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The Screaming Blue Messiahs were a rock band, formed in 1983 in London by guitarist and singer Bill Carter, bass player and backing singer Chris Thompson and drummer Kenny Harris. The group emerged in the wake of the pub rock and
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
scenes that had been very predominant on the UK capital's
live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...
circuit during the late '70s/ early '80s. The band, a classic
power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...
, was active between 1983 and 1990 and released three
major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
LPs. They toured extensively throughout Europe, North America and Australasia, garnering wide critical acclaim for their aggressive blend of
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
,
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
.


History


Early years

Before founding the Screaming Blue Messiahs, its three members had played together as The Small Brothers. Thompson and Carter had been part of the
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
-influenced band Motor Boys Motor; together with Tony Moon on vocals, they recorded several tracks under that name on 24 August 1981 for
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 ...
's show on
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, ...
and released a self-titled album.Interview with Tony Moon
1981, No Class Fanzine Initially, after Harris joined Carter and Thompson, the band briefly continued to perform under the name 'Motor Boys Motor'. According to Carter, the final name was chosen upon the suggestion of Ace/Big Beat's Ted Caroll, who was concerned that the band's initial proposal of 'The Blues Messiahs' sounded too pub rock.Liner notes
''The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live at the BBC'' (Hux Records, 2009) Carter employed a rhythmic,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
-influenced,
feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
-laden guitar style, using mainly
Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...
guitars together with two combo amps: a
Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...
and an HH outfitted with Gauss speakers. For his occasional forays into
slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
, he favoured 'the mike stand, or whatever is handy',"Guitar Player" Magazine, September 1988, reproduced at "Blue Heaven"
 and that he only used
open tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. B ...
'when the strings go open by accident'. Featuring a sound described as "
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
from hell" and a strong passion for
Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
, cars, guns, aeroplanes and broadcast evangelism, the group released the mini-album ''Good and Gone'' on Big Beat Records. Its six songs, which had been selected from eleven songs recorded in spring 1984 with producer
Vic Maile Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for the Animals on their song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in th ...
during a session at Elephant Studios in
Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
, London, included a version of
Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
' " You're Gonna Change". Upon its release, the EP entered the top twenty in the UK independent record chart, where it remained for six months. The Screaming Blue Messiahs played their first official gig at 'Downstairs at the Clarendon',
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
, London on 11 June 1984.Gig history, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, reproduced at "Blue Heaven"
 On 24 July 1984, they performed the songs "Good And Gone", "Someone To Talk To", "Tracking The Dog" and "Let's Go Down to the Woods And Pray" during their first recorded session for the
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 ...
show on
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, ...
. Broadcast on 2 August, the session proved so popular that it resulted in two BBC releases, one a 4-track 12" and a later inclusion of 'Good And Gone' on an album sampler of
Peel Sessions 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 ...
. In December of the same year, The Screaming Blue Messiahs appeared on ''
The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
'' on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, playing two songs: "Let's Go Down to the Woods And Pray" and "Good And Gone", and then undertook a short tour of the Netherlands.


Major label signing

In January 1985, the band signed to
WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...
.History of Screaming Blue Messiahs, reproduced at "Blue Heaven"
 The label re-released the mini-album ''Good and Gone'', and the band began work on ''Gun Shy'', their first studio album, produced by Vic Maile. On 30 March 1985,
BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
broadcast a live gig at the
Paris Theatre The Paris Theatre (also known as the Paris Studios) was originally a cinema located at 12 Lower Regent Street in central London which was converted into a studio by the BBC for radio broadcasts requiring an audience. It was used for severa ...
in London. On 14 June, the Messiahs played their second BBC session, performing live versions of "Good and Gone", "Tracking the Dog" and "Talking Doll" for
Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word pe ...
's show. In addition, the band extensively toured the UK, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany that year. The track "Twin Cadillac Valentine", having been influenced from the
Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...
song "Strong Love", was released as the first single from ''Gun Shy'' in the autumn of 1985. Commenting on the song, Carter has said, "When we first went in the studio we didn't have anything, just the
backing track A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments, sometimes of purely rhythmic accompaniment, often of a rhythm section or other accompaniment parts that live music ...
. I was trying to get Kenny to play like on "
I Can See For Miles "I Can See for Miles" is a song by the English rock band the Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album ''The Who Sell Out''. Written by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the only song from the album to be released as a single. Recording Recorded ...
". It's about girls...cars...love, attempted kidnapping and wide open spaces." The release of ''Gun-Shy'' in early 1986 was met by a generally positive reception by select music press: ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' stated, " ey have a gut instinct for the roots of
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
and R 'n' B and from that sure base they can confidently blast their way through Bill Carter's extraordinarily powerful selection of songs". The
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
opined that, " the strength of this album, I'd say the Messiahs are going to be very, very big indeed." To promote the album, the band embarked on another extensive tour of Germany, Finland, UK, US—including a series of concerts supporting
The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
—Australia and New Zealand. Two further singles, "Smash The Market Place" and "Wild Blue Yonder", were released from ''Gun-Shy'' in 1986. "Wild Blue Yonder" resurfaced in 2006 as the closing music of season 03, episode 04 of FX's '' Rescue Me''. Their second album, ''Bikini Red'', was recorded over several months in studios around London and released in 1987. Produced by Maile, the record included songwriting contributions from Tony Moon. The first two singles released from the album were "I Can Speak American" and the title track. The band returned to the BBC in November 1987 and recorded versions of "Sweet Water Pools", "I Wanna Be a Flintstone" and "Big Brother Muscle" from the ''Bikini Red'' LP for the
Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...
programme.


Critical acclaim

Jim Betteridge commented in ''
International Musician ''International Musician and Recording World'' was a magazine published from 1975 to 1991. Originally launched in the UK, editions were created for the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Foundation ''International Musician and Recording ...
'' magazine on Carter's playing style, saying that " plays without a pick, crashing the flesh of his fingers into the strings with little regard for its mortality. Blood can often be seen splattered across the
scratch plate A pickguard (also known more correctly as scratchplate) is a piece of plastic or other (often laminated) material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to protec ...
– or the place where the scratch plate would be if it hadn't been removed. To avoid completely razoring the top of his fingers off, and I suppose also because he likes the sound, William uses unusually heavy bottom strings;
Rotosound Rotosound is a British guitar and bass string manufacturing company based in England. History Rotosound was started in the late 1950s by James How, a musician and engineer by trade. How started manufacturing music strings for many famous arti ...
(and nothing else will do) 56, 48, 28, 16, 13 and 12. But he gives 'em such a sound thrashing that one string breaks every couple of numbers and often one a number, and I don't just mean the top strings; Es and As cop it an' all. In the words of his
roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...
, 'He goes fooking bonkers!'"Jim Betteridge, "International Musician" Magazine, reproduced at "Blue Heaven"
 Carter's vocal delivery also attracted attention in the
music press Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
with, for example, John Dougan commenting: "Carter wielded his instrument like a cross between
Wilko Johnson John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...
and
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...
; he was a deft soloist, but it was his tricky, complex rhythm playing that gave the band sheet-after-sheet of supercharged sound for a foundation. As impressive as his guitar playing was his voice: at times comically bawling, other times mumbling and imperceptible; in the course of a
verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
, Carter could sound righteously indignant, or suddenly frightened and confused". The Screaming Blue Messiahs, biography, John Dougan, All Music Guide/ref> The band's overall sound, according to Dougan, "made for extreme, confrontational, and very, very exciting
rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
". On the edition of 20 March 1987 of the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
TV show '' The Tube'',
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
announced that his favourite band of the moment was The Screaming Blue Messiahs. An avid fan of the group, Bowie reaffirmed his affection for the group on other occasions, for example, in the August '87 issue of ''
Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
'' magazine: "Well! The band this week – I've only just discovered them, so they're my pet project – is The Screaming Blue Messiahs. They're the best band I've heard out of England in a long time", and when asked by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine in 1987 who his favourite band was, Bowie replied "The Screaming Blue Messiahs. I love them. I think they're terrific."; and again in ''Words & Music'' magazine in January 1988: "There’s an English band I like very much. Nobody seems to have heard of them. They’re called The Screaming Blue Messiahs and I’m pushing them like mad. I think they’re really good. There’s an element of
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
in them that I really like. But there's something else there. I'm not really sure what it is. There's an exciting guitar player. He's a sort of new wave guitar player, but they're an angry mob from London." The admiration extended to an invitation for the Messiahs to join Bowie on a couple of his
Glass Spider Tour The Glass Spider Tour was a 1987 worldwide concert tour by English musician David Bowie, launched in support of his album '' Never Let Me Down'' and named for that album's track "Glass Spider". It began in May 1987 and was preceded by a two-wee ...
dates in the UK. They supported at
Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
in Wales and
Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on the 21 and 23 June 1987.


Chart success

January 1988 saw the release of "I Wanna Be A Flintstone", a reworked song from the ''Motor Boys Motor'' album, as a single. The record became a
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
, peaking at number 28 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The song's success saw the band appearing on the BBC's ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' and Saturday morning kids' show ''
No. 73 ''No 73'', later retitled ''7T3'', is a British 1980s children's TV show produced by Television South (TVS) for the ITV network. It was broadcast live on Saturday mornings and ran from 1982 to 1988. The show had an ensemble cast amongst others ...
''. Two
videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
were made for the song, both making use of
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
clips from the ''
Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...
'' TV series. The single appeared in multiple formats, including
picture discs The overwhelming majority of records manufactured have been of certain sizes (7, 10, or 12 inches), playback speeds (33, 45, or 78 RPM), and appearance (round black discs). However, since the commercial adoption of the gramophone record (ca ...
and extended 12" remix versions. The song became the group's only charting song in Australia, where it peaked at number 100 in April 1988. Coinciding with their increased popularity due to "I Wanna Be A Flintstone", the band again toured extensively. In February 1988, the group played concerts in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany. In March they returned to the US for an extended tour, supporting Echo & The Bunnymen. In April they toured further throughout the US, and late in the year visited Finland and played a few gigs in their native Britain. Commenting on the characteristic intensity of the band's stage performance at this time, Jon Pareles stated that "although most rockers like to think their music carries a sense of danger, few bands come closer to raw mayhem than the Screaming Blue Messiahs."Jon Pareles, (14 April 1988)
'Review/Rock; Mayhem by the Screaming Messiahs'
New York Times Despite having achieved critical acclaim and a hit record, a change of manager and a long touring schedule coupled with financial hardships after returning from tours began to take a toll on the band. To cope with the intensity of the band's live performances, Carter explained that "I used to have to prepare myself all day ahead of the gig for the sheer emotional and physical onslaught. I used to put everything into the gigs. I'd come off stage all used up. I was so hot after, I would have to put ice on my head! Then we'd come back from touring and I'd have to sell guitars in order to live". This sentiment was shared by Thompson, "One minute I'd be signing autographs in Hollywood then I'd be back here painting
skirting boards In architecture, a baseboard (also called skirting board, skirting, wainscoting, mopboard, trim, floor molding, or base molding) is usually wooden or vinyl board covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the joint b ...
".


Final album

Their third album, ''Totally Religious'' — jointly produced by
Howard Gray Howard Gray (born 15 July 1962) is an English musician, sound engineer, programmer, composer, re-mixer and producer who has worked with Public Image Ltd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Kirsty MacColl, the Armoury Show, the Pale Fountains, J ...
and Robert Stevens — was recorded in Miami Sound Studios and
Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...
in Miami, Alaska Studios in
Waterloo, London Waterloo () is a district in Central London, and part of the Bishops ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The ...
and Sheffield Recording in
Phoenix, Maryland Phoenix is an unincorporated community located in Baltimore County in the State of Maryland, United States. It is located at latitude 39°30'59" North, longitude 76°36'59" West. The United States Postal Service has assigned Phoenix the ZIP code ...
and released in 1989. To support the album's release, the Messiahs toured the UK in November, and in December played six concerts in Germany. A promo video for the track "Four Engines Burning" was shot, although no singles were released from the album. The group's relationship with its record label deteriorated, resulting in the removal of ''Totally Religious'' from distribution a month after its release. The band was dropped from its contract, and split up shortly afterwards, playing their last gig at The Subterrania Club in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
, London, on 5 June 1990. The group's recordings were subsequently deleted from the WEA and Elektra catalogues and became unavailable.


Post break-up

Following the split, Thompson and Harris played with
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...
outfit La Rue. They then reunited with Tony Moon and bass player Ricky McGuire from
The Men They Couldn't Hang The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...
to form Dynamo Hum and released a 10" EP entitled "Four Cute Creatures". Kenny Harris went on to play with
The Men They Couldn't Hang The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...
, followed by spells as a house husband, a baker and a published author. In 1990, The Replacements released their album ''
All Shook Down ''All Shook Down'' is the seventh and final studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990 by Sire Records. Recording This album was originally intended to be frontman Paul Westerberg's solo artist debu ...
''. Unbeknownst to them, the Messiahs had released a single with the same title two years earlier. Upon learning this, Replacements frontman
Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...
tried unsuccessfully to delay the release of the record to change the title. In 1994, "I Wanna Be A Flintstone" was included on the soundtrack to the US version of the film ''
The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...
''. In 1997 Dave 'Chalkie' Dawson, friend and photographer of the band in their early days, put together an official Screaming Blue Messiahs website at www.screamingbluemessiahs.co.uk As of 2010, Bill Carter also returned to art, producing screen prints and digital work, exhibiting at the Jenny Granger Gallery and Kessaris Art. The only new official Messiahs material to surface since 1989 has been the 1992 ''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'' CD, recorded at
The Town & Country Club The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was close ...
in London on 27 February 1988, and a home-produced live album of a show in Zurich, released in 2007. In 2009, Hux Records released an album titled ''The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live at the BBC'' featuring live recordings of the band performing at the Paris Theatre in London in 1985 and BBC radio sessions recorded for the
Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word pe ...
and
Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...
radio programmes in 1985 and 1987, respectively. In 2009,
Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists, including Paul Butterfield, Cactus, Herbie ...
reissued the albums ''Gun Shy'' and ''Bikini Red'', which had been unavailable since the early 1990s. In April 2009, Chris Thompson gave an interview with Chicago-based music website ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' during which, when asked about the possibility of The Screaming Blue Messiahs reforming, he commented: "Every couple of years I get a call from one of the others saying, "Shall we re-form and do something". I have always said, "OK let's go!" Then after about a week it fizzles out with some sort of drama. I had my bi-annual call recently. This time I said I wasn’t up for it as it’s just going to fizzle out in a week. Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun doing what I’m doing. But as they say, "Never say Never"."Interview with Chris Thompson (of The Screaming Blue Messiahs)
Consequence of Sound, 7 April 2009 In July 2010, Thompson's band The Killer B's released an album titled ''Love is a Cadillac, Death is a Ford'' on Track Records. It also featured former Messiahs drummer Kenny Harris and former collaborator Tony Moon. In November 2012, Chris Thompson and Kenny Harris recorded three tracks with Pat Collier at Perry Vale Studios, London, under the name of Horseface, with plans for further recording and gigs in 2013. The three tracks were made available for listening on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
. In May 2017,
Greg Gutfeld Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...
of Fox News interviewed Bill Carter for his Podcast "The One w/ Greg Gutfeld". Billed as "his first interview since the band broke up in 1989" In August 2022, Bill Carter released 3 singles together with Sarah Corina.


Discography


Albums

* ''Good and Gone'' (1984, Big Beat Records) mini-album * '' Gun-Shy'' (1986) – UK No. 90 * ''
Bikini Red ''Bikini Red'' is the third release by The Screaming Blue Messiahs and the follow-up to '' Gun-Shy''. The album, which was notable for being one of the last recordings by renowned producer Vic Maile, well known for his work with Jimi Hendrix, Le ...
'' (1987) * '' Totally Religious'' (1989)


Singles

* "Twin Cadillac Valentine" (1985) * "Smash the Market Place" (1986) * "Wild Blue Yonder" (1986) * "Bikini Red" (1987) * "I Can Speak American" (1987) * "I Wanna Be a Flintstone" (1988) – UK No. 28, AUS No. 100


Live releases

* ''The Peel Sessions: The Screaming Blue Messiahs'' (
Strange Fruit Records Strange Fruit Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom. The label, established by Clive Selwood and John Peel in 1986, was the primary distributor of BBC recordings, including Peel Sessions.Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) ''Th ...
, SFPS003, 1986) * ''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'' (
Windsong International Records Windsong International Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom active in the early 1990s. It specialised in releasing recordings made for or by BBC Radio One for broadcast on the ''In Concert'' radio programme. BBC Radio ...
, WINCD022, 1992) * ''Zurich 1989'' (2007) * ''The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Live at the BBC'' (
Hux Records Hux Records is a British record label based in England, which was launched in 1998. They specialise in releasing old material, especially in unreleased BBC recordings such as John Peel Sessions and BBC Radio 1 concerts. Hux has gained a reputa ...
, 2009)


Box-sets

* ''Vision in Blues'' (Easy Action Records, 2016)


Compilation appearances

* ''Don't Let the Hope Close Down'' (features "Tracking the Dog" from "Good and Gone") (Hope Springs Records, HOPE 1, 1984) * ''Beach Party Big Beat Compilation'' (features "Tracking the Dog" from "Good and Gone") (Big Beat, WIKM 39, 1985) * ''The Peel Sessions Sampler'' (1988)


References


External links


Trouser Press entry

Facebook page for The Messiahs


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726012249/http://recordcollectorsoftheworldunite.com/artists/screamingbluemessiahs/screamingbluemessiahs.html The Screaming Blue Messiahs Discography at Record Collectors of the World Unite] {{DEFAULTSORT:Screaming Blue Messiahs, The English rock music groups Musical groups from London English new wave musical groups British musical trios