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The Rezillos

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The Rezillos

The Rezillos are a Punk/New wave band, who formed in Edinburgh in 1976, and are still playing gigs around the world in a reformed line-up.

Career

The band originally consisted of Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) vocals; Fay Fife (born Sheila Hynde) vocals; Jo Callis guitar; William Mysterious (born Alastair Donaldson), saxophone; Angel Patterson (born Alan Patterson), drums; Hi-Fi Harris guitar; Dr D.K. Smythe bass guitar and Gale Warning (Gail Jaimison) backing vocals. The Rezillos' early live repertoire included versions of songs originally recorded by the likes of the Sweet, Screaming Lord Sutch, Fleetwood Mac (in the guise of Earl Vince and the Valiants) and the Dave Clark Five. Bootleg recordings exist of this stage of the band's history.

This line-up released their first single "Can't Stand My Baby" on the indie record label, Sensible Records. This led to a major recording contract with Sire Records, home at that time to such other rising new wave acts as Talking Heads and The Ramones. The band also underwent a transformation, shedding both Hi-Fi Harris, Dr. D.K. Smythe, and two backing singers. William Mysterious then shifted to bassist for the band's debut album Can't Stand The Rezillos, widely regarded as a classic of both Punk Rock and New Wave. A second single "Flying Saucer Attack" / "My Baby Does Good Sculptures" grazed the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart, and contained different versions of the songs found on the album release. Like the first single, it is considered highly collectable.[citation needed]

However, the quintet reached the Top 20 of the UK chart with their third single, "Top of the Pops" in 1978. By this time, William Mysterious had left the band to be replaced by another bass player Simon Templar. The single version of "Top of the Pops" features him, whilst the album version was recorded by William Mysterious.

After releasing their debut album Can't Stand The Rezillos—also in 1978—Reynolds and Fife left the original band. The live LP Mission Accomplished but the Beat Goes On remains as a testament to the original line-up. A final single, "Destination Venus" made the lower reaches of the UK chart, and earned them a final appearance on the actual Top of the Pops, a long running BBC One TV programme.

Reynolds and Fife renamed themselves The Revillos for contractual reasons, recruiting new members, including original Rezillo Hi-Fi Harris, and released an album Rev Up in 1980 under the new name. The Revillos had a longer career than The Rezillos, and toured and released music continually during the 1980s. The band had an ever changing line-up, but the focus and nucleus always remained Reynolds and Fife. The band later also released a compendium of their music. The remaining three Rezillos plus Troy Tate, ex-Teardrop Explodes, renamed themselves Shake, and released a 10" EP and a single ("Invasion Of The Gamma Men") before disbanding. A side project named S.W.A.L.K was also short lived. Jo Callis went on to perform with The Human League.

Some of The Revillos reformed in 1994, playing a series of concerts in Japan, and recording the Live and On Fire in Japan album. In 1996, they issued a rarities compilation album, From the Freezer, and played some live dates in Britain.

In 2001, the band reformed as The Rezillos with the Can't Stand… line-up—except for new bassist Johnny Terminator. They continue to play live to the present day.

They are probably best known outside of the U.K. for their version of the song "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight". The song was written by Jeremy Spencer and originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac, who released it in 1969 as the b-side of their "Man of the World" single—credited to Earl Vince & The Valiants. Since The Rezillos recorded it, the song has been covered by numerous punk bands, including Youth Brigade and Murphy's Law.

Music excerpt

Discography

Albums

  • Can't Stand The Rezillos - 1978 - UK Number 16
  • Mission Accomplished But The Beat Goes On - 1979 - Number 30
  • Rev Up - 1980 - (as The Revillos)
  • Attack! - 1982 - (as The Revillos)

Singles

  • "I Can't Stand My Baby" - 1977 (reissued in 1979, reaching UK Number 71)
  • "(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures" - 1978
  • "Top of the Pops" - 1978 - UK Number 17
  • "Destination Venus" - 1978 - UK Number 43
  • "Cold Wars" (live) - 1978
  • "Where's The Boy For Me" - 1980 (as The Revillos)
  • "Motorbike Beat" - 1980 - Number 45 (as The Revillos)

References

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