Switzerland's REVEREND BEAT-MAN is a globetrotting, rock 'n' roll trash man! VLR hitched a ride on his UK tour...
So Reverend Beat-Man, for VLR readers who don't know, who the hell are you?
"I'm the kind of guy everyone points the finger at walkin' into a bar. The kind of outsider your parents warned you not to play with in the sandbox. Born in the summer of hate in the mid-'60s in Bern, Switzerland, I grew up over the years into a rock 'n' roll monster. In 1986, I formed my first real band, The Monsters, with whom we toured the world nonstop, playing DIY style. In 1991, I started my one-man band, Lightning Beat-Man, with whom I gained extreme, boundary-pushing experiences, including a 1995 tour in the UK. In 1999, I saw the light and was reborn as Reverend Beat-Man. Since then, I've been preaching the message of blues trash... and I also founded Voodoo Rhythm Records: the label that ruins any party."
And you got this rock 'n' roll bug aged 13, when you released your first record?
"I grew up surrounded by my parents' record collection: Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, the Blues Brothers. At school, they forced me to listen to the Bay City Rollers, Smokie or Status Quo. In 1980, punk was killed by politics and out of the blue, I was struck by lightning. My parents allowed us one hour of TV a week, and there was a live show on German television featuring Motörhead and Iron Maiden. My teenage heart was instantly catapulted into another dimension, and I wanted to be exactly that in my life. Venom then sealed the deal, and I was lost. But even back then, I listened to a lot of Lightnin' Hopkins and Howlin' Wolf and tried to bridge these two extremes in a way that I liked."
What is the scene like in Switzerland?
"Switzerland is a small country with an insurmountable border all around it, and this is reflected in the minds of the Swiss. Nobody gets in and nobody gets out. We, in the underground scene, are excited and full of energy and ready to explode and explore, in the past we've had many interesting bands like Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, The Young Gods, Coroner, Yellow, Zeal and Ardor. And great new acts include Oh Telephone, Bad Mojos, Blind Butcher, Baby Volcano, Louis Junker, Beurre, Fomies, or Urban Junior, to name just a few."
You're hitting the UK after a long time away-what can we expect ?
"We'll be touring England as a duo, Reverend Beat-Man & Milan Slick. We've been working together for a few years now. It all started when Milan Slick was 16 for a live score to the Iranian vampire film 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night'. Now he's 21, and we're musically on the same wavelength and understand each other perfectly. We recorded an album earlier this year with Robert Butler (Miracle Workers), which we'll be presenting on this UK tour. I play guitar, kick drum and hi-hat, and Milan plays the synthesizer organ, guitar, and another part of the drums. People who come to our concerts say it's a mix of Sonics and Suicide, but we call it Blues Trash."
Reverend Beat-Man & Milan Slick tour the UK in December. Ctahc them live at....
10.12.25 - UK - Brighton, The Prince Albert
11.12.25 - UK - Blackpool, The Waterloo
12.12.25 - UK - Canterbury, The Anchor
13.12.25 - UK - Nottingham, Bunkers Hill
14.12.25 - UK - London, The Lexington
Read the full interview in the next edition of Vive Le Rock, due out 9 December!