The Screaming Blue Messiahs
Encyclopedia
The Screaming Blue Messiahs were a rock
band
, formed in 1983 in London
by Bill Carter (vocals
and guitar
), Chris Thompson (bass guitar
and vocals) and Kenny Harris (drum
s) in the wake of the pub rock and punk
scenes that had been so predominant on the UK capital's live music
circuit during the late '70s
/ early '80s
. The band, a classic power trio
, was active between 1983 and 1990, during which time it released 3 major label
lps
and toured extensively throughout Europe
, North America
and Australasia
, garnering wide critical acclaim for its aggressive blend of rhythm and blues
, punk
and rockabilly
.
-influenced band Motor Boys Motor, together with Tony Moon on vocals, recording
several tracks under that name on 24 August 1981 for John Peel
's show on BBC Radio 1
and releasing a self-titled album on the Albion label. The three-piece initially performed under the name 'Motor Boys Motor' until, according to Carter, the definitive name was chosen upon the suggestion of Ace/Big Beat
's Ted Caroll, who believed that the band's initial proposal of 'The Blues Messiahs' sounded too pub rock.
Carter employed a rhythmic, blues
-influenced, feedback
-laden guitar style, using mainly Fender Telecaster
guitars together with two combo amps
: a Mesa Boogie
and an HH
outfitted with Gauss speakers. For his occasional forays into slide
, he was quoted as saying that he favoured 'the mike stand
, or whatever is handy', and that he only used open tunings 'when the strings go open by accident'.
Featuring a high-octane sound sometimes described as "rockabilly
from hell" and an obsession with Americana
, cars, guns, aeroplanes and broadcast evangelism
, the group initially released the mini-album 'Good and Gone' on Big Beat Records
. The six songs which appeared on this first release were selected from eleven songs recorded in spring 1984 with producer Vic Maile
during a session
at Elephant Studios in Wapping
, London
, including a version of Hank Williams' 'You're gonna change'. Upon its release, the EP
entered the top twenty in the UK independent record chart
, where is was to remain for six months.
The band played its first gig as The Screaming Blue Messiahs at 'Downstairs At The Clarendon', Hammersmith
, London
on the 11th of June 1984. On the 24th of July 1984, they performed the songs 'Good And Gone', 'Someone To Talk To', 'Tracking The Dog' and 'Let's Go Down To The Woods And Pray' during their first recorded session for the John Peel
show on BBC Radio 1
. Broadcast on the 2nd of August, the session was popular enough to warrant two releases by the BBC, one a 4-track 12" and a later inclusion of 'Good And Gone' on an album sampler of Peel Sessions. In December of the same year, the The Screaming Blue Messiahs appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test on the BBC
, playing two live songs; 'Let's Go Down To The Woods And Pray' and 'Good And Gone', and undertook a short tour of Holland.
. The label re-released the mini-album 'Good and Gone' and the band began work on 'Gun Shy', their first full-length studio album
, which was produced
by Vic Maile
. On March 30, 1985, a gig
at the Paris Theatre
in London was broadcast live on BBC radio
. On June 14, the Messiahs played their second BBC session, performing live versions of 'Good and Gone', 'Tracking the Dog' and 'Talking Doll' for Andy Kershaw
's show. The band also toured extensively throughout the year, playing in the UK, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Germany. The track 'Twin Cadillac Valentine", which bore a strong influence from the Spencer Davis Group
song 'Strong Love', was released as the first single
from 'Gun Shy' in the autumn of 1985. Commenting on the song, Carter has said, "When we first went in the studio we didn't have anything, just the backing track
. I was trying to get Kenny to play like on 'I Can See For Miles
'. It's about girls...cars...love, attempted kidnapping and wide open spaces."
The release of 'Gun-Shy' in early 1986 was met by a generally positive reception by the specialist music press: Melody Maker
: "They have a gut instinct for the roots of blues
and R 'n' B
and from that sure base they can confidently blast their way through Bill Carter's extraordinarily powerful selection of songs."; NME
: "On the strength of this album, I'd say the Messiahs are going to be very, very big indeed." To promote the album, the band embarked on a heavy tour schedule that saw them play in Germany, Finland, UK, USA - including a series of concerts supporting The Cramps
-, Australia and New Zealand. Two further singles, 'Smash The Market Place' and 'Wild Blue Yonder', were released from Gun-Shy in 1986. 'Wild Blue Yonder' would resurface in 2006 as the closing music of season 03, episode 04 of FX's Rescue Me
.
Their second album, 'Bikini Red', was recorded over several months in various studios around London and released in 1987. Produced by Maile, the record included songwriting contributions from Tony Moon. The first two singles released from the album were 'I Can Speak American' and 'Bikini Red'.
The band returned to the BBC in November 1987 and recorded versions of 'Sweet Water Pools, 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' and 'Big Brother Muscle' from the 'Bikini Red' LP for the Janice Long
programme.
, crashing the flesh of his fingers into the strings with little regard for its mortality. Blood can often be seen splattered across the scratch plate
– or the place where the scratch plate would be if it hadn't been removed. To avoid completely razoring the top of his fingers off, and I suppose also because he likes the sound, William uses unusually heavy bottom strings; Rotosound
(and nothing else will do) 56, 48, 28, 16, 13 and 12
. But he gives 'em such a sound thrashing that one string breaks every couple of numbers and often one a number, and I don't just mean the top strings; Es and As
cop it an' all. In the words of his roadie
, 'He goes fooking bonkers!'"
In addition to the admiration afforded Carter's unique guitar-playing style, the frontman
's vocal delivery also attracted attention in the music press
with, for example, John Dougan commenting: 'Carter wielded his instrument like a cross between Wilko Johnson
and Pete Townshend
; he was a deft soloist
, but it was his tricky, complex rhythm playing
that gave the band sheet-after-sheet of supercharged sound for a foundation. As impressive as his guitar playing was his voice: at times comically bawling, other times mumbling and imperceptible; in the course of a verse
, Carter could sound righteously indignant, or suddenly frightened and confused'. The band's overall sound, according to Dougan, 'made for extreme, confrontational, and very, very exciting rock & roll
'.
On the March 20th, 1987 edition of the Channel 4
TV show The Tube
, David Bowie
announced that his favourite band of the moment was The Screaming Blue Messiahs. An avid fan of the group, Bowie repeated his admiration for the group on numerous occasions, for example, in the August '87 issue of Musician
magazine: 'Well! The band this week – I've only just discovered them, so they're my pet project – is The Screaming Blue Messiahs. They're the best band I've heard out of England in a long time", and again in Words And Music magazine in January 1988, 'There’s an English band I like very much. Nobody seems to have heard of them. They’re called The Screaming Blue Messiahs and I’m pushing them like mad. I think they’re really good. There’s an element of The Clash
in them that I really like. But there’s something else there. I’m not really sure what it is. There’s an exciting guitar player. He’s a sort of new wave
guitar player, but they’re an angry mob from London." The admiration extended to an invitation for the Messiahs to join Bowie on a couple of his Glass Spider Tour
dates in the UK. They supported at Cardiff Arms Park
in Wales and Roker Park
in Sunderland
on the 21st and 23rd of June, 1987.
, peaking at number 28 in the UK charts
. The song's success saw the band treading unchartered waters, in February appearing on the BBC's Top Of The Pops
and Saturday morning kids' show
Number 73. Two videos
were made for the song, both making heavy use of cartoon
clips from the Flintstones TV series. The single appeared in multiple formats, including picture discs
and extended 12"
remix versions
, as was very much the fashion with many bands at the time.
Coinciding with the increased popularity gained from the success of 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone', a massive bout of touring ensued. February saw the group playing concerts in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany, and in March they returned the USA for an extended tour supporting
Echo & The Bunnymen
. In April they toured further throughout the US on their own, and late in the year visited Finland and played a handful of gigs back in Britain. Commenting on the characteristic intensity of the band's stage performance at this time, Jon Pareles stated that "although most rockers
like to think their music carries a sense of danger, few bands come closer to raw mayhem than the Screaming Blue Messiahs."
Despite the critical acclaim obtained and the hit record, a change of manager and a relentless touring schedule began to take their toll. In relation to the intensity of the band's live performances, Carter has stated: "I used to have to prepare myself all day ahead of the gig for the sheer emotional and physical onslaught. I used to put everything into the gigs. I'd come off stage all used up. I was so hot after, I would have to put ice on my head! Then we'd come back from touring and I'd have to sell guitars in order to live". This sentiment was shared by Thompson, "One minute I'd be signing autographs in Hollywood then I'd be back here painting skirting boards
".
in Miami, Alaska Studios in Waterloo, London
and Sheffield Recording in Phoenix, Maryland
and jointly produced by Howard Gray
and Robert Stevens, was released in 1989. Following the album's release, the Messiahs toured the UK in November and in December played six concerts in Germany. A promo video for the track 'Four Engines Burning' was shot although finally no singles were released from the album. A derioration in the group's relationship with its record label resulted in 'Totally Religious' being removed from distribution barely a month after its release and saw the band dropped from its contract
. The Screaming Blue Messiahs split shortly afterwards, playing their last gig
at The Subterrania Club in Notting Hill
, London
, on 5 June 1990.
The group's recordings were subsequently deleted from the WEA and Elektra catalogues and became unavailable.
outfit La Rue, before reuniting with Tony Moon and bass player Ricky McGuire from The Men They Couldn't Hang
to form Dynamo Hum and releasing a 10" EP
entitled 'Four Cute Creatures'.
Kenny Harris subsequently went on to play with The Men They Couldn't Hang
, followed by spells as a house husband, a baker and a published author.
In 1990, The Replacements released their album All Shook Down
, not knowing that the Messiahs had released a single with the same title two years earlier. Upon learning this, Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg
tried to delay the release of the record in order to change the title, but at that point it was too late.
In 1994, 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' was included on the soundtrack
to the US version of the Flintstones film
.
In 1997 Dave 'Chalkie' Dawson, friend and photographer of the band in their early days, put together an official Screaming Blue Messiahs website
at www.screamingbluemessiahs.co.uk
As of 2010, Bill Carter's musical output since the split has been limited to a few demos
posted briefly on his MySpace
website. Carter also returned to art, producing screen prints
and digital work, exhibiting at the Jenny Granger Gallery and Kessaris Art.
The only new official Messiahs material to surface since 1989 has been the 1992 'BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert' CD, recorded at The Town & Country Club
in London on the 27th of February 1988, and a home-produced live album of a show in Zurich, which was brought out in 2007. In 2009, Hux Records released an album titled "The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live At The BBC" featuring live recordings of the band performing at the Paris Theatre in London in 1985 and BBC radio sessions recorded for the Andy Kershaw
and Janice Long
radio programmes in 1985 and 1987, respectively.
In 2009, Wounded Bird Records
reissued the albums 'Gun Shy' and 'Bikini Red', which had been unavailable since the early 1990s.
In April 2009, Chris Thompson gave an interview with Chicago-based music website Consequence of Sound
during which, when asked about the possibility of The Screaming Blue Messiahs reforming, he commented: "Every couple of years I get a call from one of the others saying, “Shall we re-form and do something”. I have always said, “OK let's go!” Then after about a week it fizzles out with some sort of drama. I had my bi-annual call recently. This time I said I wasn’t up for it as it’s just going to fizzle out in a week. Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun doing what I’m doing. But as they say, “Never say Never”."
In July 2010, Thompson's band The Killer B's released an album titled 'Love is a Cadillac, Death is a Ford' on 'Track Records', which, in addition to Thompson, features former Messiahs drummer Kenny Harris and former band-collaborator Tony Moon.
Singles
Live Releases
Appearances on compilations
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed in 1983 in 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...
by Bill Carter (vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Chris Thompson (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals) and Kenny Harris (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s) in the wake of the pub rock and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scenes that had been so predominant on the UK capital's live music
Live Music
Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Giann.-Artists:* Jowell & Randy* Tony Lenta* Watussi* De La Ghetto* Guelo Star* Galante "El Emperador"-Producers:*DJ Blass*Dexter*Mr. Greenz*DJ Giann*Los Hitmen*Dirty Joe*ALX...
circuit during the late '70s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
/ early '80s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. The band, a classic power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
, was active between 1983 and 1990, during which time it released 3 major label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
lps
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and toured extensively throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, garnering wide critical acclaim for its aggressive blend of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
.
Early years
The three members had played together previously as The Small Brothers, and Thompson and Carter had formed part of the Captain BeefheartCaptain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
-influenced band Motor Boys Motor, together with Tony Moon on vocals, recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several tracks under that name on 24 August 1981 for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and releasing a self-titled album on the Albion label. The three-piece initially performed under the name 'Motor Boys Motor' until, according to Carter, the definitive name was chosen upon the suggestion of Ace/Big Beat
Big Beat Records (Ace subsidiary)
Big Beat Records is a British record label and import distributor owned by Ace Records, specialising in garage rock.-Roster:Releases include:*Big Star*Dean Carter*The Chocolate Watchband*Count Five*The Cramps*The Flaming Stars*Frumious Bandersnatch...
's Ted Caroll, who believed that the band's initial proposal of 'The Blues Messiahs' sounded too pub rock.
Carter employed a rhythmic, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-influenced, feedback
Audio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
-laden guitar style, using mainly Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
guitars together with two combo amps
Guitar amplifier
A guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder so that it will produce sound through a loudspeaker...
: a Mesa Boogie
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969....
and an HH
HH Electronics
HH Electronics is a British amplifier manufacturer that was founded in 1968 by Mike Harrison, Malcolm Green and Graham Lowes in Harston near Cambridge, England, where its first solid state TPA Amplifier and other sound equipment were designed and produced...
outfitted with Gauss speakers. For his occasional forays into slide
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, he was quoted as saying that he favoured 'the mike stand
Microphone stand
A microphone stand is a free-standing mount for a microphone. It allows the microphone to be positioned in the studio, on stage or on location without requiring a person to hold it....
, or whatever is handy', and that he only used open tunings 'when the strings go open by accident'.
Featuring a high-octane sound sometimes described as "rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
from hell" and an obsession with Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
, cars, guns, aeroplanes and broadcast evangelism
Televangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
, the group initially released the mini-album 'Good and Gone' on Big Beat Records
Big Beat Records (Ace subsidiary)
Big Beat Records is a British record label and import distributor owned by Ace Records, specialising in garage rock.-Roster:Releases include:*Big Star*Dean Carter*The Chocolate Watchband*Count Five*The Cramps*The Flaming Stars*Frumious Bandersnatch...
. The six songs which appeared on this first release were selected from eleven songs recorded in spring 1984 with producer Vic Maile
Vic Maile
Vic Maile was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for The Animals on their song, "We Gotta Get out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The...
during a session
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
at Elephant Studios in Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
, 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...
, including a version of Hank Williams' 'You're gonna change'. Upon its release, the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entered the top twenty in the UK independent record 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...
, where is was to remain for six months.
The band played its first gig as The Screaming Blue Messiahs at 'Downstairs At The Clarendon', Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, 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...
on the 11th of June 1984. On the 24th of July 1984, they performed the songs 'Good And Gone', 'Someone To Talk To', 'Tracking The Dog' and 'Let's Go Down To The Woods And Pray' during their first recorded session for the John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. Broadcast on the 2nd of August, the session was popular enough to warrant two releases by the BBC, one a 4-track 12" and a later inclusion of 'Good And Gone' on an album sampler of Peel Sessions. In December of the same year, the The Screaming Blue Messiahs appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, playing two live songs; 'Let's Go Down To The Woods And Pray' and 'Good And Gone', and undertook a short tour of Holland.
Major label signing
In January 1985, the band signed to WEAWarner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
. The label re-released the mini-album 'Good and Gone' and the band began work on 'Gun Shy', their first full-length studio 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...
, which was produced
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...
by Vic Maile
Vic Maile
Vic Maile was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for The Animals on their song, "We Gotta Get out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The...
. On March 30, 1985, a gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
at the Paris Theatre
Paris Theatre
The Paris Theatre was a former cinema located in Lower Regent Street, London, which was converted into a theatre by the BBC for radio broadcasts...
in London was broadcast live on BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
. On June 14, the Messiahs played their second BBC session, performing live versions of 'Good and Gone', 'Tracking the Dog' and 'Talking Doll' for Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw is a British broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.His shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler, and other music from around the world.- Early Life :Kershaw and his sister, fellow broadcaster Liz...
's show. The band also toured extensively throughout the year, playing in the UK, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Germany. The track 'Twin Cadillac Valentine", which bore a strong influence from the Spencer Davis Group
Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group was a mid-1960s British beat group from Birmingham, England, formed by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood...
song 'Strong Love', was released as the first 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...
from 'Gun Shy' in the autumn of 1985. Commenting on the song, Carter has said, "When we first went in the studio we didn't have anything, just the backing track
Backing track
A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording that musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live.-Uses:...
. I was trying to get Kenny to play like on 'I Can See For Miles
I Can See For Miles
"I Can See for Miles" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album, The Who Sell Out. It was the only song from the album to be released as a single, on 14 October 1967...
'. It's about girls...cars...love, attempted kidnapping and wide open spaces."
The release of 'Gun-Shy' in early 1986 was met by a generally positive reception by the specialist music press: Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
: "They have a gut instinct for the roots of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and R 'n' B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and from that sure base they can confidently blast their way through Bill Carter's extraordinarily powerful selection of songs."; NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "On the strength of this album, I'd say the Messiahs are going to be very, very big indeed." To promote the album, the band embarked on a heavy tour schedule that saw them play in Germany, Finland, UK, USA - including a series of concerts supporting The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
-, Australia and New Zealand. Two further singles, 'Smash The Market Place' and 'Wild Blue Yonder', were released from Gun-Shy in 1986. 'Wild Blue Yonder' would resurface in 2006 as the closing music of season 03, episode 04 of FX's Rescue Me
Rescue Me (TV series)
Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
.
Their second album, 'Bikini Red', was recorded over several months in various studios around London and released in 1987. Produced by Maile, the record included songwriting contributions from Tony Moon. The first two singles released from the album were 'I Can Speak American' and 'Bikini Red'.
The band returned to the BBC in November 1987 and recorded versions of 'Sweet Water Pools, 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' and 'Big Brother Muscle' from the 'Bikini Red' LP for the Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
programme.
Critical acclaim
Commenting in 'International Musician' magazine on Carter's highly unusual playing style, Jim Betteridge had this to say ; "He plays without a pickGuitar pick
A guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
, crashing the flesh of his fingers into the strings with little regard for its mortality. Blood can often be seen splattered across the scratch plate
Pickguard
A pickguard is a piece of plastic or other laminated material that is placed under the strings on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument...
– or the place where the scratch plate would be if it hadn't been removed. To avoid completely razoring the top of his fingers off, and I suppose also because he likes the sound, William uses unusually heavy bottom strings; Rotosound
RotoSound
-History of Rotosound:Started in the late 1950's by James How -a musician and engineer by trade. How started manufacturing music strings for many famous artists across the world. Still a family run business all Rotosound strings are made in England....
(and nothing else will do) 56, 48, 28, 16, 13 and 12
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
. But he gives 'em such a sound thrashing that one string breaks every couple of numbers and often one a number, and I don't just mean the top strings; Es and As
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
cop it an' all. In the words of his roadie
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
, 'He goes fooking bonkers!'"
In addition to the admiration afforded Carter's unique guitar-playing style, the frontman
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
's vocal delivery also attracted attention in the music press
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
with, for example, John Dougan commenting: 'Carter wielded his instrument like a cross between Wilko Johnson
Wilko Johnson
Wilko Johnson is an English guitarist and songwriter, particularly associated with the UK rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s.-Career:...
and Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
; he was a deft soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
, but it was his tricky, complex rhythm playing
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
that gave the band sheet-after-sheet of supercharged sound for a foundation. As impressive as his guitar playing was his voice: at times comically bawling, other times mumbling and imperceptible; in the course of a verse
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
, Carter could sound righteously indignant, or suddenly frightened and confused'. The band's overall sound, according to Dougan, 'made for extreme, confrontational, and very, very exciting rock & roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
'.
On the March 20th, 1987 edition of the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV show The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
announced that his favourite band of the moment was The Screaming Blue Messiahs. An avid fan of the group, Bowie repeated his admiration for the group on numerous occasions, for example, in the August '87 issue of Musician
Musician (magazine)
Musician was a monthly magazine that covered news and information about American popular music. Initially called "Music America", it was founded in 1976 by Sam Holdsworth and Gordon Baird. The two friends borrowed $20,000 from relatives and started the publication in a barn in Colorado...
magazine: 'Well! The band this week – I've only just discovered them, so they're my pet project – is The Screaming Blue Messiahs. They're the best band I've heard out of England in a long time", and again in Words And Music magazine in January 1988, 'There’s an English band I like very much. Nobody seems to have heard of them. They’re called The Screaming Blue Messiahs and I’m pushing them like mad. I think they’re really good. There’s an element of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
in them that I really like. But there’s something else there. I’m not really sure what it is. There’s an exciting guitar player. He’s a sort of new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
guitar player, but they’re an angry mob from London." The admiration extended to an invitation for the Messiahs to join Bowie on a couple of his Glass Spider Tour
Glass Spider Tour
In 1987, David Bowie embarked on The Glass Spider Tour in support of the album Never Let Me Down alongside famed guitarist Peter Frampton. The tour was named after the album track "Glass Spider." The concert tour was the most ambitious by Bowie up to that date, surpassing the Serious Moonlight Tour...
dates in the UK. They supported at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
in Wales and Roker Park
Roker Park
Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the stadium's history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small...
in Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
on the 21st and 23rd of June, 1987.
Chart success
January 1988 saw the release of 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone', a reworked idea from the Motor Boys Motor album some years previous, as a single and the record became an instant hitHit 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...
, peaking at number 28 in the UK charts
UK Singles Chart records
Since the inception of the UK Singles Chart in 1952 there have been various records to break, including most chart toppers, longest run at number one, biggest selling single etc. All the records have changed hands over the years, some more than others and many have certain reasons as to why the...
. The song's success saw the band treading unchartered waters, in February appearing on the BBC's Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and Saturday morning kids' show
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
Number 73. Two videos
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
were made for the song, both making heavy use of cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
clips from the Flintstones TV series. The single appeared in multiple formats, including picture discs
Unusual types of gramophone records
The overwhelming majority of records manufactured have been of certain sizes , playback speeds , and appearance...
and extended 12"
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
remix versions
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
, as was very much the fashion with many bands at the time.
Coinciding with the increased popularity gained from the success of 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone', a massive bout of touring ensued. February saw the group playing concerts in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany, and in March they returned the USA for an extended tour supporting
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...
Echo & The Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. In April they toured further throughout the US on their own, and late in the year visited Finland and played a handful of gigs back in Britain. Commenting on the characteristic intensity of the band's stage performance at this time, Jon Pareles stated that "although most rockers
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
like to think their music carries a sense of danger, few bands come closer to raw mayhem than the Screaming Blue Messiahs."
Despite the critical acclaim obtained and the hit record, a change of manager and a relentless touring schedule began to take their toll. In relation to the intensity of the band's live performances, Carter has stated: "I used to have to prepare myself all day ahead of the gig for the sheer emotional and physical onslaught. I used to put everything into the gigs. I'd come off stage all used up. I was so hot after, I would have to put ice on my head! Then we'd come back from touring and I'd have to sell guitars in order to live". This sentiment was shared by Thompson, "One minute I'd be signing autographs in Hollywood then I'd be back here painting skirting boards
Baseboard
In architecture, a baseboard is a board covering the lowest part of an interior wall...
".
Final album
Their third album, 'Totally Religious', recorded in Miami Sound Studios and Criteria StudiosCriteria Studios
Criteria Studios is a music-recording studio in Miami, Florida, started in 1958 by Mack Emerman.In 1999, The Hit Factory purchased Criteria Studios, revamping and reopening the studios under the new name The Hit Factory Criteria Miami.-Notable artists:...
in Miami, Alaska Studios in Waterloo, London
Waterloo, London
Waterloo is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, including some sections in the...
and Sheffield Recording in Phoenix, Maryland
Phoenix, Maryland
Phoenix is an affluent unincorporated community located in Baltimore County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 39°30'59" North, longitude 76°36'59" West...
and jointly produced by Howard Gray
Howard Gray
Howard Gray is a musician, sound engineer, programmer, composer, re-mixer and producer who has worked with, and on the work of Public Image Ltd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Kirsty MacColl, The Armoury Show, The Pale Fountains, Japan, The Stranglers, Simple Minds, The Pretenders, XTC, UB40,...
and Robert Stevens, was released in 1989. Following the album's release, the Messiahs toured the UK in November and in December played six concerts in Germany. A promo video for the track 'Four Engines Burning' was shot although finally no singles were released from the album. A derioration in the group's relationship with its record label resulted in 'Totally Religious' being removed from distribution barely a month after its release and saw the band dropped from its contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
. The Screaming Blue Messiahs split shortly afterwards, playing their last gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
at The Subterrania Club in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, 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...
, on 5 June 1990.
The group's recordings were subsequently deleted from the WEA and Elektra catalogues and became unavailable.
Post break-up
After the split, Thompson and Harris played with CajunCajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
outfit La Rue, before reuniting with Tony Moon and bass player Ricky McGuire from The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds , Philip "Swill" Odgers , Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley .- Controversy and success:Their first single, "The Green Fields...
to form Dynamo Hum and releasing a 10" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled 'Four Cute Creatures'.
Kenny Harris subsequently went on to play with The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds , Philip "Swill" Odgers , Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley .- Controversy and success:Their first single, "The Green Fields...
, followed by spells as a house husband, a baker and a published author.
In 1990, The Replacements released their album All Shook Down
All Shook Down
All Shook Down is the final album by the band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990 .This album was originally intended to be band leader Paul Westerberg's solo artist debut. As a result of its initial intent, All Shook Down is marked by numerous session, side and journeyman-musicians,...
, not knowing that the Messiahs had released a single with the same title two years earlier. Upon learning this, Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
tried to delay the release of the record in order to change the title, but at that point it was too late.
In 1994, 'I Wanna Be A Flintstone' was included on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the US version of the Flintstones film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
In 1997 Dave 'Chalkie' Dawson, friend and photographer of the band in their early days, put together an official Screaming Blue Messiahs website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
at www.screamingbluemessiahs.co.uk
As of 2010, Bill Carter's musical output since the split has been limited to a few demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
posted briefly on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
website. Carter also returned to art, producing screen prints
Screen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
and digital work, exhibiting at the Jenny Granger Gallery and Kessaris Art.
The only new official Messiahs material to surface since 1989 has been the 1992 'BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert' CD, recorded at The Town & Country Club
The Town & Country Club
The Town & Country Club was a 2,100 capacity theatre-style venue in Kentish Town in North London, England. The venue was built in 1934 and was originally an art deco cinema....
in London on the 27th of February 1988, and a home-produced live album of a show in Zurich, which was brought out in 2007. In 2009, Hux Records released an album titled "The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live At The BBC" featuring live recordings of the band performing at the Paris Theatre in London in 1985 and BBC radio sessions recorded for the Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw is a British broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.His shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler, and other music from around the world.- Early Life :Kershaw and his sister, fellow broadcaster Liz...
and Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
radio programmes in 1985 and 1987, respectively.
In 2009, Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records is a CD only, re-issue record label, that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from both popular and lesser known artists, including Deborah Harry, Chic, David Blue, Marilyn Martin, Gordon Haskell, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Ellen...
reissued the albums 'Gun Shy' and 'Bikini Red', which had been unavailable since the early 1990s.
In April 2009, Chris Thompson gave an interview with Chicago-based music website Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
during which, when asked about the possibility of The Screaming Blue Messiahs reforming, he commented: "Every couple of years I get a call from one of the others saying, “Shall we re-form and do something”. I have always said, “OK let's go!” Then after about a week it fizzles out with some sort of drama. I had my bi-annual call recently. This time I said I wasn’t up for it as it’s just going to fizzle out in a week. Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun doing what I’m doing. But as they say, “Never say Never”."
In July 2010, Thompson's band The Killer B's released an album titled 'Love is a Cadillac, Death is a Ford' on 'Track Records', which, in addition to Thompson, features former Messiahs drummer Kenny Harris and former band-collaborator Tony Moon.
Discography
Albums- Good and Gone mini-album (1984)
- Gun-Shy (1986) – UKUK Albums ChartThe 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...
#90 - Bikini Red (1987)
- Totally Religious (1989)
Singles
- Twin Cadillac Valentine (1985)
- Smash The Market Place (1986)
- Wild Blue Yonder (1986)
- Bikini Red (1987)
- I Can Speak American (1987)
- I Wanna Be a Flintstone (1988) – UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#28
Live Releases
- The Peel Sessions: The Screaming Blue Messiahs (Strange Fruit SFPS003 1986)
- BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (Windsong International RecordsWindsong International RecordsWindsong International Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom active in the early 1990s. It specialised in releasing recordings made for or by BBC Radio One for broadcast on the In Concert radio programme....
, WINCD022, 1992) - Zurich 1989 (2007)
- The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live At The BBC (Hux Records, 2009)
Appearances on compilations
- Don't Let The Hope Close Down (Features 'Tracking The Dog' from the Messiahs' 'Good And Gone' EP. Hope Springs Records (HOPE 1) 1984)
- Beach Party Big Beat Compilation (Features 'Tracking The Dog' from the Messiahs' 'Good And Gone' EP. BigBeat (W1KM 39) 1985)
- The Peel Sessions Sampler (1988)
External links
- Screaming Blue Messiahs home page
- Trouser Press entry
- Screaming Bill Carter myspace page
- Motor Boys Motor
- Blue Heaven – A Screaming Blue Messiahs fan site
- Nuzz Prowling Wolf – Live recording of The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Harlesden Mean Fiddler, 2 September 1988
- Interview with Chris Thompson (of The Screaming Blue Messiahs), April 2009
- The Screaming Blue Messiahs Discography at Record Collectors of the World Unite