The Hamsters

There are/once were at least two bands called The Hamsters: 1. a British blues rock/americana band (1987-2012) 2. a short-lived post-punk band from Manchester, United Kingdom 1. The Hamsters were a blues-rock/Americana band that were on the road for 25 yearsl. They disbanded on 1 April 2012, exactly 25 years after their formation on 1 April 1987. In total they have performed more than 4,500 concerts with a national mailing list exceeding 20,000. The Hamsters were Britain's hardest working band, with an insane gig list that most bands would find daunting. The Hamsters have established themselves as the UK's top blues-rock attraction, done purely by hard work without any major record labels, handling all of their own affairs. Slim has been voted one of the top 100 guitarists of all time in a radio poll on LBC. The Hamsters' reach is beyond the UK: Having visited the USA in '91, they've worked a lot in mainland Europe, and in November '92 performed at three sell-out Jimi Hendrix festivals in Holland, including the most celebrated gig in Europe - the Paradiso, Amsterdam. The Hamsters are: Slim - Guitar, Singer | Rev. Otis - Drums, Sings a bit | Zsa Zsa - Bass, Sings a bit 2. Legend tells that The Hamsters (Manchester, UK) were formed after three mates had been underwhelmed by the artistic ineptitude of UK Subs, at a gig at the Manchester Mayflower. Noticing their distaste, the club booker, Pam, offered the trio a support spot at the same venue, seven days later. Despite only possessing a guitar, a biscuit tin and no completed songs, the trio - now dubbed, The Hamsters - actually made the appearance. And so began a career on the outside of everything associated with Manchester music. As singer/lyricist Moet recalls: "From the off, we were on the offensive against the local music scene that we needed to embrace us. It made life very difficult as we made enemies of everyone who was in a position to help us." The Hamsters never had their music officially released, but the song 'Cloud Of Flies' was unearthed in later years and has featured on some Manchester/post-punk/punk compilations, including the box-set, 'Manchester North Of England' (2017). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.