Demented Are Go!

Demented Are Go! are a psychobilly group from Cardiff, Wales, active from 1982 to the present. They are among the earliest bands to mix punk rock with rockabilly and are widely associated with the development of psychobilly. Their line-up has changed repeatedly over the years, with members including Mark “Sparky” Phillips, Dick Thomas, Ant Thomas, Mark Phillips, Graeme Grant, Lex Luther, Criss Damage, Philip Doyle, Holger Grothe and Stan Standen.

Formation and early line-up

The band forms in the Penarth area near Cardiff in the early 1980s. At first, the group is unsettled and the line-up includes Mark Phillips, known as “Sparky”, on drums, Ant Thomas on vocals, Richard Jones on bass and Steve Jordan on rhythm guitar. The band’s image also includes Jones’s red-dyed hair and Jordan’s leather trousers. Dick Thomas, an experienced musician from the punk and pub rock circuits, joins in early 1983 and reorganises the group: he moves to drums, Phillips takes over vocals, and the bass player is taught the instrument. Thomas remains an important early member until 1986.

Recordings and releases

The first release appears in 1984, when the band contributes two songs to the compilation Hell’s Bent on Rockin’ on Nervous Records. By then, Gavin Evans has replaced Jones on guitar and Ed Fleming has replaced Jordan on bass. These tracks are engineered and co-produced by Paul “Doc” Stewart at Village Way Recording. Evans and Fleming leave in late 1984, and the band adds multi-instrumentalist Ray Thompson, who has already worked with Dick Thomas on side projects since 1983.

In 1986, Demented Are Go! release their first album, In Sickness & In Health, on ID Records. It is recorded in less than 24 hours, with most parts done in first takes, and features Ray Thompson on bass. The band moves to London that year in search of more regular work. After Thompson leaves, the group goes through a long period of bass-player changes before stabilising again.

The second full-length album, Kicked Out of Hell, follows in 1988 and reaches high positions in indie charts in the United Kingdom and abroad. In 1989, the band records the EP The Day the Earth Spat Blood for Link Records. That release is written, recorded and mixed in three days and moves beyond early psychobilly into rockabilly, hard rock, bluegrass and other experimental elements. The group issues it as Demented Are Go presents – The Demon Teds.

In 1991, the band signs to Fury Records and records Orgasmic Nightmare. A second Fury Records album, Tangenital Madness on a Pleasant Side of Hell, follows in 1993 and is later accompanied by two tours in Japan. In 1996, after a split during a German tour, the group reforms and releases the EP I Wanna See You Bleed! on Hell Razor Records. Hellucifernation appears on Crazy Love Records in 1999. Hellbilly Storm is released on People Like You Records during a break in touring in the 2000s. In 2012, Welcome back to Insanity Hall appears with a line-up including Phillips, Criss Damage, Holger Grothe and Grischa Dördelmann.

Touring, festivals and live reputation

The band tours extensively across Europe and builds followings in both psychobilly and punk scenes. Early touring takes them from working men’s clubs in South Wales to clubs in Hamburg and other European venues. They play dates in Holland and Germany, and later tour Japan and the United States. They also appear at numerous European festivals and play the first Wreckers Ball festival in Southern California in 2002. A later two-week tour is booked by HairBall8 Records to promote the Kicked Outta Purgatory compilation.

Demented Are Go! are also known for chaotic stage behaviour. Accounts associated with their shows include Phillips appearing naked at Japanese performances, using a rubber fish on stage, and an incident involving a vacuum cleaner during a performance. The band’s reputation is tied as much to this volatile live presence as to its recordings.

Membership changes

The line-up changes frequently around Phillips and drummer Ant Thomas, with bassists and guitarists rotating through the band. Key names across different periods include Gavin Evans, Ed Fleming, Ray Thompson, Mike Pannell, Billy Favata, Paul “Choppy” Lambourne, Kelvin Klump, Tony “Strangy” Gilmore, Rockin’ Rick Tanner, and later Holger Grothe, Grischa Dördelmann and Gaybeul Gualdi. Stan Standen joins on guitar after Graeme Grant leaves in 1997. Criss Damage plays drums in the early 2000s and again from 2010 to 2013, before being replaced.

Style and significance

The group’s style is psychobilly, combining punk energy with rockabilly and related roots sounds. Their early releases and stage presence help establish them as an influential name in the genre’s first wave. Their recordings on labels including Nervous, ID, Link, Fury, Hell Razor, Crazy Love and People Like You chart a long career centred on the psychobilly scene.