Crazyhead

Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England.^[1] Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and Captain Beefheart. They described themselves as an "urban bastard blues band", and their songs ranged in theme from trenchant social commentary to the surreal, but always with an underlying vein of black humour.^{[citation needed]}

Personnel

• Kev Reverb (Kevin Bayliss) – Guitar, keyboards, sitar
• Anderson (Ian R. Anderson) – Vocals
• Vom (Robert Morris) – Drums
• Fast Dick (Richard Bell) – Guitar (1985–1997)
• Peter Creed – Guitar (1997–2000)
• Porkbeast (Dr. Alex Peach) – Bass (1985–1990)
• Christina X (Christine Wigmore) – Bass (1990–present)

They were occasionally joined by:

• Gaz Birtles - Saxophone
• John Barrow - Saxophone
• Tony Robinson - Trumpet

who were credited as "The Phantom Horns" or "The Space Bastards".

• PP Arnold and Katie Kissoon sang backing vocals on the single, "Rags".

History

Formed in 1986, they signed to the independent record label, Food, later that year and their début single, "What Gives You The Idea That You're So Amazing, Baby?", reached number 2 in the UK Indie Chart in March 1987.^[2] For the rest of the year they toured extensively, supporting The Cult, then Julian Cope, and also played the Glastonbury Festival. Their second single "Baby Turpentine" reached number 4 in the Indie Chart.

In mid 1988 their third single "Time Has Taken Its Toll on You" reached No. 65 in the UK Singles Chart,^[3] their label now owned by EMI. The band embarked on another UK tour to promote their début album Desert Orchid, released in October 1988, along with another single, "Rags", and then toured Europe supporting Iggy Pop. They then released the Have Love Will Travel EP (which reached #68)^[3] before embarking on yet another UK tour.

In 1989, they made two brief tours of the United States, and appeared at the Reading Festival. At the behest of the British Council, they played an international music festival in Moscow, and in early 1990, along with Skin Games and Jesus Jones were one the first western bands to tour post-Nicolae Ceauşescu Romania. Later that year they played at the Namibian Independence Day concert to an audience of 50,000.^[4]

The band were dropped by Food Records in 1989, and their second album Some Kind of Fever was released through Revolver Records. In 1992 they gigged across Europe, and in 1993 embarked on a tour of the UK to promote an album of cover versions, Live in Memphis, even though the deal to release it fell through.

Over the next few years Crazyhead made sporadic live appearances. In 1997, they released Fucked By Rock - a collection of previously unreleased material, demo versions, and live tracks, and an EP of new material, 13th Floor. They again toured the UK, supporting The Mission on a number of UK dates. They started recording material for a new album, but the departure of Anderson to work in Thailand and Cambodia (where he continued to perform, in bands such as the Lazy Jazz Drunks and Stiff Little Punks) meant the end of Crazyhead. They played their farewell gig in Leicester on 21 December 2000.

Today, Kev Reverb and Rob Vom play in an alternative rock band called 'Scaley Fuego.' The 3-piece is fronted by singer/bassist Stewart Brackley. The group is currently playing small gigs in and around Leicester.

Discography

Singles

EPs

Albums

Afterwards

• Kev Reverb worked as a record producer and engineer at his 'Memphis Studio' (in Leicester, named in tribute to Elvis Presley) and has worked with such diverse artists as Cornershop, Kevin Hewick, Zodiac Mindwarp, Diesel Park West, MJ Hibbett, Volcano The Bear, Bill Drummond and Satan's Little Heartbreakers.
• Robert Morris (Vom) has played drums with Zodiac Mindwarp on and off since 1993, while Reverb played bass and produced Zodiac's 2001 album I Am Rock. Vom currently plays with Diesel Park West. Contrary to what various websites say Vom was not the drummer with Doctor and the Medics (their drummer was Steve Ritchie, also nicknamed "Vom").
• Christine Wigmore now works in community arts. With Debs Bracher, she formed Timeless Banditz, who released an album of house music Hose Down on Communicato Records in 2004.
• Porkbeast gained a PhD in social history and is currently teaching at Higham Lane School. He also sings and plays lead guitar for the Leicester garage rock band Stressbitch.
• Anderson gained a degree in fine art, worked as a teacher of English in Europe, and as of 2007 was living in Thailand. He returned to UK in 2012
• The original line up of Crazyhead met in March 2013 and are planning to do 4 London gigs later in the year.

References

External links

• Current line-up MySpace page
• Crazyhead MySpace
• Crazyhead page at GBOA site
• Leicester Mercury interview, on the Leicester Bands site
• Stessbitch MySpace