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Coffin Nails

Termites (the)

The Termites – Raucous 4 Track E.P.

Raucous Records RAUC008
Every Time– Rockin’ All Night / Home Sweet Home–Long Time Now

The Termites

The Termites were a Psychobilly band from Scotland. They formed in the second half of the eighties. In 1987, they appeared on the compilation album Gypsy Girl with the excellent Devil Call. The following year, they released their first EP on Raucous Records. The band was then Ewin Murray on drums, Scott “Bally” Ballantine on guitar, Kenny Mitchell on vocals and Gerry Doyle on electric bass. The Psychobilly they play is very aggressive and fast, with distorted guitar in the wake of the early Coffin Nails, the Krewmen and sometimes Mitchell’s voice sounds a bit like a wild and demented version of Pip (Guana Batz). The whole thing is rather pleasant and well done, albeit not very original.It could be a tad repetitive on a long-play, but the EP format suits them well.

The Radioactive Kid

Various Artists – Live At The Big Rumble

Various Artists – Live At The Big Rumble

Nervous Records – NERCD 066 [1991]
Atomics: I do declare – Restless: New Orleans – Restless: Shake Your Moneymaker – Lost Souls: Devil in Disguise – Lost Souls: Prisonner of Love – Mad Sin: Moonlight Shadows – Mad Sin: Walltown Kid – Razorbacks: Hot rod man – Boozy: Boozy – Los Renegados: Soy un renegado – Cyclone: Bates motel – Cyclone: Cyclone Shock – Nekromantix: Alice in Psycholand – Nekromantix: Motor Psycho – Numbskulls: Psychophobia – Demented Are Go: Anal Wonderland – Dypsomaniaxe: Bad Habit – Coffin Nails: Loose Woman – Skitzo: Empty Room – Spellbound: Legend of the Past

Live at the Big Rumble

Live At The Big Rumble presents some bands recorded live at the 2nd Big Rumble in October 1990. The whole thing is uneven. Nevertheless, it offers some interesting moments.
The Atomics is an American band playing energetic Neo-rockabilly. Although convincing on their albums, their live performance here is quite messy.
The Razorbacks, another group from the United States, play a supercharged cover of Tex Rubinowitz’s classic Hot Rod Man.
Los Renegados mix their Neo-Rockabilly with a touch of Hillbilly for a fairly average result.
Boozy came from Belgium and was one of many bands that seemed more interested in partying than working on songs and recording albums. This is felt in their performance, which is confused and musically poor.
Restless lives up to its reputation. Always professional and at the top musically, the group, then with Steve Whitehouse of Frenzy on double bass, played two perfect versions of New Orleans and Shake Your Money Maker. Faced with such a performance, one can just regret the absence of Long Black Shiny Car or Ice Cold.
The Psychobilly from Lost Souls is fast and powerful. They’re one of the only bands on this compilation to sound better live than on the album.
This is unfortunately not the case with the Cyclone. Both songs are excellent, but the sound is confusing and can’t fully convey the album’s energy. On the contrary, Mad Sin, still a trio at the time, displays impressive energy. Even more impressive, Nekromantix perfectly reproduces the arrangements and the power of two songs from their second album. 
Dypsomaniaxe was formed by four colourful girls with impressive quiffs who played a fast, quite crazy, outrageous, exuberant, and fun Psychobilly. Everything to seduce! I would have easily exchanged half of this album for five or six more tracks of them. 
Much in better shape than on Link’s Live and Rockin’, the Coffin Nails launch into an epic five-minute version of Loose Woman, full of fun and humour.
If Skitzo’s performance is of interest, it is not musical but historical. It was the last concert given at the time by the group. It’s powerful, with a fairly marked Punk influence, although not as noisy as one might fear. However, the whole thing lacks a little accuracy and coherence.
Numbskulls play that brand of Psychobilly with a heavy Punk influence that I’m not too keen on. That said, they play it well.
Demented Are Go are in great shape, as demonstrated by the always very subtle Anal Wonderland. The pleasant surprise comes from Spellbound, whose version of Legend Of the Past is superior to the studio version.
Ultimately, this compilation is a strange catch-all between wild Psychobilly and Neo-Rockabilly, established groups and other more amateur ones, which makes us regret the absence of groups present during this edition (Quakes, Nitros, Polecats).

The Radioactive Kid

Coffin Nails

Coffin Nails - Who's He? - Nervous
Coffin Nails – Who’s He? – Nervous

Coffin Nails – Who’s He?

Nervous 059 [1990]
Skeleton swamp – Humungus’s horse blues – Midnight hour – Unbalanced – Been around the world – Inspector Clueso – She’s a moose – Mission impossible – Dr. Frankenstein’s castle – Carling Black Label – The loch – Peter (the street cleaner)

Released in 1990 after the disastrous Live’n’Rockin’, Who’s He? is the band’s first studio album recorded with a slap bass. Needless to say that The Coffin Nails had something to prove and this platter was a mighty fine surprise. Produced by Pete Gage, they never sounded so good. Humungus’ voice has improved a lot even though he’s a bit ambitious when he covers “Midnight Hour”. The new members, Scott Milsom on slap bass and Nasser Bouzida (ex member of the ska band The Loafers), bring a welcome dose of fresh air.
In the end Who’s He? is a very good psychobilly album with touches of hillbilly (Humungus’ Hore Blues) and ska (Been All Around The World) played by a band that doesn’t take it too seriously.


 Coffin Nails – Live and Rockin’

Coffin Nails - Live and Rockin'
Coffin Nails – Live and Rockin’

Cherry Red/Anagram cdmpsycho60 {1990}

Please Little Woman – Heartbreak Hotel – Skateboard Frenzy – Brand New Cadillac – Penetration – Let’s Wreck – Myra Hindley – Do You Love Me – Loose Loose Woman (She’s A Moose) – Uncle Willy – Blubbery Love (Saintly Snails) – Psycho Disease – My Baby Left Me

The Coffin Nails have without a doubt played during their career numerous gigs that were worth recording, so why did Link records release this particular show on record remains a mystery. And why Cherry Red/Anagram reissues it is another mystery. Recorded in late 1989 in front of a small crowd (so small you can’t barely call it a crowd), they seem totally unrehearsed: the drummer (who only played on this album) is sometimes off beat and Humungus makes mistakes one after another and almost forgets the lyrics of the songs. Even Humungus admits that this records is their worst one. It’s a pity because when you see the setlist it could have been a great album including all their classics. Prefer to this album the live compilation “Sick Sick Sick” (also featuring Skitzo and Demented Are Go) or their most recent live album “Big Night Out”.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Coffin Nails
Coffin Nails


Coffin Nails – A Fistful of Burgers

Coffin nails

Link Records LINK LP 058 [1988]
Penetration (Orgasmic Mix) – Please Little Woman – Come Back To School – Trust In Me – Heartbreak Hotel – For A Few Burgers More – If Only Mother Could See You Now – My Baby Left Me – Coffin Nails – Nothing To Lose – Blubbery Love (Saintly Snails) – Loose, Loose Woman (She’s A Moose)

In February 1988, Dave Ward left the Coffin Nails. The remaining trio kept on playing and recorded their second album for Link records with Humungus taking over the vocal duties.
But the vocalist is not the only thing that changed. The production is better, and the band seems more comfortable with the studio.
Penetration is a new version of the song that appeared on their debut album, complete with ladies’ screams to go with the theme. Not essential. Please Little Woman finds the band in full Rockabilly mode. Come Back to School is excellent, and very unusual from what one can find on the run-of-the-mill psychobilly albums. Trust in Me, penned by Gra, the bass player, is a mid-tempo, on a Diddley Beat, quite similar to what the Meteors did on an album like Stampede. Their cover of Heartbreak Hotel starts relatively close to the original before changing gear and going mental. The instrumental For A Few Burgers More is a rocking tribute to Ennio Morricone. Like Paul Fenech, Humungus knows how to melt Morricone and Hank Marvin in the same song.
If Only Mother Could See You Now is a great rocking track. Listening to this song could almost convince me that the Coffin Nails were better with an electric bass.
My Baby Left Me is a good rockabilly track. The song is an original and not a cover of the Elvis / Arthur Crudup track. Coffin Nails is a shoot of Psychobilly straight to your feet and is made for wrecking. Saintly Snails (Blueberry Love) has a bit of soul in it with Reverend Humungus preaching the gospel. Loose Woman concludes the album on a high rockin’ note.

Coffin Nails – Ein Bier Bitte

Nervous Records – NERD 031 [1987]
Skateboard Frenzy – Werewolf Bitch – Greased Lightning – Humungus – Let’s Wreck – The Lone Ranger / Plasma Pool – Myra Hindley – Natural Born Lover – Wind Up Dead – Penetration – Uncle Willy CD bonus tracks: Ain’t It True – House On The Haunted Hill – Brand New Cadillac – Outta This World

The Coffin Nails formed in mid-1985 with Tony Szajer (vocals), Steve “Humungus” Clarke (guitar), Graham Farr (electric bass) and Toby Griffin (drums).
This line-up released one excellent track (Plymouth Fury) on Zorch Factor One (Nervous 023) and appeared on Stompin At The Klub Foot 3 & 4, playing Let’s Wreck and Psycho Disease (both written by Clarke and Griffin).
Shortly after, Griffin left to join the Meteors, with whom he recorded a couple of albums, including the excellent, Don’t Touch the Bang Bang Fruit. Dave Ward, a friend of Griffin, replaced him on drums. The band kept on gigging, and in April 1987, one of these shows was recorded, and the Coffin Nails appeared on the Sick Sick Sick compilation album alongside Skitzo and Demented Are Go. This was Tony’s last release with the band, as he left the Coffin Nails around the same time. Dave Ward then took over the vocal duties, and the Coffin Nails recruited Robert “Smurf” Farquharson to play the drums.
The band generated enough interest for Roy Williams to propose them a recording deal. The band found itself in the studio with Doc Stewart producing. Ein Bier Bitte is a little nugget of aggressive Psychobilly, positioning them as rambunctious little brothers of the Meteors from the outset (Steve is a big fan of the group as evidenced by the tattoo he sports on his right arm.) The use of an electric bass reinforces this closeness in the sound. But, while Paul Fenech’s voice is vicious and high-pitched, Ward has a raspy, scratchy voice.
The album opens with a quote from the A-Team, setting the ball rolling with a surge of wild Psychobilly, sometimes flirting with bad taste when it comes to lyrics (Penetration). Like all good Psychobilly groups, we come across werewolves and serial killers (Myra Hindley). Let’s Wreck, more or less modelled on Chris Montez’s Let’s Dance, is a call to throw yourself headfirst into the first pit. The band covers two songs: Greased Lightnin and Natural Born Lover (in an entirely unrecognizable version for the latter.)
Clarke provides much of the material alone (like the instrumental Humungus) or in collaboration. His guitar playing, still rooted in Rockabilly, is perfect and consistently inventive. Some songs are a little weaker, but overall it’s an excellent start for the band. In an interview with Chip Waite for Southern & Rocking in 1995, Clarke complained about the production, saying that “(Stewart) tried making Dave sound like Demented Are Go”. This is quite unfair since the producer captured the energy of the band and the final result is one hell of a powerful album.

The radioactive Kid

Link records / Chuck Flintstone Presents

Link records was a UK punk label, run by Mark Brennan and Laurie Pryor.

In 1988 they launch their Chuck Flintstone presents serie offering Chuck Harvey of the Frantic Flintstones a position as scout for Psychobilly music.

Chuck Flintstone presents

The Meteors – Live & Loud* LINK LP 006 – [1987]
Frantic Flintstones – Rockin’ Out LINK LP 051 – [1988]
Coffin Nails – A fistful of burgers LINK LP 058 – [1988]
The Deltas – Tougher than tough LINK LP 060 – [1988]
The Nitros – Nightshades LINK LP 062 – [1988]
The Polecats – Live & Rockin LINK LP 069 – [1988]
Frantic Flintstones – Not Christmas Album LINK LP 072 – [1989]
V/A – Katz Keep Rockin LINK LP 077 -[1989]
Boz and the Bozmen – Dress In Deadmen’s Suits LINK LP 080 – [1989]
The Batfinks – Wazzed ‘n’ Blasted LINK LP 082 – [1989]
Demented Are Go – The day, the earth, spat blood LINK LP 084 – [1989]
V/A – Rockin at the Take Two LINK LP 089 – [1989]
Turnpike Cruisers – Drive drive drive LINK LP 091 – [1989]
The Radiacs – Hellraiser LINK LP 093 – [1989]
The Deltas – Live & Rockin LINK LP 096 – [1989]
Frantic Flintstones – Live & Rockin LINK LP 098 – [1989]
Sugar Puff Demons – Fall from grace LINK LP 099 – [1989]
The Tailgators – Live & Rockin LINK LP 101 – [1989]
Rockin Rocket 88 – Coming home LINK LP 102 – [1989]
Scared Stiff – Dark Streets LINK LP 104 – [1989]
King Kurt – Live & Rockin LINK LP 106 – [1989]
Frantic Flintstones – The nightmare continues LINK LP 109 – [1989]
V/A – Katz Keep Rockin Vol. 2 LINK LP 111 – [1989]
Stage Frite – Island of the lost souls LINK LP 113 – [1989]
Demented Are Go – Live & Rockin LINK LP 116 – [1990]
Coffin Nails – Live & Rockin LINK LP 118 – [1990]
The Batfinks – Live & Rockin LINK LP 122 – [1990]
The Termites – Overload LINK LP 124 – [1990]
The Tailgators – The Tailgators LINK LP 126 – [1990]
The Radiacs – Live & Rockin LINK LP 128 – [1990]
Frantic Flintstones – Schlachthof Boogie Woogie LINK LP 129 – [1990]
Rantanplan – Two worlds at once LINK LP 131 – [1990]
King Kurt – Destination Demoland LINK LP 133 – [1990]

*Not on Chuck Flintstone presents but released in the regular Link serie,