Wavis O'Shave

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Wavis O'Shave is an eccentric English musician and comedian who has released several cult classics including the album Anna Ford's Bum. He also appeared several times on Channel 4's 1980s music programme "The Tube" as well as television advertisements for Bovril as a character known as The Hard. He has also recorded under the name Foffo Spearjig.

O'Shave's lyrical content, marked by an often absurd humour, whimsy and fantasy in a style shared by the Victorian Painter and writer Edward Lear and titles such as 'You think you're a woman because you don't eat fishcakes' and 'Don't crush bees to death with the end of your walking stick', have prompted the British Music Press to compare him with Frank Zappa and have earned him the quotes' The Goons meet Kraftwerk ' - Garry Bushell, SOUNDS - and 'Alice Cooper with concussion' - Danny Baker, NME.

From 1977, Wavis spent time at a Tibetan Buddhist retreat, Karma Kagyu Samye-Ling at Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where he had an authentic lama Teacher, Akong Rinpoche, and met the Dalai Lama there in May 1994. This had a direct influence on his writing. Analysis of some of O'Shave's more bizarre poetry set to music is akin to trying to unlock the reasoning behind a Japanese Zen Buddhist 'koan', whereupon the Master asks the Pupil to provide an answer to a question that has no actual logical solution.

Wavis was an early pioneer of the Newcastle based cult VIZ Comic in 1979, and featured in their 1997 BBC Radio One documentary 'Viz- the rock and roll years'. His last television appearance was on Granada Tv's singing show, 'Stars In Their Eyes' in 1996 performing Cockney Rebel's smash hit 'Make me smile (Come up and see me)'


Wavis is a PWAS (Person With Asperger Syndrome). As part of his research into Asperger's, he is uncovering evidence that a high proportion of the world's leading thinkers, spiritual leaders and entertainers were and are PWAS.

Wavis O'Shave is currently residing at Falling A Records

[edit] External link

Wavis O'Shave's MySpace site