The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Eighties Matchbox, Left to right: Sym Gharial, Tom Diamantopoulo, Guy McKnight, Rich Fownes, Marc R. Norris
Background information
Origin	Brighton, England
Genres	Psychobilly, indie rock, gothabilly, garage punk
Years active	1999–2011
Labels	Current No Death Records, Black Records Previous Island Records
Associated acts	Vile Imbeciles, Bad For Lazarus, With Scissors, Screaming Tupelo, Dirty White Fever
Members
Guy McKnight - Vocals Dominic Knight - Rhythm guitars Sym Gharial - Bass Tom Diamantopoulo - Drums
Past members
Andy Huxley - Lead guitar (1999 - 2005) Rich Fownes - Lead guitar (2005-2008) Marc. R Norris - Rhythm guitars (1999 - 2010)

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English rock band from Brighton, England, formed in 1999. They have released three full-length albums, Hörse Of the Dög (2002), The Royal Society (2004) and Blood And Fire (2010). They disbanded to pursue other projects in March 2011.

History

Originally formed in 1999, the band comprised Guy McKnight (vocals), Andy Huxley (lead guitarist), Marc R. Norris (rhythm guitarist), Symren 'Sym' Gharial (bassist), and Tom Diamantopoulo (drummer), until May 2005, in which Andy Huxley "decided to leave due to a decrease in musical similarities" to form the death-jazz band Vile Imbeciles and was replaced by Rich Fownes from With Scissors. In their first few years as a band, they were known for their large black car with red and orange flames on each side. According to Guy McKnight on MTV Two's Gonzo the car has now gone,although there have been reports of it being sighted in a north west London car park. The band are renowned for their intense live shows, where McKnight regularly leaves the stage during numbers to mingle with the crowd.

They have released three full-length albums, Hörse Of the Dög in 2002, The Royal Society in October 2004 and Blood And Fire in May 2010. The band have released eight singles on various formats, each release has had several b-sides included and so the band have a large amount of songs that cannot be found on their albums.^{[citation needed]} The song "Mister Mental" was featured on the film, Shaun of the Dead, the movie also contained posters and other references to the band.

The band have on rare occasion disguised themselves (dressed up as green bees) as a band called The Boogs, a band that had apparently signed with their old record label, No Death. They released one song as The Boogs which was a B-side on one of their singles. The song is titled "Palomino's Dream". A video was also made for the song, which featured them dressed up as green bees in New York.

In 2003, Guy McKnight, Tom Diamantopoulo and former member Andy Huxley all became Buddhists after giving up drugs. In an interview, former member Andy Huxley was questioned about his reasons for giving up drugs he said "Because it's irresponsible, and you can't get anything done, and it stifles your creativity, and there's no benefit in it really, apart from its like going on vacation constantly, I can't write any songs when I'm on drugs, I need to be sober".

The band have played at both The Glastonbury Festival and The Reading and Leeds Festivals for several years running. They have also toured and supported many mainstream bands, including; System of a Down, Placebo, Klaxons, Murderdolls, Queens of the Stone Age and Scars on Broadway.

They released their EP, "In The Garden" on 23 July 2009 on digital format, with the hard copy's release being pushed back to the first week of September. The hard copy was released with a bonus live album and Ouija Board. This was the first release from the band since the departure of Huxley in May 2005. A 15 date tour took place to promote the release, starting in Manchester on 23 July 2007 and ending in London on 7 August; this was the first time the band had toured for two years. A mini tour took place during the end of 2007 and the start of 2008, with Christmas, Halloween and New Years shows.

On 7 April 2008, a few days after an announcement that Fownes was joining Nine Inch Nails, it was announced via Eighties's MySpace page that Fownes would be leaving the band. The band stated that they had no intention of splitting up and would begin auditioning for a new lead guitarist.

During gigs in July 2008, Fownes was replaced by friend of the band, Tristan McLenahan. In November, 2008 McLenahann became a full member of the band. It was announced that the band were to travel to France to record their new album. In late 2009 the band posted several snippets of new material on their Myspace page, and on 15 December a re-designed Myspace page stated that they were signed across two labels; No Death and Black Records.

The band released their third studio album, Blood And Fire on 17 May 2010. It was preceded by the single "Love Turns To Hate" on 10 May 2010.

On the 17 March 2011, guitarist Dominic Knight officially announced that they have split up on their official Facebook page. The reason given where that the band members were all on different projects. No announcement has been made if this is a permanent split or an indefinite hiatus.

Discography

Albums

• Horse of the Dog (20 September 2002; No Death/Island Records; UK #144)
• The Royal Society (25 October 2004; No Death/Island Records; UK #68)
• Blood And Fire (19 May 2010; No Death/Black Records; UK #149)[1]

Singles

Date of Release	Title	UK Singles Chart	Album
4 March 2002	"Morning Has Broken"	-	Hörse Of the Dög
16 September 2002	"Celebrate Your Mother"	66	Hörse Of the Dög
6 January 2003	"Psychosis Safari"	26	Hörse Of the Dög
12 May 2003	"Chicken"	30	Hörse Of the Dög
12 January 2004	"Mister Mental"	25	The Royal Society
28 June 2004	"I Could Be an Angle"	35	The Royal Society
11 October 2004	"Rise of the Eagles"	40	The Royal Society
10 May 2010	"Love Turns To Hate"	-	Blood And Fire

Demos, promos and EPs

• Original Two Track Demo (1999; No Death)
• System of a Down Tour Sampler (2005; No Death)
• In The Garden Ep (23 July 2007; No Death)

DVDs

• Eighty Degrees of Separation (DVD)
• I Could Be an Angle (DVD)

^1 This DVD was intended to promote the "Love Music Hate Racism" campaign. A small number of copies were dispatched to fans, who were instructed to pass them on to see how far they could get it. It has been said that some have reached as far as Japan and Mexico.

Appearances in compilations

Year	Song	Album
2002	"Fishfingers"	HMV Playlist, New music - New artist
	"Giant Bones"	Kerrang, The best of 2002
	"Morning Has Broken"	Sonic Mook Experiment vol.2 (future rock 'n' roll)
		Rock save the queen
2003	"Chicken"	Kerrang - Vol.6 (High Voltage)
	"Whack Of Shit (Demo)"	Bang On Target (Vol 1)
	"Psychosis Safari"	Q The Album
		X-Ray CD#05
		Sk8er Rock Vol.1
2004	"Psychosis Safari"	Acupuncture rocks
		Music from the TV drama NY-LON
		The Music from and Inspired by Gran Turismo 4
	"Mister Mental"	Shaun Of The Dead Soundtrack

Unreleased songs

The following is a list of new unreleased songs, recorded after the departure of Huxley.

• "Alone Again"
• "The Bads"
• "Count The Voices"
• "Eureka"
• "I Got The Fear"
• "Kemptown Animal"
• "Music To Make Love To"
• "Rise and Fall"
• "Summer Must Die"
• "Surrender"

The following is a list of songs that have either not been released or have been renamed:

• "All Rise"
• "Get Lost"
• "Make Me Feel Good"
• "Rude"
• "Sing"
• "Seaford Song"
• "Sister"
• "Stomper"
• "Vendetta"

Old song names

The band have changed the names of several of their songs from the demo and touring stages to the time of release:

• "Lazy Bones" became "Giant Bones"
• "Mister Fearful" became "Mister Mental"
• "Wild Bull" became "Temple Music"
• "Clonk Chicane" became "Rise of the Eagles"
• "Race to The Rock and Roll Concert" became "The Fool"
• "Year of the Pervert" became "Freud’s Black Muck"
• "Remember the Glory Years" became "When I Hear You Call My Name"
• "Wig Sister" became "I Rejection"
• "Dinner" became "Alone Again"
• "Not In The Field" became "Mission From God"
• "Someone to Eat With" and "Music for Lovemaking" became "Music to Make Love to"
• "Falling Down For You" became "Rise and fall"

Videography

• "Morning Has Broken"[2]
• "Celebrate Your Mother" [3]
• "Psychosis Safari" [4]
• "Chicken" [5]
• "Palomino's Dream by The Boogs" [6]
• "Mister Mental" [7]
• "I Could Be An Angle" [8]
• "Rise of the Eagles" [9]
• "In The Garden" [10]
• "Love Turns To Hate" [11]
• "So Long, Goodnight" [12]

Band members

Final band members

• Guy McKnight – vocals (1999–2011)
• Tom Diamantopoulo – drums (1999–2011)
• Sym Gharial - bass guitar (1999–2011)
• Dominic Knight - rhythm guitar (2011)
• Tristan McLenahan– lead guitar (2008–2011)

Stand-in members

• Charley Hunt – bass guitar (2008); temporarily replaced Gharial

Previous members

• Andy Huxley – lead guitar (1999–2005)
• Rich Fownes – lead guitar (2005–2008)
• Marc R. Norris – rhythm guitar (1999–2010)

External links

• Official My Space Site