Silverfish were a UK-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band which formed in the late 1980s and first performed in Camden in 1988. The band split up in 1993. Their lead singer was Scottish-born Lesley Rankine. The band had a high octane, indie punk metal sound that was set alight by Rankine's distinctive vocals and strongly

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

views. Famous lyrics "Hips, Tits, Lips, Power" from the single "Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal" adorned a popular T-shirt of the time. The other members of the band were; guitarist Andrew "Fuzz" Duprey; bassist Chris P Mowforth; and drummer Stuart Watson. Founding member Fuzz was a regular "face" at London indie gigs of the time, and is now a regular DJ at the Dublin Castle pub in Camden Town, London. The band stood out from many of their scene-contemporaries with a lineup that was mixed in terms of both gender and ethnicity and a setlist that was more liberally strewn with expletives than that of anyone else. Silverfish were the main focus of the so-called 'Camden Lurch' scene, a term invented by the music press to describe the fact that many of the prominent indie bands (outside of the dominant

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

and

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

scenes) of the time resided in Camden, and that they lurched. The band's 1980s EPs were collected in a 1990 compilation album called ''Cockeye''. The following year, they released their debut album, ''Fat Axl'', and toured with the band

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the ''In Case You Didn't Feel Lik ...

. In 1992, the group gained wider acclaim with their second album, ''Organ Fan'', and supported the band

7 Year Bitch 7 Year Bitch was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band was active between 1990 and 1997 and released three albums over that time. The band formed at the same time as the emergence of the riot grrrl sub-genre, which is a ...

. During the broadcast of a Peel session,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

summed up their level of success: "If they were from New York, we'd be mad for them of course". When the band split up in 1993, Rankine moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and formed the band

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

with

Mark Walk Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Cockeye'' (mini album) (1990) * ''Fat Axl'' (1991) * ''Organ Fan'' (1992) – UK #65

EPs

* ''Dolly Parton'' (1989) * ''T.F.A.'' (1990) * ''Fuckin' Driving or What?'' (1991) * ''Silverfish with Scrambled Eggs'' (1992) * ''Crazy'' (1993) * ''Damn Fine'' (1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverfish Creation Records artists