Sex Museum is a Spanish rock band from Madrid, formed in 1985. Originally the band began among the mod scene of Madrid playing garage rock music. Their first published material is highly influenced by a plethora of genres, for instance soul and R&B as well as several rock genres such as garage and psychedelic. Later on, their music increasingly adopted a more hard rock sound characteristic of the 70s. Through a number of concerts in their homeland and tours through many European countries, they gained a solid underground following not only in Spain but also Germany and Switzerland. They played at several Spanish music festivals like Esparrago Rock, Festimad and Viña Rock as well as international events such as the Beat-O-Mania in Munich, where the band co-lined with acts like Metallica, Sepultura, Backyard Babies, Sonic Youth and Extremoduro among others. In 1994 they were chosen as the opening act for the Spanish tour of Deep Purple. The band has been active for 33 years, having performed thousands of live shows, in addition to releasing 12 studio albums, and many singles. Their latest album 'Musseexum' was released in 2018. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Departamento B formed in Pamplona as a psychobilly instrumental trio in 1987 with Pablo Oroz (guitar), Kike Crespo (bass), and Alfonso Carlos López (drums).
Later, they became a sextet, with Alfonso Carlos remaining as original member. The other musicians were Iñaki Fuente (vocals), Alvaro “Teddy” Cuartero (bass), Francisco “Paco” Aguilera (guitar), Jorge Pascual (organ and guitar), and Kike Arizaleta (vocals and backing vocals). Josecho Balda was their road manager.
In this way, they made recordings and demos and participated in several compilations, starting with the song “The Crusher” included in 'The Munster Dance Hall Favorites. Vol. II' (Munster Records, 1988) and their appearance in the fanzine Mamorro compilation 'Mamorro. The Soundtrack 1st. Auth. European Comp' with “Rockaway Beach,” which also featured Cancer Moon, Los Clavos, Los Dins, and El Desván del Macho as national bands.
In 1991, they recorded a four-song EP that they self-released under the management of Munster Records and produced by Dany Ulacia (OK Korral). They included also a track, "El Pequeño Tamborilero", for the compilation released by the German psychobilly label Jungle Noise, ‘Wreckin’. By this point, they had already made a name for themselves on the Spanish alternative scene: all the fanzines related to the genre wrote about them, they had appeared on Tele-Navarra, and even a record label (Max Mix Music) had offered them a deal, which they turned down because it involved a change in style (eliminating distortion, slowing down the rhythm, etc., in short, opening up to the commercial market).
After all this “success", work, military service, and other aspects of daily life led to the dissolution of the band.
In 1995, they reunited and released the compilation cassette 'Memories of a Psychotic Band...', which included various songs recorded at Arion Studios between 1987 and 1991, some of them previously unreleased. It was distributed in Spain by Slap Club and Disco Billy, and internationally by Mental Disorder Records and Raucous Records. With this, they achieved great success once again on the alternative scene, and encouraged by the positive reception of the tape, they decided to get back together in 1996, performing just one show before scheduling conflicts and personal obligations forced them to call it quits once again.
They participated in the soundtracks of the films “Más Carnaza” (1996) and “Mundo Basura” (1998), by Valencian director Sergio Blasco, which premiered at horror film festivals, making them the only Spanish Psychobilly group to participate in gore and horror cinema.
After collaborating with Los Refugiados, in 1998 Alfonso Carlos formed the band Iberia Trash, also psychobilly, together with N. Psycho-Trash fromLos Motosierras.
In addition to the aforementioned, they also participated in other compilations: ‘Spanish Bombs Vol 1’ (Ruta 66, 1991) and ‘Spanish Cats’ (Burning Crew Producciones, 1996). [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVAOLA80]
Los Nada formed around 1987 in the Cantabrian municipality of Muriedas, with the lineup of Juanjo “Mr. Snoid” (vocals and guitar), Hendrik Roever ‘Dedu’ (vocals, guitar, and harmonica), Raúl Castañera “Anacleto” (vocals and bass), and Iñaki García “Pajares” (drums and tambourine).
That same year, they recorded their only album, an EP of the same name, at Ibioson Studios in Santander for the Ojo Discos/Rocco Records label. It included the songs “Cariño,” “No Es Mi Estilo,” “Soy Un Camaleón,” and “Hacérmelo Decir.” All the songs were composed by Raúl, except "Cariño", written by Juanjo.
Mon Castellanos is only credited on this album because he had a motorcycle accident shortly before the recording and was replaced by Iñaki, who was then the drummer for Melopea.
The group continued playing until 1988, when Juanjo had to move to the province of Córdoba. The rest of the band then decided to disband Los Nada.
After they broke up, Hendrik continued with his other band, Los Del Tonos. In 1989, Mon Castellanos joined Los Del Tonos, and years later, in the mid-1990s, Iñaki García took over as the band's drummer. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVAOLA80]
Los Negativos is a Spanish rock-pop band formed in Barcelona in 1984 by Alfredo Calonge (vocals and guitar), Carles Estrada (vocals and bass), Roberto Grima (guitar), and Valentín Morato (drums). Their music was rooted in the psychedelic pop of the 1960s, with influences such as The Byrds, The Beatles -'Rubber Soul' era-, and other classic American and British psychedelic bands. Although they had fairly modest success, their first LP, 'Piknik Caleidoscópico', became a legendary reference point for fans of this type of music and for mods, until it was reissued by the Mushroom Pillow label on CD (2005) and vinyl (2008). It included 14 tracks ranging from precious pop, with harpsichord, vibraphone, and twelve-string guitar arrangements, to more energetic songs such as “Viaje Al Norte” and “Moscas y Arañas”; the lyrics are full of references to pop culture and psychedelia. Later, in 1987, they released a second album, '18º Sábado Amarillo', more commercially oriented, and a compilation of demos and unreleased live recordings, entitled 'Las Cintas de Thule'.
In 1996, two of the original members, Carles Estrada and Valentín Morato, together with Albert Ramírez, reunited to record a new album as Los Negativos, entitled 'Puzzle'.
In 2009, a new album, 'Dandies Entre Basura', was released with the band's classic lineup. After its release, Raúl Costafreda, who had already collaborated as a musician and producer on 'Dandies Entre Basura', joined the group as a new member.
In February 2014, the single from what would be their sixth LP, 'A Tumba Abierta / Turmix', was released.
Sadly, on May 14, 2014, Alfredo Calonge died of a heart attack, just one week after finishing 'Duplexin', a posthumous album that would be released months later, in January 2015. On December 4, 2014, a tribute concert to Alfredo Calonge was held at the Apolo venue in Barcelona, featuring musicians with whom he had collaborated on musical projects and friends from the sixties-mod scene, such as Sex Museum, Brighton 64, Los Bisontes, Bondage, The Canary Sect, Dr. Explosion, The Excitements, Miqui Puig, The Pinkertones, Los Selenitas, and, of course, Los Negativos, who performed songs from the LP 'Piknik Caleidoscópico'.
Currently, the band continues to shape all kinds of projects related to their music under the direction of Geyser, the production company they created in 2014, and they seem ready to continue performing their songs live.
Valentín Morato, their drummer, passed away in the early hours of July 6, 2024. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Nativos emerged in the mid-1980s as a supergroup committed to rock and guitar revivalism. Members included Esteban Hirschfeld (Nacha Pop, Gabinete Caligari, Los Rápidos), L.M. García Villalpando "Jimmy" (vocals), Antonio Fidel (Los Rápidos), Santi Agudo (Ciudad Jardín), and Alfonso Lantero (Pistones). Even Josele Santiago (Los Enemigos) ended up playing with them.
They only recorded one EP, 'She Belongs To Me' (Producciones Twins, 1986), with four tracks -three of which are covers- that smacks of sixties guitars from the start, produced by Paul Collins and recorded at the legendary Track studios in Madrid under the supervision of Paco Martín.
They included some tracks on various compilations -“She Belongs to Me” on '¿Dónde Estabas tú en el... 86?' (DRO, 1993) and 'Maxi Pop 7' (Contraseña, 2004)- and the Rockdelux magazine released in June 1986 a flexi disc shared with Johnny Thunders.
With hardly any promotion, the band ended up splitting up shortly afterwards. They left us with a recommended short album, but the important thing was their commitment to rock. At a time when the new wave and pop of the Movida were beginning to show signs of exhaustion, The Nativos were a breath of fresh air and one of the first attempts at a rock revival on the Spanish scene. [SOURCE: LA FONOTECA]
Garage revival from Alagón (Zaragoza) formed by José Antonio Bernal (vocals), Miguel Ángel Bernal (guitar), Óscar Carriedo (guitar), Esteban Manresa (bass), and Miguel Ángel Barceló (drums), Los Furtivos recorded two singles.
The first was in 1988, on the Grabaciones Interferencias imprint -"Dr. Extraño / No Me Puedo Aguantar Mas"-, in a limited edition of 400 copies, which was later expanded to a reissue of 500 more copies. The single was recorded at Kiko's studio in Zaragoza, produced by Jesús López.
The second single appeared in 1989 for Kiko's Records: "Solo Quiero Rock'n'Roll / Bajo Control".
In 2008, Grabaciones en el Mar released a compilation of the group's work entitled "Discos De Oro, Jets Privados & Chicas En Bikini" featuring recordings between 1986 and 1990, including the two singles mentioned above, demo recordings and other tracks from various compilations. The album was presented in Zaragoza at the La Lata de Bombillas venue in December of that same year. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVAOLA80]
The Vipers were an obscure '80s band that was transfixed with '60s garage/proto-punk, often drawing comparisons to such similarly styled outfits as The Chesterfield Kings, The Cynics, and The Lyres. Although the band received some favorable press and reviews during their tenure together, The Vipers failed to break through to a larger audience. Over a nine year period (between 1984 and 1993), The Vipers issued such albums as 'Outta the Nest', 'How About Somemore?'and 'Not So Pretty...Not So New, Nest in Peace'. The Vipers' debut was reissued in 2000 via the Cavestomp label, which added several previously unreleased bonus tracks to the mix. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Primates formed in 1984 and cut their teeth in Los Angeles venues such as the Cavern Club, as part of an emerging scene of obsessive fans of the 'Nuggets' / 'Pebbles' compilations, fascinated by 60s garage punk classics. The core of the band consisted of Brett Miller and Ted Edlefsen, sporting brand new Vox guitars, and Erik Bluhm on vocals, accompanied by various drummers, mainly Brian Corrigan but also Eric from Threw the Looking Glass and Gene from The Miracle Workers.
'We Are The Primates' (1986) remains the only released recording by these four fans of 60s R&B and garage rock. Originally released on Greg Shaw's Voxx label (a division of Bomp! focused on garage and psychedelia) and produced by Shaw himself, this valuable musical document captures the essence of the garage revival scene in the 1980s. [SOURCE: MUNSTER RECORDS]
The New York neo psych-rock band The Headless Horsemen, known for their garage revival sound, emerged in the late 1980s with members of The Fuzztones and The Tryfles. The core members of the band included Elan Portnoy on guitar and vocals, Chris Such (or Chris Cush) on guitar and maracas, David "Ari" Turetsky on drums, and Peter Stuart on bass. The band live shows included a performance in Madrid, Spain, in 1989, which was broadcast on local TV.
The Richies play straight ahead pop-punk with a delicious German flavour. Their music is characterized by uncompromising fast, loud and distorted guitar and correspondingly bass and drums, combined with ear worm catchy melodies. They came together probably in 1987 or 1988, they do not know themselves exactly. Based on their preference for bands like the Ramones and The Beach Boys, they had to find each other and probably did so at Duisburg's legendary chip shop, Peter Pomm, in the beautiful Duisburg-Marxloh. With their characteristic humour they produce unique songs with ear worm catchy melodies with a warm fuzzy edge. With sweet love ballads, surf and summer sensibilities and always ready to put the foot on the accelerator. They are smooth in the studio and crazy as fuck on stage.
After a few concerts, they released their first single "Fish Licence" in 1989 , followed by four albums (LPs / CDs) on We Bite Records and various sampler contributions and split singles until 1996. With numerous tours with famous bands in renowned countries worldwide, they captured the hearts of a worldwide audience. The band was put on hold in 1996 or 1997, then only because the Richies just got tired of all the bullshit. A few years later, 2012, they had been sorted out again.
The Richies do not care do go down in history as great instrumentalists, but as a great band. Their songs are sometimes playful, sometimes a little sick, sometimes peculiar, and sometimes hard to understand but always with a certain twinkle in the eye. With their unique way, the Richies created a vital branch on the proud family tree of Rock’n’Roll. [SOURCE: RICHIES.EU]
