Great Britons

Life in England during the early ’80s wasn’t an easy slog. It was quite bollocks, in fact, what with the Tories putting the screws to the working class and all. One of the bright spots during the first part of the Ray-Ban decade, however, was the isle’s lush music scene,...

By Benjamin Leatherman

May 1, 2008

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Life in England during the early ’80s wasn’t an easy slog. It was quite bollocks, in fact, what with the Tories putting the screws to the working class and all. One of the bright spots during the first part of the Ray-Ban decade, however, was the isle’s lush music scene, whether it was the New Romantics movement operating out of the Blitz Nightclub or the 2-Tone sound of bands like The Specials. Over in the Hammersmith section of London, the Clarendon Pub hosted the notorious Klub Foot, which featured the burgeoning psychobilly of bands like the Guana Batz. Fronted by Pip Hancox, the Batz were a furious snarl of rhythmic swing and manic vocals who helped to define the psychobilly sound and continue to influence bands even today. Hancox and company make their first-ever Arizona appearance at the Back From the Grave Ol’ School Psychobilly Festival.
Fri., May 2, 7 p.m., 2008

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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