Red Decibel Records

Cher U.K.

Deserving massive praise for their brilliantly smart-alecky name alone, Missouri punk-pop trio Cher U.K. never quite delivered on the sarcastic promise of its handle, but the band's signature mixture of loopy lyrics, surprisingly catchy hooks, and noise rock interruptions -- like a mutation of the key attributes of the Meat Puppets, the Young Fresh Fellows, and the Butthole Surfers -- is entertainingly unpredictable. 

Singer/guitarist Mike McCoy, bassist Heather Grehan, and drummer Lisa McKenzie formed Cher U.K. in Kansas City, MO, in 1991. After a 1992 debut single on the redoubtable Fist Puppet label, "Janitor in a Drum" backed with "Disaster," Cher U.K. signed with Twin/Tone's Red Decibel subsidiary and recorded their full-length debut, 1993's She's a Weird Little Snack. A surprisingly poppy follow-up, 1994's Go-Go Fish, was a bit more refined and less noisy, with the Velvet Underground homage/plagiarism "Baldie" among the standouts. Cher U.K. split up shortly thereafter. McCoy eventually showed up in the American People, who released their debut album, Because We Can, in the summer of 2001.

- bio by Stewart Mason at AllMusic