The Bomb Party were an English rock band from Leicester. They have been described as "The Godfathers of Grebo".

History

The band formed in the early 1980s, initially as Farmlife by Andy "Jesus" Mosquera (guitar), Peter Swaine (vocals), Steve Gerrard (guitar), Laurence Wood (sax), James Hunt(bass) and Mark Thompson (drums), who met on a fine art course at Leicester Polytechnic. They underwent lineup changes and then released one single under this name in 1982, "Susie's Party" (later covered by Yeah Yeah Noh); A second single on Dan Treacy's Whaam! label was withdrawn. In 1984 Farmlife split up, and Andy "Jesus" Mosquera (vocals), Steve Gerrard (guitar), Mark Thompson (drums) formed The Bomb Party, with Sarah Corina (bass). They took their name from a Graham Greene novel, debuting in 1985 with the Ray Gun EP on the Abstract label, the new sound described as "a Molotov cocktail of hardcore grebo gothability lying somewhere between The Cramps and Bauhaus". The bandmembers themselves rejected the "grebo (music)" tag, Mosquera stating "We're not grebos and we're not bikers or any of that shit. We're experimental. We are experimentalists but we don't have to say we're political and we credit our audience with enough intelligence to suss it out for themselves". The debut album Drugs appeared in 1986. Signing to the Workers Playtime label, they released a second album, 1987's Liberace Rising, now featuring Leszek Rataj on guitar and keyboards, preceded by a compilation of their early Abstract singles, The Last Supper. A year later they signed to Normal records, releasing their most commercial record, a cover of The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" (featuring Voice Of The Beehive on backing vocals) followed in 1989 by the album, Fish. A final album, Nativity #3 appeared on Artlos in 1990, the band split up immediately after it was recorded. The band played their final gig at The Powerhaus in London on 17 December 1989. Thompson subsequently joined members of Gaye Bykers on Acid and The Janitors in the band G.R.O.W.T.H., who released the album For Lack Of Horses They Staddle Dogs. Mosquera reverted to a career in fine art. Corina joined The Mekons and, later, Striplight (with Alex Mitchell of Curve). She has also recorded with Bill Carter of Screaming Blue Messiahs.

Discography

(chart placings shown are from the UK Independent Chart)

Singles

Albums

Side One 01 Kill Your Wife 02 Don't Die Keith 03 Johnny Took Her Breath Away 04 Jesus Was A Pinko 05 Gas 06 Johnny Nero Side Two 01 Susie's Party 02 Our Love Is Pushing Up Daisies 03 Zombie Head 04 Slide 05 Refuge Spanking Side 01 Devil's Child 02 My Degeneration 03 Make Way For My Motorbike Baby 04 Desperation 05 I Wanna Be Abused 06 Pretty Face Rubber Side 01 Crawl 02 Don't 03 Come On And Get Closer 04 Evil Eye 05 El Savor Del Amor 06 Metropolis Side One 01 Praise The Lord 02 LSD 03 Some Bodies 04 Venus In Dirt 05 The Last Waltz 06 Do The Right Thing Side Two 01 Theme From God Bless America 02 Mephistopheles (A Million Worth Of Pillion) 03 Shakespeare 04 Why Don't We Talk 05 Love At Any Price 06 The Only Rule (There Is No Rule) 07 Car Crash (On The Highway Of Love) Side One 01 The Beginning And The End 02 Ship Of Fools 03 Hey Joe 04 31st Of September 05 Lucy Gas 06 Unavoidably Detained 07 Dreaming Side Two 01 Gimme Summat To Love 02 Use It 03 In This Land 04 Touched 05 Tonight 06 The Beginning And The End

Compilations

Track listing Side One 01 Harry the Babysitter 02 Ray Gun 03 Knocking 04 Get Lost My Love 05 Fever 06 Life's A Bitch (English) 07 Hell Sucks Side Two 01 New Messiah 02 Wasted 03 Get So Down 04 Yeah Yeah Yeah 05 Great White Hope 06 Man Hole 07 Life's A Bitch (Spanish)