British tongue in cheek psychobilly. They formed in 1981 with Jef Harvey, replaced by The Smeg after "Zulu Beat" 7in single, and before the Stiff Records contract, on vocals; Paul (Thack) Laventhol, and John Reddington on guitars; Rory Lyons on drums; Bert Boustead on bass guitar, plus schoolboy "Maggot" on saxophone. Originally known as Rockin' Kurt & The Sour Krauts before settling for King Kurt.

They had a few minor hit singles that featured in the UK Singles and UK Indie Charts, such as "Zulu Beat", "Mack The Knife" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top Forty hit - "Destination Zululand ".

During 1988 the band effectively split, though between 1992 and 1996 the group featuring three of the original members were performing as a live act. John Reddington, on the other hand, is now a solicitor with the London office of Jones Day.

In the early 80s, King Kurt were known for their stage performance in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around and buckets of wallpaper paste dumped into the audience.