Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine

With their offbeat lyrics and a musical style drawn from various different genres, Carter USM established themselves as one of the UK's most popular live acts through the 1980s and 1990s. From South London, they had their roots in pop band Jamie Wednesday, who released two highly regarded EPs - notably We Three Kings Of Orient Aren't. When Jamie Bob and Fruitbat were the only two members who turned up for a Jamie Wednesday gig in London, they went on stage as a duo calling themselves Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine using backing tapes. Their 1989 single Sheriff The Fatman won many plaudits and the colourful album 101 Damnations, full of songs about South London, topped the UK indie charts. Through non-stop touring the band built a devoted following and their album 30 Something reached Number 8 in the regular album charts, while their third - 1992 The Love Album - went to Number 1. Always slightly anarchic, the band was banned from Glastonbury Festival after insulting organiser Michael Eavis and they adopted a tougher, punkier approach on their Post Historic Monsters and Worry Bomb albums. They split in 1998 but played some reunion dates in 2008 and 2009.