The Meteors

Combining a high-octane twist on vintage rockabilly with an ironic fixation on horror flicks and over-the-top gore, the Meteors stand as Britain’s foremost psychobilly act. Their signature 1983 LP Wreckin’ Crew marked the group’s commercial arrival and artistic peak, capturing the classic blend of gritty, twang-laden guitar, slapped double bass, and reverb-soaked, tongue-in-cheek horror lyrics. The 1999 compilation From Zorch with Love: The Very Best of the Meteors 1981-1987 gathers highlights from that fertile period, while later releases such as 2005’s Don’t Touch the Bang Bang Fruit, 2012’s Doing the Lord’s Work, and 2024’s 40 Days A Rotting demonstrate the band’s unwavering loyalty to its original style across four decades.

Guitarist and singer Paul Fenech conceived the Meteors after establishing himself in the late ’70s with the British rockabilly outfit the Southern Boys. He soon joined forces with that band’s upright bassist Nigel Lewis to launch the duo Rock Therapy; drummer Mark Robertson came aboard in 1980, prompting a name change to Raw Deal. As Raw Deal gained notice on rockabilly anthologies, Fenech steered the trio toward a fresh aesthetic—adopting punk-influenced attire, threading a playful menace through the music, and penning lyrics drawn from films like The Hills Have Eyes and Blue Sunshine—then rebranded the group the Meteors.

The first Meteors album, 1981’s In Heaven, surfaced via an unsuccessful Island Records arrangement, yet the true breakthrough arrived with Wreckin’ Crew and its hit cover of “Johnny Remember Me.” By then Lewis and Robertson had departed, yielding to bassist Mick White and drummer Steve “Ginger” Meadham; constant lineup shifts became routine, Fenech remaining the lone fixture through dozens of configurations, though drummer Wolfgang Hordemann arrived in 1993 and stayed well into the 2010s.

Throughout the ’80s and ’90s the Meteors sustained popularity across the United Kingdom and Europe with regular tours and recordings, yet registered only niche status in the United States. In autumn 2000 Fenech declared the band would cease live work after a German trek, but he soon reversed course, and fresh personnel resumed steady touring and recording within a few years. Ten studio albums emerged between 2000 and 2009 amid an intense concert schedule; activity eased slightly afterward, yet Doing the Lord’s Work and Maniac Rockers from Hell both appeared in 2012. The next album, The Power of 3, followed in 2016, while 2021 saw the arrival of Skull N Bones.

That collection mixed vocal and instrumental tracks, including a rendition of the Adverts’ “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes.” Several selections resurfaced on the expanded 2021 CD Skull N Bones & the Curse of Skull N Bones, which enlarged the program from twelve to twenty-one songs. Also in 2021, the German label Mutant Rock issued the studio album Dreamin’ Up a Nightmare. The November 2023 single “Murder Party” b/w “Dead Man’s Hand” previewed the LP 40 Days A Rotting, released to listeners in April 2024.