The Count Bishops

In the nascent phase of English punk, the Count Bishops occupied only a minor position yet delivered spirited, R&B-rooted performances whose raw intensity evoked a dirtier counterpart to the pioneering British R&B revivalists Dr. Feelgood. Their first recordings came under journeyman American singer Mike Spencer, yielding the 1975 EP Speedball on Ted Carroll’s Chiswick Records—a direct, no-frills set spotlighting the eerie, exhilarating number “Train, Train.” Spencer was abruptly dismissed, and the remaining members recruited fellow Englishman Dave Tice, whose gravelly vocals suggested he had swallowed ground glass, to complete the self-titled debut album. An explosive live record followed, by which point the group had shortened its name, though creative momentum had already stalled. Public indifference greeted the unremarkable 1979 album Cross Cuts; guitarist Zenon de Fleur died in a car accident the same year, lead guitarist Johnny Guitar joined Dr. Feelgood, and the Bishops disbanded.