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The Highliners | |
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| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 1984–present |
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| Website | thehighliners |
The Highliners is a British rock and roll / psychobilly band known for the singles "Henry The Wasp" and "The Benny Hill Boogie"; plus antics include dressing in pink Dr. Martens boots, black capes and driving a pink van with a skeleton surfing on the roof.
Formed in London in 1984 by Luke Morgan and Chris Finch who met at the Central School of Art and Design. The name The Highliners came from the Mk2 Ford Consuls and Zephyrs they owned. In 1985 Luke Morgan, Chris Finch, Kev “Stretch” Feeney and drummer Tim Potter took a pink split screen VW bus to France for a three-month tour of the Riviera.
In 1986, and several drummers later, Roy Williams of Nervous Records introduced Ginger Meadham from The Meteors, Ricochets and Guana Batz and, by 1987, this four-piece had a television residency on the Channel 4 show, Comedy Wave Length, with Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence. They were joined by Ben Blakeman of The Cocteau Twins on lead guitar and regularly topped the bill at John Curd's psychobilly club, the Klub Foot in Hammersmith where the pink van became a landmark. Here they were recorded live on 16 January 1988 for the album Stomping at The Klub Foot 5, which was released in March 1988.
Their final headline show at the Klub Foot on 26 June 1988 formed part of the 13-night farewell to the club known as "The Final Curtain" before The Clarendon Hotel, Hammersmith was demolished.
They had UK chart success with "Henry The Wasp", which reached number 79 on the UK singles chart, and "Tell Me Things", which appeared at number 96 in the same listing in October 1988. [1] Their first album, Bound for Glory, was released in 1989 on Razor Records.
Rick Buckler from The Jam then replaced Ginger Meadham 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. Fanzines included artwork by Luke Morgan, Chris Finch and Vaun Richards of the Funday Times .
In 2010, Meadham rejoined for his first gig with the band in over 20 years at the 2010 Pineda De Mar Psychobilly Meeting in Spain. Lead vocalist Luke Morgan and Meadham on drums were joined by Mad Andy Kandil on guitar and Ricky Lee Sardi on bass as they continued to tour and record. In 2019, Mark Bending took over lead guitar, having been part of the scene since 1983. In 2024 their original saxophonist, Chris Finch, rejoined to complete the present day line up.
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