The Meteors are an English
psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from
London, England, they are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses
punk rock with
rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style. "Starting in the neo-rockabilly scene, the Meteors were initially shunned for being too different. Excuses for exclusion from rockabilly concerts varied from the band having too extreme of a sound to their drummer having green hair."[1] The Meteors blended elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and
horror film themes in their music and are thought to be one of the first bands to use the label 'Psychobilly' after bands
The Misfits and
The Cramps distanced themselves from the genre label due to the genre's rising popularity.[2]
The band made their first TV appearance on
Thames TV afternoon show White Light in late 1980. The Meteors made a short film in late 1980 with comedian
Keith Allen called Meteor Madness. It was released as a double feature with
2 Toneska film Dance Craze in March 1981. The movie featured four songs, which made it onto the band's first vinyl single first issued on
Ace Records and later on
Big Beat. The tracks were also issued as a rare 12"
mini-album called The Meteors Meet Screaming Lord Sutch. Soon after that, they issued the double A-side anthems "Radioactive Kid" and "Graveyard Stomp". A session was recorded for the
John PeelBBC radio show in June 1981. Again, to date, these tracks have never been officially released. In August 1981, the band were signed to
Island Records and recorded their first full-length album, The Case Of The Meteors In Heaven,[3] and 7" single, "The Crazed". The Meteors have gone through many line-up changes since, with Fenech being the only original member to date. Fenech has also released solo albums and played in side projects including The Legendary Raw Deal (rockabilly), The Surfing Dead (instrumental), and The Murder Brothers. Fenech also helped the young Austrian band
Sir Psyko & His Monsters by mixtaping their album "Reaperstale" as well as in recording one of the live shows in 2012 in
Berlin called "Welcome to Our Hell".