The U-Men were an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band, formed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

bands to come out of Seattle.

History

The U-Men were fronted by vocalist John Bigley and included Tom Price, Charlie "Chaz" Ryan, Robin Buchan, Jim Tillman,

Tom Hazelmyer Tom Hazelmyer (born 1965) is an American musician and printmaker. He is known as the founder and owner of the independent label Amphetamine Reptile Records as well as being the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band Halo of Flies. Biograph ...

and later Tony "Tone Deaf" Ransom. Their

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 ...

sound was credited by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

for helping to inspire the Seattle grunge sound. In 1983, The U-Men became the first band managed by renowned Seattle band manager Susan Silver.

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

named the song "The O-Men", from the album ''

Locust Abortion Technician ''Locust Abortion Technician'' is the third studio album by American rock music, rock band Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987. The album was originally released on both gramophone record, vinyl and CD on Touch and Go Records, Touch and Go, ...

'', in their honor. Tom Price moved on to form

Gas Huffer Gas Huffer was an American garage rock band from Washington. They were known for their informal and comical lyrics and their antic-laden stage presence. History Gas Huffer classified themselves loosely in the garage punk genre. The band crea ...

, and also play in The Monkeywrench. Bigley and Ryan co-founded The Crows. Jim Tillman, who is recognized as the main line-up bass player having played on the first two full releases which included the self-titled EP, "The U-Men" (1984), "Stop Spinning" (1985), and the '' Deep Six'' compilation (1986) track "They", went on to play bass for other local bands, most notably

Love Battery Love Battery is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. They released five albums during the 1990s, followed by sporadic one-off reunions. Frontman Ron Nine and guitarist Kevin Whitworth have been the only consistent members of the band ...

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...

from

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

noted on Sub Pop's anthology release announcement that the band was never the same after Tillman's departure.

briefly played with the band but left to remain in his hometown of Minneapolis (performing live just once with the band when they opened for

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

at the Showbox Theater in March 1987) to promote his record company (

Amphetamine Reptile Records Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released ''Strap It On ''Strap It On'' is the debut studio album by Amer ...

) and band, Halo of Flies.

Band members

* John Bigley – vocals (1980–1989) * Tom Price – guitar (1980–1989) * Charlie Ryan – drums (1980–1989) * Robin Buchan – bass (1980–1982) * Jim Tillman – bass (1982–1986) *

– bass (1987) * Tony Ransom – bass (July 1987 – 1989)

Discography

Albums

*'' Step on a Bug'' (Black Label Records, 1988)

Singles and EPs

*'' U-Men'' EP (Bomb Shelter Records, 1984) *'' Stop Spinning'' EP (

Homestead Records Homestead Records was a Long Island, New York–based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading that operated from 1983 to 1996. While the record label was renowned for releasing work of artists such as Sonic Youth, Big Black, a ...

, 1985) *''"Solid Action" b/w "Dig It A Hole"'' (Black Label Records, 1987) *''"Freezebomb" b/w "That's Wild About Jack"'' (

Amphetamine Reptile Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep Industries) is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released ''Strap It On'', the debut album by alternative metal band Helmet wh ...

, 1988) *'' Sugar Daddy Live Split Series Vol. 1'' (Amphetamine Reptile, 2012; split with the

Melvins Melvins (sometimes the Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

)

Compilation albums

*'' Solid Action'' (Chuckie-Boy Records, 1999) *''U-Men'' (Self-titled anthology, Sub Pop, 2017)

Compilation and soundtrack contributions

*"Blue Christmas" on the Christmas '84 compilation *"They" on the '' Deep Six'' compilation (

C/Z Records C/Z Records was a Seattle-based punk rock record label established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale. It started with the release of '' Deep Six'', which collected early recordings of what later came to be known as grunge. After ' ...

, 1986) *"Shoot 'Em Down (live)" on the ''Woodshock '85'' compilation (El Jefe Records, 1986) *"Gila" on the '' Sub Pop 100'' compilation (

Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

, 1986) *"Bad Little Woman" on the ''Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets, Vol. 1'' compilation (

, 1988) *"Bad Little Woman" on the ''Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets, Vols. 1-3'' compilation (Amphetamine Reptile, 1989) *"Dig It a Hole" on the ''

Hype! ''Hype!'' (1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early b ...

'' soundtrack (Sub Pop Records, 1996)

References

External links

* The U-Men @ AllMusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:U-Men, The Garage rock groups from Washington (state) Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state) American garage punk groups Homestead Records artists Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Amphetamine Reptile Records artists 1980 establishments in Washington (state)