Stripey Zebras

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Stripey Zebras playing at the Spread Eagle, Southend on Sea, December 1981

Stripey Zebras were a post punk band from Southend on Sea in Essex, UK. The group formed in 1980 with a line up consisting of

Martin Fulton - Vocals
Graham Burnett - Drums
Martin Hardy - Guitar
Stephen Dobson - Bass/Vocals
Paul Brown - Guitar

The band was also augmented, at various stages, by

Wayne Avrili - Guitar
Colin Dobson - Guitar
Julian Ware Lane Guitar
Sheena Fulton - Vocals

In the summer of 1980 they played their first gig at Zero 6 club in Rochford and did their final gig in 1981. Amongst the songs they played live were:

"Monsters on TV (Godzilla)", "I love Disco", "Sergeant Bilko Plays Pop", "Donny & Marie", "Greta Garbo Goes Shopping", "Skellington Flat", "Sore Eyes Party".

Covers included The Troggs' "Wild Thing" and a very free adaptation of Ron Grainer's 'Old Ned', better known as the theme from Steptoe and Son.

the band were an important part of the cassette culture movement, in 1980 they released their first cassette album -Live in Burnetts Bedroom and this was name checked in the 'Garage Bands' section of The New Musical Express. The group was also mentioned in 'Smash Hits' and 'Sounds'. They frequently featured in 'The Obscurist Chart' section of the latter musical publication.

Paul and Graham compiled a CD in 1998, which, along with Live in Burnett's Bedroom, included live performances and tracks from rehearsals.

Influences included The Fall, T. Rex, Bay City Rollers, Sparks and the Residents.

The group played live, mostly around the Southend areas in venues such as (the aforementioned) Zero 6 and Focus Youth Centre.

The usual 'musical differences' caused the band to disintergrate during 1981. Graham formed 'Autumn Poison' and Stephen joined another Southend band, The Get. The band reformed for a one off gig at The Spread Eagle on 05.12.81, this turned out to be their last performance.

Martin Fulton died in 1999.