On stage

Guana Batz(UK)

Psychofarmaka(DE)

More info

Guana Batz Summer 1982 in London. The city was rocking. Out of punk and rockabilly a new musical direction was emerging: PSYCHOBILLY. More than just a style of music — a way of life. Many young urban rockabillies shaved the sides of their heads, pulled on Doc Martens and bleached jeans and listened to the music of the Stingrays, the Sharks, Restless or the Ricochets. At that time a young singer by the name of Pip Hancox met a brilliant guitarist who went by the name of Stuart Osborne. Together they founded one of the first psychobilly bands: the GUANA BATZ. This quartet was to become the most successful band of the genre. They quickly made a name for themselves in the scene and became well known fast. Everyone involved with this music knows their first long-player, "Held down at last". Their single "I'm on fire" (Bruce Springsteen) is the best-selling single of the psychobilly scene and climbed into the top ten of the European independent charts. In the early 90s things went quieter around the band because Pip Hancox moved to the USA. There were rumours of a split, but in 1995 they came back to play the Wildcat Weekend in Berlin. Since then they have returned to German stages at irregular intervals. Mostly to be seen at festivals, though now and then there has also been a small tour. In March 2018 the boys released a new record for the first time in 20 years. "Back to the Jungle" came out on Tombstone Records. Several tracks from this new record will be heard live. It promises to be something. And of course the old crowd-pleasers, including "King Rat", will be heard too. Don't miss it.