Big Audio Dynamite were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk. After releasing a number of well-received studio albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Big Audio Dynamite broke up in 1997. In 2011, the band embarked on a reunion tour.
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. The band are credited as progenitors of the psychobilly subgenre, uniting elements of punk rock with rockabilly.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
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.
Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. Departing from the angry lyrics and music often associated with punk rock, the Toy Dolls worked within the aesthetics of punk to express a sense of fun, with songs such as "Yul Brynner Was a Skinhead", "My Girlfriend's Dad's a Vicar" and "James Bond Lives Down Our Street". There is often alliteration in their song titles. They are probably best known however for their sole UK hit, a punk-rock cover of "Nellie the Elephant".
HorrorPops are a Danish punk band that formed in 1996. The band's sound is rooted in psychobilly, rockabilly, and punk rock.
Demented Are Go are a Welsh psychobilly band that was formed around 1982 near Cardiff, Wales. They were one of the earliest in the initial wave of bands to mix punk rock with rockabilly, and as a result, are considered to be highly influential to the psychobilly scene. The band often claims their name originated from the phrase "Demon teds are go!" as an adaptation of the phrase "Thunderbirds are go!" from the Thunderbirds TV series. Psychobilly is often associated with horror.
The Ex is an underground band from the Netherlands, started in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion as a Dutch punk band. The Ex originated from the squatting movement in Amsterdam and Wormer, and was inspired by bands like The Fall and The Mekons. Although initially known as an anarcho-punk band associated with the Dutch post-punk ultra scene, over the decades The Ex's sound has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work. This sound includes a combination of diverse genres and styles, such as noise, folk, world music, free jazz, and crossovers between these genres. Other examples of branching out stylistically include the improvised double album Instant and a release under the moniker Ex Orkest, a 20 piece big band assembled for performances at Holland Festival. "One reason we are hard to describe is that we never had an education at music school, and in that sense we are not influenced by any traditional playing," explained Katherina Bornefeld, drummer for The Ex since 1984. The Ex's lyrics consist of straightforward statements about politics and abuses in society. The band enjoys international acclaim for this socially critical message, as well as for the energetic, rhythmic, atonal guitar playing, and for the furious vocals of singer G.W. Sok, who was replaced in recent years by Arnold de Boer of the duo Zea. The Ex have released over 20 full-length albums.
The Quakes are an American psychobilly band from Buffalo, New York, United States. They were formed in 1986. When the band began in the late 1980s, there was no psychobilly scene to speak of in the United States. The Quakes moved to London to try to find an audience.
Antisect are a punk rock band based in London, England. Their roots are in hardcore/anarcho punk and metal.
The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs were formed by Mick Collins as a side project and started recording songs by 1995.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore punk bands, elements of rhythm and blues music - including harmonica - also remained an occasional element of their work.
Devils Brigade is an American rock band formed as a side project by Rancid bassist Matt Freeman in 2000. In Devils Brigade Freeman performs a mix of punk rock and psychobilly styles, singing lead vocals and playing a double bass in contrast to the backing vocals and bass guitar he performs in Rancid. He was backed by his Rancid bandmates for singles released in 2003 and 2005, and recruited X drummer DJ Bonebrake to play on Devils Brigade's eponymous debut album in 2010.
The Membranes are an English post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb, Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums). Critchley soon left, with Robb and Tilton taking on vocals, and Kelly moving to keyboards, with "Coofy Sid" (Coulthart) taking over on drums.
The Kut is a London-based solo artist and multi-instrumentalist who became a double award winner in the UK Songwriting Contest in 2022. The Kut has received extensive radio and music press coverage from companies including Kerrang! Radio, Wonderland (magazine), Sirius XM, Classic Rock Magazine, Vive Le Rock, New Noise Magazine USA, Planet Rock, BBC Introducing, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, former title Q Magazine. The Kut is known for her distinctive, gritty style and for captivating songs, such as ‘ANIMO’, ‘And 1 More...’, 'Bad Man' and charity Christmas single entitled ‘Waiting for Christmas’.
Batmobile is a Dutch psychobilly band from Rotterdam and Breda, formed in 1983. They were the first band not from the United Kingdom to perform at the influential psychobilly club, Klub Foot and are considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band.
Zombina and the Skeletones are an English rock band from Liverpool, formed in 1998 around the nucleus of vocalist Zombina and songwriter Doc Horror. As of 2021, their last recording was a self-released EP in 2017, and their official website is dismantled.
"Poison Heart" is a song by the punk rock band Ramones. Written by Dee Dee Ramone, who had retired as their longtime bassist in 1989 but still wrote songs for the band, "Poison Heart" was included on the 1992 album Mondo Bizarro and was also released as a single. The song was given to the band by Dee Dee in exchange for bailing him out of jail and has a slower tempo than typical Ramones songs.
Calamitiez is a Spanish psychobilly band from Barcelona, Spain.
Flesh Roxon is a Finnish horror punk band, formed in 2012 in Tampere, Finland.
