King Kurt

King Kurt was a 1980s psychobilly rock band from the UK.

They formed in 1981 with Jef Harvey on vocals, replaced by "Smeg" (Gary Cayton) after their "Zulu Beat" 7in single, and before the Stiff Records contract; Paul ("Thwack") Laventhol, and John Reddington on guitars; Rory Lyons on drums; Bert Boustead on bass guitar, plus schoolboy "Maggot" on saxophone. Originally known as Rockin' Kurt & The Sour Krauts before settling for King Kurt.

They had a few minor hit singles that featured in the UK Singles and UK Indie Charts, such as "Zulu Beat", "Mack The Knife" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top Forty hit - "Destination Zululand ".

During 1988 the band effectively split, though between 1992 and 1996 the group featuring three of the original members were performing as a live act. John Reddington, on the other hand, is now an Attorney with William Powells.

In the early 80s, King Kurt were known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around and buckets of wallpaper paste dumped into the audience. sometimes they also had a large wheel on stage called "The Wheel of Misfortune" which fans were strapped to and force fed Snakebite through a tube pushed down into the throat, then spun round until they vomitted. Fans could also get haircuts or medical examinations with a Snakebite anesthetic, then would have their scrotums wrapped up with gaffa tape and have buckets of gunge tipped over them.