The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

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The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Eighties Matchbox, Left to right: Sym Gharial, Tom Diamantopoulo, Guy McKnight, Rich Fownes, Marc Norris
Eighties Matchbox, Left to right: Sym Gharial, Tom Diamantopoulo, Guy McKnight, Rich Fownes, Marc Norris
Background information
Origin Flag of England Brighton, England
Genre(s) Rock
Psychobilly
Years active 1999 –Present
Label(s) Current
No Death Records
Previous
Island Records
Website www.eightiesmatchbox.co.uk
Members
Guy McKnight - Vocals
Marc Norris - Rhythm guitars
Sym Gharial - Bass
Tom Diamantopoulo - Drums
Former members
Andy Huxley - Lead guitars (1999 - 2005)

Rich Fownes - Lead guitars (2005-2008)

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80's Matchbox, TEMBD or TEMBLD) are a psychosis rock band from Brighton, England, formed in 1999. The band's sound is dark and blues-influenced, with wild crooning vocals, deep bass lines and tom-heavy tribal drumming.

Contents

[edit] History

Originally formed in 1999, the band comprised Guy McKnight (vocals), Andy Huxley (lead guitarist), Marc Norris (rhythm guitarist), Symren 'Sym' Gharial (bassist), and Tom Diamantopoulo (drummer), until May 2005, in which Andy Huxley "decided to leave due to a decrease in musical similarities"[1] to form the death-jazz band Vile Imbeciles and was replaced by Rich Fownes from With Scissors. In their first few years as a band, they were known for their large black car with red and orange flames on each side. According to Guy McKnight on MTV Two's Gonzo the car has now gone. The band are renowned for their intense live shows, where McKnight regularly leaves the stage during numbers to mingle with the crowd[2]

They have released two full-length albums, "Hörse Of the Dög" in 2002 and "The Royal Society" in October 2004. The band have released seven singles on various different formats, each release has had several b-sides included and so the band have a large amount of songs that cannot be found on their albums. The song "Mister Mental" was featured on the "romzomcom" movie "Shaun of the Dead", the film also contained posters and other references to the band.

The band have on rare occasion disguised themselves (dressed up as green bees) as a band called The Boogs, a band that had apparently signed with their old record label No Death. They released one song as The Boogs which was a b-side on one of their singles. The song is titled "Palomino's Dream". A video was also made for the song, which featured them dressed up as green bees in New York.[3]

In 2003 Guy McKnight, Tom Diamantopoulo and former member Andy Huxley all became Buddhists after giving up drugs. In an interview, former member Andy Huxley was questioned about his reasons for giving up drugs he said "Because it's irresponsible, and you can't get anything done, and it stifles your creativity, and there's no benefit in it really, apart from its like going on vacation constantly, I can't write any songs when I'm on drugs, I need to be sober".[4]

The band have played at both The Glastonbury Festival and The Reading and Leeds Festivals for several years running. They have also toured and supported many mainstream bands, including; System of a Down, Placebo, Klaxons and Murderdolls, and are currently touring with Queens of the Stone Age in support of their 2007/2008 UK tour.

They released their EP, "In The Garden" on July 23, 2007 on digital format, with the hard copy's release being pushed back to the first week of September. The hard copy was released with a bonus live album and Ouija Board. This was the first release from the band since the departure of Andy Huxley in May, 2005. A 15 date tour took place to promote the release, starting in Manchester on July 23, 2007 and ending in London on August 7, this was the first time the band had toured for two years.[5] A mini tour took place during the end of 2007 and the start of 2008, with Christmas, Halloween and New Years shows.

On 7 April 2008, a few days after an announcement that Rich was joining Nine Inch Nails, it was announced via Eighties's MySpace page that Rich would be leaving the band. The band wished him luck and stated that they had no intention of splitting up and would begin auditioning for a new lead guitarist. On 4 June however, it was announced that Rich would in fact no longer play with NIN.

The band are currently working on new material and attempting to find a new record deal, after the collapse of their deal with Island Records.[6]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

Date of Release Title Uk Chart Position Album
March 4, 2002 "Morning Has Broken" 83 Hörse Of the Dög
September 16, 2002 "Celebrate Your Mother" 66 Hörse Of the Dög
January 6, 2003 "Psychosis Safari" 26 Hörse Of the Dög
May 12, 2003 "Chicken" 30 Hörse Of the Dög
January 12, 2004 "Mister Mental" 25 The Royal Society
June 28, 2004 "I Could Be an Angle" 35 The Royal Society
October 11, 2004 "Rise of the Eagles" 40 The Royal Society

[edit] Demos/Promos/EPs

[edit] DVDs

Note 1: This DVD was intended to promote the "Love Music Hate Racism" campaign. A small number of copies were dispatched to fans, who were instructed to pass them on to see how far they could get it. It has been said that some have reached as far as Japan and Mexico.

[edit] Appearances in compilations

Year Song Album
2002 "Fishfingers" HMV Playlist, New music - New artist
"Giant Bones" Kerrang, The best of 2002
"Morning Has Broken" Sonic Mook Experiment vol.2 (future rock 'n' roll)
Rock save the queen
2003 "Chicken" Kerrang - Vol.6 (High Voltage)
"Whack Of Shit (Demo)" Bang On Target (Vol 1)
"Psychosis Safari" Q The Album
X-Ray CD#05
Sk8er Rock Vol.1
2004 "Psychosis Safari" Acupuncture rocks
Music from the TV drama NY-LON
"Mister Mental" Shaun Of The Dead
Soundtrack

[edit] Unreleased songs

The following songs were written between 2005 and 2008, when Rich Fownes played as lead guitarist for the band. Some of the songs were available on the band's MySpace page, whilst others where played live.

  • "Love Turns To Hate" - 3:09
  • "Alone Again" - 4:57
  • "Surrender" - 3:57
  • "Count The Voices" - 3:39
  • "I Hate The Blues" - 2:47
  • "Music To Make Love To" - 2:54
  • "I Got The Fear" - 2:44
  • "Under My Chin" - 2:09
  • "The Bads" - 2:02
  • "Kemptown Animal" - 2:20
  • "Eureka" - 2:25
  • "A Man For All Seasons" - 1:55
  • "Mission From God" - 2:29
  • "Summer Must Die" - 3:07
  • "Rise and Fall" - 2:34

[edit] Unknown unreleased songs

The following is a list of songs that have either not been released or have been renamed:

  • "All Rise"
  • "Get Lost"
  • "Laboramus"
  • "Make Me Feel Good"
  • "Rude"
  • "Sing"
  • "Stomper"

[edit] Old song Names

The band have changed the names of several of their songs from the demo and touring stages to the time of release. These include:

  • "Lazy Bones" which became "Giant Bones"
  • "Mister Fearful" which became "Mister Mental"
  • "Wild Bull" which became "Temple Music"
  • "Clonk Chicane" which became "Rise of the Eagles"
  • "Race to The Rock and Roll Concert" which became "The Fool"
  • "Year of the Pervert" which became "Freud’s Black Muck"
  • "Remember the Glory Years" which became "When I Hear You Call My Name"
  • "Wig Sister" which became "I Rejection"
  • "Dinner" which became "Alone Again"
  • "Not In The Field" which became "Mission From God"
  • "Someone to Eat With" and "Music for Lovemaking" which became "Music to Make Love to"
  • "Falling Down For You" which became "Rise and fall"

[edit] Videography

  • "Morning Has Broken"
  • "Celebrate Your Mother" [1]
  • "Psychosis Safari" [2]
  • "Chicken" [3]
  • "Palomino's Dream by The Boogs" [4]
  • "Mister Mental" [5]
  • "I Could Be An Angle" [6]
  • "Rise of the Eagles" [7]
  • "In The Garden" [8]

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster - End of an era. Best hair in the band leaves. Band carry on.. crud magazine (2005-05-17). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  2. ^ Dyson, Matt (2007-04-30). The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster @ Underworld, Camden, 30 April 2007. musicOMH. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  3. ^ YouTube. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  4. ^ base.ad. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  5. ^ Douglas, Anne-Marie (2007-08-21). Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. God is in the tv zine. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  6. ^ Eighties Matchbox reveal more on record label split. Drowned in Sound News (2004-12-14). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
v • d • e
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Guy McKnight  · Marc Norris  · Sym Gharial  · Tom Diamantopoulo
Former members
Studio Albums
Demos/Promos/Eps
DVDs
Eighty Degrees of Separation
Singles
See Also