The Batfinks

The Batfinks were a British psychobilly band that came out of the underground UK scene in the 1980s, right when psychobilly was really starting to carve out its own identity. They weren’t one of the big mainstream names, but among fans and collectors they’ve always had a bit of cult status. Like a lot of bands from that era, they leaned hard into the spooky, campy horror vibe that psychobilly is known for, mixing it with fast, raw punk energy. 

Musically, they sat squarely in that classic psychobilly lane: slap bass thumping away, quick rockabilly-style rhythms pushed through a punk filter, gritty guitars, and vocals that sounded like they’d crawled straight out of a B-movie. Their songs often played with dark humor and horror themes, which was pretty much the badge of honor for UK psychobilly bands at the time. 

Their best-known release is 'Long Lost Psychobilly Volume 1' from 1989, which pulled together a bunch of their tracks and ended up becoming the main record people associate with them. They also popped up on a few live and compilation releases over the years, including titles like 'Live And Rockin’' and 'Wazzed ’n’ Blasted'. Most of their material was tied to the UK indie psychobilly world, especially labels like Link Records that specialized in that wild, upright-bass-driven sound. 

Even though they never reached the level of fame of bigger psychobilly acts, The Batfinks are remembered as one of those gritty scene bands that helped shape the early UK side of the genre. Their records still float around in collector circles, and for fans digging into old-school psychobilly, they’re one of those cool hidden gems worth checking out.