The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
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The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

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The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English garage rock band from Brighton, formed in 1999. They released three albums, Hörse of the Dög (2002), The Royal Society (2004) and Blood and Fire (2010).

Originally formed in 1999, the band comprised Guy McKnight (vocals), Andy Huxley (lead guitar), Marc R. Norris (rhythm guitar), Symren 'Sym' Gharial (bass), and Tom Diamantopoulo (drums), until May 2005, when Andy Huxley "decided to leave due to a decrease in musical similarities" to form the band Vile Imbeciles and was replaced by Rich Fownes from With Scissors. In their first few years as a band, they were known for their large black car with red and orange flames on each side. According to Guy McKnight on MTV Two's Gonzo, the car has now gone. The band were renowned for their intense live shows, where McKnight regularly left the stage during numbers to mingle with the crowd.

They released three full-length albums, Hörse of the Dög in 2002, The Royal Society in October 2004 and Blood and Fire in May 2010. The band also released eight singles on various formats, each release has had several B-sides included, and so the band have a large number of songs that cannot be found on their albums. The song "Mister Mental" was featured in the film Shaun of the Dead, which also contained posters and other references to the band.

On rare occasions the band disguised themselves (dressed up as green bees) as a band called The Boogs, a band that had apparently signed with their old record label, No Death. They released one song as The Boogs which was a B-side on one of their singles. The song is titled "Palomino's Dream". A video was also made for the song, which featured them dressed up as green bees in New York City.

In 2003, Guy McKnight, Tom Diamantopoulo and former member Andy Huxley all became Buddhists after giving up drugs. In an interview, former member Andy Huxley was questioned about his reasons for giving up drugs he said "Because it's irresponsible, and you can't get anything done, and it stifles your creativity, and there's no benefit in it really, apart from its like going on vacation constantly, I can't write any songs when I'm on drugs, I need to be sober".

The band played at both The Glastonbury Festival and The Reading and Leeds Festivals for several years running. They also toured and supported many mainstream bands, including; System of a Down, Placebo, Klaxons, Murderdolls, Queens of the Stone Age, and Scars on Broadway.

They released the EP, "In the Garden" on 23 July 2009 on digital format, with the hard copy release being pushed back to the first week of September. The hard copy was released with a bonus live album and Ouija Board. This was the first release from the band since the departure of Huxley in May 2005. A 15 date tour took place to promote the release, starting in Manchester on 23 July 2007 and ending in London on 7 August; this was the first time the band had toured for two years. A mini tour took place during the end of 2007 and the start of 2008, with Christmas, Halloween and New Years shows.

On 7 April 2008, a few days after an announcement that Fownes was joining Nine Inch Nails, it was announced via Eighties's MySpace page that Fownes would be leaving the band. The band stated that they had no intention of splitting up and would begin auditioning for a new lead guitarist.

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