King Kurt are a rock-n-roll band from the UK. They formed in 1981 and split up in 1988, although they have reformed sporadically and played a reunion concert in 2010. They are best known for their hit single, "Destination Zululand" (1983).
The band began as Rockin' Kurt and his Sauer Krauts in 1981, with Jef Harvey on vocals, John Reddington on guitar, Bert Boustead on bass guitar, Alan "Maggot" Power on "saxamaphone" and Rory Lyons on drums. Paul "Thwack" Laventhol joined on guitar at their third gig in July 1981, and the name was shortened to King Kurt later that year.[1]
Notorietyedit
Harvey left in 1982 to be replaced by Gary "The Smeg" Clayton as vocalist, and it was at Harvey's farewell concert at the 101 Club in Battersea, London that the infamous "food fight" gigs started.[1] The band were known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around both on and off stage. Free haircuts and other audience participation included stage props such as "The Wheel of Misfortune", a wheel on which a fan was strapped and fed Snakebite through a tube. Themed concerts included "Kurt Skirts", where admittance was refused to men unless wearing a skirt, or Easter concerts with the band dressed as legionaries, angels on flying trapeze, and an extra in a loincloth on a cross at the back of the stage.
Albumsedit
The band joined Stiff Records in 1983 and recorded the album Ooh Wallah Wallah with producer, Dave Edmunds. They had a few minor hit singles that featured in the UK Singles and UK Indie Charts, such as "Zulu Beat", Weill and Brecht's "Mack the Knife" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top 40 hit "Destination Zululand", which reached No. 36 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1983.[2]
Their second album, Big Cock, was produced by Phil Wainman and released on Polydor in 1986.
Post-heydayedit
During 1988 the band split, though between 1992 and 1996 the group, featuring three of the original members, were performing as a live act. John Reddington has been a solicitor and trademark lawyer for two decades. Smeg performed as 'I Can't Believe It's Not King Kurt'. A compilation album was issued in 2009, and a reunion concert took place in March 2010. In 2012 they were confirmed to play the Olympia 1 and 2 at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool on the same bill as Conflict, Subhumans and Stiff Little Fingers.[3] In 2017 the band were booked to play several gigs in the north of the UK.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources King Kurt news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message King Kurt are a rock n roll band from the UK They formed in 1981 and split up in 1988 although they have reformed sporadically and played a reunion concert in 2010 They are best known for their hit single Destination Zululand 1983 King KurtKing Kurt Live in MunichBackground informationGenresRock n RollYears active1981 1988 1992 1996 2012 presentLabelsStiffMembersGary The Smeg Clayton Vocals Paul Thwak Laventhol Guitar John Reddington Saxophone Gaff Drums Bert Boustead Bass Eli Irvine GuitarWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Formation 2 Notoriety 3 Albums 4 Post heyday 5 Discography 5 1 Singles 5 2 Albums 5 3 Compilation albums 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksFormation editThe band began as Rockin Kurt and his Sauer Krauts in 1981 with Jef Harvey on vocals John Reddington on guitar Bert Boustead on bass guitar Alan Maggot Power on saxamaphone and Rory Lyons on drums Paul Thwack Laventhol joined on guitar at their third gig in July 1981 and the name was shortened to King Kurt later that year 1 Notoriety editHarvey left in 1982 to be replaced by Gary The Smeg Clayton as vocalist and it was at Harvey s farewell concert at the 101 Club in Battersea London that the infamous food fight gigs started 1 The band were known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around both on and off stage Free haircuts and other audience participation included stage props such as The Wheel of Misfortune a wheel on which a fan was strapped and fed Snakebite through a tube Themed concerts included Kurt Skirts where admittance was refused to men unless wearing a skirt or Easter concerts with the band dressed as legionaries angels on flying trapeze and an extra in a loincloth on a cross at the back of the stage Albums editThe band joined Stiff Records in 1983 and recorded the album Ooh Wallah Wallah with producer Dave Edmunds They had a few minor hit singles that featured in the UK Singles and UK Indie Charts such as Zulu Beat Weill and Brecht s Mack the Knife and Banana Banana along with their Top 40 hit Destination Zululand which reached No 36 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1983 2 Their second album Big Cock was produced by Phil Wainman and released on Polydor in 1986 Post heyday editDuring 1988 the band split though between 1992 and 1996 the group featuring three of the original members were performing as a live act John Reddington has been a solicitor and trademark lawyer for two decades Smeg performed as I Can t Believe It s Not King Kurt A compilation album was issued in 2009 and a reunion concert took place in March 2010 In 2012 they were confirmed to play the Olympia 1 and 2 at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool on the same bill as Conflict Subhumans and Stiff Little Fingers 3 In 2017 the band were booked to play several gigs in the north of the UK King Kurt at Free amp Easy Festival 2014 in Munich nbsp Paul Thwak Laventhol nbsp Gary Smeg Cayton nbsp Gaff nbsp Eli IrvineDiscography editSingles edit Year Month A side B side UK 2 Record Label 1982 N K Zulu Beat Rockin Kurt 153 Thin Sliced Records 1983 October Destination Zululand She s as Hairy 36 Stiff Records 1984 April Mack the Knife Wreck a Party Rock 55 Stiff Records 1984 August Banana Banana Bo Diddley Goes East 54 Stiff Records 1985 June Billy Back on the Dole 81 Stiff Records 1985 September Road to Rack n Ruin Poppa Wobbler 94 Stiff Records 1985 November Slammers Ape Hour 102 Stiff Records 1986 November America High and Mighty 73 Polydor 1987 May Land of Ring Dang Do Zulu Beat Horatio Gather Your Limbs 67 Polydor 1988 February Bye Bye Baby Prussian Stomp as The Kurts 135 GWR Albums edit Year Title UK 2 Record Label 1983 Ooh Wallah Wallah 99 Stiff Records 1986 Big Cock 50 Stiff Records 1988 The Last Will amp Testicle dnc GWR 1994 Poor Man s Dream dnc Demon Records 2021 Best of Live dnc Secret Records Limited Compilation albums edit Year Title Label 1985 Road to Rack and Ruin Ralph Records US Stiff Records Japan 1989 Live amp Rockin 1990 Destination Demoland 2001 Alcoholic Rat Live and Unreleased 2009 Ooh Wallah Wallah CD DVD Jungle Records 2012 Zulu Beat CD DVD Secret RecordsSee also editList of psychobilly bandsReferences edit a b Official website History Retrieved 21 February 2010 a b c Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 303 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Official website News Retrieved 21 February 2010 External links editOfficial website King Kurt biography at Allmusic website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title King Kurt amp oldid 1168898543, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
