| The Rezillos | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Revillos (1979–1985, 1994–1996) |
| Origin | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Genres | Punk New wave |
| Years active | 1976–1978 2001–present |
| Labels | Sensible, Sire |
| Associated acts | The Revillos, Shake, S.W.A.L.K., The Human League, Silly Wizard |
| Website | rezillos.com revillos.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Eugene Reynolds Fay Fife Angel Patterson Chris Agnew Jim Brady |
|
| Past members | |
| Jo Callis Dr D.K. Smythe William Mysterious Hi-Fi Harris Simon Templar Rocky Rhythm Johnny Terminator The Revillos Kid Krupa Vince Santini Max Atom |
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The Rezillos are a punk/new wave band, who formed in Edinburgh in 1976 and still play gigs around the world in a re-formed line-up. 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.[1] They are probably best known outside of the UK for their cover 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 "Man of the World" — credited to Earl Vince and the Valiants. Since The Rezillos recorded it, the song has been covered by numerous punk bands, including Youth Brigade and Murphy's Law.
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The band originally consisted of Eugene Reynolds (real name:Alan Forbes), vocals; Fay Fife (born Sheilagh 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 Jamieson), backing vocals.[1] The Rezillos' early live repertoire included versions of songs originally recorded by Sweet, Screaming Lord Sutch, Fleetwood Mac (in the guise of Earl Vince and the Valiants) and the Dave Clark Five.[1] 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,[1] home at that time to such other rising new wave and punk 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,[1] 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.
However, the quintet reached the Top 20 of the UK chart with their third single, "Top of the Pops" in 1978.[2] By this time, William Mysterious had left the band to be replaced by another bass player Simon Templar (a pseudonym for Simon Bloomfield).[1] The single version of "Top of the Pops" features him, whilst the album version was recorded with 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 remained 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 Top of the Pops.
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.[1] 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.[1] 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 the UK.[1]
IIn 2001, the band reformed as The Rezillos with the Can't Stand… line-up, except for new bassist Johnny Terminator and toured the USA, South America Europe and Japan, often to younger crowds introduced to the band by the use of their track "Somebody's Gonna Get their Head Kicked in Tonight" in the movie "Jackass". Former member Simon Templar was last heard of in 2006, having created songs on the debut album "If I Ever Die" by the Swedish singer, Thomaz.[3]
In 2008, Johnny Terminator retired from the band and was replaced by Chris Agnew. The Rezillos performed Can't Stand The Rezillos in its entirety on their 2008 UK tour, and released a new single in January 2009, "Number One Boy". In 2010, original founding member Jo Callis left the band and was replaced by Jim Brady of Nanobots and formerly 90's Techno-Grunge duo Barky!Barky on guitar.
In November 2011 the band received the Tartan Clef "Legend" Award at the 13th Annual Scottish Music awards and in December 2011 released a single, "Out Of This World". Although following demand for "No 1 Boy" which was only available as a download this new single was produced in download, CD and 7" 45 rpm vinyl, delivery of the vinyl was delayed when the pressing plant in the Czech republic was burnt down just a week before the scheduled release. CD and download availability was not affected. The release was followed by a December UK tour.
| Band name / Release date | A-side | B-side | Label | Catalogue Number | UK Singles Chart[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rezillos: August 1977 (re-issued: Aug. 1979) | "I Can't Stand My Baby" | "I Wanna Be Your Man" | Sensible | FAB 1 | #71 (in 1979) - when the songs were flipped (A-side and B-side) |
| Rezillos: November 1977 | "Flying Saucer Attack" | "(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures" | Sire | 6078 612 | |
| Rezillos: May 1978 | "Cold Wars" | "William Mysterious Overture" | Sire | 6198 215 (Withdrawn) | |
| Rezillos: July 1978 | "Top of the Pops" | "20,000 Rezillos Under the Sea" | Sire | SIR 4001 | #17 |
| Rezillos: November 1978 | "Destination Venus" | "Mystery Action" | Sire | SIR 4008 | #43 |
| Rezillos: April 1979 | "Cold Wars" | "Flying Saucer Attack" (live) + "Twist & Shout" (live) | Sire | SIR 4014 | |
| Revillos: September 1979 | "Where's the Boy For Me?" | "The Fiend" | Snatzo / Dindisc | DIN 1 | |
| Revillos: January 1980 | "Motorbike Beat" | "No Such Luck" | Snatzo / Dindisc | DIN 5 | #45 |
| Revillos: April 1980 | "Scuba Scuba" | "Scuba Boy Bop" | Snatzo / Dindisc | DINZ 16 | |
| Revillos: September 1980 | "Hungry For Love" | "Voodoo 2" | Snatzo / Dindisc | DINZ 20 | |
| Revillos: September 1981 | "(She’s Fallen in Love with a) Monster Man" | "Mind Bending Cutie Doll" | Superville | SV 1001 | |
| The Mysteroids: December 1981 | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | "1982 Make A Wish" | Superville | SV 3001 | |
| Revillos: February 1982 | "Bongo Brain" | "Hip City-You Were Meant For Me" | Superville | SV 2001 | |
| Revillos: November 1982 | "Tell Him" | "Graveyard Groove" | Aura | AUS 135 | |
| Revillos: October 1983 | "Bitten by the Love Bug" | "Trigger Happy Jack" / "Cat Call" | EMI | RVL 1 | |
| Revillos: March 1984 | "Midnight" | "Z-X-7" | EMI | RVL 2 | |
| Revillos: December 1994 | "Yeah Yeah" | "Crush" / "Scuba Scuba" | Vinyl Japan | CD 033 | |
| Revillos: September 1996 | "Jack the Ripper" | "A-Yeah-Yeah" / "Meet the Revillos" | Damaged Goods | DAMGOOD 93 | |
| Rezillos: January 2009 | "No 1 Boy" (download only) | Townsend Records | |||
| Rezillos: December 2011 | "Out Of This World" | "Rosalyn" | Rezillos records | REZILL 01 |