Out On A Limb

THEY look like they’ve stepped out of the 1950s, have a name like a death metal band, and a sound unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

They are gypsy-rock-ska skiffle band The Severed Limb. And they are coming our way.

Yes, the music that inspired a generation of post war teens is once again getting people jumping – everywhere from pub backrooms to festivals and busy street markets.

“We play rootsy rock and roll music with punk attitude,” says frontman Robert Paul. “We are influenced by a variety of styles from rock and ska to Colomian Cumbia, but it is essentially skiffle.”

That means washboard, old guitars, a single snare drum and an accordion – though they have ditched the tea chest bass in favour of the real thing (“it’s more precise” admits Rob.) But how on earth did a bunch of South Londoners, aged from their 20s to 40s, come to be playing music which hit the peak of its popularity more than half a century ago?

“It all started three years ago,” says Rob, 31, who hails from Elephant and Castle. “The idea was to be a skiffle band with simple instruments. We didn’t want to be another indie band who took ourselves seriously; it’s all about fun. And while we are influenced by the 50s, we didn’t want to play American stuff, so we started playing what was going on in England at the time – which was skiffle.

“I saw Lonnie Donegan play at Glastonbury and thought he was really good but didn’t know anything about him until I asked my mum – who told me he had been as big as Elvis.

“We took that as a starting point but instead of just replicating that, we updated it and have done something that makes sense to people today.

“Because we’re English, we have so many influences from different cultures. Just playing skiffle would feel really false; that’s what people did at the time, but a lot has happened since then. Being a skiffle band now may sound ridiculous, and even like a joke, but it works. And the audience get it, even if the big record labels don’t!”

It’s an unusual concept, but it seems to be paying off. In recent weeks, Rob, electric guitarist Sam Soper, washboard player Leo Lewis, snare drummer Charlie Michael, double bass man Simon Mitchell, and accordionist Alex Barrow, have been busy picking up fans, including BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe and Radio 4’s Clive Anderson, who have all featured the band on their shows.

They have supported retro-styled artists Kitty, Daisy and Lewis and Imelda May, and gone down a storm everwhere from The Ace Cafe and Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues (whose proprietor Gaz Mayall described them as the best skiffle band in the world), to Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club and our own Truck festival, where they shared a bill with The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band.

It’s slick, fast, punchy, danceable, and it has to be heard live, so it’s not surprising to learn their sound is honed not in the rehearsal room but on the streets.

“Instead of practising we go busking,” says Rob. “It’s better, as we can see the reaction of the crowd, and we get paid for it!”

“Sometimes they can be more fun than gigs, as we just roll up with our acoustic instruments and play,” he says.

Yet while the idea of a ska-punk skiffle band is enough to confuse, the band’s gruesome name is deliberately misleading.

“It’s quite funny,” admits Rob. “But I like the idea of a band name which isn’t in the style of the music. There’s a big new folk thing going on in, with bands like Mumford & Sons doing really well. And, despite having an accordion and bass, we didn’t want to be associated with that. A name like ours shows we have got a more aggressive and unpleasant side. It’s also a nod to psychobilly, which we love.”

Oxford gig-goers get a chance to see Rob and the lads when they play The Cellar, tomorrow.

But be warned. The gig is not for the faint-hearted.

“Our gigs can be quite mad, full-on, and full of dancing. And occasionally our washboard player does slice his own hand!

“But people should come along and take every opportunity you can to get warm. I guarantee you won’t be standing around stroking your chin; you’ll be grabbing each other and dancing.”

* The Severed Limb play The Big Ten Inch at The Cellar, Oxford, tomorrow. Doors open at 9pm. Tickets are a fiver from wegottickets.com