Thee Headcoats

One of the many bands led by British garage rock icon Billy Childish, Thee Headcoats were his most prolific, no small statement given the man's ceaseless creativity and busy release schedule. Thee Headcoats played tough, R&B-influenced rock & roll influenced by the gritty sounds of the early Kinks, Pretty Things, and Downliners Sect, with a sense of humor informed by Childish's fascination with various strains of vintage pop culture. Thee Headcoats established their template on early LPs like The Earls of Suavedom (1989) and Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It's Thee Headcoats! (Already) (1990). A leaner, more punk-oriented attack emerged on later-day albums such as 1998's The Messerschmitt Pilot's Severed Hand, yet Childish and his bandmates never abandoned their commitment to raucous '60s-informed rock, and they sounded as if they hadn't aged a day after reuniting to cut 2023's Irregularis (The Great Hiatus).