Grebo

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For the language, see Grebo language.

Grebo (occasionally spelled Greebo, although that has somewhat different connotations) was a major United Kingdom subculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely based in Northern England.

Influential bands in the scene were Pop Will Eat Itself (who had songs titled, "Oh Grebo I Think I Love You" and "Grebo Guru"), Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Carter USM, The Wonder Stuff, The Levellers and Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. Leicester bands Crazyhead, the Bomb Party, Scum Pups and Gaye Bykers on Acid, as well as New Model Army, are also sometimes associated with Grebo. The musical styles of the bands was more or less a blend of the more alternative forms of rock, pop, hip-hop, and electronica (although in the case of Zodiac Mindwarp it tended more towards hard rock/heavy metal). The music was in general harder than the Madchester sound and bands such as Carter USM tended strongly to the political left in lyrical content. The musical genre found favour with adherents of the earlier Post Punk roots of Gothic rock such as Mick Mercer which by the late 1980's had changed character significantly.

The grebo visual style often included dreadlocks, partially shaved heads and high ponytails, undercut or shaved long hair, baggy clothing, boots, lumberjack shirts, army surplus clothing, and eccentric hats. In addition to being called 'grebos', those in the Grebo scene were also sometimes called 'moshers', although the style of dancing was frequently closer to pogoing.

The movement, although short-lived, was a reasonable success at the time, and influenced a number of later bands. To a certain extent it was a music press invention, much like positive punk, a scene and style named by British indie magazines, specifically NME and the Melody Maker. The scene occupied the period in the late 1980s and early 1990s before Grunge music, Britpop and other forms of Anglo-American Alternative rock took over. It was labelled "The Scene that Celebrates Itself" by the Melody Maker alongside the then popular shoegazing.

In relation to the 1980's musical genre Grebo is considered an abbreviation of Greasy Bastard first coined after an incident in a cinema in Stourbridge when Clint Mansell of Pop Will Eat Itself was told to "sit down you greasy bastard". In the midlands, where the term was originated, the term is now often associated with people whose music interests vary much from the original genre.

The term "Greebo" appears in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, as the name of a cat. Pratchett's definition of a greebo is "Someone who wants to be a Hell's Angel, but doesn't have the style."

A continental variety of the Grebo was the Bavarian Rauschnick.

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