Edinburgh post-punks Visitors were active from 1979-1981; the band consisted of brothers John and Derek McVay, pal Colin Craigie and rotating drummers Alan Laing and Keith Wilson. After impressing John Peel with their debut single ‘Electric Heat’, he went on to financial back further recordings and gave them their own Peel Sessions, despite such a limited catalogue. After signing to 4AD, the Edinburgh group called it quits without getting to record their first full-length. [SOURCE: FACT MAGAZINE]
Under Two Flags are one of those band’s that were far better being witnessed live on stage as opposed to sitting around at home listening to them on the stereo.
The band’s debut 10″ record ‘Lest We Forget’ is the pick of the bunch uploaded tonight, the second 10″ record is a little weaker.
Under Two Flags had a great image, brothel creeper shoes, imported U.S. clothing, semi acoustic guitars and a sound similar to early U2, Theatre Of Hate or Death Cult. The band’s biggest gig in London was supporting The Clash (non Mick Jones or Topper Headon) at Brixton Academy in 1984. Under Two Flags made going to that gig worthwhile. [SOURCE: KILL YOUR PET PUPPY]
Tragic Error was a Belgian new beat band formed in 1988 by Patrick De Meyer. This group had several pseudonyms: Fatal Error, Patrick De Meyer, Roger Squire...Tragic Error's singles often appear on compilations ('New Beat Take 4' and 'New Beat Take 5', 'This Is Only A Test! - Acid!', etc.). [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Snakes of Shake were a Scottish band formed in 1984, whose indie pop sound incorporated cajun and folk influences. They released two albums before splitting up in 1987, with some members subsequently forming Summerhill.
The band was formed in Glasgow by Seori Burnette. The group at the time of the recording of the first album consisted of the following members: Seori (vocals, guitar, harp), Tzen Vermillion (guitar), Sandy Brown (piano, accordion), Robert Renfrew (bass guitar), and Rhod "Lefty" Burnette (drums). In February 1984, the band were filmed performing "We Have Got That Feeling" for the Channel 4 television programme, The Tube, on the building site at Queen's Dock, Glasgow of the future SECC, thus becoming the first act to play the venue.
Their debut release was the 'Southern Cross' mini-LP in March 1985, the title track also released as a twelve-inch single. Vermillion and Rhod Burnette left to be replaced by Neil Scott (guitar) and Iain Shedden (drums, formerly of punk rock band Jolt and The Saints), the band now moving to the Making Waves label. Another release of 'Southern Cross' followed in August 1986, the song also appearing on their second album, 'Gracelands and the Natural Wood', released in July 1987.
When Making Waves went into receivership, the band split up, although Seori Burnette, Scott and Shedden formed Summerhill and signed to Polydor Records. Shedden later returned to The Saints and drummed for Giant Sand. A version of the Snakes reformed in 2017 for one-off performance at the Griffin Bar in Glasgow supporting Summerhill, featuring Seori and Rhod, as well as Jason McSwan (bass) and Oisean Burnette (lead guitar). [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Although frequently aligned with the punk movement, The Rezillos' (later known as The Revillos) irreverent glam rock image and affection for campy girl group iconography set them distinctly apart from their peers. Formed in 1976 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the group was initially a fluid and highly informal collective centered around lead vocalists Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) and Fay Fife (Sheila Hynde), and fleshed out by lead guitarist Luke Warm (Jo Callis), second guitarist Hi-Fi Harris (Mark Harris), Dr. D.K. Smythe on bass, drummer Angel Paterson (Alan Patterson), and backing vocalist Gale Warning.
The Rezillos' early repertoire contained material from the likes of Screaming Lord Sutch, The Dave Clark Five, and the Sweet. The success of their 1977 debut single, 'I Can't Stand My Baby', was unexpected, especially by the bandmembers themselves, who never considered the group much more than a lark; as a result of the more serious pressures now exerted on The Rezillos, Harris, Smythe, and Warning all departed, while bassist/saxophonist William Mysterious (born William Donaldson) signed on as a permanent member.
After signing to major-label Sire, the quintet reached the U.K. Top 20 with a single titled, ironically enough, 'Top of the Pops'. After releasing their 1978 debut LP, 'Can't Stand the Rezillos', Mysterious was replaced by Simon Templar, but internal problems continued to plague the group, and following a farewell tour, they disbanded in December 1978. Paterson, Warm, and Templar continued on as Shake, while Reynolds and Fife, promised they could be released from their contract if they dropped The Rezillos name, formed The Revillos.
Rejoined by Harris as well as onetime Pork Dukes drummer Rocky Rhythm, bassist Felix, and backing vocalists Babs and Cherie (aka The Revettes), the first incarnation of The Revillos recorded a pair of singles, 'Where's the Boy for Me?' and 'Motorbike Beat'. In mid-1979, Harris left to become an architect, and was replaced by 17-year-old guitarist Kid Krupa in time to record 1980's 'Rev Up'. Following the usual lineup fluctuations (Felix was replaced by Vince Spik, and Babs was replaced by singer Drax), The Revillos signed to the Superville label and issued the single 'She's Fallen in Love with a Monster Man' and the 1983 LP 'Attack!'
After a pair of self-financed U.S. tours, the band split in 1985; Reynolds formed Rockatomic and Planet Pop, while Fay joined Destroy All Men. The Revillos re-formed in 1994 to play a series of concerts in Japan, ultimately recording the 'Live and on Fire in Japan' album and the 'Yeah Yeah' EP. In 1996, they issued a rarities compilation, 'From the Freezer', and played some live dates in Britain. By 2001, The Rezillos were once again a going concern, touring regularly in the U.K. and Europe with a lineup featuring Fife, Reynolds, guitarist Jim Brady, bassist Chris Agnew, and drummer Angel Paterson. After releasing a pair of singles in 2009 and 2011, in 2015 The Rezillos finally got around to cutting a second studio album, 'Zero'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Plastic Trash is a perfect name for an '80s group. Their sound alchemies were based on guitar, keyboards, rhythm section, and solemn, evocative vocals. Some kind of synthesis not too romantic, not too dark, not too pop with a very inspired songwriting style and a sound that was more professional than most of the Italian tapes and records of the period. They appeared on 'A White Chance', a compilation of local artists moving in their orbit: Go Flamingo!, Intelligence Dept., and Plastic Trash, contributing with three tracks. They released a third demo with four tracks, again with no title: the same old formula seemed to be enriched by a saxophone leading towards some kind of more commercial (new) wave. The wish of breaking through to a wider audience seemed to be a pretentious dream of glory that never came true; after some more concerts, most of them with a new drummer, in 1990 Plastic Trash realized that the time had come to give up. [SOURCE: FORCED EXPOSURE]
Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orchestra of Skin and Bone (1984–86) and No (1987–89). Olsen joined with Michael Hutchence (of INXS) to form a short-term band, Max Q, which issued an album in 1989. He co-founded, Psy-Harmonics, with Andrew Till, as an alternative electronic music record label. In 2014 he formed Taipan Tiger Girls.
Ollie Olsen was born in Melbourne. He developed an interest in electronic music as a teenager in the mid-1970s, studying with Felix Werder. Olsen has issued a range of work from experimental to film and television soundtracks, pop and dance music, installation projects and has established record labels.
In the late 1970s Olsen formed two punk, post-punk bands, as leader and vocalist, as well as being a key figure in the Melbourne little band scene. His punk bands included The Reals and The Young Charlatans. Aside from Olsen on guitar, The Reals' line-up was Peter Cave on drums, Gary Gray on lead vocals and Chris Walsh on bass guitar. At the end of 1977 he formed The Young Charlatans with Janine Hall on bass guitar, Rowland S. Howard on guitar (ex-Obsessions) and Jeffrey Wegener on drums (ex-Saints). Howard had written his iconic song "Shivers" while with The Young Charlatans, it was later recorded and released by a group Howard joined soon afterwards, The Boys Next Door. Young Charlatans recorded the first (and second) version of "Shivers" as part of their unreleased demos, which were made by Bruce Milne for a future single on his Au Go Go Records label.
The Young Charlatans broke up in May 1978 and Olsen, on lead vocals, synthesiser, clarinet and saxophone, formed Whirlywirld, with Andrew Duffield on synthesiser, John Murphy on drums (ex-The News), Dean Richards on guitar and Simon Smith on synthesiser. Their debut self-titled three-track extended play was released in June 1979 via Missing Link Records. Olsen wrote two tracks and co-wrote the third with Murphy. The group issued a second self-titled EP in February 1980. The first 500 copies also included a bonus single, "Sextronics", but Whirlywirld disbanded before it appeared.
Olsen and Murphy relocated to the United Kingdom in early 1980 on the recommendation of Iggy Pop. The duo formed The Beast Apparel, which later became Hugo Klang, and released a single, 'Grand Life for Fools and Idiots', in 1982. Olsen returned to Australia in the following year and continued Hugo Klang with Alan Bamford, Tom Hoy and Laughton Ellery, before this group split up in 1983.
In 1984 Olsen on vocals and guitar, Marie Hoy on keyboards and vocals and Murphy as drummer formed "an avant-garde outfit", Orchestra of Skin and Bone. Marie Hoy had been an instigator of the Melbourne 'little bands' scene, as a member of Too Fat to Fit Through the Door and others. Other musicians associated with Orchestra of Skin and Bone included David Hoy on cello, Tom Hoy on saxophone, Lochie Kirkwood on vocals and saxophone, Dugald McKenzie on vocals and harmonica, James Rogers on trumpet and Peter Scully on guitar. They issued a self-titled album in 1986 and disbanded soon afterwards.
The following year, Ollie formed No, with Olsen on keyboards, vocals, drum machine and sampler, Marie Hoy on keyboards, vocals, samples alongside Kevin McMahon on bass guitar and Michael Sheridan on guitar in 1987.
Film director Richard Lowenstein asked Olsen to appear in and work as music director for his feature film, "Dogs in Space" (December 1986). Olsen supervised the reforming of acts from the late 1970s little band scene and produced music recordings for the soundtrack. He re-recorded material by Whirlywirld including two singles, 'Win/Lose' (April 1987) as a solo effort, and 'Rooms for the Memory' (February) by the film's star, Michael Hutchence (of INXS). The film also featured Marie Hoy singing "Shivers". In 1989 Olsen and Hutchence collaborated on a musical project, Max Q, producing a self-titled album combining electronic music with orchestra, bass, guitar and backing vocals. The Max Q band included John Murphy (drums), Bill Mc Donald (bass), Arne Hanna (guitar) Michael Sheridan (guitar), and Gus Till (keyboards). After recording Olsen and Hutchence travelled New York City to mix the tracks with DJ Todd Terry.
Olsen returned to Australia and turned his attentions to trance music, co-founding Australian electronic music label, Psy-Harmonics with Gus Till's brother, Andrew Till, and recording under the name Third Eye. From the 1990s onwards, he has worked increasingly in sound design and score for film and score for television. Olsen has lectured on and taught electronic music at various universities and symposia, and has also performed with a wide variety of international artists.
As of 2006, Olsen was working on a number of recording projects -mostly electro-acoustic pieces- with artists from Australia, Japan and South Africa, for performance and release in 2006. Olsen's musical output that year consisted of the release of the album, 'I Am The Server' (13 February 2006), through the Greek record label, Creative Space, and the release of an electro-acoustic album, entitled 'Simulated'. 'I Am The Server' was composed, recorded and engineered by Olsen, with additional music from Bill McDonald and Peter Luscombe; the album was mastered by Simon Pool at LGM studios and the album artwork was produced by Maro Kassoti. 'Simulated' was composed, performed and engineered by Olsen, between 1999 and 2006, mastered by Simon Pool at LGM studios, in January 2006, and the album artwork was, again, produced by Maro Kassoti.
In January 2019, Olsen announced his retirement from music via Facebook. Olsen announces publicly online on making a return to music and the release of the 'Whirlywirld Complete Discography 1978-80' LP on HoZac Records due out in June, 2020. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Negative Trend was an early San Francisco punk rock band, active between 1977 and 1979. Before they disbanded, the band released one self-titled EP in September 1978. The former members of Negative Trend would go on to start a number of other notable western US punk bands. Soon after the breakup of Negative Trend, bassist Will Shatter and early drummer Steve DePace went on to be founding members of Flipper, while guitarist Craig Gray and drummer Tim Mooney were among the founding members of the Toiling Midgets. Former vocalists Rozz Rezabek and Rik L Rik went on to become notable punk singers in their own right.
Grand Mal was a short-lived band which formed in July 1977. Its first lineup consisted of Don Vinil on vocals, Craig Gray on guitar, V. Vale (of "Search & Destroy" punk zine) on bass, and Todd Robertson on drums. Due to his magazine commitments, Vale quickly left the band and Will Shatter replaced him, despite having no previous musical experience. The quartet played only three gigs, sharing bills with bands such as The Avengers, The Dils, and The Dead Boys. During their last show at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California on November 7, 1977, Rozz Rezabek stepped in as the band's new vocalist, after jumping on stage, not allowing Vinil to continue performing. Vinil then left the band to start The Offs, and Grand Mal became Negative Trend.
On December 14, 1977, the band played their first show under the name Negative Trend at the Mabuhay Gardens. Rozz Rezabek was now the singer of the band, and the rest of the lineup remained the same. During a show with the Avengers at Iguana Studios Rezabek broke his arm while performing on stage after tripping over a microphone cord. Rezabek was notorious for his electrifying performances, oftentimes jumping onto tables and throwing drinks onto the floor. On January 14, 1978, after playing six shows in the southern United States, The Sex Pistols played their final show at Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California. The day before the show, someone spray painted the walls of Winterland with the words "Negative Trend". Before The Sex Pistols went on, Malcolm McLaren demanded that Bill Graham, who set up the show, allow Negative Trend to go on before The Sex Pistols. Before the show had started, McLaren asked Howie Klein who the worst band in San Francisco was, and Klein responded saying that it was Negative Trend. McLaren told Graham that if the band were not allowed to play, The Sex Pistols would refuse to play. Graham agreed to let Negative Trend go on after The Sex Pistols. However, by the time The Sex Pistols left the stage and Negative Trend got set up, there was nobody left in attendance, so Negative Trend never got to play.
In March 1978, Rezabek quit the band, and Shatter and Gray decided to find a new drummer, as Robertson had failed to show up to a few shows. Mikal Waters would end up replacing Rezabek after the band auditioned a few singers at Iguana Studios, and Steve DePace would replace Robertson on drums. This new version of Negative Trend played their first gig on June 1, 1978. It was this version of Negative Trend that recorded the band's first studio recordings. The eponymous 7" EP was produced by Debbie Dub. While the record is much more famous now, Dub and the band had a hard time giving the record away when it was produced. The record was released in September 1978 by the label Heavy Manners. Side one of the record included the tracks "Mercenaries" and "Meathouse", while side two had the tracks "Black and Red" and "How Ya Feelin". The record has been re-released two times, once in December 1983 by Subterranean Records, and again in April 2006 by 2.13.61.
In November 1978, Negative Trend needed to find another singer to replace Waters. Gray and Shatter heard that the band F-Word had broken up, and decided to recruit former F-Word singer Rik L Rik for Negative Trend. Gray and Shatter also asked drummer Tim Mooney, previously of the band The Sleepers, to take over for DePace. Shortly after the formation of this version of Negative Trend, the band went to Los Angeles to record five demos for Posh Boy Records. However, the only tracks released under the name Negative Trend from the recordings with Posh Boy Records were "Mercenaries" and "I Got Power" on the 'Tooth and Nail Compilation' LP, released by Upsetter Records in 1979. However, all five of the tracks recorded by Negative Trend for Posh Boy Records were released under the name Rik L Rik on the compilation album 'Beach Blvd.'
After only a few gigs with the third version of Negative Trend, Shatter quit the band and was replaced by 16-year-old Jonathan Henrickson. After traveling to Austin, Texas to play two shows, Rik decided leave band. The final three Negative Trend shows had guest singers. The final Negative Trend show took place on April 27, 1979 at Mills College in Oakland, California with The Queer and Dead Kennedys. Ricky Williams did most of the singing at this final show. Mooney, Williams, and Gray would go on to form the band Toiling Midgets.
In July 2008, DePace put together a version of Negative Trend with himself on drums, Gray on guitar, Paul Hood on bass, and Paul Casteel singing. Rezabek was not asked to perform with the reformed version of the band. After the first gig, Tom Mallon took over Hood's position as bass player. After the second gig, DePace was forced to stop playing due to his commitments with the band Flipper. Tony Sales then replaced DePace on drums. The band went on to play a few more shows before splitting up in 2010. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
