Carcrash International


Carcrash International was an English post-punk band associated with the Batcave scene, formed by Dave Roberts, original bass player of Sex Gang Children, who used the name for two projects.

History

The band made their initial appearance in 1983 on the compilation album The Whip with the title track "The Whip". The song was performed by Roberts on vocals and guitar, drummer Matthew Best and guitarist Lester Jones. The record also featured a song by Best called "32nd Piano Concerto in A Minor".
Later the same year, a new version of "The Whip" was released as a single, which included another track, "The White Hotel", along with two mixes of the title track. The band had then expanded to include violinist Pip Knapp and a second drummer, Roberts' Sex Gang bandmate Nigel Preston.
A second 12" single, "All Passion Spent", was released in 1984, backed by "Dial First... ". For this release, the band was a trio consisting of Roberts, Best and new guitarist Stephanie Paynes.
Roberts assembled an all-new Carcrash International lineup for 1985 12" single "Crash", which was backed by "Mercenaries for War" and "Seduction".
In 1993, the recently established Cleopatra Records label re-released an expanded version of The Whip compilation featuring both the title track and "The Whip II". A UK edition issued by Jungle Records also credited "32nd Piano Concerto in A Minor" to Carcrash International.
Following the Whip reissue and 1992 Sex Gang Children reunion, Roberts also formed a new darker, more gothic rock-oriented version of the band, releasing Carcrash International's sole ful-length studio album, Fragments of a Journey in Hell in 1993 on Cleopatra. Among the session musicians appearing on the album were Matt Green on keyboards, and Nicky Garratt. The release was followed by a promotional concert in San Francisco in 1994, by a lineup consisting of Roberts on bass, Ian Haas. Carcrash International disbanded the following year.

Discography

Studio albums