Psychobilly rockers The Meteors got it together in South London way back in 1980, when the trio of P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (upright bass/electric bass and vocals), and Mark Robertson (drums) started the band.
They are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre its distinctive sound and style. This sound blended elements of punk rock, rockabilly and horror film themes in their music and their 1981 ‘In Heaven’ and 1983 ‘Wreckin’ Crew’ long players are considered landmarks of the early years of the genre.
Imagine putting on a Cramps album at 45RPM and you basically get The Meteors! Even their fans are known as “the Crazies” and are often attributed with inventing the style of slam dancing known as “wrecking” – a cross between fighting, dancing and moshing – which then became synonymous with the psychobilly.
I can remember many wild gigs in the early 80s, especially at The Lyceum in London, where The Meteors were on the same bill as punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned, and Anti-Nowhere League and the UK Subs.
These events were always a tad edgy and you certainly had to have your wits about you!
The Meteors amazingly have never really gone away and have in their time released in excess of 20 studio albums, around 15 live albums and more than 20 compilation albums!
The band to this day are still being spearheaded by founding member P. Paul Fenech, who still offers up his energetic vocal delivery accompanied with his guitar playing.
The band’s latest release came out in November 2023, when the lads dropped their ‘Murder Party’ / ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ single – which can be found HERE.
Fans of the band will be pleased to learn that The Meteors will be performing live in Brighton on Friday 19 April, where they will be rockin’ the joint at The Arch which is located on Brighton Beach at 187-193 King’s Road, BN1 1NB.
The band are being brought to the city courtesy of Divergent Promotions and, as always, the iconic outfit will be combining elements of rockabilly with the energy and attitude of punk, The Meteors promise to deliver an evening of high-energy live music that is not to be missed!
Purchase your tickets HERE.