16-12-2007 The Meteors

Date: 16-12-2007, Schlachthof Wiesbaden(Germany)
  By: Nina Mende

Another Sunday night out to be at a gig. Tonight’s gig was supposed to take place at the Schlachthof in Wiesbaden/Germany, but as I entered the venue there   were only soccer fans having fun… So I asked the security and found out that the show is going to be in a smaller room next to the main venue. Only by seeing some of the fans, I could already tell that there were going to be some drunk people and that there would probably be a mosh pit.

The band that was playing tonight was the psychobilly band The Meteors from the UK. The Meteors were started in 1980 by P. Paul Fenech (guitar and vocals), Nigel Lewis (stand-up bass), and Mark Robertson (drums). 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 called “going mental,” a cross
  between fighting, dancing and moshing. The band began playing at punk rock clubs
  alongside UK punk bands such as the The Clash, The Damned and later Anti-Nowhere
  League and the UK Subs. Due to their unprecedented cult following, The Meteors
  made a short film in late 1980 with comedian Keith Allen called “Meteor
  Madness”. It was released as a double feature with two-tone ska film “Dance
  Craze” in March 1981. The movie featured four songs, which made it onto
  the band’s first vinyl single. In August 1981, the band were signed to Island
  Records and recorded their first full-length, “In Heaven”.
  The Meteors have gone through many line-up changes since, with Fenech being
  the only original member today. The current line-up includes Simon Linden on
  bass and Wolfgang Hordemann (who, though not from the original line up, is the
  longest serving member by far after Fenech) on drums. They have 25 official
  albums, countless singles, and numerous re-issues and compilation appearances.

  Quite a legend in the psychobilly scene, not always liked but definitely respected.
  They didn’t have an opening act, it was only them. The fans were all totally
  excited, sang along and as described above, did this weird moshing that looked
  like fighting. A very aggressive band and audience it seemed at some points.
  The stand-up bass player seemed very happy, he always had a smile on his face.
  The gig seemed ultra short, it went by so quick although they played for about
  an hour as usual. Very energetic punk rock/psychobilly straight out of the UK.
  The singer was not talking much to the audience nor did he really interact with
  them much, but I don’t think that the audience would have wanted that.
  They were totally drifted away, only enjoying the music. It was a very interesting
  gig to watch.