The Highliners
Encyclopedia
The Highliners is a British rock and roll / psychobilly
band formed in London in 1984 by Luke Morgan, lead singer and Chris Finch on saxophone having met at The Central School of Art
and Kev Feeney aka Stretch on bass. The name The Highliners came from the Mk2 Ford Consuls
and Zephyrs they all owned and early line-ups included members of The Cropdusters and Simon Collins the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School New York.
In 1985 Morgan, Finch, Feeney and new drummer Tim Potter took a pink split screen VW bus to France for a 3 month tour of the Riviera.
Later drummers included Dean, Andy and Mikey Stafford until Roy Williams of Nervous Records
introduced Ginger (Steve Meadham) from The Meteors
, Ricochets and Guana Batz
in 1986.
By 1987 this four piece had a TV residency on the channel 4 show Comedy Wave Length with Paul Merton
and Josie Lawrence
They were then joined by Ben Blakeman of The Cocteau Twins on lead guitar and regularly topped the bill at John Curd’s legendary psychobilly club, the “Klub Foot
” in Hammersmith where their pink van became a landmark with the surfing skeleton on its roof.
They were recorded live at The Klub Foot on Saturday 16th Jan 1988 for the album series “Stomping at The Klub Foot” appearing on “Stomping at The Klub Foot 5” released in March 1988, their final head line show at the Klub Foot
on Sunday 26 June 1988 formed part of the 13 night farewell to the club known as "The Final Curtain" before The Clarendon Hotel Ballroom was demolished.
This 5 piece had UK chart successes with “Double shot of my baby's love” reaching No. 15 (NME Independent charts 3rd Sept 1988) then “Henry The Wasp” on the Radio One and Radio Two play-lists and “The Benny Hill Boogie” that immortalized Jenny Lee-Wright “The Sexiest Stooge”
. These hits were featured in a Radio One interview with Luke Morgan and the first album “Bound for Glory” was released in 1989 on Razor Records.
Rick Buckler
from The Jam
then replaced Ginger on drums having earlier worked with Mike Spencer
on the final mix and production of the album, Buckler toured the UK and Europe with them in 1990 and is still involved with the band today.
All-star line-ups have included Doyley (Klingonz
), Russ Ward (Klubtastic), John Belknap, Steve Fishman (now with Hue Cornwall of The Stranglers
), Lamma (Pronghorn), Kathy X, and Brendan and Gasty both from The Arousers.
Fanzines include artwork by Luke Morgan, Chris Finch and Vaun Richards of The Funday Times
.
In 2003 Dave Deville from The Vulture Squadron and Optic Nerves joined the band on lead guitar and in 2009 Brendan joined on sax. In 2010 Ginger rejoined and had his first gig with the band for over 20 years at the Pineda De Mar Psychobilly Meeting.
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...
band formed in London in 1984 by Luke Morgan, lead singer and Chris Finch on saxophone having met at The Central School of Art
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
and Kev Feeney aka Stretch on bass. The name The Highliners came from the Mk2 Ford Consuls
Ford Consul
The Ford Consul is a car manufactured by Ford in Britain.Between 1951 and 1962 the Consul was the four-cylinder base model of the three-model Ford Zephyr range, comprising Consul, Zephyr and Zephyr Zodiac...
and Zephyrs they all owned and early line-ups included members of The Cropdusters and Simon Collins the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School New York.
In 1985 Morgan, Finch, Feeney and new drummer Tim Potter took a pink split screen VW bus to France for a 3 month tour of the Riviera.
Later drummers included Dean, Andy and Mikey Stafford until Roy Williams of Nervous Records
Nervous Records
Nervous Records is a UK based rockabilly music independent record label. It was formed in 1979. Artists include Nekromantix, Restless, The Nervous Fellas, The Quakes and many more. The website sells CDs and mp3s. Nervous Records an independent record label based in the UK born out of years of DJ...
introduced Ginger (Steve Meadham) from The Meteors
The Meteors
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...
, Ricochets and Guana Batz
Guana Batz
The Guana Batz are an English psychobilly band that was formed in 1982 in Feltham, Middlesex. It was one of the first psychobilly bands and is considered influential to its scene...
in 1986.
By 1987 this four piece had a TV residency on the channel 4 show Comedy Wave Length with Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
and Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence is a British comedienne and actress best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and more recently her role as Manda Best in EastEnders....
They were then joined by Ben Blakeman of The Cocteau Twins on lead guitar and regularly topped the bill at John Curd’s legendary psychobilly club, the “Klub Foot
Klub Foot
The Klub Foot was a highly influential London nightclub in the Psychobilly scene of the early and mid 1980s.It was hosted at the Clarendon public house in Hammersmith until the pub was demolished as part of the redevelopment of Hammersmith Town Centre...
” in Hammersmith where their pink van became a landmark with the surfing skeleton on its roof.
They were recorded live at The Klub Foot on Saturday 16th Jan 1988 for the album series “Stomping at The Klub Foot” appearing on “Stomping at The Klub Foot 5” released in March 1988, their final head line show at the Klub Foot
Klub Foot
The Klub Foot was a highly influential London nightclub in the Psychobilly scene of the early and mid 1980s.It was hosted at the Clarendon public house in Hammersmith until the pub was demolished as part of the redevelopment of Hammersmith Town Centre...
on Sunday 26 June 1988 formed part of the 13 night farewell to the club known as "The Final Curtain" before The Clarendon Hotel Ballroom was demolished.
This 5 piece had UK chart successes with “Double shot of my baby's love” reaching No. 15 (NME Independent charts 3rd Sept 1988) then “Henry The Wasp” on the Radio One and Radio Two play-lists and “The Benny Hill Boogie” that immortalized Jenny Lee-Wright “The Sexiest Stooge”
Jenny Lee-Wright
Jenny Lee-Wright is a British actress and dancer who later became a Foley artist.At age 16, she left school to train with the Ballet Rambert. Within a year, she became part of a French cabaret group that travelled the world...
. These hits were featured in a Radio One interview with Luke Morgan and the first album “Bound for Glory” was released in 1989 on Razor Records.
Rick Buckler
Rick Buckler
Rick Buckler , is the former drummer of The Jam, an English rock band that enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom from 1977 until disbanding in 1982...
from The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
then replaced Ginger on drums having earlier worked with Mike Spencer
Mike Spencer
Mike Spencer is an English record producer.Mike Spencer is primarily known for his production work with successful commercial pop acts such as Jamiroquai, Kylie Minogue and Newton Faulkner....
on the final mix and production of the album, Buckler toured the UK and Europe with them in 1990 and is still involved with the band today.
All-star line-ups have included Doyley (Klingonz
Klingonz
Klingonz are a psychobilly band formed in 1988. Their original line-up had Titch doing lead vocals, Doyley on guitar, Strangy playing double bass and Mocker on drums. Strangy was replaced by Eddie after their second album, Blurb. Strangy joined Karloff, known then as Numbskulls, a band fronted by...
), Russ Ward (Klubtastic), John Belknap, Steve Fishman (now with Hue Cornwall of The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
), Lamma (Pronghorn), Kathy X, and Brendan and Gasty both from The Arousers.
Fanzines include artwork by Luke Morgan, Chris Finch and Vaun Richards of The Funday Times
Funday Times
The Funday Times was a section of the UK Sunday Times. It was intended mainly for children, and included several comics, including Dennis and Gnasher, Rex and Tex, Beryl the Peril, Fans Utd., Scooby Doo, Space Raoul, The Powerpuff Girls, Creature Feature, Newton's Law, Jarvis, Squirt, The...
.
In 2003 Dave Deville from The Vulture Squadron and Optic Nerves joined the band on lead guitar and in 2009 Brendan joined on sax. In 2010 Ginger rejoined and had his first gig with the band for over 20 years at the Pineda De Mar Psychobilly Meeting.
Discography
- Studio Demo 4 tracks on cassette only 1986
- Double Shot (ABC) 7” single 1988
- Henry the Wasp (ABC) 7” single 1988
- Henry the Wasp (ABC) 12” single 1988
- Stomping at The Klub Foot 5 (ABC) Compilation Album 1988
- The Benny Hill Boogie (Razor Records) 7” single 1989
- Bound For Glory (Razor Records) Album 1989
- ABC/ID The Psychobilly Singles Collection
- Psychomania Vol. 3 (DoJo) Compilation Album 1995
- Fetish Party (Nervous) 10” EP 1998
- Spank‘O’Matic (JPB) Album 2000
External links
- http://www.discogs.com/Highliners-Henry-The-Wasp/release/1560625
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496751/bio
- http://www.discogs.com/Highliners-The-Benny-Hill-Boogie/master/265795
- http://alcoholicrats.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=tales&action=display&thread=382