Patrick Cowley

An instrumental contributor to the development of dance music -post-disco and Hi-NRG in particular- Patrick Cowley's influence carried far beyond his early-'80s prime. Artists including Pet Shop Boys and New Order considered Cowley a major musical influence on their work. He explored uncharted territories of synthesizer sounds and instrument programming long before modern-day music conveniences. Cowley's extensive work with Sylvester gained him fame and glory as a producer, writer, and musician. His ongoing experimentation with electronic instruments resulted in some of the most recognized disco hits, including "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," "Do You Wanna Funk," and "Megatron Man." During his lifetime, he released a trio of solo LPs, including 1981's 'Menergy'. Several decades after his 1982 death, his work gained new audiences when several volumes of rare and previously unissued Cowley material were released, including the new wave album 'Catholic' (with Jorge Socarras), experimental pornographic soundtracks such as 'School Daze', and the funk, jazz, and disco covers of 'Some Funkettes'. 

Born in Buffalo in 1950, Cowley spent most of his youth in northern New York working in local rock bands. He studied at the University of Buffalo with a concentration in English. In 1971, after a relocation to San Francisco College, he began an intensive study of the synthesizer. Shortly after his studies began, Cowley's work was noticed by a local musician, Sylvester, who asked Cowley to join him in the studio. Cowley's synthesizer innovations resulted in the album 'Step II', which made way for the global recognition of Sylvester and garnered Cowley a job as a touring musician. Slowly, his work on the synthesizer became synonymous with Sylvester's sound and was important in creating hits like "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," "Dance (Disco Heat)," and "Can't Stop Dancing." 

Though touring with a band kept him far from home, Cowley remained close to the roots of the San Francisco club scene. In 1981, he found kinship with Marty Blecman, a producer/keyboardist who had worked at Fantasy Records, a predominately jazz and rock label. The two formed their own label, Megatone Records, in the summer of 1981. Cowley's first solo hit was the single "Menergy," which hit Billboard's club chart in late October. That same year, his first release on Megatone was the single "Megatron Man," followed by a full-length album of the same name.

 

 

Cowley found more success in the '80s with several chart-topping hits. At the time he released "Megatron Man," he also teamed up with San Francisco singer Paul Parker. Both wrote and produced the dance-oriented single "Right on Target," which reached the top of club charts. He found even more chart-topping success teaming up with Sylvester once again to produce the single "Do You Wanna Funk" for Megatone. In 1982, Cowley produced his final album, 'Mind Warp', for Megatone. That year also saw the official release of Cowley's remix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," originally made years prior but previously unavailable commercially. He died of what became known as AIDS on November 12, 1982. 

Blecman cites Cowley as patching his own programs by hand to create a certain sound that Cowley felt was necessary in order for a track to be complete. Initially founded as a partnership, Megatone Records was incorporated in 1983 and moved to Hollywood, California in 1994. Blecman headed the record label until his death on September 20, 1991. Several Cowley-related anthologies were released over the course of the following decades, beginning with 'Catholic' (a compilation of late-'70s recordings made with Jorge Socarras), a self-titled set by Indoor Life (a group that released a Cowley-produced EP in 1980), and 'School Daze' (adventurous '70s and early-'80s instrumentals Cowley gave to John Coletti, owner of Fox Studio, an outlet for gay pornographic films). The latter, released by San Francisco's Dark Entries label, was especially well-received, and the label eventually reissued 'Catholic' on vinyl and subsequently released 'Muscle Up' (another volume of Cowley's previous unreleased porn soundtracks). Related label HNYTRX also released 'Kickin' In', a 12" EP of previously unissued disco cuts, led by its 12-minute title track. 'Candida Cosmica', an EP of experimental pieces recorded in the '70s with filmmaker and sex educator Candida Royalle, was released in 2016. 'Afternooners', the third and final compilation of Cowley's soundtrack work, appeared in 2017. 'Mechanical Fantasy Box', a further album of previously unheard experiments dating from 1973 to 1980, was released in 2019. 'Some Funkettes' appeared in 2020, containing Cowley's instrumental covers of songs by Donna Summer, Herbie Hancock, The Temptations, and others. 'Malebox', six mainly instrumental disco-funk tracks recorded between 1979 and 1981, surfaced in 2022. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Fall-Outs

Seattle punk-poppers The Fall-Outs never got the glory of compatriots like The Young Fresh Fellows, Mudhoney, or even The Fastbacks or Flop, largely because they were a part-time concern throughout their career. Impressively, they managed to maintain nearly the same lineup throughout: Dave Holmes on guitar and vocals, Shannon McConnell on bass, and Dino Lencioni on drums. (McConnell quit the group for a couple of years in the early '90s; Mudhoney's Steve Turner filled in on bass until McConnell decided to rejoin in 1993, and also signed the group to his own Super-Electro label.)

 
The Fall-Outs played locally for a couple of years before finally getting around to making a recording, an untitled eight-song demo cassette. Two years later, The Fall-Outs made their vinyl debut with the 'Here I Come' EP, followed a year later with the 'Don't Want the Sun' EP. These EPs, plus assorted other early songs, including tracks from that demo cassette, were finally released on CD as 'Here I Come and Other Hits' on Estrus in 1993. The year before that, the group, with Turner on bass, had recorded their self-titled full-length debut. A second album, 'Sleep', followed in 1995. Following the release of 'Sleep', The Fall-Outs went back onto part-time status, at one point going several years between gigs, but the band returned to the studio in 2003, with new bassist Zaac Aubrey in tow, to record a new album, 'Summertime'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Nacha Pop

Spanish pop/rock band Nacha Pop was formed in 1978 by ex-Helicopeter Uhu singer/guitarist Nacho Garcia and bassist Carlos Pascow, who were soon joined by Garcia's cousin, singer/songwriter Antonio Vega. That same year, the band recorded a demo featuring "Chica de Ayer" and "Sol del Caribe," signing with Hispavox in 1980; they then issued a self-titled album produced by Teddy Bautista. Nacha Pop's following albums, 'Buena Disposicion' and 'Mas Numeros, Otras Letras', made the group one of the most popular numbers in the local rock scene. After releasing an EP called 'Una Decima de Segundo' and 1987's 'El Momento', produced by Carlos Narea, the group decided to perform for the last time on October 19 and 20, 1988, making a live record called 'Nacha Pop 1980-1988'. In 2001, Nacha Pop's "Lucha de Gigantes" was featured in the movie "Amores Perros", directed by Alejandro Gonzalez. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Mr. Mister

A product of the L.A. session-musician community (which also produced the harder-rocking Toto), Mr. Mister enjoyed a brief but massive burst of popularity during the mid-'80s, crafting an atmospheric, vaguely progressive variation on slick, radio-ready pop/rock. While they disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived on the scene, their two number one hits, "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie," remain enduring classics of '80s mainstream pop.

 
Mr. Mister was formed in 1982 by bassist/lead vocalist Richard Page and keyboardist/vocalist Steve George, boyhood friends from Phoenix, Arizona, and accomplished sessionmen. The two had previously played together in a jazz fusion outfit called Pages, which recorded three major-label albums from 1979-1981 (the final one being more pop/rock-oriented). Plagued by a lack of sales, an abundance of personnel shifts, and an uncertainty over direction, the group disbanded by the end of 1981, and Page and George returned to their session careers (they'd previously done vocals on Village People records, among others). The two wrote songs and offered backup for artists including REO Speedwagon, John Parr, Chaka Khan, The Pointer Sisters, Donna Summer, Al Jarreau, and Kenny Loggins, and conceived the idea for their own band while on tour with Andy Gibb. The first to join was guitarist Steve Farris, who had been working with Eddie Money; next was drummer Pat Mastelotto, who had done numerous sessions for producer Mike Chapman. Page's cousin, lyricist John Lang, was invited to collaborate on material as he had done for Pages, and the group quickly landed a deal with RCA on the strength of several showcase concerts.

 

 

Mr. Mister's debut album, 'I Wear the Face', was released in 1984, producing one chart single, "Hunters of the Night," which failed to reach the Top 40. It didn't sell very well, which made the band's breakthrough with their sophomore effort all the more surprising. 'Welcome to the Real World', issued in May 1985, perfected the band's blend of Genesis-style pop, swirling keyboard textures, slightly spiritual lyrics, and polished studio craft. Page had turned down offers to join Toto and Chicago, and his faith in Mr. Mister was justified with the release of the album's first single, "Broken Wings." It took a few months to catch on, but helped by the band's prominent tour slots, it climbed all the way to the top of the pop charts before year's end, and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Group. The follow-up, "Kyrie," duplicated that feat in March 1986, and 'Welcome to the Real World' topped the album charts the same week, on its way to platinum sales. Third single "Is It Love" reached the Top Ten, and the band consolidated their success with appearances at several awards shows and benefit concerts.

 
Work on their third album was slowed by Mastelotto's back problems, and once the song selection was completed, lyricist Lang moved to New York to attend graduate school. The album, 'Go On', was released in fall 1987; its lead single, "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)," barely scraped the Top 30, despite its appearance on "Miami Vice". Second single "Healing Waters" was released only in Europe, yet still managed a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance, Duo or Group. "Stand and Deliver," originally intended for Tina Turner, was used in the Edward James Olmos film of the same name; still, 'Go On' simply couldn't catch hold the way its predecessor had. Disagreements between Page and Farris led to the latter's departure from the group in July 1988. Mr. Mister never settled on a permanent replacement, using Trevor Rabin and Buzzy Feiten in their subsequent recording sessions. Those sessions were dedicated to what was to be the band's fourth album, 'Pull'; however, an RCA roster purge left them homeless, and the record was deemed too proggy and uncommercial to be picked up by any other label. Before the end of 1989, Mr. Mister decided to break up.

 
The individual members' musical pedigrees ensured that they wouldn't be wanting for work. Mastelotto played drums on XTC's 'Oranges & Lemons' (among many other albums), and joined King Crimson in 1994; he also plays in the progressive/experimental rock band Mastica. Page co-wrote Madonna's 1994 hit ballad "I'll Remember," which led to his forming the group 3rd Matinee with Madonna producer Patrick Leonard. They released an album in 1994 but broke up the following year, and Page issued his solo debut, 'Shelter Me', in 1996; he eventually moved into Disney musicals, among other vocal gigs. Lang formed the post-grunge band Djinn, which released Radio Beirut in 1995. George served as Kenny Loggins' music director from 1991-1997, and subsequently toured with Jewel. Farris toured with Whitesnake in 1997, and recorded with Tori Amos, among others. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

M.O.T.O.

M.O.T.O. (Masters of the Obvious) is an American garage punk band currently based in New Hampshire. Formed in New Orleans in 1981, M.O.T.O. has existed in some form for over 43 years. Over that time, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes, but it has always functioned primarily as a platform for Paul Caporino's songwriting, a repertoire that includes hundreds of songs in a variety of genres such as pop, punk rock, metal, soul, noise music, garage rock and new wave.

 

M.O.T.O. was formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1981. The original lineup consisted of Mike Tomeny on guitar, his brother Jeff Tomeny on guitars and vocals and Don Ward on drums in addition to Caporino on guitar and vocals. This edition of the band first performed the songs "Skeletons Need Their Sleep" (composed by Jeff Tomeny) and "Satan Always Calls Collect" (by Tomeny and Caporino), which would reappear on several 7-inch EPs in later years. Because M.O.T.O. recorded and performed live somewhat infrequently, Paul Caporino began to record a series of cassette albums without the assistance of the other members of the band. The tapes were originally intended as demos, but Caporino was so satisfied with the results that he decided to distribute them to the public. These tapes included 'Turn Your Head and Cough', 'BOLT!' (short for "Best of Lent Tape"), 'Rock, Roll & Dismember' and 'MOTOERECTUS'. 

 

Caporino wrote all the songs and played all the instruments on the cassettes, layering multiple guitars, bass, lead and harmony vocals over a Mattel Synsonics drum machine. These early tapes feature many songs that would reappear in live shows and studio recordings over the years, including "Midnight at the Guantanamo Room", "Dick About It", "Month of Sundays", and "I'm Infected". The tapes showcased Caporino's offbeat and sometimes vulgar sense of humor along with his extensive knowledge of the history of popular music. The music contained references to The Beatles, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Donovan, Led Zeppelin, The Jam, Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Judas Priest and many other artists. The original lineup also made a few recordings as a band, which were collected on the 'QUASIMOTO' cassette. When, in 1987, the original lineup disbanded, Caporino continued M.O.T.O. as a trio backed by Brad Brewster on drums and Greg Fisk on bass. This edition of the band played more live dates than the original lineup, but recorded very little.

 

Shortly thereafter, Caporino moved to West Somerville, Massachusetts, near Boston. There he formed a new version of the band with drummer Beck Dudley which lasted until 1993 and produced a number of 7-inch EPs, three home-recorded cassettes ('Neon Bone!', '1000 Years of Rock'N'Roll', and 'Talk of M.O.T.O.') and a full-length album, compiled from the first two tapes ('This Corpse is a Warning'). This lineup was the first to regularly record in a professional studio. These recordings were collected in 1994 on the 'Single File' CD, released by Mind Of A Child Records and later re-issued by Criminal IQ Records in 2004. 

 

The band achieved its greatest notoriety to date as a duo, touring extensively and being featured by legendary BBC DJ John Peel, who played the song "Rot Rot Rot" from the 'Hammeroid!' EP on his program several times. It was also during this period that both Caporino and Dudley moved from the Boston area to Chicago. Dudley left the band in 1993 to pursue a Master's Degree in architecture. 

 

Though the band experienced a fall-off in popularity, Caporino continued to home-record cassettes, releasing seven cassettes between 1993 and 1998. The band also performed live with new members Dennis Spaag on bass and Garret Hammond (a future member of Kill Hannah) on drums. The Chicago lineup continued to evolve, featuring drummers Tim Ford and Ryan "Guitar" Murphy, bassist JJ Champion, and guitarist/bassist Laurence Museum of Death. 2003 saw the release of the band's first full album of all-new recordings, 'Kill M.O.T.O.', which featured studio recordings of songs from Caporino's most recent home-recorded cassettes as well as brand new songs. In 2005, the band released 'Raw Power', which met with critical acclaim, including being selected as the best Chicago release of 2005 by the Chicago Reader's Bob Mehr. 

 

In September 2009, Caporino briefly moved to Providence, Rhode Island. He planned to continue the band with a new lineup in Providence, but subsequently decided to return to his native New Orleans, where he reunited with original members Jeff and Mike Tomeny. Caporino has also begun to perform acoustic solo sets consisting primarily of M.O.T.O. material. M.O.T.O. toured almost constantly, covering Europe, Japan, Australia as well as the US. The band released the studio albums 'No Way Street' (2012) and 'Pack Your Troubles In Dreams' (2013) and has been re-releasing older material via digital download and CD-R. M.O.T.O. relocated, this time to New Hampshire, as Caporino married bassist J.V. McDonough (formerly of The River City Rebels) and added her to the lineup. Joined by China-based expats Gil Brunnhoeffer and Chris Ginn, the band completed their first tour of China in 2013 with Shanghai based punk band Round Eye. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Moon Martin

One of the more curious characters of the new wave movement, singer/guitarist/songwriter Moon Martin issued several critically acclaimed yet commercially underappreciated releases from the late 1970s through the early '80s before reappearing in the mid-'90s.

 
Born John Martin in Oklahoma in 1945, he played in local bands, including a rockabilly group, The Disciples, while attending the University of Oklahoma. Martin relocated to Los Angeles in the late '60s and paid the rent as a session musician, playing on albums by Del Shannon and Jackie DeShannon. Soon, however, his former Disciples bandmates followed him to the land of surf and sun, changing their name to Southwind and issuing a total of three underappreciated country-rock albums on the Blue Thumb label between 1969 and 1973: a self-titled debut, 'Ready to Ride', and 'What a Place to Land'. Upon the group's split, Martin returned to session work, contributing to Jesse Ed Davis' 'Ululu', Linda Ronstadt's 'Silk Purse' and a few Gram Parsons songs. Martin also began to focus on a solo career at this time, adopting the nickname "Moon" from friends after it became an inside joke because of the songwriter's penchant for mentioning the word in his compositions. 

 

 

Initial plans to record a solo album in 1974 with noted producer/arranger Jack Nitzsche failed to pan out, but several of Martin's original compositions were used by other recording artists, including the Nitzsche-produced Mink DeVille (the track "Cadillac Walk" subsequently became a moderate hit), as well as Michelle Phillips and Lisa Burns. By 1978, Martin (who by this time was known simply as Moon Martin) was finally ready to launch his solo career, with his look and music often compared to such new wave hitmakers as Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. A total of five albums in a five-year span followed, including such titles as 1978's 'Victim of Romance' EP (whose track "Bad Case of Lovin' You" would become a hit when covered by Robert Palmer), 1978's 'Shots from a Cold Nightmare', 1979's 'Escape from Domination' (which scored Martin his sole hit single, "Rolene"), 1980's 'Street Fever', and 1982's 'Mystery Ticket', all of which were issued on the Capitol label. 

 
Martin then dropped out of the music scene for the rest of the '80s and the early part of the '90s, before resurfacing in 1995 with a pair of releases, 'Cement Monkey' and 'Lunar Samples'. The same year, the British label Edsel reissued Martin's first four full-length releases as two-for-one CDs ('Shots from a Cold Nightmare' was paired with 'Escape from Domination', while 'Street Fever' was combined with 'Mystery Ticket'). Producer Craig Leon, who had worked with Moon Martin, confirmed that the rocker died on May 11, 2020. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

Modern Eon

Like the better-known Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen, the post-punk band Modern Eon was based in Liverpool, England. Fitting somewhere between the odd rhythms and textured turmoil of The Comsat Angels and the aggressive side of Sad Lovers and Giants, the band released only one studio LP, 1981's excellent 'Fiction Tales'.  

 

Alix Plain (Alex Johnson) and Danny Hampson started the group in the late '70s, initially calling their band Luglo Slugs. After two more name changes, they became Modern Eon and made their recorded debut in 1978 on 'Street to Street: A Liverpool Album'. A handful of singles for labels like Inevitable, DinDisc, and their own Eon predated 'Fiction Tales', which quickly -and disappointingly- didn't so much register on the commercial radar as it went down the drain with little notice. 

 

Prior to the recording of the album, the band's lineup changed significantly; guitarist/saxophonist Tim Lever, keyboardist/percussionist Bob Wakelin, and drummer Cliff Hewitt came in at various points to replace Ged Allen and Joey McKechnie. Aside from the overlooked status of 'Fiction Tales', another factor that threw a wrench into the band's progress was the injuring of drummer Hewitt's wrist. Hewitt, who resembled The Comsat Angels' Mik Glaisher with his off-kilter, toms-heavy playing, proved impossible to replace. The group went on with the tour, using tapes of Hewitt's playing to accompany them. After the tour, demos for a second album weren't completed and the band dissolved. 

 

Sans Plain, the group continued briefly as This Time Next Year, who released one record in 1982. Lever played a number of years with Dead or Alive and eventually went into producing; Hewitt became a member of Apollo 440; Wakelin worked as an artist in the video game industry and then did work for Marvel comics for well over a decade; Plain worked briefly as a solo artist under the name Che. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Made For TV

Made For TV was an American musical group active in the 1980s. Their members were Tom Lyon (vocals), Alex Henze (guitar), Candy Wroth (bass) and Peter Sparling (drums). The band formed in Washington, D.C. and released their first single in 1983 (released by Conflict Records). The single contained two songs, one was original, ("So Afraid of the Russians"), and the other was a cover of The Doors ("Unknown Soldier"). The single was produced by Welsh musician John Cale, who also played baritone guitar, synth percussion and contributed with his voice via transatlantic telephone. Cale's then-collaborators David Lichtenstein (sound engineer), David Young (assistant sound engineer) and Roddy Hui (mixing) also contributed to the recording, that took place at Skyline Studios in New York City. The lyrics of "So Afraid of the Russians" focused on political issues. In 1987, the band released an EP titled 'Spies Everywhere' (on Vinyl Siding Records), which contained four more songs in addition to the two released on the single. The four songs came from the band's performance at the New York club CBGB`s. Tom Lyon was born in Portland and worked as a disc jockey in New Mexico in the 1970s. He was later a member of the band Action Memos. He died in 2002 at the age of 53. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIE]

 

King Kurt

Although psychobilly pranksters King Kurt are best remembered for "Destination Zululand," the rambunctious smash with which they stormed the U.K. chart in 1984, to recall them purely as one-hit wonders is to decry another four years of achievement -four further singles and two full albums also bothered the charts before the group finally faded away during 1987. But even that only begins to tell the band's story, for it wasn't on cold, impersonal wax that King Kurt were at their blistering, mystifying best. It was in concert, where gigs became tribal gatherings, songs became rockabilly psycho chants, and haircuts were -well, let's just say they were mighty peculiar, and leave it at that.

 
The story begins in early 1981, with the band -fronted by the irrepressible Smeg, and completed by guitarist Thwack, saxophonist Maggot, and drummer Rory- rising out of the same twisted garage underground that was home to an entire army of post-Cramps psychobilly revivalists. But, whereas the majority of their rivals chose to drive their point home through more-or-less deliberate revisions of the Cramps' own take on the genre, King Kurt's eye was always focused on less ghoulish angles. 

 
For a full year or so, the band rattled around the U.K. pub circuit, hanging their rat-with-cigarette backdrop from a hundred subterranean basement stages, then visiting the local butcher's shop in search of that night's collection of stage props. Smeg wore a dead rabbit necktie for a while; there might also have been an uncooked goose at one show. Whatever. Wherever the King ventured, he acquired another horde of like-minded acolytes, all of whom seemed thrilled to adhere to King Kurt's own personal dress code -"all male concert-goers must wear dresses." Neither was that the end of the audience's participation in the proceedings. Other special treats held in store by a King Kurt gig included the streams of shaving cream that flew through the air; the beer that sprayed, the blood that gushed (sometimes real, sometimes fake), the flour, eggs, and baked beans that transformed the dancefloor into a demented cookery class. And if all that were not enough, fans were also entreated to partake in the near-tribal ritual of free haircuts, inflicted upon any audience member foolhardy enough to venture near the bandmembers' proffered razors and shears. 

 
By summer 1982, the band had prompted enough underground interest that it was imperative that they got a record out. That August, then, saw the band self-finance and release two of their finest numbers to date, the poundingly tribal "Zulu Beat," pressed on self-confessedly "revolting putrid" orange vinyl and packaged within painstakingly hand-drawn and painted picture sleeves. Nine hundred and fifty copies of "Zulu Beat" circulated via the band's shows; all sold out within a matter of weeks. First one, then another repressing was ordered and, suddenly, eyes gazed down from the mainstream ivory towers to ponder this latest mutter from the gutter. By summer 1983, King Kurt had signed to Stiff Records, and entered the studio with producer Dave Edmunds.

 

 

"Destination Zululand" was released in October 1983, a triumphant slice of thump-along madness that was accompanied by what remains one of the essential videos of the age, all rolling African deserts, weary English explorers, and -of course- savage Zulu warriors, prepared to fight the invaders to the death. And more was to follow, as new producer Steve Brown coaxed a positively staggering album out of the band, rewiring the traditional madness of their live set into a superbly landscaped chasm of chaos and noise. Again, 'Ooh Wallah Wallah' was by no means as big a hit as memory might insist (it spent one week at number 99 before fading), but still its imagery lingers longer than a lot of the year's bigger sellers. That rat again! 

 
King Kurt's follow-up single, the album's raw revision of "Mack the Knife," followed in early 1984, the delirious "Banana Banana" a few months later. Both reached the mid-fifties point of the chart, while a smattering of stateside interest prompted Ralph Records to pick the band up for a quick mini-album, 'The Road to Rack and Ruin'. Yet having spent the past year positively hovering on the brink of a major step forward, suddenly King Kurt slipped out of view. Their next single, "Billy," bombed; so did its follow-up, "Slammers," produced by ex-Vibrators hero Pat Collier. Plans for a second Stiff album slid away and, by the end of the year, King Kurt and the label had parted company.

 
In early 1986, the band signed with Polydor and released its second album, 'Big Cock'. Titled, naturally, for the very large rooster that adorned the record sleeve, the album aligned the band with producer Phil Wainman, the peerless mastermind behind the early Sweet. His imprimatur was all over King Kurt's next single, a toweringly magnificent deconstruction of Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's "America." But it passed out of sight at number 73 on the U.K. lists and, scant months later, King Kurt enjoyed their final flush of chart action, as "The Land of Ring Dang Do" inched its way to number 67, then fled. King Kurt folded quietly soon after, bowing out with the album 'Last Will and Testicle'.

 
Still led by Smeg, more or less the entire group promptly re-formed as the Kurts and, picking up precisely where they left off, continued wreaking havoc around the club circuit. The original glory days were not forgotten, however, and 1989 saw the punk reissue label Link Records unearth a live recording for release on CD, the aptly (if unimaginatively) titled 'Live and Rocking'. A collection of unreleased King Kurt recordings, the again prosaically monikered 'Destination Demoland', followed and, by 1990, the group had restored its name to its full glory. Since that time, King Kurt's reputation has never flagged and, if anything, has grown even wilder over the years. New albums have continued to appear on an irregular basis: 2003 brought the not-quite-ska-inflected 'Guns of Navarone', while a stream of compilations and "greatest hits" type releases have maintained a suitably rat-shaped shadow on the record racks. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

John Otway

Armed with only a modicum of musical ability, a self-deprecating sense of humour and no apparent fear of public humiliation, this Cockney bloke carved out a modest recording career. Anything to avoid returning to his former calling as a garbageman. He first attracted notice with his frenzied live shows, in which he showed no respect for his personal safety. He parlayed the buzz generated by fans of his stage act into a single called "Cor Baby That's Really Free." Eager to cash in on a punk phenomenon it didn't really understand, Polydor signed John Otway to a deal which would result in five albums for the label. His wilfully amateur approach was actually an asset with the ascendancy of punk. He's caught the attention of some of Britain's biggest rock stars. Pete Townsend produced and played on 'John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett', the 1977 debut. Steeleye Span drummer Nigel Pegrum also played. Paul McCartney once asked Otway to open on a tour by Wings, but he had to decline due to other commitments. Otway didn't rely on only his whacked-out stage shows or loony-tune recordings to earn a reputation as one of rock's true eccentrics. On one of his albums, three tunes had only the backing vocal track. If your copy lacked the headliner's voice, he would volunteer to come round to your place and belt out his part while you played it on your stereo. Desperate for a hit at another time in his career, he refused to admit anyone for dates on a national tour who didn't have a copy of his latest single. This worked for fans because the price of the single was less than the cost of a concert ticket. When his music career faltered, the resourceful Otway diversified before the term became popular. Co-writing a play called "Verbal Diary", he created a role for himself playing a disorganized, likable twit. By playing himself to perfection, he found other work playing the same character in commercials on the telly. Branching out still farther, Otway wrote his autobiography during a slow time for both his music and acting endeavors. "Cor Baby That's Really Me (Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure)" crystallized his strategy of marketing himself as a lovable loser. Within weeks the book outsold almost all of his albums.Encouraged by a crowd of 2,500 at his 2,000th concert in London in 1993, Otway spent the next two years to record new songs. 'Premature Adulation' was his first album in five years.As the millennium ground to a halt, Otway continued to get music and acting work where he could find it. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]