Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les " Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style of power pop, fusing samples, sequenced

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

es and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s with

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s and off-beat wordplay-loaded lyrics. They reached the height of their fame in 1992. Over the following years the band took on new members, reaching a six-piece, but struggled to regain their earlier popularity. They initially split up in 1998 after releasing seven albums.

History

Starting out: 1987–1990

Based in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

in South London, England, Carter and Morrison originally played in an indie band called Jamie Wednesday, which released two singles: "Vote For Love" and "We Three Kings of Orient Aren't". Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine was formed on 6 August 1987 when Carter and Morrison were the only band members to turn up for a charity gig at the

London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in t ...

, and went on stage to perform as a duo with backing tapes. The debut single, "A Sheltered Life", was released later in 1988 on the Big Cat

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, but it was not until the second single, " Sheriff Fatman", was released in 1989 that the band began to receive recognition. That song was followed by the album '' 101 Damnations'' – a critical account of life south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, full of black humour, cynicism, wordplay and puns. The album reached number 29 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The band's gigs became well known for a wall of white stage lights that threw off enormous heat and contributed to the sweaty,

stage-diving Stage diving is the act of leaping from a concert stage onto the crowd below, which occasionally causes serious injuries. It is often the precursor to crowd surfing. Long before the word was invented, public stagediving took place during the f ...

crowd scenes that became part of the band's image. Such scenes are depicted in the video ''In Bed With Carter'', filmed at the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

Rough Trade: 1991

In 1991 – having signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

– Carter USM released the album '' 30 Something'' which, thanks to non-stop touring, entered the

at number eight. One of the singles released from the album, "Bloodsport for All", an attack on racism and bullying in the army, was released at the start of the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and consequently banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Spurred on by infamy, Jim Bob and Fruitbat toured

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(with EMF) and made a second-on-the-bill appearance at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

. The band also made its first ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' appearance with the single "After the Watershed (Early Learning The Hard Way)", a song about child abuse that would become more famous for its subsequent legal battle with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' publisher over the use of the lyrics "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" in the chorus. The band also hit the headlines when Fruitbat rugby tackled the children's TV presenter Phillip Schofield in front of millions of television viewers at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party in 1991.

Chrysalis Records: 1992–1995

The demise of Rough Trade records necessitated a change of label, and Carter made the switch to

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

to work on their third album. That album, '' 1992 – The Love Album'', went straight to number one in the

, propelling the band to pop stardom. Also, in 1992, the band headlined the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

where Fruitbat, annoyed at the shortening of their headline set due to other bands overrunning insulted Michael Eavis and was subsequently banned from the festival forever. The band was unhappy, however, and this came across in the anger and cynicism of their next record, '' Post Historic Monsters''. In 1994, Carter's friend Wez, from former support band Resque, joined the band on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s and the newly inspired trio played America, Japan and Europe, including a major concert in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

which was recorded and later released on video. The recording was also given away as a free

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

with Carter's fifth studio LP, '' Worry Bomb'' – a punk-pop album with upbeat material such as "Let's Get Tattoos" and slow acoustic songs such as "My Defeatist Attitude".

Cooking Vinyl: 1996–1998

In 1996, Carter left Chrysalis Records and joined

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

. With Salv from the band S*M*A*S*H on bass, Wez's brother Steve on guitar, and teenager Ben Lambert on keyboards, Carter became a six-piece band. After signing to Cooking Vinyl they released a mini-album, '' A World Without Dave'', and started their longest ever UK tour. The band then went back to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the U.S. They decided to split shortly after their 10th anniversary, and their final studio album, '' I Blame The Government'', was released in January 1998. Two further albums, ''Live!'' and ''BBC Sessions'', were released in the same year, in June and October respectively.

Post-USM projects: 1999–present

Les Carter currently lives in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

and plays with the band Abdoujaparov and was announced on 27 November 2014 as the new guitarist for Ferocious Dog. He plays bass with Keith TOTP. He is also a former presenter on the Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM, having presented a regular weekly show between 2001 and 2011. James Morrison's projects included the band Jim's Super Stereoworld before moving on to solo albums including '' Angelstrike!'' He has also written four books: ''Goodnight, Jim Bob'', detailing his experiences on the road with Carter USM; and three novels – ''Storage Stories'', ''Driving Jarvis Ham'', ''The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81'', and ''Frank Derrick's Holiday of a Lifetime''. He also appeared in ''Gutted – A Revengers Musical'' that debuted at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. EMI released ''Anytime Anyplace Anywhere'', a "best of" record featuring tracks from the band's birth until their switch to Cooking Vinyl. This reportedly annoyed the band as they were not consulted or even made aware of the release of the record. In 2004 two new Carter CDs were released: a live album of BBC concerts from the early 1990s, and ''Brixton Mortars'', a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of tracks from their final two studio albums. In 2006, Carter released a new compilation of unreleased tracks and rarities called '' The Good, The Bad, The Average And Unique''. Echoing the earlier '' Starry Eyed And Bollock Naked'', the sleeve features a

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...

– this time a bright green new model convertible. Autumn 2007 saw the release of a band-authorised best of compilation album spanning their entire career on EMI, under the title, '' You Fat Bastard''. The title came from a chant performed by the crowd at gigs. It originated from MC (and lighting man) Jon "Fat" Beast's topless on-stage band introductions. Jon "Fat" Beast died on 27 July 2014.

Reunions

In 2001 and 2002, Jim Bob and Fruitbat toured as Who's The Daddy Now? The pair's two bands, Jim's Super Stereoworld and Abdoujaparov, would play a set each, after which the pair combined to perform a number of Carter USM songs. On 4 March 2007, almost ten years after the band last performed, Carter USM's original two-man line-up played a set of four songs as part of a gig to celebrate the life of Darren 'Wiz' Brown, former

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of the Mega City Four, who had died in December 2006. The band had been booked to play acoustically but surprised the audience by playing a traditional electric set at the last moment. Due to the success of this performance, Carter reunited for two 'farewell' gigs later that year. The first show took place on 2 November 2007 at London's

with support from The Sultans of Ping. Another concert was later arranged, which took place at Glasgow Barrowlands on 20 October 2007. This was recorded for the "Back in Bed With Carter" DVD that contained the whole concert, along with an interview and rehearsal footage. Support at The Barrowlands came from The Frank and Walters and Chris T-T. The reunion celebrated twenty years since the band's foundation and ten years since their split. The gigs were performed as the original two-piece of Fruitbat and Jim Bob. To coincide with the reunion EMI released a two-CD anthology, ''You Fat Bastard'', compiled by Jim Bob and Fruitbat. The songs were digitally remastered at Abbey Road studios. This was released in conjunction with the majority of their back catalogue (albums and promo videos) being made available digitally for the first time by EMI. On 6 February 2008, Jim Bob and Fruitbat hinted at the possibility of further Carter USM gigs when they sent an

email Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

to members of the band's mailing list. Two dates were then announced for Birmingham Academy and Brixton Academy for 21 and 22 November 2008. Support came from EMF at both gigs. Two further sell out gigs followed in London in November 2009, titled " The Drum Machine Years". Further concerts followed in November 2011, with the band playing Manchester Academy on Friday 18 November and London O2 Academy Brixton on Saturday 19 November. In February 2012, more reunion concerts were announced, in Leeds O2 Academy on 9 November and London O2 Academy Brixton on Saturday 10 November. EMI also announced re-mastered versions of the albums ''30 Something'' and ''1992 – The Love Album'' to coincide with these concerts. Carter announced in February 2014 that they would play another one-off gig at the

on 22 November that year, billed as the final ever Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine live show – The Last Tango in Brixton. Due to popular demand, a further date was added at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 21 November.

Members

* Jim Bob - vocals, guitar (1987–1998, 2007–2014) * Fruitbat - guitar, vocals, keyboards, programming (1987–1998, 2007–2014) * Wez - drums (1994–1998) * Steve - guitar (1996–1998) * Ben Lambert - keyboards, programming (1996–1998) * Salv - bass (1996–1998)

Timeline

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Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official Carter USM website
– Maintained by Fruitbat * Carter USM's AMG entry
An essay on Carter from Freakytrigger

An interview with Fruitbat about the 2008 shows from Culturedeluxe
{{Authority control English alternative rock groups Indie rock groups from London Alternative dance musical groups English punk rock groups Chrysalis Records artists Rough Trade Records artists Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Rock music groups from the London Borough of Lambeth