The Meteors (British band)

The Meteors
The Meteors performing in Pordenone, Italy in 2006.
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Psychobilly
Years active	1980–present
Labels	People Like You
Associated acts	The Legendary Raw Deal, P. Paul Fenech (solo), The Surfin Dead, Cherry and the Devil, The Outsiders, The Escalators, The Tallboys
Website	http://www.yendor71.com/
Members	P. Paul Fenech Wolfgang Hordemann Hennes Rutkowski

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. Though the origins of psychobilly are debated, The Meteors are the first band to self-identify as psychobilly, and are often credited with the distinction of being the only "pure" psychobilly band among fans of the subgenre.

Fans of the band (known as the Wrecking Crew) are known to use the slogan "Only The Meteors are Pure Psychobilly", (often shortened to "OTMAPP")

The Meteors were started in 1980 by P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (upright bass/electric bass) and vocals), and Mark Robertson (drums). Fenech and Lewis had played in rockabilly bands before, but left their former band, Raw Deal, in order to experiment with a new sound that mixed horror and science fiction lyrics with a punk rock / rockabilly crossover (as distinct from the slower, psychedelic rockabilly sound of the Cramps). This sound would later be called psychobilly. What made them unique was that Fenech and Lewis each sang lead vocals on their own tracks.

The Meteors played their first show during Rockabilly Night at The Sparrow Hawk in north London, but, after being heckled due to their cross between rockabilly and punk attitudes, decided to begin playing shows beyond just rockabilly clubs. They developed a loyal following known as "the Crazies" or "Zorchmen", who invented their own dance style then called "going mental," a cross between fighting, dancing, and moshing. This would later be renamed "wrecking," and is still a staple of the psychobilly scene. This, coupled with Fenech's ritual of spitting (chicken) blood during performances, led many clubs into believing the band was dangerous and refusing to book them. The band began playing at punk rock clubs alongside UK punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned, and later Anti-Nowhere League and the UK Subs. However, unlike many punk bands, The Meteors would (and still very much do) insist that their shows be "a politics and religion free zone" in order to focus on having a good time instead of allowing disputes between fans to break out.