The Horrors?
Rocky horror: Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. Or at least be a little nervous. Because the pop world is about to be invaded by a horde of bloodthirsty zombies from Southend, hell-bent on luring a new generation over to the dark side. The Horrors are no ordinary fivepiece schlock-rockers. With a look that blends The Bad Seeds, New York Dolls and Interview with the Vampire, and a sound like the almightiest monster mash, The Horrors are about to rock graveyards everywhere, make the dead rise up and do that Michael Jackson Thriller dance again. The band have been playing for less than a year, and they only know about 20 minutes' worth of songs, but already they're attracting a freaky fanbase who look like extras from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Lock up your undead: The Horrors are here and they're baying for blood.
Psychotic reaction: As befits a band of gore-obsessed B-movie buffs, The Horrors have interesting pseudonyms and even more interesting influences. Singer Faris Rotter is the son of a neurosurgeon, and his big hero is 17th-century blousewearing party animal Lord Rochester, whose libertine lifestyle led to his death by syphilis. Guitarist Joshua Von Grimm loves The Cure and Nick Cave, and boasts real, vampire-like fangs. Drummer Coffin Joe, bassist Tomethy Furse and keyboard player Spider Webb are all self-confessed vinyl junkies who obsessively collect '60s garage, psychedelia and freakbeat rarities and spin them on the band's regular DJ nights at their local haunt in Southend. The Horrors' early gigs were at The Junk Club, hosted in a sombre old Victorian hotel that suited their ghostly style.
Bloody pulp: The band released their debut single, Sheena Is a Parasite, earlier this year. Jarvis Cocker liked it so much he played it on his Radio 4 show. Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs offered the band a support slot and is producing their debut album. Chris Cunningham, famous for directing scary videos for Aphex Twin, liked the Horrors so much that he came out of semi-retirement to make a video for Sheena, bagging actress Samantha Morton to star in the title role. MTV promptly banned the video, which has helped stoke up even more interest in The Horrors. The buzz on the band has led to some hailing them as the demonic saviours of rock'n'roll while others damn them as pantomime punks.
Primate scream: The NME, always on the lookout for the next big buzz band after Arctic Monkeys, have taken a gamble and put The Horrors on the cover. In a world where even Gordon Brown professes to like Arctic Monkeys, says editor Conor McNicholas, The Horrors are a band that parents will really hate. "They look awful and sound terrible - but so did the Sex Pistols," he told the Times.
Kevin Courtney
