The U-Men
| The U-Men | |
|---|---|
The U-Men performing live in Seattle.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1981–1989 |
| Labels |
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| Members | John Bigley Tom Price Tony Ransom Charlie Ryan |
| Past members |
Tom Hazelmyer Jim Tillman Robin Buchan |
The U-Men was an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington in 1981 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound was a forerunner for the later grunge bands to come out of Seattle.
Fronted by the enigmatic vocalist John Bigley, the U-Men (whose members also included Tom Price, Charlie "Chaz" Ryan, Robin Buchan, Jim Tillman, Tom Hazelmyer and later Tony "Tone Deaf" Ransom) pioneered their own unique brand of alternative rock which could best be described as "swamp-o'-billy". Together with Northwest contemporaries Girl Trouble, the U-Men emerged to fill the void left some 16 years previous with the disappearance of Northwest garage rock legends The Sonics, The Wailers, and The Ventures. They updated this traditional Northwest sound with more modern punk rock and post-punk influences most notably The Cramps and Nick Cave's original group The Birthday Party.
The U-Men quickly acquired, through word of mouth, a dedicated cult following and well-deserved reputation for mayhem, both on and off the stage. Perhaps their most legendary antic was when Bigley set the front of the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater stage on fire during a Bumbershoot festival performance, and the band played on.
The U-Men were managed at different times by Susan Silver (who later went on to marry Chris Cornell and manage Soundgarden, Screaming Trees and Alice in Chains), Bruce Pavitt (co-owner of Bombshelter Records, pre-dating his Sub Pop Records foray into vinyl), and Seattle's legendary punk art gallery tastemaker, Larry Reid. They had a song by the Butthole Surfers named in their honor, The O-Men from the album Locust Abortion Technician.
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