Captain Hotknives

Captain Hotknives

Captain Hotknives is a United Kingdom punk, folk and spoken word act from Keighley, West Yorkshire. The project begins with the artist playing bass in various bands from the late teens to the early thirties, then moving into solo work after a gap between bands prompts the change.

Early influences and style

The music draws on early punk and heavy rock influences, including the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath and The Clash, with Jimi Hendrix also a major influence. The lyrics are improvised stories set over simple riffs, and the subject matter includes begging, solvent abuse, pigeon hypnosis, skanking with one’s grandmother, petty racism and poor-quality muffins on trains.

Recordings and live activity

The first two albums are recorded at the top of a terraced house. They are The Pigeons Told Me to Shoplift and Blarneystoner, both of which are then largely given away to people outside pubs. This leads into a long, irregular touring run that continues over time, with performances often happening in fields rather than on television.

Other work

Captain Hotknives also sometimes plays bass for Babar Luck.