Zombie Ghost Train (sometimes seen as ZGT) were an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

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 located in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, NSW, Australia. The band formed with Stu Arkoff (guitars and vocals), Azzy T (drums), and Captain Reckless (bass and backing vocals). In 2007, Azzy T left to pursue other musical ventures and was replaced by JM until 2008. The band released two albums, ''Glad Rags & Body Bags'' (April 2004) and ''Dealing the Death Card'' (May 2007), and a seven-track extended play, ''Monster Formal Wear'' (2003).

History

Zombie Ghost Train were formed in Sydney as a

gothabilly Gothabilly (sometimes hellbilly) is music genre influenced by rockabilly and the goth subculture. The name is a portmanteau word that combines ''gothic'' and ''rockabilly'', first used by the Cramps in the late 1970s to describe their somber bl ...

and

psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...

group by Stu Arkoff (a.k.a. Stuart Hibberd) on lead vocals, guitar and

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

, Captain Reckless (a.k.a. Aaron Mol) on

slap bass Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. They are primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony ...

and backing vocals, and AzzA-T (a.k.a. Aaron James Trew) on drums and percussion. Arkoff and Reckless were former members of the Ark Off Experiment. The band toured Australia, Europe and the United States. The band members, when appearing on stage, dress in "zombified" clothes, featuring tears and bloodstains. Each member has his hair in an extreme style of a

quiff The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 1950s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. It was born as a post-war reaction to the short and strict haircuts for men. The hairstyle was a staple in the British Teddy Boy ...

, teddy boy cut or pompadour. They wore zombie make up, complete with stitches across the face.Zombie Ghost Train photos
/ref> In 2008, one of Sydney's city guides, TwoThousand, called the band, "Australia's best kept secret. . . These mortuary musicians are the best thing psychobilly has seen since

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

". Zombie Ghost Train were featured in the

Horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by t ...

segment of interviews on the ''Tribal Area 8'' DVD compiled by German video-magazine, ''Tribal Area''. In an interview with Voltage Media, Sydney band, ''The Horrorwood Mannequins'' listed playing with Zombie Ghost Train as one of their biggest moments in their music career. Collapse Board classed the band's style as being part of "the horror aesthetic and supernatural lyric themes" of psychobilly. Zombie Ghost Train released an EP called ''Monster Formal Wear'' in 2003 and licensed to German label, ''Crazy Love Records'' (CLLP 64204). Their first album, ''Glad Rags & Body Bags'', was released in 2005 on German Horrorpunk label, Fiend Force Records (FF-033). The song ''Girl U Want'' received the most airplay on National Australian radio station Triple J from this album, with a ranking of 7763. ''Dealing the Death Card'' was the second and final studio album by Zombie Ghost Train. It was released on 19 May 2007 on

Resist Records Resist Records is an independent record label and retail store based in Newtown, New South Wales, Australia. The store was opened by Toe To Toe vocalist, Scotty McFadyen in 1996 before expanding to a record label in 1998. Resist also hosts an a ...

in Australia and in Germany on ''Fiend Force Records''. The band launched this album during an Australian tour between May and June 2007. Reformation and final shows: The original lineup of Stu, Reckless and Azzy T toured with Tiger Army in March 2008 playing shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. The final ZGT show was at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory on 24 April 2008. The band announced their breakup on 26 April 2009 on their Myspace blog. Their logo can be spotted on the leather jacket of an extra in the film

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallo ...

Members

* Stu Arkoff (a.k.a. Stuart Hibberd) – vocals, guitar,

* Captain Reckless (a.k.a. Aaron Mol) – slap bass, backing vocals * AzzA-T – drums, percussion * JM Credits:

Discography

Albums

* ''Glad Rags & Body Bags'' (19 April 2004) – Shrunken Head Records/

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise. It was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was set up specifically as a d ...

(SHRCD00002) ;Track listing # Glad Rags & Body Bags (1:38) # R.I.P.(3:12) # Dark Times (3:09) # Graveyard Queen (3:18) # Black White and Dead (2:51) # Deadcat Rumble (3:28) # Girl U Want (2:42) # Alone (4:06) # Night Time Crawling (3:27) # Zombie Beach (1:09) # Gone (3:12) # Buried Next to the King (3:23) # You're My Baby (6:51) * ''Dealing the Death Card'' (19 May 2007) Resist Records (RES061) ;Track listing # Step into My Coffin (2:43) # Mystery Woman (3:00) # Bats in the Belfry (2:30) # 13 Tears (3:43) # The Big Fog (2:20) # Monster Rock'n'Roll (2:52) # Teddy Boy Boogie (3:03) # Dealing the Death Card (3:56) # To the River (3:03) # The Undead Sea (2:11) # Long Dark Night (3:16) # Trouble (4:08) # Dead End Crew (2:59)

Extended plays

* ''Monster Formal Wear'' (2003) Shrunken Head Records (SHR-CD00001) ;Track listing # A1 - On The Line # A2 - Devil Child # A3 - In The Shadows # B1 - Go-Go Mummy # B2 - Mad Mummy Daddy # B3 - Twenty Flight Rock # B4 - Blue Moon of Kentucky

References

External links

*
Zombie Ghost Train photos
{{Authority control Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups from Sydney Gothabilly groups Psychobilly groups