It’s Saturday February 7^th which means that the psychobilly fraternity of London town is converging on the Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden Town for year 9 of Psychobilly Kicks Back Against Cancer, the amazing fund-raising gig set up by the legendary Ginger Meadham and his wife Amanda. Today’s event is, not surprisingly a sell-out.

Getting things off to a superb start are a band that I have seen a few times now, and about whom I waxed lyrical a few weeks ago following their superb set in support of the Test Pilots at the Trash Klub. Boneyard Breakout are on similarly imperious form today unleashing a set of finely crafted psychobilly and punkabilly gems. A tuneful and catchy set list dispensed by a group of guys who clearly love what they are doing and convey that sense of fun admirably. On drums is Paul Mummery, who is making his first of four appearances today, proving himself to be the psychobilly go-to drummer.

Following Boneyard Breakout to the stage are Stevie Cincaide’s Belmont Beach Weirdos. Anyone who has seen the Ugly Fly Guys knows that Stevie is a compelling musician and his graduation from bass guitar to lead guitar merely underscores this point. The sound of the band can, I think, be best summarised as garage surf. The band puts in a very good set and I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Next up were Dead Shout, about whom, I have had positive things to say in the past. Well, amplify that by a factor of about ten, because this trio absolutely blew the roof of the Fiddler’s elbow. In Jack Elfick the band has, not only, a fine frontman, but a brilliant musician too. He dispenses excoriating guitar riffs at will. He is ably supported by slapper extraordinaire Darren ‘Eddie’ Edwards and superb drummer Gary Voodoo. The band is incredibly tight and whether performing original material such as ‘Jump Your Bones’ or covers such as the Beatles’ ‘I Me Mine’ really rock up a storm. They are the best new band to emerge in quite some time and I look forward to charting their progress, which, I am sure, will be extremely positive.

South London’s finest, the Surfin’ Wombatz, then took to the stage. Alongside their more contemporary repertoire, such as ‘Bank Holiday Punch Up On the Planet of the Apes’, I was delighted to hear some psychobilly gems from the band’s first LP on Nervous Records. Steve Young is a superb frontman and marshals his troops, including one P. Mummery on drums, expertly. All in all, the band puts in a memorable performance.

Peter Jagusch’s Thee Creepfreaks have been going for quite some time now, moreover they have morphed into a very good band. The guitar sound is excellent, drenched in reverb and conjuring up images of Paul Fenech at his best. This really is high quality psychobilly and surf music. The stand-out song in, of course, ‘The Shed’, but there are plenty of other gems in what is a truly outstanding set.

Next up, it’s fun time with the Highliners. Clad all in black with pink braces and pink Dr. Martin’s boots, the band kicks off with ‘Call Inspector Clueso’. From here on in, we are treated to gem after gem including, ‘Mini-cab’, ‘Shit TV’ and ‘Henry the Wasp’ replete with giant wasp expertly operated by Richard Smith. A wonderful rendition of ‘Rude Boy’ demonstrates that the band’s creative juices continue to flow. The three original members: Luke Morgan on vocals, Chris Finch on sax, Ginger Meadham on drums, and new boys Mark Bending on guitar and Ricky Sardi on bass combine to create the perfect party sound. They leave a smile on everyone’s face.

The penultimate act of the evening is Spud Taylor’s Sin Kings. This band has honed its sound dutifully over the years and have constructed a set of memorable songs. Starting, as ever, with ‘March of the Troglodytes’, and followed with catching numbers such as ‘The Surgeon’, punky ‘Chelsea Smile’ and ‘Eight Heads in a Duffle Bag’ before concluding, as usual, with Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ for which the band was joined on stage by the marvellous monoped himself Mick Lammond of the Spacewasters. This has been an excellent performance.

Closing the show are psychobilly legends and veterans of the Klub Foot, Glenn Daeche’s The Pharaohs. Joined by new recruit bassist, Mark Bunce, of Boneyard Breakout, the band turns the clock back to the days of the Klub Foot. Glenn has developed such a distinctive sound with a heavy reverb drenching some truly outstanding guitar-playing. From start to finish, this is a wonderful set by a band absolutely at the top of its game. Mr. Daeche is quite superb and dispenses a set of self-penned gems starting with ‘Rockabilly Lovegod’, and taking in classics such as ‘Vincent Van Go-Go’, ‘Blue Egypt, and a wonderful cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’, before concluding with ‘Dead to the World’. One really couldn’t wish for a better ending to a terrific day.

Once again, Ginger and Amanda have come up trumps with a fabulous day of music and also raised a shed load of money for Cherry Lodge. Make sure that you have Saturday 6^th February 2027 in your diary because it is sure to be a belter.

Nick Kemp