ROCHEE & THE SARNOS (UK)
Performing in their own inimitable fashion, this band of gypsies will delight with their frantic blend of Rock n Roll, high drama and Mexican skiffle, this is one performance that is guaranteed to inflame, excite and confound all of those who witness it.
Biography: In 1982, Rochee and the Sarnos took their first tremulous steps toward superstardom. The lead singer, Lord Herbert Sarongster III, after several years on the London Rockabilly scene, decided that he would form a band along the lines of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and Hazil Adkins, and he created Rochee and the Sarnos. The style was based on skiffle, combined with wild Rockabilly, and a Mexican flavour was added to the mix.
The original line up consisted of LHS III on guitar and vocals, the Phantom on Tea Chest Bass, and Budwin on Bongos. The songs were terrible, but Dead Dog Blues emerged as a crowd favourite. At one of their legendary gigs at the Goldsmith's Tavern in New Cross in London, Rob Glazebrook, a well known, highly talented and respected Rockabilly guitarist saw the potential and asked Lord Herbert if he would like to rehearse some new material that he had been working on.
The very first session produced Sarno Fever and Sarno Dictionary, and a new sound was born. Budwin soon left and was replaced by the Man with No Brain on drums.
The emphasis was always on never taking themselves seriously and producing a really bizarre sound and a great show for all. The salad days were from 1982 - 1985 and an EP, single, and an LP were produced. Never much of an album band, they never really enjoyed the recording process as the Sarnos were always better as a live spectacle.
Gig after gig followed, some of the best were at the Klub Foot in Hammersmith, London. They toured briefly with DAG in Germany, and Rochee always acknowledged that DAG were probably the best band that the Psychobilly scene has ever seen. The decision to split was made by LHS, as he felt that you should always leave on a high note and not kick the arse out of it!
The band went their separate ways, The Phantom had a very lucrative career as a male model, the Man with no Brain ran a surf shop in Cornwall, the Banker made and lost a fortune, and then made it back again, and Rochee wrote many successful books and starred in several movies, including Lord of the Rings.
They have been tempted out of semi retirement, mainly because a new generation of fans should witness for themselves how one of the most influential bands of the 1980's really rock up a storm.