Biography
Hailing from Aberdeen, this six-piece stood among the leading Scottish acts to fuse punk with folk during the 1980s. Dod handled vocals while Carmen played fiddle, Fred took the guitars, Mikey covered bass, Chizel sat behind the drums, and Frankie supplied rhythm guitar. After establishing themselves as local favorites over several years, the group gradually built an underground following that extended across Scotland and into England, aided by sympathetic support slots alongside New Model Army and Men They Couldn’t Hang. Their first appearance on vinyl arrived via the early-80s Crass Records compilation Bullshit Detector 2, prompting them to launch their own imprint, Green Vomit Records. That label issued a split album shared with fellow Scottish political punk band Oi Polloi, followed by the full-length The Adventures Of Nobby Porthole - The Cock Of The North. Filled with frenetic fiddle work, biting political vocals, and pointed attacks on the Conservative government of the era, the record also featured a captivating take on the Scottish folk standard ‘Bonnie Wee Jeanie McColl’. The well-regarded sextet disbanded in 1991, though Carmen—described by portions of the press as “a female Nigel Kennedy”—later resurfaced both as a solo artist and alongside the ceilidh specialists Old Blind Dogs.