CARTER U.S.M. CALL IT A DAY
- Simon West
After ten years of social commentary, cycling caps and some of the most appalling lyrical punning ever devised, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine has called it a day. In a statement on the band's official web site, guitarist/keyboardist Fruitbat explained, "I think that we have made our best records and played some of the best gigs ever in the last twelve months. Unfortunately, the weight of our previous success has become too much, we do not want to end up like Madness, coming together to play greatest hits and playing a 'crowd pleasing' setlist...We never expected that we would be touring just to satisfy the crowd's need for nostalgia. I know that this is not true for most of you reading this, but, for me, that's how it felt on the last couple of tours."
Formed out of the ashes of pop band Jamie Wednesday in 1987, singer/guitarist Jimbob and Fruitbat mixed synth beats, punk guitars and irresistable hooks behind lyrics dealing with such diverse subjects as military racism, alcoholism and domestic violence, always with a savage sense of humor. They hit the British singles charts in 1991 with "Sheriff Fatman" and reached a commercial zenith with 1992's 1992: The Love Album , which hit number one, and its accompanying single "The Only Living Boy In New Cross" . The Top 40 singles would keep coming through their next two albums, 1994's Post Historic Monsters and 1995's Worry Bomb adding a drummer, Wez, and continuing to diversify and expand their sound.
The final Carter album, as yet untitled, will be released in early 1998, and you haven't heard the last of Brixton's finest. "At the moment Jim and I are both writing/demoing for our new projects. Jim is looking at a solo career as plain Jimbob and will probably go out on tour sometime next year," says Fruitbat. "I am still deciding what to do, I'm not sure that I want to form a new band. I have written loads of music but as yet not many lyrics - it has been a long time since I wrote words and it might take me a while to get back into it. There is a possibilty of teaming up with a female vocalist to do a single, but I'm not sure about that."
Carter's official web site is at http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~fruity/index.html
