Chorbo: Difference between revisions
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== The “Scouser Sound” era and stylistic shift == | == The “Scouser Sound” era and stylistic shift == | ||
Chorbo’s early material centered around the “Scouser | Chorbo’s early material centered around the “Scouser Sound”—a hybrid of hard rock and disco, whose visual stylings included sweat bands, track suits, and excessive gold jewelry. The band was reportedly “only playing this style because that’s what sold at the time”, but all of the members knew the Scouser Sound was over when they included a disco whistle on the song Throb Machine. | ||
Late singer Graham Hatman picked up a worn mass market paperback anthology of Conan the Barbarian stories in 1982 and had a new vision. The band quickly retooled their image and changed direction to a New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound with sword-and-sorcery themed lyrics and visual stylings. | Late singer Graham Hatman picked up a worn mass market paperback anthology of Conan the Barbarian stories in 1982 and had a new vision. The band quickly retooled their image and changed direction to a New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound with sword-and-sorcery themed lyrics and visual stylings. | ||
Revision as of 19:37, 1 September 2026
Chorbo is a heavy metal band from England. Their music is heavily imbued with sword-and-sorcery themes: muscle-bound warrior heroes, medieval weaponry, perseverance in battle and the ongoing war against dark forces.
Early years and genesis
Chorbo traces its origins to Chibwich, a Liverpool bar band active during the early 1970s. The group was fronted by vocalist Graham Hatman and lead guitarist Don Frumpton; the identities of its remaining members have reportedly been lost to time and brain damage.
Hatman and Frumpton left Chibwich following a period of creative disagreement. Shortly thereafter, a night of heavy drinking brought the pair to Newcastle upon Tyne, where they passed out on the front steps of a motel occupied by Gerald “Luciano” Hartwig, formerly the bassist for the Krautrock band KATHARGO. Upon leaving the motel, Hartwig tripped over the unconscious musicians and revived them with a garden hose. The three subsequently began discussing music and found that their respective styles were naturally compatible. Plans were soon made to revive Chibwich with Hartwig as its bassist.
By this time, however, Chibwich’s remaining members had recruited replacements for Hatman and Frumpton and continued performing under the original name. The resulting dispute over ownership of the name was eventually settled through a violent confrontation involving broken bottles, cricket bats, the destruction of a drum kit, and the burning of a gardening shed. The precise sequence of events—and whether the settlement possessed any legal validity—remains unclear.
Having parted ways with KATHARGO in 1973, Hartwig was readily available to join the new group. He proposed combining the names of the musicians’ former bands: Chibwich and KATHARGO. The resulting contraction, Chorbo, was adopted as the band’s name, marking the beginning of its subsequent career.
The “Scouser Sound” era and stylistic shift
Chorbo’s early material centered around the “Scouser Sound”—a hybrid of hard rock and disco, whose visual stylings included sweat bands, track suits, and excessive gold jewelry. The band was reportedly “only playing this style because that’s what sold at the time”, but all of the members knew the Scouser Sound was over when they included a disco whistle on the song Throb Machine.
Late singer Graham Hatman picked up a worn mass market paperback anthology of Conan the Barbarian stories in 1982 and had a new vision. The band quickly retooled their image and changed direction to a New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound with sword-and-sorcery themed lyrics and visual stylings.
Trivia
Work with Rick James
Chorbo once shared a photo studio with Rick James. While Chorbo was in the studio shooting their album cover for the single Warlock Nights, James had booked an adjacent studio to shoot the album cover for the album “Throwin’ Down”, but shortly after arrival one of James’ entourage had his Jheri-curl catch fire, requiring the studio to be fumigated. Chorbo welcomed James with open arms and James ended up with a barbarian-themed album cover.
Definition of "Chorbo"
"Chorbo" also means "summer romance" in Iberian Spanish. The operator of Chorbo's Facebook page, Don Frumpton, released a statement:
One of our fans in Spain told us that Chorbo in Spanish means “summer fling”. Well let me tell you what it means in the UK: no compromises heavy metal that is true to its roots even after 45 years.