Meat Whiplash were an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, that were amongst the first to be signed to

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

. The line-up was Paul McDermott (vox), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr (drums). They took their name from a B-side track by

The Fire Engines The Fire Engines were a post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland. The Fire Engines were an influence on many bands that followed, including Franz Ferdinand and The Rapture, with Meat Whiplash and The Candyskins both taking their names from Fi ...

.Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, They then became

The Motorcycle Boy The Motorcycle Boy were a Scottish indie pop band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1987 by former members of Meat Whiplash and Shop Assistants. History The band consisted of Alex Taylor (vocals, formerly of Shop Assistants), Paul McDermott (drum ...

when female singer Alex Taylor (of

Shop Assistants Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 502 After achieving success with indepe ...

) joined the group in 1987.

Record store

"Meat Whiplash" was also the name of a mid-80s independent record store in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Devon, run by Jeff Barrett, who later worked as a press officer for

and then founded

Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

. After a concert in the city by The Jesus and Mary Chain, the store acquired a second sign and also became known as "Bobby Gillespie's".

Discography

They only had one record released, "Don't Slip Up", which spent 19 weeks in the UK's independent music chart, where it reached the No. 3 position following its release on 14 September 1985 as a 7" single,Lazell, Barry: "Indie Hits 1980–1989", 1997, Cherry Red Books, (which had a sleeve featuring actor

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...

, printed up by

Bobby Gillespie Robert Gillespie ( ; born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead singer, founding member, primary lyricist, and sole continuous member of the alternative rock band Primal Scream. He wa ...

and hand-folded by their record label's owner,

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

). They are notorious for being the opening group at

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

's infamous "riot gig" at the

North London Polytechnic The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

on 15 March 1985, where they threw a wine bottle into the crowd and were, according to The Jasmine Minks, the next group due to play, then were beaten-up on-stage by members of the audience who later rioted when the controversial main act performed. They also had a session in the

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

studios for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's show on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

on 15 October that same year. In 2024 Silver Girl Records released the 2 CD/ double album compilation Collected/Contextualised consisting of their only Creation Records release, a John Peel session, demos and live tracks on one disc and another containing cover versions.

References

Scottish alternative rock groups Creation Records artists {{UK-rock-band-stub