King Kurt
Encyclopedia
King Kurt was a 1980s psychobilly
rock band
from the UK
. They formed in 1981 and split up in 1988, although they have reformed sporadically and played a reunion concert in 2010. They are best known for their debut hit single
, "Destination Zululand" (1983).
, London
that the infamous "food fight
" gigs started. The band was known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around on and off stage. Free haircuts and other audience participation included stage props such as "The Wheel of Misfortune", a wheel on which a fan was strapped and fed snakebite through a tube. Themed concerts included "Kurt Skirts", where admittance was refused to men unless wearing a skirt, or Easter concerts with the band dressed as legionaries
, angels on flying trapeze, and an extra in a loincloth on a cross at the back of stage.
in 1983 and recorded the album
Ooh Wallah Wallah with producer
, Dave Edmunds
. They had a few minor hit single
s that featured in the UK Singles
and UK Indie Chart
s, such as "Zulu Beat", Weill and Brecht's "Mack the Knife
" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top 40 hit "Destination Zululand", which reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart
in October 1983.
Their second album, Big Cock, was produced by Phil Wainman
and released on Polydor
in 1986, which included their cover
of Bernstein and Sondheim's "America
" from West Side Story.
was issued in 2009, and a reunion concert took place in March 2010.
Psychobilly
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...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They formed in 1981 and split up in 1988, although they have reformed sporadically and played a reunion concert in 2010. They are best known for their debut hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "Destination Zululand" (1983).
Formation
The band was formed as Rockin' Kurt and his Saur Krauts in 1981, with Jeff Harvey on vocals, John Reddington on guitar, Bert Boustead on bass guitar, Alan "Maggot" Power on "saxamaphone" and Rory Lyons on drums. Paul "Thwack" Laventhol joined on guitar at their third gig in July 1981, and the name was shortened to King Kurt later that year.Notoriety
Harvey left in 1982 to be replaced by Gary "The Smeg" Clayton as vocalist, and it was at Harvey's farewell concert at the 101 Club in ClaphamClapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that the infamous "food fight
Food fight
A food fight is a form of chaotic collective behavior, in which food is thrown at others in the manner of projectiles. These projectiles are not made to harm or damage others, but to simply ignite a fight filled with spontaneous food throwing. Food fights may be impromptu examples of rebellion or...
" gigs started. The band was known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around on and off stage. Free haircuts and other audience participation included stage props such as "The Wheel of Misfortune", a wheel on which a fan was strapped and fed snakebite through a tube. Themed concerts included "Kurt Skirts", where admittance was refused to men unless wearing a skirt, or Easter concerts with the band dressed as legionaries
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
, angels on flying trapeze, and an extra in a loincloth on a cross at the back of stage.
Albums
The band joined Stiff RecordsStiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
in 1983 and recorded the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Ooh Wallah Wallah with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
. They had a few minor hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s that featured in the UK Singles
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
s, such as "Zulu Beat", Weill and Brecht's "Mack the Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...
" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top 40 hit "Destination Zululand", which reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in October 1983.
Their second album, Big Cock, was produced by Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman is a British record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers...
and released on Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in 1986, which included their cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Bernstein and Sondheim's "America
America (West Side Story song)
"America" is a well-known song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music; Stephen Sondheim wrote the song's lyrics...
" from West Side Story.
Post-heyday
During 1988 the band effectively split, though between 1992 and 1996 the group, featuring three of the original members, were performing as a live act. John Reddington, is now an attorney with Williams Powell. Smeg performed as 'I Can't Believe It's Not King Kurt'. A compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
was issued in 2009, and a reunion concert took place in March 2010.
Singles
| Month | Year | Title | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/K | 1982 | "Zulu Beat" / "Rockin' Kurt" | dnc | Thin Sliced Records |
| October | 1983 | "Destination Zululand" / "She's as Hairy" | #36 | Stiff Records Stiff Records Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007.... |
| April | 1984 | "Mack the Knife Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the... " / "Wreck a Party Rock" |
#55 | Stiff Records |
| August | 1984 | "Banana Banana" / "Bo Diddley Goes East" | #54 | Stiff Records |
| June | 1985 | "Billy" / "Back on the Dole" | dnc | Stiff Records |
| September | 1985 | "Road to Rack n Ruin" / "Poppa Wobbler" | dnc | Stiff Records |
| November | 1985 | "Slammers" / "Ape Hour" | dnc | Stiff Records |
| November | 1986 | "America" / "High and Mighty" | #73 | Polydor |
| May | 1987 | "Land of Ring Dang Do" / "Zulu Beat" / "Horatio" / "Gather Your Limbs" | #67 | Polydor |
| N/K | 1988 | "Bye Bye Baby" / "Prussian Stomp" – (as 'The Kurts') | dnc | GWR GWR Records GWR Records was a record label active in the UK from 1986 through to 1991.By 1984, Gerry Bron's Bronze Records were in financial difficulty leading to a hiatus in recording activity for Motörhead... |
Albums
| Year | Title | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Ooh Wallah Wallah | #99 | Stiff Records |
| 1986 | Big Cock | #50 | Stiff Records |
| 1988 | The Last Will & Testicle | dnc | GWR |
Compilation albums
- Live & Rockin (1989)
- Destination Demoland (1990)
- Poor Man's Dream (compilation) (1994)
- Alcoholic Rat (2001)
- Live and Unreleased
- Ooh Wallah Wallah, CD and DVD, Jungle Records (2009)
External links
- Official Web site http://www.kingkurt.com
- Fan Site
- [ King Kurt biography] at Allmusic website
- John Reddington's appointment at Williams Powell