The Meteors

The Meteors

The Meteors are a London-based psychobilly group that form in 1980 and remain active. They are often credited with helping to define the genre’s distinctive sound, and they describe themselves as the first and only psychobilly band. The group builds its style from a crossover of punk rock and rockabilly, with horror and science-fiction themes in the lyrics.

Formation and early identity

The band starts as a trio in 1980, with P. Paul Fenech on guitar and vocals, Nigel Lewis on upright bass, and Mark Robertson on drums. Before forming the group, Fenech and Lewis play in rockabilly bands and leave Raw Deal in order to pursue a new sound. Their earliest shows include a performance at Rockabilly Night at The Sparrow Hawk in north London, after which they begin to play beyond the rockabilly club circuit.

The Meteors develop a following known as the Crazies. Their audience invents a dance style called going mental, later renamed wrecking, which becomes part of the wider psychobilly scene. Fenech’s stage habit of spitting blood also contributes to the band’s reputation, and some clubs refuse to book them. The band plays in punk rock venues alongside groups such as the Anti-Nowhere League and the UK Subs, while insisting that their shows remain free of politics and religion.

Records, film and label history

In late 1980 the band makes a film with comedian Keith Allen called Meteor Madness. It is released as a double feature with the ska film Dance Craze in March 1981. The film includes four songs, and these appear on the band’s first vinyl single. In August 1981, the group signs to Island Records and records its first full-length album, In Heaven.

The Meteors go on to release 17 official albums, along with many singles, reissues and compilation appearances. They continue to record in their own studio, also called In Heaven.

Line-up and related projects

The Meteors undergo numerous line-up changes over the years, with Fenech remaining the only original member in the later period described. The current line-up includes Mark Burnett on bass and Wolfgang Hordemann on drums. Other members associated with the group include Shaun Berry, Mark Burnett, Toby Griffin, Russell Jones, and Mick White, alongside the original members and later drummers Woodie Taylor and others.

P. Paul Fenech also releases solo albums and plays in the rockabilly side-project the Legendary Raw Deal, named after his earlier band. Nigel Lewis and Mark Robertson later play together in the Escalators, a psychedelic rock group, and then in the Tallboys, a rockabilly band best known for recording “Take a Walk” for the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack.

Style and influence

The Meteors are closely associated with psychobilly and are described as a key influence on the genre. Their fans use the slogan “Only the Meteors are pure psychobilly,” often shortened to OTMAPP, as a rallying cry. The band tours extensively in Japan, America, Europe and Scandinavia.