Dub Syndicate

Dub Syndicate are basically the flagship dub group of Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label, and one of the most important UK dub projects ever. They formed in London in 1982 as a studio-based collective rather than a fixed band, built around Sherwood’s production vision and his long-term partnership with Jamaican drummer Lincoln “Style” Scott of the Roots Radics. That Sherwood–Scott connection is key: it fused heavyweight Jamaican rhythm section sensibilities with the experimental, post-punk-inflected studio culture of early-’80s Britain. 

At the start, Dub Syndicate were rooted firmly in classic dub. Albums like 'The Pounding System (Ambience in Dub)' and 'One Way System' feel like deep extensions of Jamaican dub traditions, but with a slightly colder, spacier UK atmosphere. Even then, Sherwood was already pushing the studio hard -tape delays, echo trails, abrupt drop-outs- but always anchored by Scott’s rock-solid, hypnotic drumming. As the ’80s went on, especially by 'Tunes From the Missing Channel' in 1985, their sound became more futuristic and abstract, pulling in electronics, noise, and the influence of UK post-punk and industrial music without ever losing the dub backbone. 

Dub Syndicate never really had a fixed lineup beyond Sherwood and Scott. Instead, they worked with a rotating cast of musicians from both Jamaica and the UK, often drawing from the wider On-U Sound family. Members of Tackhead appeared frequently, as did reggae and dub figures like Dr. Pablo, Bim Sherman, Big Youth, Junior Reid, and even Lee “Scratch” Perry. That openness gave Dub Syndicate a very fluid identity -sometimes deeply rootsy, sometimes abrasive and experimental, sometimes almost ambient- depending on who was involved and what Sherwood wanted to explore in the studio. 

By the late ’80s and early ’90s, Dub Syndicate hit a creative peak. Albums like 'Time Boom X De Devil Dead' (with Lee Perry), 'Strike the Balance', and especially 'Stoned Immaculate' are often seen as definitive statements of the On-U Sound aesthetic. These records balance heavy bass and drums with layers of weird textures, political atmosphere, and space-age mixing, showing how dub could evolve without becoming polite or background music. Around this time, Dub Syndicate also developed into a powerful live band, proving that their dense studio constructions could translate into intense, physical performances.

 
Their later work in the ’90s, including albums like 'Echomania' and 'Ital Breakfast', continued to stretch dub into new territory, absorbing influences from electronic music while staying rooted in reggae rhythms. Lincoln “Style” Scott’s death in 2014 marked the end of an era, but Dub Syndicate’s legacy was already firmly established. Today they’re seen as a crucial bridge between Jamaican dub traditions and UK experimental music, and as the purest expression of what On-U Sound stood for: bass, innovation, resistance, and total freedom in the studio. 

Last Of The Teenage Idols

Last Of The Teenage Idols were a London-based band active in the late 1980s, sitting right at the crossroads of glam rock flash and punk attitude. They came out of the UK underground scene at a time when big hair, sneering vocals, and street-level energy were making a comeback after the first wave of punk had settled. The band never broke into the mainstream, but they’ve stuck around as a cult name for people digging into forgotten glam-punk corners of the era. 

 
They’re best known for their album 'Satellite Head Gone Soft', released around 1988 or 1989. It’s their main recorded legacy and the reason collectors still talk about them today. The record mixes sleazy glam riffs, shout-along choruses, and a scrappy, DIY feel that fits perfectly with late-80s London club culture. Copies of the LP are pretty scarce now, which only adds to its reputation among fans of obscure UK rock.
 

The lineup featured Buttz on vocals, Taz on guitar, Shuff on bass, and Hovis Presley handling keyboards, with everyone pitching in on backing vocals. The names alone tell you a lot about the band’s sense of humor and attitude. They leaned into glam theatrics without losing that rough, confrontational edge that came from punk. 

 
Last Of The Teenage Idols were part of the same scene that included bands like The Dogs D’Amour, Quireboys, and Soho Roses, sharing stages in sweaty London venues and sometimes supporting bigger UK rock acts such as Little Angels. They played plenty of shows, built a solid live reputation, and then faded out before getting wider recognition. 

 

Rochee & The Sarnos

Rochee & The Sarnos is a British band that sits somewhere between rock ’n’ roll, psychobilly, and general musical weirdness. They’re mostly known for having a very goofy, off-the-wall style, with silly lyrics and a sound that doesn’t take itself seriously at all. They’ve got a bit of a cult following, especially among people into psychobilly and underground rock scenes. 

 
The band popped up in the early 1980s in the UK. Musically, they mix old-school rockabilly with psychobilly, skiffle vibes, and classic rock ’n’ roll, but everything is filtered through a very playful, almost cartoonish sense of humor. Their songs often talk about absurd stuff -Sarnos (which are kind of their own strange characters), croissants, space themes, random monsters- nothing is meant to be deep or serious, and that’s kind of the point.

 
One of their most well-known releases is the album 'Understanding Sarno', which came out in the mid-80s and later got reissued. That album includes some of their most famous tracks and really captures their chaotic, fun energy. They also put out early vinyl singles like 'Have You Got… Sarno Fever?' and 'Rumble in the Jungle', which helped cement their reputation in the psychobilly underground. Much later, in 2008, they released 'The Golden Dawn', which mixed newer material with the same classic Sarnos-style madness.

 

Fractured

Fractured were a British neo-rockabilly band that popped up during the mid-1980s, right in the middle of the UK rockabilly and psychobilly revival. They weren’t a mainstream name, but they were very much part of that underground scene where punk energy collided with old-school rock ’n’ roll. Their sound leaned hard on fast tempos, gritty attitude, and that classic slap-bass drive that defined neo-rockabilly at the time.

 
The band are mainly known for their 1987 release 'No Peace For The Wicked', an eight-track mini-album that ended up being their main recorded legacy. It captured exactly what they were about: raw, high-energy rockabilly with a rough edge. Tracks like “Chauffeur Driven Limousine,” “Gamblin’ Man,” and “Sold My Secret” stood out and helped them gain recognition among fans of the scene, even if they never broke into the wider music press. 

Fractured were also a live band first and foremost. They played regularly on the UK circuit and appeared at places like London’s Klub Foot, which was one of the most important venues for psychobilly and alternative rockabilly in the 1980s. Playing there put them alongside a lot of other cult bands from the era and helped cement their reputation with dedicated fans rather than casual listeners. 

Musically, they sat somewhere between straight neo-rockabilly and psychobilly. You could hear strong 1950s rockabilly influences in the guitar and bass, but everything was pushed faster and harder, with a punk-ish edge that matched the attitude of the mid-80s scene. That mix made them fit perfectly into the revival movement without sounding like a pure retro act.

 
Today, Fractured are mostly remembered by collectors and longtime fans of British rockabilly. They’re one of those bands that didn’t last long or release much music, but still get name-checked when people dig deep into the UK neo-rockabilly and psychobilly underground of the 1980s.

 

Long Tall Texans

Long Tall Texans are a long-running psychobilly/rockabilly band from Brighton, UK, and they’ve been part of the scene since the mid-1980s. They came out of the same South Coast underground that helped shape British psychobilly, mixing rockabilly roots with punk energy, ska rhythms, and a sense of humour that never took itself too seriously. Brighton was a key hotspot for the genre at the time, and the band quickly became associated with the city’s wild live circuit. 

 
Long Tall Texans are best known for their upbeat, energetic sound built around slap double bass, driving drums, and twangy guitar. While they’re usually labelled psychobilly, they’ve never stuck rigidly to one style. Across their albums you’ll hear straight rockabilly, punk, ska, blues, and even hints of pop and country. That flexibility is part of why they’ve lasted so long -they always sounded like themselves rather than trying to follow trends in the scene. 

 
The band has gone through various lineup changes over the years, but vocalist and double-bass player Mark Carew has always been the core of Long Tall Texans. Early members included guitarist Mark “Boggles” Denman and drummer Theo (Anthony Theodotou), with later lineups adding different guitarists and even saxophone at times, which helped push their sound in new directions. No matter the lineup, their live shows have always been loud, fun, and crowd-friendly rather than dark or aggressive. 

 
They released their first recordings in the late 1980s, with albums like 'Sodbusters', 'Los Me Boleros', and 'Saturnalia!' helping establish them in the UK and European psychobilly scenes. Around the turn of the 1990s, records such as 'Five Beans in the Wheel' and 'Singing to the Moon' showed them branching out stylistically, adding more melody and genre crossover. After a quieter period, they returned with later releases like 'The Adventures of the Long Tall Texans' in 2005 and 'The Devil Made Us Do It' in 2014, proving they hadn’t lost their spark. 

 
Long Tall Texans were regulars at legendary venues like the Klub Foot in Hammersmith and became a familiar name on the European festival circuit, where they built a loyal following. Even as psychobilly faded from the mainstream, the band kept going, touring, recording, and popping up on festival bills decades after they first formed. 

 
Today, they’re remembered as one of the most approachable and enduring bands to come out of the UK psychobilly scene -not the darkest or fastest, but one of the most fun. Their legacy is tied to great live shows, catchy songs, and a refusal to take the genre too seriously, which is exactly why people are still listening to them after more than 40 years. 

 

Torment

Torment were a UK psychobilly band who came out of Bristol in late 1985 and were active through the end of the decade, winding down around 1990 or shortly after. The band was formed by singer and guitarist Simon Brand after he left Frenzy, teaming up with drummer Kevin Haynes and double bassist Sean Holder. Like a lot of bands in the scene at the time, they quickly became part of the tight-knit UK psychobilly circuit and were regulars at London’s Klub Foot, which was basically the heart of the scene in the 1980s. 

Line-ups shifted a bit over the years, especially on double bass. Sean Holder didn’t stay long, and Simon Crowfoot took over bass duties for most of the band’s classic period, later followed by Vince Mildren. Despite the changes, Simon Brand was always the core of the band and the main creative force, giving Torment a pretty consistent identity throughout their run. 

Their debut album, 'Psyclops Carnival', came out in 1986 on Nervous Records and immediately set them apart. While they were clearly psychobilly, Torment didn’t lean heavily into the usual horror-movie clichés or cartoonish shock themes. Instead, their songs were often more personal, darker, and sometimes introspective, which made them stand out in a genre that was often loud, fast, and deliberately over the top. Musically, they mixed classic psychobilly with touches of rockabilly, swing, and even hints of punk and neorockabilly. 

They followed up quickly with 'Three’s a Crowd' in 1987, then 'Round the World' in 1989, and finally 'Hypnosis' in 1990. Across those albums you can hear the band experimenting more, stretching the genre a bit without completely leaving it behind. They also released EPs like 'Mystery Men' and appeared on key compilations such as the "Stomping at the Klub Foot" series, which helped cement their reputation, especially across Europe. 

Live, Torment were well respected and toured widely, particularly in continental Europe, where psychobilly had a huge and very loyal following. By the early 1990s, though, things slowed down. Simon Brand eventually moved abroad, and after his death in the mid-1990s, any real possibility of a full revival ended.

 
Even though they weren’t around for that long, Torment left a solid mark on the genre. They’re remembered as a band that proved psychobilly didn’t have to be all gimmicks and horror imagery, and that you could still be part of the scene while writing more thoughtful, emotionally heavy songs. 

The Radiacs

The Radiacs were a psychobilly/rockabilly band from Sheffield, UK, who came together in the mid-to-late 1980s, around 1986. Sheffield wasn’t exactly known as a rockabilly hotspot at the time, which made the band stand out even more in the UK underground scene. The original lineup featured Dale Williams on vocals, Billy Oxley on guitar, Paul Oxley on slap bass, and Shaun Williams on drums. 

 
Before settling on the name The Radiacs, the band briefly went by The Epileptic Hillbillys, but dropped it early on due to obvious controversy. The name “Radiacs” itself was very Sheffield-specific, taken from a radiac steel-cutting machine used in the city’s steel industry -one that Dale Williams actually worked with. That industrial background fit nicely with their gritty, no-nonsense sound.

 
Musically, The Radiacs blended classic rockabilly with punk aggression and psychobilly energy. They became known for fast tempos, driving upright bass, raw guitar tones, and lively stage shows. During the late ’80s and early ’90s they were often described as Sheffield’s only true psychobilly band, regularly sharing stages with bigger names on the UK and European psychobilly circuit. 

 
Their debut album, 'Hellraiser', was released in 1989 on Link Records and quickly became their best-known release. It captured their raw early sound and helped establish them within the scene. This was followed by 'Live & Rockin’' in 1990, which showed just how energetic they were on stage, especially at hometown shows. In 1993 they released their second studio album, 'Going Strong', on Tombstone Records, which featured a slightly tighter and more polished sound. 

 
Around this period there were some lineup changes, most notably on bass, but the band continued touring across the UK and Europe, building a solid reputation, particularly in Germany and France where psychobilly had a strong following. By the mid-1990s, around 1994 or 1995, The Radiacs quietly called it a day without any big breakup drama, and the members moved on to other projects. 

 
Interest in the band never completely faded, though, and in the late 2000s they reunited for new recordings and occasional performances. This led to 'The Return of the Radiacs', released around 2010–2011 on Raucous Records, which included new tracks along with material that long-time fans were happy to hear again. 

 
Today, The Radiacs are remembered as a solid and authentic part of the original UK psychobilly wave — not a flashy band, but one with strong songs, real scene credibility, and a loyal cult following among fans of old-school psychobilly and rockabilly punk crossover.

 

Skitzo

Skitzo were a British psychobilly band from London, active mainly during the mid to late 1980s, and they’re remembered as one of the rawer, more punk-leaning bands in the UK psychobilly scene. They shouldn’t be confused with other bands called Skitzo from different countries or genres -this Skitzo were firmly rooted in the underground psychobilly movement that grew out of punk and rockabilly in Britain. 

 

The band formed in early 1985 and originally went by the name The Electros. The core members included vocalist Phil Connor and drummer Rod Connor, later joined by Tony Bronham on bass and Anthony McVey on guitar. After some early gigs and a lineup change -Rod was replaced by drummer Steve Tomlinson following an accident- the band changed their name to Skitzo and began to gain attention on the London psychobilly circuit. 

Musically, Skitzo stood out because they leaned harder into punk aggression than many of their peers. While they still used classic psychobilly ingredients like upright bass and rockabilly rhythms, their sound was rougher, faster, and less cartoonish, with shouted vocals and a gritty garage-punk feel. This made them especially popular with fans who preferred the tougher, less polished side of psychobilly.

 
Their debut album, 'Skitzo Mania', was released in 1987 on Nervous Records and quickly became a cult favorite. The record captured their wild energy and included both original songs and twisted covers. A year later, they released 'Terminal Damage', which pushed their sound even further into punk territory with heavier guitars and a more aggressive overall feel. Around this time, they were also known for intense live shows, including appearances at legendary venues like the Klub Foot. 

By around 1990, Skitzo broke up, largely because Phil Connor developed vocal problems after years of extreme screaming. The band briefly reunited in the mid-1990s and released more material, including the album 'Vertigo' in 1997 and the single 'The Glove', before splitting up again. While they never became mainstream, their recordings continued to circulate through reissues and live albums, keeping their name alive in the scene. 

Today, Skitzo are remembered as a no-frills, hard-hitting psychobilly band with a strong punk attitude. They’re often mentioned alongside other classic UK psychobilly acts of the era, and 'Skitzo Mania' in particular is still considered an essential record for anyone digging into the darker, louder side of psychobilly. 

Tall Boys

The Tall Boys were a British psychobilly band that came out of London in the early 1980s. They were formed by Nigel Lewis and Mark Robertson, both of whom had previously been involved with The Meteors, one of the most important bands in shaping the psychobilly scene. Because of that connection, the Tall Boys were right at the heart of the genre’s early development. Their music mixed punk’s speed and attitude with rockabilly twang and a bit of gritty garage rock, giving them a raw, energetic sound that fit perfectly with the UK underground at the time. 

They started releasing records in the early ’80s, and one of their most well-known releases is the mini-album 'Wednesday Addams’ Boyfriend' from 1984. That record did surprisingly well for an underground psychobilly band, reaching the UK indie charts and helping them build a strong cult following. Over the next couple of years they put out singles and EPs like 'Final Kick' and 'Brand New Gun', which showed a more aggressive, punk-leaning side and even caused a bit of controversy due to their lyrics. 

Although the Tall Boys never reached the wider fame of bands like The Meteors or Guana Batz, they earned a lot of respect within the psychobilly scene. Songs such as “Ride This Torpedo” became fan favorites, and their live shows were known for being loud, fast, and intense. Recordings from gigs at legendary venues like the Klub Foot helped cement their reputation as a great live band. 

After their original run in the mid-1980s, their music continued to circulate through compilations and reissues, especially the 'Funtime' CD, which pulled together most of their classic material. The band even returned with later releases, including a full album in 2013, showing that there was still interest in their sound decades later. Today, the Tall Boys are remembered as an important cult band from psychobilly’s formative years -maybe not the biggest name, but definitely one that helped define the style and attitude of the genre.

 

The Termites

The Termites were a Scottish psychobilly band from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, who first came together in the mid-1980s. They became part of the early UK psychobilly underground, mixing punk aggression with rockabilly rhythms and a loud, chaotic live energy that quickly earned them a cult following. 

The band formed around 1985, with members who had grown up together in the New Farm Loch area of Kilmarnock. That shared background gave them a tight, almost gang-like feel, which really showed in their shows. The original lineup included Kenny “The Duke” Mitchell on vocals, Scott Ballantyne on guitar, Ewin Murray on drums and Gerry Doyle on bass. From the start, they stood out for being rough, fast and unapologetically raw. 

Their first recordings appeared in the late 1980s, including the track “Devil Call” on the Fury Records compilation 'Gypsy Girl' in 1987. Not long after, they released a four-track EP on Raucous Records, which helped spread their name further within the psychobilly scene. In 1989 they released their debut album, 'Overload', on Link Records as part of the "Chuck Flintstone Presents" series. The album captured their no-frills sound perfectly and has since become a cult favourite among psychobilly fans.

 
Like many bands from the scene, The Termites had a turbulent run. Line-up changes and internal problems eventually took their toll, and after their final gig in 1991 the band split up, with Kenny Mitchell being the only remaining original member by the end. 

The story didn’t end there, though. In 2005, The Termites reunited with Mitchell, Ballantyne and Murray back on board. They added an upright bass player, Matt Black, and later fiddle player Johnny “Johnny Fiddles” Grant, giving the band a slightly broader sound while keeping their edge. In 2008 they released the album 'Kicked in the Teeth' on the German label Crazy Love Records, marking a solid comeback and reintroducing them to a new generation of fans. 

In later years the band remained active off and on, with reissues, new recordings and occasional live appearances. Sadly, original bassist Gerry Doyle passed away in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Despite that loss, The Termites’ influence on the Scottish psychobilly scene remains strong, and they’re still remembered for their fierce energy, rough-and-ready sound and their place in the early UK psychobilly movement.