Biography

British trio Long Tall Texans make an exuberant mix of psychobilly, rockabilly, and eclectic punk. Formed in Brighton in 1985, the trio originally featured bassist/singer Mark Carew, guitarist Mark "Boggles" Denman, and drummer Anthony Theodotou. The band initially built up a following playing high-energy live shows at the Brighton rockabilly venue The Klub Foot. Prior to their full-length, they also recorded two songs, "900 Miles" and "One More Time," for a local compilation, Sounds of the Southern Scene. In 1987, they released their debut full-length album, Sodbusters, on Razor Records. It garnered airplay on Radio 1 and helped boost their profile as they branched out into tours of Europe. Several more well-received albums followed including 1989's Five Beans in the Wheel and Saturnalia. In 1991, they released Singing to the Moon, a stylistically varied album featuring forays into blues and reggae. By the mid-'90s, Denman had left the band as a touring member; though he would continue to contribute songs to the outfit. Replacing him was guitarist Garry Castleman and saxophonist Paul Mumford, who both appeared on 1994's Aces and Eights. Although the band's recorded output slowed down over the next decade, they toured regularly. Mumford eventually parted ways with the group and in 2005, the band returned with Adventures of the Long Tall Texans. Castleman then ceded his position to guitarist Matt Windler and in 2014, the group delivered its seventh studio album, Devil Made Us Do It. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi