Joyrider

Comprising Phil Woolsey on vocals and guitar alongside Cliff Mitchel on guitar, Simon Haddock on bass and Buck Hamill on drums, the alternative rock outfit Joyrider came together in Portadown, Northern Ireland during 1992. An unrelenting run of European dates supporting Terrorvision, Dog Eat Dog and Therapy? steadily raised their profile, while their hard-drinking yet likeable demeanour drew favourable notices that ultimately eclipsed the early tag of “Therapy? Jnr”. The quartet also bridged community lines by arranging buses that carried both Protestant and Catholic supporters to shows outside their hometown, and they mocked religious and paramilitary slogans on their artwork. Their first releases, the singles “Dweeb King” and “Getting That Joke Now”, appeared on Blunt Records, the label founded by Therapy?’s Andy Cairns, before the group secured a deal with Paradox, an A&M subsidiary. Three EPs, among them the well-received Fabulae, expanded their following across the UK, yet it was the 1996 debut album—now featuring Carl Alty in place of Hamill—that signalled lasting promise. Straightforward yet potent lines in “Bible Blackbelt” and “Another Skunk Song” stood out, the latter track calling out the marijuana culture among fellow musicians with the words “High every night/And we’re all talking shite”. A follow-up album arrived in 1997, but despite continued positive coverage the band split soon after.