The Screaming Blue Messiahs came preachin’ out of London in 1983 with a bible full of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, punk and pop, and a distinctly 80s rock sound. They quickly established themselves as the live band around the capital.
Debut album (essentially a 12″ six-track EP) Good And Gone was a stone-cold classic, with songs like Happy Home and their anthem Someone To Talk To providing a taster of what was to come.
Bald, bullet-headed singer/guitarist Bill Carter sang angst-ridden stories about Americana and cars and their amalgam of Dr Feelgood, The Gun Club, The Cramps and off-kilter Three Johns-style riffs soon saw them signed to WEA.
Their major-label debut LP, Gun-Shy (1986), finally charted (albeit a lowly #90), and the Messiahs finally hit the singles chart with – the somewhat unrepresentative – I Wanna Be a Flintstone from their Bikini Red LP (1987).
Their final album, Totally Religious (1989), was as good as anything they had done, but their label pulled the plug shortly after its release and the band split in 1990.
Bill Carter
Vocals, guitar Chris Thompson
Bass Kenny Harris
Drums
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