Purveying a heady and ever-metamorphosing cocktail of classic cabaret-style songs with a European twist and moderately eccentric 'rock and role' tunes with deftly crafted lyrics, Alien Kabaret fit neatly into the box marked "Other".
Formed
in London in late 1999, Alien Kabaret began life as a musical collaboration
between Scottish songwriter Woodstock Taylor and Australian classical
cellist Stephen Hughes as a vehicle to develop the more melodic side
of Woodstock's writing and also as a thin excuse to have a really good
time.
English songwriter and guitarist John Peacock joined soon after, and Alien Kabaret enjoyed live success at London venues such as the Spitz, the 12 Bar Club, Zarathustras and the Fitzrovia Community Festival, among many others.
In spite of Stephen's departure for Australia, a four-song studio EP, Work, produced by John Peacock, was recorded in 2000 and re-issued in 2003. It sounded completely different from their live act, but nobody minded.
Returning to Edinburgh, Woodstock revived Alien Kabaret in 2003, this time featuring Pete Garnett on accordion and, now and then, Hugh Kelly on double bass. Once again, it was nothing like what had gone before, but once again nobody minded.
