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steveburnhamuk

The Screaming Blue Messiahs – Bikini Red (1987)

Updated: Jul 20


A quid in the charity shop and I've already got my wallet out? Why ever not?

I did once own a Screaming Blue Messiahs album on vinyl, and don't remember parting with it, or listening to it. It might have been this one, it might not! I can't remember.

And I discovered they were a band from London, not an American band about two minutes ago, so I've a lot to learn about them.


The feeling from this album is that there's a lot to enjoy, but I'm not sure I'll be spending my pension on acquiring their every release.

It's an interesting blend of rock with a bit of rockabilly and there's nothing awful here. Opener, Sweet Water Pools, is a bona fide banging rocker, a fantastic start, and there's a couple of other similar rockers. The rockabilly vibe comes to the fore on Jesus Chrysler Drives A Dodge (can you see why I assumed they were American?) and 55-The Law, while there are a couple of really catchy numbers - the tongue-in-cheek I Can Speak American, the novelty I Wanna Be A Flintstone and the fantastic Lie Detector. I'm not sure about the final track Waltz, which feels just a little out of place, but all in all this is a decent album, well worth a listen.



3* - certainly worth that quid. A decent 1980s rock album

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