VICIOUS BISHOP ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM ‘RAINING GUILLOTINES’
TO BE RELEASED OCTOBER 17TH 2025 VIA VICIOUS BISHOP RECORDS
Formed in 2021, Vicious Bishop are a punk, ska punk, and punky reggae power trio, based in the Lancaster / Morecambe area. The band features drummer Dave Nuttall (ex-Toy Dolls), bassist Adz Woods, and vocalist/guitarist Rich Davenport (ex-Radio Stars).
Taking their influences from the Clash, the Ruts, Stiff Little Fingers, Rancid, 2 Tone, the Ramones, Husker Du, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion, Fishbone, Bob Mould, and vintage reggae, rocksteady, and ska, Vicious Bishop’s focus is on delivering memorable, uplifting songs with maximum energy.
Their 2024 debut EP, ‘Miracle Formula 168’, showcased their raw, melodic sound to powerful effect, and featured guest appearances from Rich’s former Radio Stars bandmate Andy Ellison, Sham 69’s Dave Parsons, and Micky Geggus from the Cockney Rejects.
After two well-received sets with Andy at last year’s Rebellion Festival, and another at Morecambe Punk Festival, the band are back with ‘Raining Guillotines’, their first full-length album.
Picking up where the EP left off, the album features ten high octane shots of punk, punky reggae, and ska punk, with hints of rocksteady and hardcore, all maintaining the Bishops’ dedication to crafting memorable melodies, and ear-grabbing arrangements.
Lyrically, the songs touch on themes including mental health (Lifeline, Shooting Myself In The Foot, Drown In The Sound), grief (Lit Up, Wired To The Sky), and trying to survive the rough stuff (Raining Guillotines, Seconds Out, Welcome To Whatever's Left) with your sense of humour intact (Take It As A Win, I'm A Tiswas Kid (Trapped In A Swap Shop World)).
This time ‘round, Archbishop Ellison returns for another vocal duet (Take It As A Win), and Honorary Bishop Leigh Ellison (Ruts DC, the Price) lights up Drown In The Sound with his six-string skills.
Once again, the striking cover art was painted by punk artist Paul Raggity, and features band mascot Stripey Horace.
Vicious Bishop will be supporting the album with shows around the UK and are already working on songs for a follow up.
The first single from the album is I'm A Tiswas Kid (Trapped In A Swap Shop World) a nostalgic look back at the anarchic 1970s TV show, with a video that features an appearance from the show’s legendary presenter, Sally James.
“The song is basically about the fact that a lot of things that self-appointed moral guardians said were a bad influence on us kids when we were growing up – Tiswas, punk, 2 Tone, Marvel comics, Bruce Lee movies, and even Sesame Street – actually turned out to be far more positive influences for a lot of us Gen X-ers than any establishment figure you can name,” explains vocalist/guitarist Rich Davenport.
“Tiswas was never patronising, and nobody who appeared on it ever took themselves too seriously, but we’ve grown up into a world that’s the complete opposite, so the song is an invite for anyone who’s sick of it to join us at the back of the bus making rude gestures through the window, like we used to do on school trips. Even that was educational – we had a teacher who would lecture you about the Battle of Agincourt if he caught you flicking the Vs.”
