastard Sons Of A Rock’n’Roll Devil
• 1999 John Peel Sessions 1983–1985 (CD)
• 1999 The Meteors vs. The World
• 2001 Psycho Down!
• 2003 Psychobilly
• 2004 These Evil Things
• 2004 The Lost Album (CD)
• 2007 Hymns for the Hellbound
• 2009 Hell Train Rollin'

Live-Records[link]

• 1983 Live (#3)
• 1985 The Meteors Live (#19)
• 1986 Live II
• 1987 Live And Loud
• 1987 Night Of The Werewolf (#17)
• 1990 Live III
• 1991 Encores
• 1992 International Wreckers (CD)
• 1996 Welcome To The Wreckin’ Pit (CD)
• 1996 International Wreckers 2 (CD)
• 2000 Psychobilly Revolution (CD)
• 2002 The Final Conflict
• 2003 The Meteors From Beyond
• 2004 Hell In The Pacific (CD)

References[link]

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The Go-Katz are a British psychobilly band formed in Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1986. The original members were Howard Raucous (real name Howard Piperides) on vocals, Beaker (real name Giles Brett) on guitar, Andy Young (guitar), Moff (real name Mark Moffat) on Double Bass, and Wolf (real name John Basford) on drums. The band members have formerly made up Loughborough bands The Exorcists and The Go-Go Dakotas.

The original line-up recorded a vinyl 7" EP called "The Go-Katz EP" released on Raucous Records in 1987. They also issued several tracks on psychobilly compilation albums from Raucous, Kix 4U Records (Netherlands) and Rockhouse Records (Netherlands).

The original lineup disbanded in 1988, when Beaker and Wolf departed, and new drummer Dave Fawkes was brought in. Under this line-up, which lasted until 1990, they released tracks on Raucous Records (UK) and Fury Records (UK).

Reformation[link]

After more than a decade of inactivity, the Go-Katz resurfaced in 2003 in St Petersburg, Russia, with founder member Howard Raucous backed by members of Russian surf/psychobilly band The Bombers. With this line-up they occasionally gigged in St Petersburg and recorded "When A Stranger Calls", a cover of a Meteors song for the tribute album "Sympathy For The Devil".

Meanwhile interest in 1980s psychobilly bands increased, leading to a UK reformation in 2005, again with Howard Raucous being the only original member, with musicians from rockabilly trio The Top Cats drafted in. This lineup lasted until 2008 to play psychobilly events around Europe.

The revised Go-Katz line-up was finally settled in May 2009 and is now Howard Raucous on vocals, Steve Clark (ex-Top Cats) on drums, Dan Clark (ex-Hangmen) on Double Bass, and Janson Diamond (ex-Hellrazors) on guitar.

Discography[link]

• The Go-Katz EP – Raucous Records RAUC001 1987
• Real Gone Katz CD – Raucous Records RAUCD100 2004
• Maniac CD – Raucous Records RAUCD215 2008
• It's Not Fair CD – Raucous Records RAUCD241 2009

External links[link]

• Raucous Records
• Official Go-Katz Website
• N.M.E.

See also[link]

• List of psychobilly bands

References[link]