Klingonz – Psycho’s From Beyond

Fury Records ‎– F3007 [1988]
Klingzonez – Blue Suede Shoes – Wayback Home – Oompa Loompa – Flying Saucers – Spiderman – Too Sentimental – Kling Stomp – Mutant Blob – Fritenite – Ghastly Things – Pick Pick Yum Yum

Arriving from Mars in 1988 (or from the United Kingdom, we don’t really know for sure), the four members of the Klingonz, Tony “Strangy” Gilmore on double bass, Mark Nolan on vocals, Philip Doyle on guitar, Brian “Mocker” McDonald on drums, reshuffled the cards of Psychobilly.


While the genre was mostly serious and basically presented itself as an aggressive and nervous mutation of traditional Rockabilly, the Klingonz shook up all the codes. First, they brought a good dose of totally unbridled delirium. The Klingonz’s brand of Psychobilly sometimes took the form of a nursery rhyme (Pick Pick Yum Yum), and where other groups referred to the great masters of horror, the Klingonz sought out Roald Dahl’s Oompa Loompas. Musically, the band sheds its rockabilly roots to inject a solid dose of punk (and the attitude that goes with) into their music (Nolan shouts more often than he sings), making Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes and Billy Lee Riley’s Flying Saucer Rock’n’Roll unrecognizable in the process. The whole thing is played at a speed that would make Chuck Yeager green with envy, supported by a double bass that must have caused blisters to more than one wannabe slapper.

The Klingonz are part of this second generation of Psychobilly groups, such as Skitzo, who moved away from the precursors who were still heavily anchored in Rockabilly and initiated what we can call Punkabilly. Others will follow and continue this evolution towards Metal and Hardcore.

The Radioactive Kid