Skeet
Line Up
Vocals – Kay Booth
Guitar – Gary Meffen
Bass – Nigel Meffen
Skeet were formed - initially as a two-piece instrumental bass and guitar band – by guitarist Gary Meffen after he left punk band Homicide and bought a Roland CR-8000 CompuRhythm drum machine. He teamed up with his brother Nigel on bass and they played numerous gigs in Coventry during the early 1980’s. Through mutual friends Chris Long (Swinging Cats / The Rhythm Doctor) and Toby Lyons (L’Homme de Terre / Swinging Cats / The Colourfield), Gary and Nigel were introduced to Kay Booth, who under Toby’s guidance had recorded a demo singing over a live Skeet recording. With Kay on board, Skeet were very much part of an underground Coventry music scene featuring bands such as Zanders System (featuring Toby Lyons, Lee Shale, Karl Shale (Solid Action, The Colourfield, The Candyskins) and Nial (Solid Action)) and The Jessie Boy 5. They played local venues such as The Venue, Corks Wine Bar, The Hope & Anchor and Guys Club / Busters. The bands biggest gig was supporting ‘I’ at Coventry Cathedral in support of the families of HMS Coventry, which was sunk during the Falklands War in 1982.
The band made a demo cassette recorded by Lee Shale at the Zanders System practice space in Park Road Coventry using Toby Lyon’s TEAC Reel-to-Reel and The Specials Jerry Dammers mixer. Although there was talk of a record deal, the pressures of work caused Skeet to call it a day at their peak.
Gary emigrated to Canada and works on some solo work under the name of Homicide BC. Nigel has played in several bands including Simon Seachange, Spoofer, Prole Position, the Del-Chronics and Cherry Joe & the Lightning Crew. Kay went on to play in several bands including Ships Crew - which also featured John Shipley - (supporting The Specials at The Butts), 21IF and The Furious Apples.
The track ‘A Brief Call’ was featured on the first limited edition 200 copy Alternative Sounds CD, in support of the Coventry Music Museum.
Skeet Brief Call. A song recorded by Coventry band Skeet rediscovered as part of the Alternative Sounds series of CDs. A new video made up from the only surviving footage of the band.
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