Hello Herbie, it’s good to finally catch up with you? 

It certainly is Nick, it’s been too long, and I’m so glad to be here.

Could you begin by telling us about your musical upbringing and how it was that you first came across rockabilly and psychobilly? 

My musical upbringing stretches all the way back to the Beatles in the early 1960s, my Mum bought me a Beatles guitar when I was just a toddler, and I used to play it and sing along to “She Loves You” on the tele. Even then, my Mum said that I could carry a tune, not very well, but I showed some promise.Towards the end of the 1960s my cousin played me Led Zeppelin 1 and 2 and Jimi Hendrix and I think I’ve always been drawn to the blues as one of my huge influences. I was then officially hooked on music. I then gravitated towards Pink Floyd, Sweet, Bolan, Bowie – I used to have to play Bowie on headphones in my bedroom as the old man didn’t want me listening to “that freaky weirdo”. I forgave Daddy afterwards. Punk then loomed on the horizon, I bought New Rose by the Damned when it first came out, the girls in the record shop played it loud for me and the manager stomped over to the record deck and promptly turned it off – the rebel in me was growing. I absorbed so much over the next couple of years, Pistols, Clash, Stranglers, Buzzcocks (Spiral Scratch EP). I’d also dabbled in being a soul boy for a while and loved New York style funk!

One day I was looking through my Mum and Dad’s photo albums and just fell in love with the clothes and the style of the 1950s. I spoke to a friend at school about it and he said, come and have a listen to some records I’ve got. He played me Flying Saucers Rock n Roll by Billy Lee Riley and I was hooked. I took my first tremulous steps into the rockabilly scene in South East London and the rest is history.

And can you tell me about the formation of Rochee and the Sarnos? 

Rob Glazebrook invited me up with one of his bands at the Ship on Plumstead Common, and I was terrible. He then invited me to do the same thing at the Goldsmith’s Tavern in New Cross, me, the Phantom on tea chest and Bud on bongos. I think Rob saw something in us and we were then invited to rehearse with him, as he said he had some different tunes he was working on. The first EP has the second time I sang Sarno Fever to Rob’s guitar work, and it noted as “Stratospheric Sound Studios” – it was the Phantom’s front room!

How long had you been playing before you were invited to play the Klub Foot?

To be fair Nick, it was so long ago, I can’t rightly remember, but I think Roy Williams was instrumental in getting those gigs for us after Understanding Sarno came out.

What was the experience like?

Immense! I can still remember people looking at us and thinking, what on earth is this? But they soon cottoned on and got the idea. Probably the best set of gigs we ever did.

Were you playing a lot at that time?

I think so, it’s so long ago and so much water under the bridge, I can hardly recall now.

I know that you went on tour to Hamburg with Demented Are Go, what was the experience like? I know that Mark absolutely loved you and remembers you singing Herbie in the bath’ to the tune of ‘Pervy in the Park’ on the boat over. 

I always loved DAG, Sparky is a unique character but we warmed to each other, the rest of the original band too, Dick and I were going to work together for Thynk Pynk! But it didn’t work out, shame really.

Can you tell me about the album and how it came about?

Roy Williams approached us, and we decided to put our usual live set list down on record. It’s a peculiar mix of songs, some that I was never too keen on, but it’s there for all time now!

How did the album do for you? 

I think it did well, I don’t have any of logistics relating to it, I think it still sells to this day.

Can you tell me a bit about the intervening period between this and the seemingly unending wait until the Sarnos second album in 2008? 

I basically wanted a bit of stability in my life as I was all over the place, so I spent some time in the Royal Navy and it did me the power of good. We did a couple of gigs in this time, one memorable one in Berlin in 1997. A great night!

Were you pleased with the album?

Very happy with it, although some of it is quite dark and this was mainly due to me going through an acrimonious divorce and it was a bit of a blur recording it. I funded it personally, and I still have a few copies left for sale on the website (plug, plug!)

And, again, the same question, can you tell me a bit about the intervening period, why no album until 2025? 

So, the Sarnos were long disbanded but I still felt there was some gas in the musical tank. I started writing blocks of prose and song titles down during lockdown. I missed the thrill of performing on stage as well, so I started to put a bit of meat on the bones of the lyrics. Usually when writing, I have a few words and a melody in my head, it then gets fleshed out with talented musicians. 

And a follow-up question why in 2025 did you decide that the time was right to record an album? 

During lockdown, I had to look after and care for both my parents, so this took up a lot of my time and their demise hit me hard and I didn’t really feel like doing much for a couple of years, until now!

Can you tell us about the name ‘LHS – Lord Herbert Sarongster’?

Back in the early days of rockabilly (I’m talking my personal involvement 1978 or so), we had a “gang” called No Neck Nelson and the Roughnecks, and we all had American style nicknames. Bud, Moose, etc and mine was Herbert, Herbert Lung actually! This then morphed into Lord Herbert Sarongster III – coined by a couple of well known record collectors. (Sarongster I believe to be an American ladies girdle from the 1950’s!).

Can you tell me a bit about the recording of the album?

So 3 tracks were recorded by Batmobile and sent to me, I then went to Portugal and put all the vocals down on the tracks, and Boz played all the instruments on the remaining tracks, with Mark Black on drums, with Boz engineering on all the tracks. There was a final version of Sarno Fever that we recorded in 2007 in London. 

I know that Batmobile played on several tracks, how did that come about? 

We’d always wanted to do something together, so I approached Jeroen to see if the band might be interested, and luckily for me they were!

I’m guessing that you had befriended Jeroen in the Klub Foot days?

There, and also the 2nd International Festival of Psychobillies in 1985 in Rotterdam I think, again… so long ago!

How did you hook up with Boz?

We’ve known each other for a long time, and in 2024 I simply asked him if he’d be interested in helping me achieve my goal of getting Thynk Pynk! off the ground, I have to say he went above and beyond my expectations. I wanted to go to Portugal to get it all sorted and it was one of the better decisions of my life.

Did Boz play everything on the remainder of the tracks except for the drums that were supplied by Mark Black?

So… three Batmobile tracks recorded by them, vocals by me, post production by Boz. Sarno Fever final version, by Rochee and the Sarnos with Nick Simonon on drums. The remaining songs Boz played everything, except for drums by Mark Black.

How was your time at Serra Vista?

Utterly splendid, a beautiful setting, great vibes, great friends and superb hospitality, I will remember it always as one of the best times of my life.

Can you tell us a little about Thynk Pynk?

I’ve suffered a great deal over the years with my mental health, diagnosed in 2024 with ADHD and ASD, which gave me a lot of answers, but posted so many more questions. The whole ethos of the album is that you’ve got to think positively (Pynk) and not negatively i.e. black. I see it as an encouragement for others who might suffer mentally, essentially if a man in his early sixtiess can do it, anyone can. The song titles are really an extension of my personality, slightly warped!. We ended it with Fearless as it was a song that was hugely personal for me. I used to play it for Daddy when he was on his way out (the Floyd version) and he loved it. “Play it for me son” he used to say, I duly obliged. The album is dedicated to Mum, Dad and my Brother. Fearless is for Daddy and a song of hope. It gives me hope that I can still do some more on stage!

What does the future hold in store for LHS?

At the moment, I still think I have unfinished business. Even at my age, I still think there is more music to be savoured. I’m keen to carry on expressing myself, keen to get the message across. It’s not the same as it was 40 years ago, but I don’t really want to keep rehashing the past, which is why I’ve done Thynk Pynk! I’m keen to explore new avenues musically and artistically.

Will you be being playing live?

At the time of writing, I’m putting a new band together with the intention of touring Thynk Pynk, plus some new material. I’ve already got some great musicians behind me, and we’re nearly there. I’m hoping to hit the stage in 2026, with a brand new show (and maybe a couple of old favourites thrown in for good measure).

Bedlam would be an obvious place for you to make a return.

If Tobe will have me!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

The pleasure is all mine Nick, thanks for inviting me!

Lord Herbert Sarongster was in conversation with Nick Kemp.

Buy a copy of ‘Thynk Pynk’ here